Fate of Amtrak routes (Johnsonverse)

From DifferentHistory Wiki

Following Amtrak's folding into Continental Rail on May 1, 2015, a large majority of Amtrak's routes were greatly affected. As many of Amtrak's routes directly duplicated Continental Rail's own routes (mainly in the west), many trains were discontinued to avoid confusing passengers, some were re-routed (for example, the California Zephyr's route between Oakland and Reno under Amtrak completely duplicated the Transcontinental Zephyr with more stops).

List of Affected Routes

Discontinued Routes
Name Reason
Pacific Surfliner Duplicated Northwest Regional; equipment transferred to Atlanta commuter services
Cascades Duplicated Northwest Regional; Talgo sets transferred to higher-speed Western services supplementing LRC trainsets
Silver Service Duplicated Orange Star; equipment pool at time of acquisition transferred to Mexican services
Northeast Regional Not discontinued, but rather, the overall branding was phased out in favor of restoring unique names for ease of identification (i.e. Bankers, Afternoon Congressional, Bay State)
Keystone Service As with the Northeast Regional, the overall branding was phased out in favor of restoring unique names for ease of identification (i.e. Valley Forge, Susquehanna, Big Apple)
Empire Service As above (i.e. DeWitt Clinton, Electric City Express, Niagara Rainbow)
Downeaster State support withdrawn; replaced by revived Pine Tree; NPCUs re-engined and passenger equipment dispersed network-wide
All Througway Motorcoach routes Completely duplicated existing Continental Rail services, as well as Johnson's general disdain for buses

Restored Routes

  • Desert Wind
  • Pioneer
  • North Coast Hiawatha
  • Atlantic City Express
  • Cape Codder
  • Broadway Limited
  • George Washington/James Whitcomb Riley
  • Potomac Special
  • Hilltopper
  • Arrowhead
  • River Cities
  • Lake Cities
  • River Cities
  • El Capitan
  • Beacon Hill
  • Metroliner
  • Clocker
  • Pine Tree
Retained Routes
Name Reason Changes (if applicable) Consist Changes New Name (if applicable
Acela Express No CR equivalent Rolling stock repainted to CR colors None N/A
Adirondack No CR equivalent Re-routed to Grand Central Terminal 1 F40PH

1 Pioneer V cafe car

4-6 Pioneer V coaches

N/A
Auto Train No CR equivalent Similar Auto Trains instated across North America, known as "Motorails" Superliners replaced by Budd, Pullman, and/or ACF equipment

P42DCs replaced by F40PHs

Sanford Motorail (southbound)

Lorton Motorail (northbound)

Blue Water No CR equivalent State support withdrawn Loco-hauled set replaced by Turboliner N/A
California Zephyr Desire to restore service to pre-Amtrak route Re-routed via Altamont Pass and Feather River Canyon (Amtrak route duplicated Transcontinental Zephyr); all original surviving pre-Amtrak equipment acquired, and replicas of original equipment built; locomotives in equipment pool painted in WP, D&RGW, and CB&Q colors A-B-B-A FP7 set painted in WP colors (Oakland-Salt Lake City)

A-B-B-A FP7 set painted in D&RGW colors (Salt Lake City-Denver)

A-B-A E9 set painted in CB&Q colors (Denver-Chicago)

1 baggage car

3 Vista-Dome chair cars

1 Vista-Dome dormitory-buffet-lounge car

2 sleepers

1 diner

2 sleepers

1 Vista-Dome dormitory-buffet-lounge observation car

N/A
Capitol Corridor Initially slated to be discontinued for duplicating the Northwest Regional, it was instead decided to retain and expand the service to supplement westbound Transcontinental Zephyrs and connect Northern California with Nevada State support withdrawn, expanded north to Reno and south to Salinas 1 F40PH, F59PHi, or SC-44 Charger

3-6 California cars

1 California cab car

N/A
Capitol Limited No CR equivalent Stop at McKeesport reinstated 2 F40PHs

1 baggage car

1-2 RPO

3 sleepers

1 dome diner

1 dome lounge

2 dome coaches

1 dome observation

N/A
Cardinal No CR equivalent None 1 F40PH or FP7/9

1 baggage car

1-2 RPO

1-2 sleepers

1 dome diner

2 dome coaches

1 dome observation

N/A
Carolinian No CR equivalent None 1 F40PH (Washington DC-Charlotte)

1 electric locomotive (New York-Washington)

1 baggage car

1 Pioneer V cafe car

1 Pioneer V business car

4 Pioneer V coaches

N/A
City of New Orleans Service could be easily shifted to avoid duplicating the Midwest Star Re-routed to Grenada Subdivision (pre-1995 route) A-B-B-A FP7/9 set or 4-8-4

1 baggage car

1-2 RPOs

3 sleepers

1 diner

1 dome lounge

2 coaches

1 dome observation

N/A
Coast Starlight Desire to restore San Francisco-Los Angeles service Northern terminus changed from Seattle to San Francisco 1 E9 or 4-8-4

1 baggage car

6 coaches

1 cafe car

1 parlor-observation car

Coast Daylight
Crescent No CR equivalent Equipment repainted in 2 F40PHs or A-B-A FP7/9 set

1 baggage car

1-3 RPOs

2 sleepers

1 diner

1 dome lounge

3-4 coaches

1 dome observation

Southern Crescent
Empire Builder No CR equivalent Equipment pool painted in Great Northern colors A-B-B-A FP7/9 set or 4-6-2

