Amtrak Train Derailment - (Nodaway, IA - September 2002) » Amtrak

The name Amtrak is the blending of the words “American” and “Track”. The railroad’s official name is the National Railroad Passenger Corporation. Amtrak officially began service on May 1, 1971 with a schedule of 184 trains, serving 314 destinations. Amtrak took over the passenger operations of all but three railroads that continued their own intercity passenger train service for a period of time. They were the Rock Island Railroad, the Southern Railway, and the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad. The Southern Railway ceased operations of its Southern Crescent in 1979. Amtrak assumed the route, renaming it the Crescent. The Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad ceased passenger train operations in 1983. Amtrak re-routed its California Zephyr to cover the Denver & Rio Grande’s routes.

California Zephyr Amtrak Train

Since the beginning, even-numbered trains have traveled north and east. Oddnumbered trains travel south and west. Among the exceptions are Amtrak’s Surfliners, which use the opposite numbering system inherited from their former operator, the Santa Fe Railroad and some Empire Corridor Trains. Amtrak serves more than 500 stations in forty-five states. Those not included are Alaska, Hawaii, Maine, South Dakota, and Wyoming. Wyoming is served by Amtrak Thruway Motorcoaches and plans are being developed to serve Maine. Amtrak operates over more than 22,000 route miles with 25,000 employees. It owns 730 route miles, about 3% of the total nationwide, primarily between Boston and Washington, DC, and in Michigan; eighteen tunnels, and 1,165 bridges. In other parts of the country, Amtrak trains use tracks owned by freight railroads. On weekdays, Amtrak operates up to 265 trains per day, excluding commuter trains. These trains include 100 trains in the Amtrak Intercity business unit and 48 trains in the Amtrak West business unit (Washington, Oregon, and California). Amtrak trains operate every minute of the entire year.

Amtrak operates 2,188 railroad cars including 173 sleeper cars, 743 coach cars, 66 first class/business class cars, 65 dormitory/crew cars, 65 lounge/café/dinette cars, and 83 dining cars. Baggage and Mail and Express cars make up the remainder of the fleet. Amtrak also operates 343 locomotives, 278 diesels and 65 electric.

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