134-774: The Gulf Wind was a streamlined passenger train inaugurated on July 31, 1949, as a joint operation by the Louisville and Nashville Railroad and the Seaboard Air Line Railroad ( Seaboard Coast Line after merger with the Atlantic Coast Line on July 1, 1967). The Gulf Wind replaced the heavyweight New Orleans - Florida Express on this routing. The Gulf Wind was a limited stops train and offered amenities such as dining cars and Pullman service. The train left Jacksonville at night and arrived in New Orleans in
268-550: A "quasi-public corporation" to take over the operation of intercity passenger trains. Matters were brought to a head on June 21, 1970, when the Penn Central , the largest railroad in the Northeastern United States and teetering on bankruptcy, filed to discontinue 34 of its passenger trains. In October 1970, Congress passed, and President Richard Nixon signed into law (against the objections of most of his advisors),
402-683: A "transitional CEO" who would reorganize Amtrak before turning it over to new leadership. On November 17, 2016, the Gateway Program Development Corporation (GDC) was formed for the purpose of overseeing and effectuating the rail infrastructure improvements known as the Gateway Program. GDC is a partnership of the States of New York and New Jersey and Amtrak. The Gateway Program includes the Hudson Tunnel Project, to build
536-582: A 1,200-+-900-horsepower (890 + 670 kW) cab/booster locomotive pulling nine cars of the same form. Automotive-styled cab/booster locomotive sets with 1,200-horsepower (890 kW) engines powered the Union Pacific's City of San Francisco and City of Denver sets. The two City of Denver sets started service two cars shorter than the M-10002 and M-10004 sets, with roomier and heavier straight-sided cars. The Union Pacific's initial streamliner service to
670-521: A day's pay for 100-to-150-mile (160 to 240 km) workdays. Streamliners covered that in two hours. Matters approached a crisis in the 1960s. Passenger service route-miles fell from 107,000 miles (172,000 km) in 1958 to 49,000 miles (79,000 km) in 1970, the last full year of private operation. The diversion of most United States Post Office Department mail from passenger trains to trucks, airplanes, and freight trains in late 1967 deprived those trains of badly needed revenue. In direct response,
804-649: A fuel similar to kerosene. The two trainsets were star attractions at the 1934 World's Fair (" A Century of Progress ") in Chicago, Illinois . During its set's demonstration period, the Union Pacific named the M-10000 as the Streamliner , providing the first use of the term with respect to trains. The Streamliner ' s publicity tour in February–May 1934 attracted over a million visitors and gained attention in national media as
938-564: A large overhang of debt from years of underfunding. In the mid-1990s, Amtrak suffered through a serious cash crunch. Under Downs, Congress included a provision in the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 that resulted in Amtrak receiving a $ 2.3 billion tax refund that resolved their cash crisis. However, Congress also instituted a "glide path" to financial self-sufficiency, excluding railroad retirement tax act payments. George Warrington became
1072-740: A more streamlined nose than do previous TGVs. In 2015, Eurostar began to operate the electric multiple unit (EMU) British Rail Class 374 , also known as the Eurostar e320, on its high-speed services through the Channel Tunnel . The train serves destinations beyond Eurostar's core routes to the Gare du Nord station in Paris and the Brussels-South railway station . Owned by Eurostar International Limited and capable of operating at 320 km/h (199 mph),
1206-613: A new tunnel under the Hudson River and rehabilitate the existing century-old tunnel, and the Portal North Bridge, to replace a century-old moveable bridge with a modern structure that is less prone to failure. Later projects of the Gateway Program, including the expansion of track and platforms at Penn Station New York, construction of the Bergen Loop and other improvements will roughly double capacity for Amtrak and NJ Transit trains in
1340-569: A rounded front that could run either singly or in multiple-unit sets, capable of speeds over 90 mph (145 km/h). Although Depression -era economics cut into sales, the design was highly successful in service, lasting into the 1980s. In 1925, the recently-formed Pullman Car & Manufacturing Corporation experimented with lightweight self-propelled railcars in co-operation with the Ford Motor Company concurrent with Ford's development of its Trimotor aircraft. In 1931, Pullman enlisted
1474-404: A rounded rear and round porthole style windows in a style that was as much nautically as aerodynamically inspired. The McKeen cars were unsuccessful because the internal combustion drive technology for that application was unreliable at the time. Further, the lightweight frames dictated by the cars' limited power tended to break. Streamlined rail motorcars would appear again in the early 1930s after
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#17328444350611608-536: A streamlined style. The South Manchuria Railway , which was under Japanese control at that time, also designed the Pashina class streamlined locomotive. The Railway operated the Asia Express , whose style was coordinated with that of Pashina locomotives. These streamlined steam locomotives took many man-hours to repair due to their casing. After the outbreak of World War II , the lack of an experienced labor force made
1742-557: A streamlined style. The selected locomotive was No. 43 of class C53. However Hideo Shima , the chief engineer of the conversion, thought streamlining had no practical effect on reducing air resistance, because Japanese trains at that time did not exceed a speed of 62 mph (100 km/h). Shima therefore designed the locomotive to create airflow that lifted exhaust smoke away from the locomotive. He had expected no practical effect on reducing air resistance completely, therefore he never tried to test fuel consumption or tractive force of
