Amtrak Adjusts Acela Express and Northeast Regional Schedules to Accommodate Track Work

Also Two New Acela Express Departures Added to Sunday Schedule

WASHINGTON - As Amtrak continues a number of track work projects to improve service in the Northeast, Acela Express and Northeast Regional (Washington – New York – Boston) passengers will see additional, temporary schedule changes beginning Monday, July 13, 2009. In addition, Amtrak is adding two new Acela Express departures to its regular Sunday schedule between New York and Boston, starting July 19, 2009.

The track work projects will improve the reliability of train service in the Northeast and will provide passengers with a more comfortable ride. To perform the necessary work, the number of available tracks will be reduced and trains will be single tracking — sharing tracks — as crews work to replace concrete railroad ties on the track that is not in service.

The track work is located between New York City and New Brunswick, NJ where only three tracks instead of four will be available at any one time. In addition, there will be track work east of New Haven, Conn. with single tracking between Guilford and Old Saybrook as only one of two tracks will be available through this area.

As a result, some southbound Acela Express and Northeast Regional trains will depart Boston earlier than previously scheduled and will depart early from stops between Boston and New Haven. These trains will depart New Haven en route to New York and Washington on their current schedules. Northbound Acela Express and Northeast Regional trains will depart New York on their current schedules but may arrive in Boston later than scheduled. Some Acela Express trains may wait near the work area for traffic to clear.

In addition, the ongoing renovation of the 100-year old Wilmington Station will affect weekend southbound Acela Express and Northeast Regional service. During the 18-month project, trains will arrive at all stations between Aberdeen, MD and Washington, DC, including Baltimore, four minutes later than currently scheduled on Saturdays and Sundays only. Northbound service will not be affected.

New Acela Express Departures

As a popularity of Acela Express continues to grow, beginning July 19, Amtrak will add two Acela Express departures on Sundays between New York and Boston, one northbound and one southbound. Acela Express 2258 will depart New York at 7:05 pm and arrive in Boston at 10:45 pm. Acela Express 2294 will depart Boston at 5:10 pm and arrive in New York at 8:45 pm.

Timetables

As a result of the numerous schedule changes that will occur this summer, schedules for service in the Northeast do not appear in Amtrak’s 2009 Spring-Summer System Timetable. Wallet cards have been printed for service between Washington and New York, Washington and Boston as well as Washington and Springfield, Mass. They are available at staffed Amtrak stations along those routes. Passengers may also log onto Amtrak.com, select the “Schedules” tab and print a wallet card of the current Northeast train schedules or call 800-USA-RAIL for the most up-to-date information. The printing of Northeast train schedules will resume in the 2009/2010 Fall-Winter Timetable.