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AMTRAK APRIL 25 SCHEDULE CHANGES
> East-Midwest
>
> LAKE SHORE LIMITED
>
> The LAKE SHORE LIMITED will operate between Chicago and New York
as
> Trains 48 eastbound and 49 westbound. Train 48 will depart from Chicago
> at 7:55 PM, which is 20 minutes later than it currently does. But
its
> New York arrival time has not changed. Train 49 will leave from New
York
> City at 3:50 PM, one hour later than now, and it will get into Chicago
> at 9:30 AM, 47 minutes later then currently. All told, the westbound
> trip is 13 minutes shorter than it was before.
>
> Through operation to and from Boston will not be returning. The shuttle
> train that runs between Albany and Boston will be 448 eastbound.
> Westbound, departures from Boston are later due to the later departure
> from New York. On weekends, Train 449 departs Boston at 12:35 PM
and
> arrives Albany 5:45 PM. On weekdays, the train will be called 447
and it
> will depart Boston 1:00 PM and arrive Albany 6:05 PM.
>
> CARDINAL
>
> Eastbound Train 50 will arrive in New York City about 20 minutes
earlier
> than before. Otherwise, no other major changes.
>
> CAPITOL LIMITED
>
> The westbound CAPITOL LIMITED, Train 29, will leave Washington, DC
at
> 3:55 PM, which is almost 1-1/2 hours earlier than present. Its arrival
> in Chicago is set for 8:25 AM, almost 2 hours earlier than now.
> Eastbound 30 will still depart Chicago at 5:35 PM, but its arrival
into
> Washington is slated to be at 11:59 AM, 25 minutes sooner than the
> current schedule.
>
> PENNSYLVANIAN
>
> This train is currently following the schedule of the former THREE
> RIVERS between New York City and Pittsburgh. With the timetable change,
> it will revert closer to that of the former PENNSYLVANIAN, when it
was a
> New York-Pittsburgh train before November 2004. Westbound Train 43
will
> leave New York 9:55 AM, and arrive Pittsburgh 7:05 PM. This is about
2
> or 2-1/2 hours that the ideal dinnertime arrival in Pittsburgh, but
it
> lessens the wait for those continuing west on Train 29 (which in
turn is
> running earlier, see above). The eastbound PENNSYLVANIAN will depart
> from Pittsburgh at 7:20 AM as Train 42 on weekdays, also about 2-1/2
> hours earlier than present. But on Sundays, it will operate as Train
44
> and leave Pittsburgh six hours later. That will translate to a very
long
> dwell for those who leave Chicago on Saturday nights on Train 30.
>
> Thruway
>
> Pittsburgh-Columbus, OH Thruway connections were rescheduled to meet
the
> new timetable of the PENNSYLVANIAN, rather than the old THREE RIVERS
> schedule. They have been redesignated as 8042, 8043, and 8044.
>
> Runs 8140 and 8841 between Pittsburgh and Cleveland are gone. The
only
> remaining connection between these two cities is the CAPITOL LIMITED.
>
> Hagerstown-Pittsburgh bus runs 8840 and 8841 are eliminated.
>
> Toledo-Detroit-East Lansing bus 6029/6049 (actually one bus connecting
> from both 29 and 49 in Toledo) will run one hour earlier. Bus 6030/6048
> will run 15 minutes earlier East Lansing-Detroit-Toledo.
>
> East and Empire, Keystone Service
>
> DOWNEASTER
>
> Returning to all reserved status.
>
> 10-15 minutes removed from all trips due to increased speed limits.
>
> VERMONTER
>
> Southbound VERMONTER, Train 55 on weekdays and 57 on weekends, will
> depart from St. Albans at 8:30 AM, which is about 2 hours later than
it
> does now. The northbound train, 54 on weekends and 56 on weekdays,
will
> operate later, coming into St. Albans at 9:25 PM seven days a week.
>
> The Montreal Thruway bus is being restored because of the later morning
> departure. Buses 8054, 8055, 8056, and 8057 will be returning to
the
> timetable.
>
> ETHAN ALLEN EXPRESS
>
> No major changes.
>
> MAPLE LEAF
>
> Eastbound Train 64 will depart from Toronto one hour earlier than
now,
> but will arrive in New York about the same time. Extra time was added
> for the border crossing and to counter freight interference. No changes
> to westbound 63.
>
> ADIRONDACK
>
> No major changes.