1876-528: A top speed of 112.5 mph (181.1 km/h). This was the fastest authenticated speed reached by a steam locomotive at the time, making #2 the rail speed record holder for steam and the first steam locomotive to top 110 mph (180 km/h). That record lasted until a German DRG Class 05 locomotive exceeded it the following year. The Illinois Central 121 trainset was the first of the Green Diamond streamliners running between Chicago and St Louis. It
2010-465: A whole and for manufacturers of motorized railcars whose primary markets, branch line services, were among the first to be cut. The interests of lightweight equipment manufacturers and rail operators therefore focused on the development of a new generation of lightweight, high speed, internal combustion-electric powered streamlined trainsets that were primarily designed for mainline service. The Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad (Burlington) and
2144-561: A year, its highest number since its founding in 1970. Politico noted a key problem: "the rail system chronically operates in the red. A pattern has emerged: Congress overrides cutbacks demanded by the White House and appropriates enough funds to keep Amtrak from plunging into insolvency. But, Amtrak advocates say, that is not enough to fix the system's woes." Joseph H. Boardman replaced Kummant as president and CEO in late 2008. In 2011, Amtrak announced its intention to improve and expand
2278-462: Is applied to high-speed railway trainsets of the 1930s to 1950s, and to their successor " bullet trains ". Less commonly, the term is applied to fully faired upright and recumbent bicycles . As part of the Streamline Moderne trend, the term was applied to passenger cars, trucks, and other types of light-, medium-, or heavy-duty vehicles, but now vehicle streamlining is so prevalent that it
2412-637: Is managed as a for-profit organization . The company's headquarters is located one block west of Union Station in Washington, D.C. Amtrak is headed by a Board of Directors, two of whom are the Secretary of Transportation and CEO of Amtrak, while the other eight members are nominated to serve a term of five years. Amtrak's network includes over 500 stations along 21,400 miles (34,000 km) of track. It directly owns approximately 623 miles (1,003 km) of this track and operates an additional 132 miles of track;
2546-603: Is not an outstanding characteristic. In land speed racing , it is a term applied to the long, slender, custom built, high-speed vehicles with enclosed wheels. The earliest known streamlined rail equipment in the United States were McKeen rail motorcars that the company built for the Union Pacific and the Southern Pacific Railroads between 1905 and 1917. Most McKeen cars sported a pointed "wind splitter" front,
2680-596: Is owned by New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the Connecticut Department of Transportation as the New Haven Line .) This mainline became Amtrak's "jewel" asset, and helped the railroad generate revenue. While the NEC ridership and revenues were higher than any other segment of the system, the cost of operating and maintaining the corridor proved to be overwhelming. As a result, Amtrak's federal subsidy
2814-575: Is powered by overhead lines ; for the rest of the system, diesel-fueled locomotives are used. Routes vary widely in the frequency of service, from three-days-a-week trains on the Sunset Limited to several times per hour on the Northeast Corridor. For areas not served by trains, Amtrak Thruway routes provide guaranteed connections to trains via buses, vans, ferries and other modes. The most popular and heavily used services are those running on
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#17328444350612948-400: Is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. states and three Canadian provinces . Amtrak is a portmanteau of the words America and track. Founded in 1971 as a quasi-public corporation to operate many U.S. passenger rail routes, Amtrak receives a combination of state and federal subsidies but
3082-596: The Burlington Zephyr . The two railroads' trains each entered service as three-car articulated sets (including the power car). The Winton Engine Corporation , a subsidiary of General Motors (GM) , manufactured the engines for both locomotives. The prime mover for the Burlington Zephyr' s diesel-electric propulsion was a new 600 hp diesel engine. The Union Pacific's M-10000 had a 600-horsepower (450 kW) spark-ignition engine that ran on "petroleum distillate",
3216-734: The California Zephyr between Oakland and Chicago via Denver and revived the Auto Train , a unique service that carries both passengers and their vehicles. Amtrak advertised it as a great way to avoid traffic along the I-95 running between Lorton, Virginia (near Washington, D.C.) and Sanford, Florida (near Orlando) on the Silver Star alignment. In 1980s and 1990s, stations in Baltimore, Chicago, and Washington, D.C. received major rehabilitation and
3350-594: The Pioneer Zephyr in honor of that train's status as the first of the fleet. In April 1935, two Twin Cities Zephyrs that bore the same three-car configuration entered service on the railroad's Chicago and Minneapolis-St. Paul route. Larger trainsets with more powerful Winton engines were built for the Burlington and put into service over longer routes. Twin-engine power units and eventually booster power units met
3484-750: The Twin Cities Hiawatha run. The Hudsons could cruise above 110 mph (177 km/h) and were said to exceed 120 mph (193 km/h) on occasion. Otto Kuhler designed the Milwaukee Road's speedsters with "shovel nose" styling. Some of the class 7's details were evocative of those of the Zephyrs . Also in 1937, the Electro-Motive Corporation (EMC)—later incorporated into GM's Electro-Motive Division (EMD) —started production of streamlined diesel-electric passenger locomotives, incorporating
