Those who dreamed of taking Amtrak to avoid the pitfalls of traveling by car and plane this holiday week may be in for an unpleasant surprise.
Early Friday morning, the national rail operator announced service changes due to severe weather across the nation.
“Severe winter weather has caused Amtrak to make several service changes and cancelations from now through Sunday, December 25,” it said in a notice. “These actions are taken in an abundance of caution and consultation with state transportation departments, host railroads, emergency managers, and weather forecasters.”
In the Midwest, Amtrak announced the following cancellations (those with an asterisk will have other round-trip routes that continue to operate):
• Trains 300, 301, 305 & 306 (Lincoln Service*) are canceled from Dec. 22-25.
• Trains 311 & 316 (Missouri River Runner) are canceled from Dec. 22-25.
• Trains 318 & 319 (Lincoln Service/Missouri River Runner) are canceled only between St. Louis and Kansas City Dec. 22-25.
• Trains 329, 332, 333, 336, 337, 340 & 343 (Hiawatha*) are canceled from Dec. 22-25.
• Trains 352 & 353 (Wolverine*) are canceled from Dec. 22-25.
• Train 370 (Pere Marquette) is canceled from Dec. 22-25.
• Train 371 (Pere Marquette) is canceled from Dec. 23-25.
• Trains 390 & 391 (Illini/Saluki*) are canceled Dec. 23.
• Buses 3280 & 3381 (Carl Sandburg/Illinois Zephyr* substitute buses) are also impacted Dec. 23 and 24.
Cancellations for Amtrak trains to and from Vermont were also announced:
• Train 55 (Vermonter) is canceled between St. Albans, Vt., and Springfield, Mass., Dec. 23.
• Train 56 (Vermonter) is canceled only between Springfield and St. Albans Dec. 23.
• Train 290 (Ethen Allen Express) is canceled between Burlington, Vt., and Albany-Rensselaer, N.Y., on Dec. 23.
• Train 291 (Ethen Allen Express) is canceled only between Albany-Rensselaer and Burlington on Dec. 23.
For these other Amtrak canceled or modified services, there is no substitute transportation for the routes:
• Train 3 (Southwest Chief), which originates in Chicago, is canceled Dec. 23.
• Trains 7/27 & 8/28 (Empire Builder), which originate in Chicago, Seattle, and Portland, are canceled Dec. 21-25.
• Trains 29 & 30 (Capitol Limited), which originate in Chicago and Washington, are canceled Dec. 22-23.
• Trains 48/448 & 49/449 (Lake Shore Limited), which originate in New York, Boston and Chicago, are canceled Dec. 22-23.
• Train 50 (Cardinal), which originates in Chicago, is canceled Dec. 22-24.
• Train 51 (Cardinal), which originates in New York, is canceled Dec. 23.
Customers should call the reservation center at 1-800-USA-RAIL to change their reservation if their route is modified. Amtrak said the routes may be modified again as weather conditions change.
Amtrak also offers rolling service change updates on its social media feeds.
“Customers with reservations on trains that are being modified will typically be accommodated on trains with similar departure times or another day,” said Amtrak, which will “waive additional charges for customers looking to change their reservation during the modified schedule.”
Overall, Amtrak’s operations span 21,000 route miles in the U.S. and Canada. It operates more than 300 trains daily to more than 500 destinations.
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