Posted on 09/14/22
| News Source: The Hill
Amtrak announced the cancellation of three long-distance, nationwide routes that rely on freight lines beginning on Tuesday, citing a potential strike from railroad workers by the end of this week.
Amtrak, which operates on more than 21,000 miles of tracks, is not involved with the negotiations between railroad workers and freight companies but operates many of its 300 daily trains on freight rails that would be impacted by the strike.
In a series of alerts, Amtrak announced that cross-country routes with stops across the Western and Midwestern U.S. would be impacted. Amtrak said in its advisory that it was canceling the routes out of an abundance of caution.
Beginning Tuesday, Southwest Chief routes running from Chicago, Ill., to Los Angeles, Calif., are canceled, Amtrak confirmed on Twitter.
The Empire Builder routes stretching from Chicago to Seattle are also canceled, as are the California Zephyr routes from Chicago to San Francisco.
Additionally, Amtrak said the Texas Eagle train from Chicago to San Antonio was terminated on Tuesday.
In the service alert Tuesday, the national railroad serviced promised to notify affected travelers at least 24 hours in advance and offer a full refund for canceled routes.
Routes in the northeast, including Boston, New York, and Washington, D.C., do not operate on freight rails and will not be impacted by the closures.