3618-442: The 10 largest metropolitan areas and 83% of passengers travel on routes shorter than 400 miles (645 km). In 1916, 98% of all commercial intercity travelers in the United States moved by rail, and the remaining 2% moved by inland waterways . Nearly 42 million passengers used railways as primary transportation. Passenger trains were owned and operated by the same privately owned companies that operated freight trains. As
3752-472: The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway filed to discontinue 33 of its remaining 39 trains, ending almost all passenger service on one of the largest railroads in the country. The equipment the railroads had ordered after World War II was now 20 years old, worn out, and in need of replacement. As passenger service declined, various proposals were brought forward to rescue it. The 1961 Doyle Report proposed that
3886-1004: The COVID-19 pandemic , Amtrak continued operating as an essential service. It started requiring face coverings the week of May 17, and limited sales to 50% of capacity. Most long-distance routes were reduced to three weekly round trips in October 2020. In March 2021, following President Joe Biden's American Jobs Plan announcement, Amtrak CEO Bill Flynn outlined a proposal called Amtrak Connects US that would expand state-supported intercity corridors with an infusion of upfront capital assistance. This would expand service to cities including Las Vegas , Phoenix , Baton Rouge , Nashville , Chattanooga , Louisville , Columbus (Ohio) , Wilmington (North Carolina) , Cheyenne , Montgomery , Concord , and Scranton . Also in March 2021, Amtrak announced plans to return 12 of its long-distance routes to daily schedules later in
4020-642: The City of Denver trains. The train's cars then became spare equipment. The two City of Denver trainsets ( M–10005 and M–10006), after cannibalizing power from the M-10001 and M-10004 , remained in service until 1953. Class GG1 electric locomotives brought streamlined styling to the Pennsylvania Railroad 's fleet of electric locomotives in late 1934. Meanwhile, the Boston and Maine 's Flying Yankee , identical to
4154-644: The Denver Zephyr ' s six-cat sets to the Twin Cities Zephyr , transferring that train's original streamlined cars to other Burlington routes. The last of the classic Zephyrs was built for the Burlington's Kansas City–Saint Louis General Pershing Zephyr route. That trainset, which contained GM's newest 1,000-horsepower (750 kW) engine and conventional coupling, entered service in June 1939. The Burlington's original Zephyr trainsets remained in service in
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4288-629: The ETR 401 ("Pendolino") , the ETR 450 ("Pendolino") and the ETR 500 . Streamliner service temporarily ended in the United Kingdom with the outbreak of WWII. During the war, the LNER and LMS streamlined locomotives had part of their streamlining removed to aid maintenance. By the late 1940s and early 1950s, the state of the railways was improving as deteriorated track conditions caused by delayed maintenance work were corrected. The repairs and new improvements enabled
4422-465: The Gulf Wind in both directions from New Orleans to Flomaton. The consist of the Gulf Wind included baggage cars , coaches , and Pullman sleepers with a mix of rooms and traditional open sections, as well as an L&N diner between New Orleans and Mobile, and an SAL diner between Chattahoochee and Jacksonville. By 1955, modern roomettes were added to the consist. A round-ended observation car
4556-640: The Highway Trust Fund and Aviation Trust Fund paid for by user fees, highway fuel and road taxes, and, in the case of the General Fund, from general taxation. Gunn dropped most freight express business and worked to eliminate deferred maintenance. A plan by the Bush administration "to privatize parts of the national passenger rail system and spin off other parts to partial state ownership" provoked disagreement within Amtrak's board of directors. Late in 2005, Gunn
4690-529: The Hobart to Launceston expresses. Despite — or perhaps because of — the strategic priorities of World War II, some new streamliner locomotives were built in Australia during and immediately after the war. The first five New South Wales C38 class locomotives were modestly streamlined with distinctive conical noses, while the twelve South Australian Railways 520 class locomotives featured extravagant streamlining in
4824-422: The M-10000 as a three-car set until the railroad was retired the set in 1941. The trainset's 1942 scrapping provided Duralumin that was recycled for use in war-time military aircraft. The Union Pacific also commissioned the construction of five modified trainsets that had evolved from the initial M-10000 design. Those streamlined trains inaugurated the railroad's high-speed service out of Chicago while bearing
4958-755: The New York Central Railroad 's Ohio Xplorer and the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad 's Dan'l Webster . The pair were problematic and were withdrawn from service by 1960. GM 's project, originally called Train Y , was marketed as the Aerotrain . It featured a futuristic, automotive-styled EMD LWT12 diesel–electric locomotive pulling aluminum coaches adapted from GM's long-distance bus design. Two trainsets were produced in 1955 and were trialed by several railroads, but no orders were forthcoming. The two demonstration units were eventually sold to
5092-679: The Northlander until 1992. From 1961, the SBB used for TEE service the RAe TEE II , a set of five streamlined electric trains compatible with four different railway electrification systems . Italy used pre-war trains and new trains that the Italian State Railways—Ferrovie dello Stato (FS)—developed. The new trains included the FS Class ETR 250 ("Arlecchino") , the ETR 300 ("Settebello") ,
