Amtrak - Definition and Overview

For other uses, see Amtrak (disambiguation).

Amtrak is the name of an intercity passenger train system created on May 1, 1971 in the United States. Amtrak is an independent for-profit corporation, but its board is entirely controlled by the United States government through presidential appointment and Senate confirmation. Some Amtrak stock is outstanding, though it is not actively traded and is generally considered to be worthless. The name Amtrak is a combination of the words AMerica, TRAvel and tracK; the official name of the public corporation that owns Amtrak is the National Railroad Passenger Corporation. The chairman of Amtrak is David Laney, a presidential appointee. The current President of Amtrak is David Gunn.

Relieving passenger burden, sharing with freight railroads

In its original conception, Amtrak owned no track and thus was not truly a railroad. Rather, Amtrak was created in 1971 to relieve private railroad companies (who were primarily interested in more profitable freight operations) of their previous legal obligation to provide passenger rail service as common carriers. It was planned from the outset that Amtrak trains would continue to use the existing network of tracks. For the most part, this scheme still exists today. In most parts of the U.S., Amtrak trains share tracks with the freight-oriented host railroads.

Northeast Corridor

One significant area, the electrified Northeast Corridor (NEC) between Washington, D.C. and Boston via New York, is largely composed of Amtrak's own tracks. Along the NEC and in several other areas, Amtrak owns 730 route miles of track including 17 tunnels consisting of 29.7 miles of track and 1,186 bridges (including the famous Hell Gate Bridge) consisting of 42.5 miles of track. These are combined with those of several state and regional commuter agencies in what amounts to a cooperative arrangement. (Amtrak's portion of the NEC was essentially acquired in 1976 from Penn Central Transportation, which had gone bankrupt and was getting out of the railroad business). While Amtrak must negotiate shared scheduling with freight railroads in most areas of the country, along the NEC the coordination is between the various passenger-carrying agencies.

Amtrak Train

National impact

Amtrak employs over 19,000 people. The nationwide network of 22,000 miles of routes serves 500 communities in 46 of the United States, with some of the routes serving communities in Canadian provinces along the United States border. The only states which are not served by Amtrak trains are Alaska, Hawaii, South Dakota, and Wyoming. However, Wyoming is served by Amtrak's Thruway Motorcoaches.

In fiscal year 2001, Amtrak routes served more than 23.5 million passengers, and despite an overall decrease in travel of all types, Amtrak served more than 23.4 million passengers in fiscal year 2002.

Guest Rewards

Amtrak operates a loyalty program called Guest Rewards, which is similar to the frequent flyer programs offered by many airlines. Guest Rewards members accumulate points by riding Amtrak and through other activities. Members can then redeem these points for free Amtrak tickets and other awards.

Amtrak also code shares on Continental Airlines with their rail service between Newark Liberty International Airport and 30th Street Station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Wilmington, Delaware, Stamford, Connecticut, and Union Station in New Haven, Connecticut.

Commuter Services

Through its various commuter services, Amtrak serves an additional 61.1 million passengers per year in conjunction with state and regional authorities in California, Maryland, Connecticut, and Virginia:

• CalTrain (San Francisco and San Jose)
• San Diego Coaster (San Diego)
• Maryland Area Regional Commuter (MARC)
• Metrolink (Los Angeles and vicinity)
• Shore Line East (Connecticut)
• Virginia Railway Express (VRE)

Federal Funding

Amtrak's ongoing need for federal government funding leads to recurring budget crisis and debates over its possible elimination. A stalemate in federal subsidization of Amtrak has led to cutbacks in services and routes for the last several years, and some deferred maintenance. Recently, the U.S. Congress has agreed to provide up to $900 million in annual subsidies. However Amtrak President David Gunn has insisted that Amtrak needs at least $1.8 billion to continue as an operating entity. Several states have entered into operating partnerships with Amtrak, notably California and Washington.

The budget proposed by President Bush for 2006 would eliminate Amtrak's operating subsidy and set aside $360 million to run trains along the Northeast Corridor if the railroad ceases operating. This budget has yet to be considered by Congress.