>
> EMPIRE SERVICE
>
> Train 284, which currently departs Niagara Falls at 5:55 AM, will
be
> moved earlier to leave at 4:45 AM. This will improve arrival times
into
> both Albany and New York City, and restore a connection with the
> southbound SILVER METEOR. 284, which previously ran Mondays through
> Saturdays, will now operate weekdays only.
>
> In place of 284 on Saturdays, a new Train 280 will depart from Niagara
> Falls at 5:45 AM, about 10 minutes earlier than the present morning
> departure.
>
> Train 256, which previously ran Sundays only in the Albany-New York
> timeslot used by 284 on the other six days, will now run daily except
> Saturdays. 280 takes that slot on Saturdays.
>
> Generally, 10-20 minutes was added to running times between Niagara
> Falls and Albany on all trains.
>
> New York-Albany train 259 runs 10 minutes earlier.
>
> KEYSTONE SERVICE
>
> With the earlier departure of Train 43, Keystone train 609 is being
> eliminated every day but Saturday. Taking over 43's old slot will
be new
> weekday-only train 613.
>
> On Saturdays, Train 609 will remain.
>
> Train 641, which currently runs daily from New York City to Harrisburg,
> will become weekdays only. Its timeslot will be covered by the above
609
> from Philadelphia to Harrisburg only on Saturdays. On Sundays, a
new
> Train 659 will run on a slightly different schedule than 641, departing
> New York at 7:00 AM.
>
> A new Sunday-only Train 661 will depart New York at 2 PM for
> Philadelphia and Harrisburg. It replaces current Train 663 which
runs
> New York-Philadelphia only. 663 will continue but on Saturdays only.
>
> Weekday train 608 is being extended to New York, and will be
> redesignated at 658.
>
> A new Train 610 will depart from Harrisburg for Philadelphia at 9:25
AM,
> filling 2-1/2 hour gap in service.
>
> Train 650, currently daily, will run on Sundays only in approximately
> the same timeslot. It will be replaced on the other 6 days of the
week
> by the rescheduled PENNSYLVANIAN, Train 42.
>
> A new Train 654 will run weekends only between Harrisburg and New
York
> in the timeslot now held by the current 42 and former Train 40.
>
>
> Northeast Corridor
>
> Thruway
>
> One round trip eliminated from Wilmington, DE-Salisbury, MD runs.
Bus
> runs 8739 and 8742 are gone. There is still service to both Salisbury,
> MD and one run remains to Ocean City, MD.
>
> REGIONAL, METROLINER, ACELA EXPRESS
>
> All Regional trains will be all-reserved.
>
> Weekday-only Regional Train 132 will be eliminated. Its timeslot
between
> Philadelphia and New York will be covered by new Keystone 658 (the
> extended 608).
>
> Acela Express 2150, the first weekday run of the day from Washington
to
> Boston, is eliminated. Regional Train 170 will be moved earlier
> (Washington departure 4:35 AM) to cover its timeslot mainly north
of New
> York. Taking over 170's old timeslot (5:05 AM Washington departure)
> between Washington and New York is new Regional Train 110.
>
> Metroliner 101 will be replaced by a new Regional, Train 111.
>
> Metroliner 102, the 10 AM Washington departure, will be replaced
by
> Acela Express 2108.
>
> Metroliner 105, the 6 PM New York departure, will be replaced by
Acela
> Express 2119.
>
> Acela Express 2175, the 5:20 PM Boston-Washington departure, and
Acela
> Express 2191, the 6:20 PM Boston-New York departure, are being replaced.
> Between Boston and New York they are combined into a new 2193, which
> will leave Boston 5:20 PM and terminate in New York. The New
> York-Washington segment of 2175 will be replaced by a new Regional
187.
>
> With 2150 and 2175 off the schedule, the original two Acela Express
runs
> from the 2000 debut are both gone.
>
> Regional Trains 169 (Fridays BOS-WAS)/179 (Mon-Thurs BOS-PHL) have
been
> rescheduled to depart from Boston at 6:45 PM (vs. 7:25 currently).
>
> Train 639, a New York-Philadelphia Clocker positioning move, will
depart
> New York at 11:59 PM, 44 minutes later. In effect it swaps timeslots
> with 169/179. Train 639, which currently runs on weekdays only, will
> also run on Sundays, replacing Sunday-only Clocker 631.
>
> Regional Train 135, a weekend Boston-Washington run, will depart
Boston
> 45 minutes later.