1 baggage car (Seattle)

1-4 RPOs (both)

3 sleepers (Seattle)

1 dome diner (Seattle)

2 dome coaches (Seattle)

1 dome lounge (Portland)

1 dome coach/baggage (Portland)

1 dome coach (Portland)

1 sleeper (Portland)

1 dome observation (Seattle)

N/A
Ethan Allen Express No CR equivalent Route extended north from Rutland to Burlington, adding stops at Middleton and Vergennes; state support withdrawn 1 FL9

3-4 Pioneer V coaches

1 Pioneer V business class car

1 Pioneer V cafe car

N/A
Heartland Flyer No CR equivalent None 1 F40PH, 4-6-0, or 2-8-0

3-4 Pioneer V coaches

1 Pioneer V cafe car

1 Pioneer V cab car

N/A
Hiawatha Service Supplement for Twin Cities Turbo State support withdrawn 1 F40PH, SC-44 Charger, or GP9

5 Pioneer V coaches

1 Pioneer V cab car

N/A
Illini and Saluki No CR equivalent State support withdrawn 1 F40PH, SC-44 Charger, 4-6-0, 2-8-0, 2-6-2, or 2-8-2

1 Pioneer V business-cafe car or heavyweight cafe car

4 Pioneer V or heavyweight coaches

1 Pioneer V cab car (non-steam trains)

N/A
Illinois Zephyr and Carl Sandburg No CR equivalent State support withdrawn 1 F40PH, SC-44 Charger, FP7, GP9, 4-6-0, 2-8-0, 2-6-2, or 2-8-2

3-5 Pioneer V or heavyweight coaches

1 Pioneer V business-cafe or heavyweight cafe car

1 Pioneer V cab car (non-steam trains)

N/A
Lake Shore Limited Supplement to Transcontinental Zephyr Re-routed to Grand Central Terminal 2 F40PHs or A-B-A FP7/9 set

1 baggage car

2-4 RPOs

3 sleepers

1 diner

1 dome lounge

3 coaches

1 dome observation

N/A
Lincoln Service No CR equivalent State support withdrawn 1 F40PH, GP9, 4-6-0, or 2-8-0

3-7 Pioneer V or heavyweight coaches

1 Pioneer V cafe/business or heavyweight cafe car

N/A
Maple Leaf No CR equivalent State support withdrawn, VIA Rail crew eliminated 1 F40PH (Toronto-Albany)

1 FL9 (Albany-New York)

1 Pioneer V cafe-business car

3-6 Pioneer V coaches

N/A
Missouri River Runner No CR equivalent State support withdrawn 1 F40PH, FP7, GP9, 4-6-0, or 2-8-0

3-5 Pioneer V or heavyweight coaches

1 Pioneer V cafe/business or heavyweight cafe car

N/A
New Haven-Springfield Shuttle No CR equivalent State support withdrawn, mail cars reinstated 1 F40PH

2-3 RPOs

1 Pioneer V coach

1 Pioneer V cab car

Hartford Line
Palmetto No CR equivalent Full dining car service instituted 1 ACS-64 (New York-Washington)

1 F40PH (Washington-Savannah)

1 baggage car

1 RPO

1 diner

3 coaches

1 observation lounge

N/A
Pennsylvanian Supplement to Broadway Limited State support withdrawn 1 ACS-64 (New York-Philadelphia)

1 F40PH (Philadelphia-Pittsburgh)

1 baggage car

4 Pioneer V coaches

1 Pioneer V cafe/business car

N/A
Pere Marquette No CR equivalent State support withdrawn 1 F40PH, SC-44 Charger, or FP7/9

3 Pioneer V coaches

1 Pioneer V cab car

N/A
San Joaquins No CR equivalent on Oakland-Bakersfield route State support withdrawn, single-level sets transferred to Mexican services, Sacramento service discontinued due to route from Sacramento-Stockton duplicating the Farmer 1 F40PH, F59PHi, or SC-44 Charger

3-6 California cars

1 California cab car

N/A
Southwest Chief No CR equivalent Equipment pool painted in ATSF colors A-B-B-A FP7/9 set

1 baggage car

1-3 RPOs

1 baggage/buffet/lounge car

3 sleepers

1 Pleasure Dome lounge

1 diner

1 dormitory/club/lounge car

3 sleepers

1 sleeper/lounge/observation car

Super Chief
Sunset Limited No CR equivalent Service to Orlando restored 2 F40PHs or A-B-B-A FP7/9 set

1 baggage car

1-3 RPOs

3 sleepers

1 diner

1 dome lounge

3 coaches

1 dome observation

N/A
Texas Eagle No CR equivalent None 2 F40PHs

1 baggage car

1 RPO

2 sleepers

1 diner

1 dome lounge

3 coaches

1 coach (runs between St. Louis and Chicago)

1 dome observation

N/A
Vermonter No CR equivalent Service to Montreal restored 2 F40PHs

1 baggage car

1-2 RPOs

3 sleepers

1 diner

1 dome lounge

3 coaches

1 dome observation

Montrealer (northbound)

Washingtonian (southbound)

Wolverine No CR equivalent None 1 F40PH

3-5 Pioneer V coaches

1 Pioneer V cafe/business car

1 Pioneer V cab car

N/A