Intended as a last minute fix to prevent the disappearance of the passenger train in America, Amtrak has been "America's Railroad" since the early 70s.

 

 

 

 

 

Type: Public

 

Service: Passenger

 

Fleet Size: 430-500 Locomotives, 2,210 Passenger Rolling Stock

 

Routes: Continuous United States except the States of Wyoming and South Dakota, Ontario and Quebec, Canada

 

Manufacturer and Powerplant: Amtrak with its government funding is able to keep its locomotives and rolling stock current.

 

Trackage Rights, Right-of-Way Agreements and Class: Amtrak operates over almost all Class I railroads in the U.S. however outside of the Northeast Corridor, Amtrak runs on privately owned track. Outside of the NEC Amtrak passenger trains are only given a short window of time where they are granted Right-of-Way priorities. If Amtrak trains miss this window they can be caught behind slow moving freight trains which causes major delays and fines.

 

 

 

 

 

Fare Collection: Tickets for Amtrak service are sold at rail stations where it has a presence. During the early years of Amtrak it was envisioned that all Amtrak stations would be "grand union stations" but this approach was abandoned when it was discovered it would not be economically feasible. Amtrak does own such stations but not many. Amtrak allows some of its NEC "competitors" to sell tickets alongside theirs.

 

 

 

 

 

Livery: The first years of Amtrak are called the "Rainbow Era" because Amtrak was formed in a large acquisition of local passenger rail companies. Because the rolling stock provided to Amtrak came from different companies they all had different liveries which made early Amtrak trains look like rainbows. In keeping with its branding as "America's Railroad" Amtrak livery has always maintained Red White and Blue on black or silver backdrop. Livery on Amtrak rolling stock can also vary depending on the location. Amtrak paint schemes are called Phases which change after a few years of service. There have currently been 5 phases. Amtrak passenger coaches "Amfleet" are still used heavily in the NEC because they fit underneath of catenary (overhead wires) and they do not need to be modified to be used with different locomotives. Amtrak service on the West Coast often uses its own train sets and unique paint schemes.

 

 

 

 

 

Notable Routes/Service:

 

 

The Acela Express is the only high speed service in the United States. Servicing only the NEC connecting Washington DC to Boston with high speed trainsets capable of speeds of 150 MPH. The Acela is however plagued with not being able to achieve these speeds because the Acela shares much of its route with slower commuter trains. Ridership has remained consistently high due to the ease of short trips by train over flying. Amtrak has plans to improve the service by adding more high speed train sets. Amtrak has been approached by Japanese industrial giants, Hitachi, Kawasaki Heavy Industries and Kenki Sharyo (all of whom have built at least one series of the famed Japanese Shinkansen "Bullet Train"s) to negotiate potentially exporting these models to America. Shinkansen claims these trains could connect Washington DC and New York City in under 30 minutes permitting exclusive High Speed Track Rights would in theory enable this to be a reality. It is rumored Amtrak is currently in negotiations to test new Shinkansen W7 Train Sets if given Federal Approval.

 

 

Amtrak Cascades links 18 cities in the Pacific Northwest utilizing specialized train sets to handle the steep mountain grades. Amtrak Cascades carries the most passengers in the Amtrak network outside of the NEC or California.

 

 

Amtrak's Northeast Regional is the busiest in the network carrying over 8 million passengers a year. Connecting Boston to Richmond, Virginia with over 35 stops in between. The service operates 18 trains a day and covers 600 miles in 12 hours.

 

 

The Pacific Surfliner is one of the two routes operated by Amtrak California. The line connects San Luis Obispo and San Diego and most of the 350 mile route stays close to the Pacific coastline which gives an amazing view. This is Amtrak's heaviest used line outside of the NEC.