5226-631: The Pensacola and Atlantic Railroad , at times with three or four daily trains in each direction. In 1949, the L&;N and the SAL had a local train that arrived at its destinations in the early evening. This local train had no diner or lounge; besides coaches, it carried just baggage and mail cars. (The local train's predecessor, the New Orleans-Florida Express, had a dining car and sleeping cars.) The local
5360-495: The Portland–Seattle run until the railroad took it out of service again in March 1943. After running for 18 months as the City of San Francisco M-10004 , the locomotive spent six months being refurbished and then served from July 1938 as a second unit on the City of Los Angeles . The Union Pacific retired the locomotive in March 1939. The Union Pacific converted the M-10001 and M-10004 power units to additional boosters for
5494-654: The Railplane encouraged the railroad to increase its efforts in partnership with Pullman-Standard. In 1931, the Budd Company reached an agreement with the French tire company Michelin to produce pneumatic-tired rail motorcars in the US, as an improvement on the heavy, underpowered and shimmy-prone " doodlebugs " that ran on American tracks. In that endeavor, Budd would produce lightweight rail equipment utilizing unibody construction and
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5628-613: The Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976. A large part of the legislation was directed to the creation of Conrail , but the law also enabled the transfer of the portions of the NEC not already owned by state authorities to Amtrak. Amtrak acquired the majority of the NEC on April 1, 1976. (The portion in Massachusetts is owned by the Commonwealth and managed by Amtrak. The route from New Haven to New Rochelle
5762-551: The Rock Island Line , which was already operating an EMD LWT12 paired with Talgo II cars from ACF Industries as the Jet Rocket . Rock Island operated them in commuter service until 1966. The Speed Merchant project also produced only two examples. They consisted of Fairbanks-Morse P-12-42 locomotives paired with Talgo II cars from ACF Industries, and were used by the Boston and Maine Railroad for commuter service and by
5896-473: The aluminum trains are sixteen-unit versions of the Siemens Velaro . High-speed steam service continued in the United States after World War II, but became increasingly uneconomical. The New York Central's Super Hudsons went out of service in 1948 as the line converted to diesel for passenger service. The Milwaukee Road retired its high speed Hiawatha steam locomotives between 1949 and 1951. The last of
6030-542: The internal combustion-electric propulsion technology that General Electric developed and that the Electro-Motive Company (EMC) promoted became the accepted technology for use rail motorcars in the 1920s. Streetcar builders sought to build electric cars with improved speed for interurban lines through the 1920s. In 1931, the J. G. Brill Company introduced the Bullet , a lightweight, wind-tunnel designed car with
6164-497: The 20th century progressed, patronage declined in the face of competition from buses , air travel , and the car . New streamlined diesel-powered trains such as the Pioneer Zephyr were popular with the traveling public but could not reverse the trend. By 1940, railroads held 67 percent of commercial passenger-miles in the United States. In real terms, passenger-miles had fallen by 40% since 1916, from 42 billion to 25 billion. Traffic surged during World War II , which
6298-434: The California corridor trains accounted for a combined 2.35 million passengers in fiscal year 2021. Other popular routes include the Empire Service between New York City and Niagara Falls , via Albany and Buffalo , which carried 613.2 thousand passengers in fiscal year 2021, and the Keystone Service between New York City and Harrisburg via Philadelphia that carried 394.3 thousand passengers that same year. Four of
6432-416: The Chicago-Miami South Wind . Heading westbound, the Gulf Wind joined onto Louisville & Nashville's Pan-American at Flomaton, Alabama . On the eastbound trip, the Gulf Wind ran from New Orleans to Flomaton along with the Southern Railway 's Piedmont Limited , and at Flomaton departed as its own train. After the Southern Railway discontinued the Piedmont Limited, the Pan-American carried
6566-402: The DOT's analysis was far too optimistic, with director George Shultz arguing to cut the number of routes by around half. Nixon agreed with Shultz, and the public draft presented by Volpe on November 30 consisted of only 16 routes. The initial reaction to this heavily-cut-back proposed system from the public, the press, and congressmen was strongly negative. It made front-page headlines across
6700-407: The Dutch NS procured five diesel-electric RAm TEE I (Swiss) and NS DE4 (Dutch) trainsets for Zürich - Amsterdam and Amsterdam- Brussels -Paris services. One set was lost in an accident 1971. The remaining four sets operated as TEE trains until 1974, were transferred to Canada for use on the Ontario Northland Railway (ONR) in 1976. The ONR operated three trains on its Toronto – Moosonee line as
6834-399: The Empire Connection tunnel opened in 1991, allowing Amtrak to consolidate all New York services at Penn Station. Despite the improvements, Amtrak's ridership stagnated at roughly 20 million passengers per year, amid uncertain government aid from 1981 to about 2000. In the early 1990s, Amtrak tested several different high-speed trains from Europe on the Northeast Corridor. An X 2000 train
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#17328444350616968-478: The NEC and rises in automobile fuel costs. The inauguration of the high-speed Acela in late 2000 generated considerable publicity and led to major ridership gains. However, through the late 1990s and very early 21st century, Amtrak could not add sufficient express freight revenue or cut sufficient other expenditures to break even. By 2002, it was clear that Amtrak could not achieve self-sufficiency, but Congress continued to authorize funding and released Amtrak from
