Empire Builder back to seven days a week

After several months of shortened service, Amtrak’s Empire Builder soon will be running along the Hi-Line twice a day seven days a week.

Amtrak announced Monday that four of its seven long-distance trains including the Empire Builder, which runs along the Hi-Line between Chicago and Seattle and Portland, Oregon, would return to daily service May 23.

Some other services, such as the Northeast Regional, will be expanded immediately, an Amtrak release said.

“This announcement is long overdue, and it’s great news for folks living on the Hi-Line who depend on daily Amtrak service to support our state’s rural economies and to stay connected to family and friends,” Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., said in a statement. “I’ve been fighting to defend Montana from attempts to cripple Amtrak service in rural America, and I have been proud to lead the fight to return full, daily service to our state, which will grow our economy along our Northern Tier.”

Rail Passengers Association President and CEO Jim Mathews also praised the news.

“The Rail Passengers Association is thrilled that more Americans will be able to choose to travel by train this summer, and we applaud all the hard-working people at Amtrak who are busy restoring these essential transportation connections for the 500-plus Amtrak-served communities,” he asid. “We encourage Amtrak to continue to use the additional resources provided by the U.S. Congress to bring the entire network with all possible haste. With gas prices soaring, it is essential that Americans have quality access to passenger rail, which is a fuel-efficient alternative to overcrowded highways and expensive airlines.”

The service was reduced primarily due to a shortage of workers as the omicron variant of the virus that causes COVID-19 swept across the nation.

“Thanks to our dedicated existing employees and newly-hired staff, we are thrilled to expand our scheduled service just in time to meet customers’ rising demand for travel this summer,” said Stephen Gardner, CEO at Amtrak. “We are recruiting and training additional employees nationwide to accelerate our recovery from the pandemic and to support service growth. There’s never been a better time to come work at Amtrak.”

Some Amtrak routes continue to have reduced service. The release said Amtrak anticipates announcements later this spring on additional service increases/