>
> Sunday Acela Express 2297, BOS-WAS has been removed from the schedule.
>
> Sunday Acela Express 2298, WAS-BOS currently only running on Sundays,
> will switch to Saturdays only. In 2298's place on Sundays for the
> WAS-NYP segment will be new 2212. Meanwhile, weekend Acela Express
2254
> will shed its Saturday service and run Sundays only.
>
> Regional Train 88, which currently runs on weekends from Richmond
to
> Boston, will have different schedules on Saturdays and Sundays. It
> retains the 88 designation on Saturdays. On Sundays, it will still
run
> between Richmond and Boston, but it will be Train 76.
>
> Sunday-only Regional Train 139 from New York to Washington will no
> longer operate. It has been replaced on the NYP-PHL segment by new
> Clocker 637.
>
> Weekend-only Regional 128 is gone. It operated the same schedule
as
> weekday 198 between Washington and New York, but it got a separate
> designation at the last timetable change because weekend service
went
> all reserved at that time, while the weekday train remained unreserved.
> With all trains now being reserved, the number now reverts back to
198,
> which runs seven days a week.
>
> On weekends, due to the later running of the VERMONTER, Trains 57
and
> Regional 159 have traded timeslots.
>
> Saturday Metroliner 203 becomes Acela Express 2203.
>
> Sunday Metroliner 205 becomes Acela Express 2205.
>
> A new Saturday Acela Express 2207 is added to the schedule, departing
> New York at 10 AM.
>
> Saturday Metroliner 210 has been eliminated, with no replacement.
>
> Saturday Metroliner 223 has been eliminated, with no replacement.
>
> Saturday Metroliner 214 becomes Acela Express 2214.
>
> Weekend Metroliner 220 becomes Acela Express 2220.
>
> Sunday Metroliner 213 becomes Acela Express 2213.
>
> Sunday Metroliner 208 becomes Acela Express 2208.
>
> Sunday Metroliner 221 becomes Acela Express 2221.
>
> A new Sunday Acela Express 2228 is added to the schedule, departing
> Washington at 8 PM.
>
> Sunday Metroliner 220 is replaced by new Regional 126, departing
> Washington at 4 PM.
>
> Sunday Metroliner 222 becomes Acela Express 2222.
>
> Springfield Shuttles
>
> Due to the rescheduling of the southbound VERMONTER, some major changes
> take place.
>
> New Train 473 replaces 55's timeslot on weekdays, and connects in
New
> Haven with Regional 173.
>
> New Train 463 replaces 57's timeslot on weekends, and connects in
New
> Haven with Regional 163.
>
> Train 55 replaces Shuttle 437 on weekdays.
>
> Train 57 replaces Shuttle 435 on weekends.
>
> Train 472, weekday Shuttle that connects with Regional 172 in New
Haven,
> is gone. It is replaced by Shuttle 474, which connects in New Haven
with
> Regional 174.
>
> Filling the gap in service that this creates, a new weekday Shuttle
454
> will begin. This is the first Shuttle that connects with an Acela
> Express (2154) rather than a Regional.
>
> Since Regional 88 becomes 76 on Sundays, Shuttle 488 will be replaced
on
> Sunday by new Shuttle 406. (Sorry, but the number 476 is already
taken.
> This train will not be connecting with the CALIFORNIA ZEPHYR!! ).
88 and
> 488 remain on Saturdays.
>
> The Montreal Thruway bus is being restored because of the later morning
> departure. Buses 8054, 8055, 8056, and 8057 will be returning
to the
> timetable.
>
> Southeast
>
> SILVER STAR, PALMETTO, CAROLINIAN
>
> Due to the continued CSX trackwork in North Carolina, no major changes
> are evident. This operating scheme should continue beyond the timetable
> change until June.
>
> Trains 89 and 90, the PALMETTO, runs New York-Savannah on Fridays,
> Saturdays, and Sundays. The same trains operate in two sections the
rest
> of the week. New York-Richmond is Trains 89 and 90, while Rocky
> Mount-Savannah is Trains 1089 and 1090. The Thruway bus bridge between
> Richmond and Rocky Mount is 3089 southbound, and 3090 northbound.
>
> Trains 79 and 80, the CAROLINIAN, runs New York-Charlotte on Fridays,
> Saturdays, and Sundays. The same trains only operate Rocky
> Mount-Charlotte the other 4 days of the week, and passengers utilize
the
> PALMETTO and its bustitution to get to and from points north of Rocky
> Mount. No special numbers for the truncated CAROLINIAN.