7102-525: The NEC, including the Acela and Northeast Regional . The NEC runs between Boston and Washington, D.C. via New York City and Philadelphia. Some services continue into Virginia . The NEC services accounted for 4.4 million of Amtrak's 12.2 million passengers in fiscal year 2021. Outside the NEC the most popular services are the short-haul corridors in California, the Pacific Surfliner , Capitol Corridor , and San Joaquins , which are supplemented by an extensive network of connecting buses. Together
7236-813: The NRPC as a politically expedient way for the President and Congress to give passenger trains a "last hurrah" as demanded by the public. They expected the NRPC to quietly disappear as public interest waned. After Fortune magazine exposed the manufactured mismanagement in 1974, Louis W. Menk , chairman of the Burlington Northern Railroad , remarked that the story was undermining the scheme to dismantle Amtrak. Proponents also hoped that government intervention would be brief and that Amtrak would soon be able to support itself. Neither view had proved to be correct; popular support allowed Amtrak to continue in operation longer than critics imagined, while financial results made passenger train service returning to private railroad operations infeasible. The Rail Passenger Service Act gave
7370-421: The NRPC had hired Lippincott & Margulies to create a brand for it and replace its original working brand name of Railpax. On March 30, L&M's work was presented to the NRPC's board of incorporators, who unanimously agreed on the "headless arrow" logo and on the new brand name "Amtrak", a portmanteau of the words America and trak , the latter itself a sensational spelling of track . The name change
7504-414: The Navy and retired Southern Railway head William Graham Claytor Jr. came out of retirement to lead Amtrak. During his time at Southern, Claytor was a vocal critic of Amtrak's prior managers, who all came from non-railroading backgrounds. Transportation Secretary Drew Lewis cited this criticism as a reason why the Democrat Claytor was acceptable to the Reagan White House. Despite frequent clashes with
7638-459: The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad's John Quincy Adams . Both were retired by 1964. In 1956, the Budd Company produced a single streamlined, lightweight, six car DMU trainset that the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad operated as the Roger Williams . After a short period of time in high speed service, the train was split up and the cars were used in service with the New Haven's other RDCs . The advent of jet air travel in
7772-447: The Northeast Corridor, some of which connect to it or are extensions from it. In addition to its inter-city services, Amtrak also operates commuter services under contract for three public agencies: the MARC Penn Line in Maryland, Shore Line East in Connecticut, and Metrolink in Southern California. Service on the Northeast Corridor (NEC), between Boston , and Washington, D.C. , as well as between Philadelphia and Harrisburg ,
7906-498: The Northeast Corridor, state-supported short-haul service outside the Northeast Corridor, and medium- and long-haul service known within Amtrak as the National Network. Amtrak receives federal funding for the vast majority of its operations including the central spine of the Northeast Corridor as well as for its National Network routes. In addition to the federally funded routes, Amtrak partners with transportation agencies in 18 states to operate other short and medium-haul routes outside of
8040-406: The November 30th draft. These required routes only had their endpoints specified; the selection of the actual routes to be taken between the endpoints was left to the NRPC, which had just three months to decide them before it was due to start service. Consultants from McKinsey & Company were hired to perform this task, and their results were publicly announced on March 22. At the same time,
8174-423: The Pennsylvania Railroad's class K4 locomotives. In 1937, Otto Kuhler used a variation of the bullet-front design on a 4-6-2 locomotive constructed for the Baltimore & Ohio 's streamlined Royal Blue . Henry Dreyfuss used a similar variation for the J-3a Super Hudsons that pulled the 20th Century Limited and other NYC express trains. In 1937, the Milwaukee Road introduced the class F7 Hudsons on
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#17328444350618308-539: The Pennsylvania Railroad's short-lived T1 class locomotives went out of service in 1952. All of those iconic locomotives were scrapped. The last steam streamliners built were three Norfolk and Western class J locomotives in 1950, which operated until 1959. In 1951, the Interstate Commerce Commission implemented regulations restricting most trains to speeds of 79 mph (127 km/h) or below unless automatic train stop , automatic train control , or cab signalling were installed. The new regulations minimized one of
8442-474: The Rail Passenger Service Act. Proponents of the bill, led by the National Association of Railroad Passengers (NARP), sought government funding to ensure the continuation of passenger trains. They conceived the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (NRPC), a quasi-public corporation that would be managed as a for-profit organization , but which would receive taxpayer funding and assume operation of intercity passenger trains – while many involved in drafting
8576-473: The Reagan administration over funding, Claytor enjoyed a good relationship with Lewis, John H. Riley , the head of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), and with members of Congress. Limited funding led Claytor to use short-term debt to fund operations. Building on mechanical developments in the 1970s, high-speed Washington–New York Metroliner Service was improved with new equipment and faster schedules. Travel time between New York and Washington, D.C.
