Amtrak's Empire Builder down to five days a week

Amtrak’s Empire Builder, along with other routes, is back to a short schedule due to COVID-19.

After long-distance routes were cut early in the pandemic as the national passenger rail service cited declining passenger numbers due to COVID-19, seven-day-a-week service resumed in May after Congress appropriated funds specifically to restore service and directed Amtrak to return furloughed workers to their jobs.

That ended on the Empire Builder again this weekend, with trains not departing Chicago, Seattle and Portland Thursdays and Fridays, which means no service in Montana Friday and Saturday.

Amtrak said the reason is staffing challenges.

“Despite Amtrak’s rigorous vaccination and testing program, several hundred of our on-board service personnel, conductors, engineers, and mechanical crews continue to be impacted by COVID infections or exposures, particularly given the highly infectious nature of the new variant and the prevalence of breakthrough cases,” Amtrak said in a release earlier this month.

The service reduction to the Empire Builder, which also affects the Southwest Chief, California Zephyr, Coast Starlight, Crescent, Texas Eagle, Capitol Limited, Lake Shore Limited and City of New Orleans routes, is in effect through March 27.

The release said customers with existing reservations are being “reaccomodated.”

The service is continuing to monitor conditions and will make adjustments as needed, the release said.

The release says other cuts include suspension of 8% of Northeast Regional weekly departures to March 27; suspension of 6% of state-supported weekly departure to March 27, and suspension of Silver Meteor daily service to March 27 to be offset by a corresponding increase in capacity, as dictated by demand, on the Silver Star and Palmetto routes serving nearly all the destinations served by the Silver Meteor.