>
> The northbound SILVER STAR, Train 92, continues to bypass Lakeland
and
> Tampa. The regular Fort Myers-Tampa Thruway bus, 6092, has been extended
> to Winter Haven to bring Tampa and Lakeland passengers to the train.
> Passengers coming from Southeast Florida who would have gotten off
at
> Lakeland or Tampa are using temporary Thruway bus 6392 between Winter
> Haven, Lakeland, and Tampa.
>
> Because of the above bustitution (albeit in one direction), the regular
> Thruway bus that was a replacement for the PALMETTO in Florida (6291
and
> 6292) has been truncated to run only Jacksonville-Dade City. There
is no
> service to/from southern Florida for Dade City, Wildwood, Ocala,
> UF/Gainesville, and Waldo until the normal operating scheme is restored.
>
> No changes to southbound SILVER STAR.
>
> The Thruway bus between Miami and the Florida Keys (8191 and 8192)has
> been eliminated.
>
> AUTO TRAIN, SILVER METEOR, PIEDMONT
>
> No major changes.
>
> CRESCENT
>
> Southbound Train 19 runs 30-35 minutes earlier over its entire route.
> Northbound Train 20 departs NOL at the same time as present, but
gets to
> NYP 21 minutes later.
>
> MIDWEST
>
> Thruway
>
> The Milwaukee, WI-Marquette, MI (via Green Bay) Thruway bus 8830
& 8831)
> appears to have been cancelled. This run used to connect with the
trains
> in Chicago, but it was cut back to Milwaukee within the last year
to
> connect to one of the Hiawatha Service trains in each direction.
>
> WOLVERINE SERVICE, PERE MARQUETTE, BLUE WATER, HIAWATHA SERVICE,
> Illinois & Missouri Services
>
> No major changes. Westbound Train 353 later schedule (by 50 minutes)
is
> permanent.
>
> Midwest - West Coast
>
> EMPIRE BUILDER, SOUTHWEST CHIEF, TEXAS EAGLE, HEARTLAND FLYER
>
> No major changes.
>
> Thruway
> Thruway bus runs 8303 and 8304, which currently run between Kansas
City,
> MO and Tulsa, OK (connecting with both the SOUTHWEST CHIEF and the
ANN
> RUTLEDGE), have been extended south to Oklahoma City. 8303 now connects
> to 821, and bus 8304 connects from the northbound HEARTLAND FLYER
822.
>
> CALIFORNIA ZEPHYR
>
> Westbound Train 5 will now depart CHI half an hour earlier at 1:50
PM,
> and arrive Emeryville, CA 4:49 PM, 20 minutes earlier than present.
> Eastbound Train 6 is going to leave EMY at 9:15 AM (20 minutes before
it
> does now), and get into Chicago 3:20 PM, twelve minutes sooner.
>
> Thruway
>
> The Denver - Eagle, CO Thruway bus, 8805 westbound and 8706 eastbound,
> has been cut back to run Denver - Vail.
>
> West Coast
>
> COAST STARLIGHT, SAN JOAQUINS, CAPITOL CORRIDOR, PACIFIC SURFLINERS,
> CASCADES
>
> No major changes.
Source: Kevin Korell, Ed Von Nordeck, Amtrak
AN
ANSWER TO DOT SECRETARY MINETA'S ROAD SHOW CLAIMS By Carl Fowler
WENDELL
COX'S "TWO-BIT MAYOR" REMARK DIDN'T SIT WELL
Administration
is "Out of Touch" on Amtrak
WILL
AMTRAK GET FULL FUNDING?
REBUTTING
SECRETARY MINETA
AMTRAK RUNNING TRAINS TO PLACES
NOBODY WANTS TO GO TO?
A REPLY TO NORMAN MINETA
By Wes Roberts
AMTRAK BOARD LOOKS TO FY 2006
HOUSE VOTES FOR $1.2 BILLION
FOR AMTRAK
Amtrak Endpoint On Time
Performance, Feb. 2005
ATTEMPT TO INCREASE AMTRAK
BUDGET FAILS (March 17)
WHAT THE MEDIA ARE SAYING ABOUT
AMTRAK FUNDING
AMTRAK DEFINITION OF CHILDREN
TRAVELING ALONE TO BE CHANGED
AMTRAK FUNDING: AN ANALYSIS
By Carl Fowler
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