8710-449: The SAL rails met those of the L&N. With a schedule designed for passengers changing to or from the Seaboard's Silver Meteor at Jacksonville, the Gulf Wind originally departed both endpoints at 5 p.m. daily for the overnight run across the Florida Panhandle and along the Gulf Coast , arriving in the morning at the other end of the line. The name was likely inspired by the success of another train carried partly over L&N rails,
8844-401: The Secretary of Transportation, at that time John A. Volpe , thirty days to produce an initial draft of the endpoints of the routes the NRPC would be required by law to serve for four years. On November 24 Volpe presented his initial draft consisting of 27 routes to Nixon, which he believed would make a $ 24 million profit by 1975. The Office of Management and Budget , however, believed Volpe and
8978-405: The Union Pacific sought to increase the efficiency of their passenger services by looking to the lightweight, petroleum-powered technology that Budd and Pullman-Standard were developing. The Union Pacific named its project the M-10000 (designated first as The Streamliner and later as the City of Salina when in revenue service from 1935 to 1941). The Burlington initially named its first train
9112-399: The advantages of diesel became compelling enough for a growing number of rail lines to select diesel over steam for new passenger equipment. The power and top speed advantages of state-of-the-art steam locomotives were more than offset by diesel's advantages in service flexibility, downtime, maintenance costs and economic efficiency for most operators. The American Locomotive Company (ALCO),
9246-455: The bill did not believe the NRPC would actually be profitable, this was necessary in order for the White House and more conservative members of Congress to support the bill. There were several key provisions: Of the 26 railroads still offering intercity passenger service in 1970, only six declined to join the NRPC. Nearly everyone involved expected the experiment to be short-lived. The Nixon administration and many Washington insiders viewed
9380-422: The boiler in shrouding, streamlining of the GS-3/GS-4 series locomotives consisted of skyline casing flush with the smokestack and smoke-lifting skirting along the boiler that left the silver-painted smokebox on full display. The trend of streamliners also came to Japan. In 1934, the Ministry of Railways ( Japanese Government Railways , JGR) decided to convert one of its 3-cylinder steam locomotives class C53 into
9514-489: The builder of the Hiawatha speedsters, saw diesel as the future of passenger service and introduced streamlined locomotives influenced by the design of the E units in 1939 . The replacement of steam with diesel power was interrupted by the US entry into World War II, with a military premium on diesel technology that stopped all production of diesel locomotives for passenger service between September 1942 and January 1945. Streamlined steam locomotives continued to be produced into
9648-433: The busiest, most complex section of the Northeast Corridor. In June 2017, it was announced that former Delta and Northwest Airlines CEO Richard Anderson would become Amtrak's next President & CEO. Anderson began the job on July 12, assuming the title of President immediately and serving alongside Moorman as "co-CEOs" until the end of the year. On April 15, 2020, Atlas Air Chairman, President and CEO William Flynn
9782-479: The converted locomotive. The Japanese government planned to use this one converted streamline locomotive on the passenger express route between Osaka and Nagoya. The converted locomotive gained much popularity from the public. JGR therefore decided to build 21 new streamlined versions of the class C55 locomotive . Additionally, JGR built 3 streamlined class EF55 electric locomotives. Kiha-43000 diesel multiple units and Moha-52 electric multiple units also received
9916-434: The corridor to make it suitable for higher-speed electric trains. The Northend Electrification Project extended existing electrification from New Haven, Connecticut , to Boston to complete the overhead power supply along the 454-mile (731 km) route, and several grade crossings were improved or removed. Ridership increased during the first decade of the 21st century after the implementation of capital improvements in
10050-523: The country and it was quickly leaked that the DOT had wanted a far larger system than the White House would approve of. The ICC produced its own report on December 29, criticising the proposed draft and arguing for the inclusion of fifteen additional routes, giving further ammunition to the congressmen who wanted an expanded system. Further wrangling between the DOT and the White House produced the final list of routes on January 28, 1971, adding five additional routes to
10184-637: The earlier EMC 1800 hp B-B development design locomotives, the twin-engine format and multiple-unit control systems that facilitated cab/booster locomotive sets. The E-units brought sufficient power for full-sized trains such as the B&;O Capitol Limited , the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway 's (AT&SF's) Super Chief , and the Union Pacific's upgraded City of Los Angeles and City of San Francisco , which challenged steam power in all aspects of passenger service. EMC introduced standardized production to
