Amtrak Cancels All Long-Distance Trains as Freight Rail Strike Looms
(CNN) -- Some travelers are scrambling as a possible freight railroad strike interrupts service along Amtrak's long-distance routes.Negotiations are ongoing between unions and railroad companies.
If they don't come to an agreement, the first national rail strike in 30 years could start early Friday.While Amtrak is not involved in the negotiations, service has already been adjusted on track that could be affected by the dispute.
All long-distance Amtrak trains are canceled starting on Thursday, September 15.Here's what Amtrak passengers need to know about the situation: Is Amtrak striking?No. “The negotiations do not involve Amtrak or the Amtrak workforce,” Amtrak said in a statement earlier this week. So why is Amtrak canceling service?Amtrak is preemptively suspending some service because its track will be affected if freight rail workers go on strike.“Amtrak operates almost all of our 21,000 route miles outside the Northeast Corridor (NEC) on track owned, maintained, and dispatched by freight railroads,” said Marc Magliari, an Amtrak spokesman.The passenger rail carrier said it would only operate trains this week that it “can ensure will have enough time to reach their final destinations by 12:01 a.m.
on Friday, Sept. 16.” Will Acela service be affected?No. Amtrak said most travel within the Northeast corridor (Boston, New York, and Washington) would not be affected and Acela would operate a full schedule.