Motive power and rolling stock

Amtrak operates 425 locomotives (351 diesel and 74 electric), 2,141 railroad cars including several types of passenger cars including 168 sleeper cars, 760 coach cars, 126 first class/business class cars, 66 dormitory/crew cars, 225 lounge/café/dinette cars, and 92 dining cars. Many are Superliner I and II models. Baggage cars and autoracks for Auto Train service make up the remainder of the fleet.

20 Acela trainsets currently provide high-speed rail service along the Northeast Corridor between between South Station in Boston and Union Station in Washington D.C.

Owned Tracks

Amtrak owns the following trackage:[1] (http://railroad.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=9146&highlight=)

• Massachusetts/Rhode Island state line to New Haven, Connecticut (part of the Northeast Corridor)
• Boston, Massachusetts to Massachusetts/Rhode Island (part of the Northeast Corridor) (controlled, maintained and dispatched by Amtrak but owned by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts)
• New Rochelle, New York to Washington, D.C. (part of the Northeast Corridor)
• New Haven, Connecticut to Springfield, Massachusetts (Regional and Vermonter service)
• Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania (Three Rivers and Keystone service)
• Porter, Indiana to Kalamazoo, Michigan (Michigan Services)
• Station and yard tracks in:
  • Chicago, Illinois
  • Hialeah, Florida (near Miami, Florida) (leased from the State of Florida)
  • Los Angeles, California
  • New Orleans, Louisiana
  • New York City
  • Orlando, Florida
  • Portland, Oregon
  • Seattle, Washington
  • Washington, DC

Electrification

Tracks are electrified from Boston, Massachusetts to Washington, D.C. (the whole Northeast Corridor) and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

Freight services

Amtrak Express provides small package and less-than-truckload shipping services between more than 100 cities. Amtrak Express also offers station-to-station shipment of human remains to many express cities. At smaller stations, funeral directors must load and unload the shipment onto and off the train. Amtrak also hauled mail for the United States Postal Service as well as time sensitive freight shipments, but discontinued these services in October of 2004.

On most parts of the few lines that Amtrak owns, it has trackage rights agreements allowing freight railroads to use its trackage.

Amtrak routes

As a general rule, even-numbered routes run north and east while odd numbered routes run south and west. However, some routes, such as the Pacific Surfliners, use the exact opposite numbering system, which they inherited from the previous operators of similar routes, such as the Santa Fe Railroad.

Amtrak gives each of its train routes a name. These names often reflect the rich and complex history of the route itself, or of the area traversed by the route.

Active Amtrak routes

Defunct Amtrak routes

The following is an incomplete list of defunct routes.

• Black Hawk
• Colonial
• The Federal
• Floridian
• George Washington
• Hilltopper
• International
• James Whitcomb Riley
• Kentucky Cardinal
• Lake Cities
• Montrealer
• Patriot
• Pennsylvanian
• Pere Marquette
• Senator
• Shawnee
• Silver Palm
• Southwind
• Spirit of California
• Spirit of St. Louis
• Twilight Limited
• Twilight Shoreliner

See also

• List of Amtrak stations
• Superliner (railcar)
• passenger car
• Auto-Train Corporation the original company (before Amtrak)
• List of United States railroads
• List of Florida railroads
• List of Georgia railroads
• List of Iowa railroads
• List of Kansas railroads
• List of Mississippi railroads
• List of New Jersey railroads
• List of Washington, DC railroads
• List of Wisconsin railroads

Sources

Amtrak System Timetable, Fall 2004/Winter 2005

External links

• Amtrak official Web site (http://www.amtrak.com/)
• National Association of Railroad Passengers (http://www.narprail.org/)
• Friends of Amtrak (http://www.trainweb.org/crocon/amtrak.html)
• Amtrak Historical Society (http://www.amtrakhistoricalsociety.com/)
• Amtrak Reform Council (http://www.amtrakreformcouncil.gov/)
• Trains.com - Amtrak's beginnings (http://www.trains.com/Content/Dynamic/Articles/000/000/001/123clbam.asp)