10318-606: The early postwar era. Among the most distinctive were the Pennsylvania Railroad's duplex-drive 6-4-4-6 type S1 and 4-4-4-4 type T1 locomotives that Raymond Loewy styled. In terms of service longevity, the most successful were the Southern Pacific GS-3 Daylight locomotives introduced in 1938 and the Norfolk and Western class J locomotives introduced in 1941. In contrast to designs that completely encased
10452-532: The evening, as the Express had done. Prior to the establishment of the Gulf Wind the New Orleans-Florida Express had a counterpart train, the New Orleans-Florida Limited, which left Jacksonville in the morning. For much of the twentieth century, one or two other passenger trains, numbered but unnamed, also plied this route daily; these were much-slower local trains, stopping at each small town along
10586-480: The ex- New York Central Railroad 's Water Level Route from New York to Ohio and Grand Trunk Western Railroad 's Chicago to Detroit route. The reduced passenger train schedules created confusion amongst staff. At some stations, Amtrak service was available only late at night or early in the morning, prompting complaints from passengers. Disputes with freight railroads over track usage caused some services to be rerouted, temporarily cancelled, or replaced with buses. On
10720-459: The following years. After its Worlds Fair display and a nationwide demonstration tour, the Zephyr entered revenue service between Kansas City, Missouri, and Lincoln, Nebraska, on 11 November 1934. A total of nine Zephyr trainsets were built for the Burlington between 1934 and 1939. Each ran as named trains on various Burlington midwestern routes. The Burlington later renamed the Burlington Zephyr as
10854-405: The herald of a new era in rail transportation. On 26 May 1934, the Burlington's Zephyr made a record-breaking "Dawn to Dusk" run from Denver, Colorado , to Chicago for its grand entry as a Century of Progress exhibit. The Zephyr covered the distance in 13 hours, reaching a top speed of 112.5 mph (181.1 km/h) and running an average speed of 77.6 mph (124.9 km/h). The fuel for
10988-467: The high strength alloy stainless steel , enabled by shot welding , a breakthrough in electrical welding technique. The venture produced articulated power-trailer car sets with streamlined styling, which left the Budd Company just a (much) more powerful engine away from producing a history-making streamlined trainset. The Great Depression caused a catastrophic loss of business for the rail industry as
11122-611: The high-speed rail corridor from Penn Station in NYC, under the Hudson River in new tunnels, and double-tracking the line to Newark, NJ , called the Gateway Program , initially estimated to cost $ 13.5 billion (equal to $ 18 billion in 2023). From May 2011 to May 2012, Amtrak celebrated its 40th anniversary with festivities across the country that started on National Train Day (May 7, 2011). A commemorative book entitled Amtrak: An American Story
11256-690: The job, he is the second-longest serving head of Amtrak since it was formed more than 40 years ago. On December 9, 2015, Boardman announced in a letter to employees that he would be leaving Amtrak in September 2016. He had advised the Amtrak Board of Directors of his decision the previous week. On August 19, 2016, the Amtrak Board of Directors named former Norfolk Southern Railway President & CEO Charles "Wick" Moorman as Boardman's successor with an effective date of September 1, 2016. During his term, Moorman took no salary and said that he saw his role as one of
11390-774: The key advantages of rail travel over the automobile, which became an increasingly attractive alternative as postwar construction of highway systems progressed. Rail operators marketed their services on the basis of luxurious sightseeing, as airlines increasingly competed with rail lines for long-distance travel. In the mid-1950s, there were several attempts to revive the lightweight custom streamliner concept. None of these projects achieved any lasting impact on passenger service. The Train X project, first promoted by Robert R. Young no later than 1948, resulted in low-profile Baldwin RP-210 locomotives paired with articulated aluminum cars from Pullman-Standard . Two trainsets were built in 1956 for
11524-533: The late 1950s brought forth a new round of price competition from airlines for long-distance travel, severely affecting the ridership and profitability of long-distance passenger rail service. Government regulations forced railroads to continue to operate passenger rail service, even on long routes where, the railroads argued, it was almost impossible to make a profit. Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation , doing business as Amtrak ( / ˈ æ m t r æ k / ; reporting marks AMTK , AMTZ ),
11658-590: The lightweight carbody construction and raked, rounded front end introduced with the Zephyr and the high-mounted, behind-the-nose cab of the M-1000x locomotives. One of the first, EMC's TA , was a 1,200-horsepower (890 kW) version produced for the Rock Island Rockets , a series of six lightweight, semi-articulated three and four-car trainsets. EMC/EMD manufactured streamlined E-unit diesel-electric locomotives from 1937 to 1963. These incorporated two features of
11792-591: The limitations of the locomotives' technology when meeting the demands of long-distance and higher capacity service. The M-10001 ran for only 32 months as the City of Portland before it was replaced, re-entered service on the Portland–Seattle run and retired in June 1939. Similarly, the M-10002 spent 19 months as the Union Pacific's City of Los Angeles , 39 months as the City of Portland and ten months out of service starting in July 1941. The locomotive then served on
11926-461: The locomotive industry, with its attendant economies of scale and simplified processes for ordering, producing and servicing locomotives. As a result, EMC was able to offer a variety of support services that decreased technological and initial cost barriers that would otherwise deter conversions to diesel-electric power. With power and reliability of new diesel-electric units improved with the 2,000-horsepower (1,500 kW) EMC E3 locomotive in 1938,
12060-423: The names City of Portland (June 1935), City of Los Angeles (May 1936), City of San Francisco (June 1936) and City of Denver (June 1936). The M-10001 set had a single power unit that contained a 1,200-horsepower (890 kW) Winton diesel engine. The power unit pulled six tapered low-profile cars that had the form of the original three-car M-10000 trainset. The M-10002 ' s set consisted of
12194-523: The original Zephyr, entered service between Boston and Portland, Maine , on 1 April 1935. The Gulf, Mobile and Northern Railroad Rebel trainsets were similar to the Zephyr in form, but were not articulated. Designed by Otto Kuhler , the ALCO powered diesel-electrics that the American Car and Foundry Company constructed were placed into service on 10 July 1935. While streamlining on steam locomotives
12328-607: The other hand, the creation of the Los Angeles–Seattle Coast Starlight from three formerly separate train routes was an immediate success, resulting in an increase to daily service by 1973. Needing to operate only half the train routes that had operated previously, Amtrak would lease around 1,200 of the best passenger cars from the 3,000 that the private railroads owned. All were air-conditioned, and 90% were easy-to-maintain stainless steel. When Amtrak took over, passenger cars and locomotives initially retained
12462-471: The overall market share fell to 46% by 1950, and then 32% by 1957. The railroads had lost money on passenger service since the Great Depression , but deficits reached $ 723 million in 1957. For many railroads, these losses threatened financial viability. The causes of this decline were heavily debated. The National Highway System and airports , both funded by the government, competed directly with
12596-433: The paint schemes and logos of their former owners which resulted in Amtrak running trains with mismatched colors – the "Rainbow Era". In mid-1971, Amtrak began purchasing some of the equipment it had leased, including 286 EMD E and F unit diesel locomotives, 30 GG1 electric locomotives and 1,290 passenger cars. By 1975, the official Amtrak color scheme was painted on most Amtrak equipment and newly purchased locomotives and
12730-504: The postwar era. The railroad retired the last of its six-car sets in 1968 after using it as the Nebraska Zephyr . On 31 January 1935, the Union Pacific's three-car M-10000 went into service between Kansas City, Missouri , and Salina, Kansas , as The Streamliner . The train subsequently became the City of Salina under the railroad's naming convention for its expanding fleet of diesel-powered streamliners. The Union Pacific operated
12864-660: The private railroads pool their services into a single body. Similar proposals were made in 1965 and 1968 but failed to attract support. The federal government passed the High Speed Ground Transportation Act of 1965 to fund pilot programs in the Northeast Corridor , but this did nothing to address passenger deficits. In late 1969, multiple proposals emerged in the United States Congress , including equipment subsidies, route subsidies, and, lastly,
12998-467: The problems worse. As a result, many of the locomotives had their casings removed. Streamliner locomotives arrived relatively late in Australia. In 1937 streamlined casings were fitted on four Victorian Railways S class locomotives for the Spirit of Progress service between Melbourne and Albury . Similar casings were then fitted on two Tasmanian Government Railways R class narrow-gauge locomotives for
13132-407: The railroads, which, unlike the airline, bus, and trucking companies, paid for their own infrastructure. American car culture was also on the rise in the post-World War II years. Progressive Era rate regulation limited the railroad's ability to turn a profit. Railroads also faced antiquated work rules and inflexible relationships with trade unions. To take one example, workers continued to receive
13266-458: The railways to provide additional mainline trackage for high speed trains. The first experiments with diesel streamliner services in the United Kingdom were the Blue Pullman trains introduced in 1960 and withdrawn in 1973. These provided 90-mile-per-hour (140 km/h) luxury business services, but were marginally successful and ran only a little faster than mainstream services. The Blue Pullman
13400-594: The remaining mileage is over rail lines owned by other railroad companies. While most track speeds are limited to 79 mph (127 km/h) or less, several lines have been upgraded to support top speeds of 110 mph (180 km/h), and parts of the Northeast Corridor support top speeds of 160 mph (260 km/h). In fiscal year 2022, Amtrak served 22.9 million passengers and had $ 2.1 billion in revenue, with more than 17,100 employees as of fiscal year 2021. Nearly 87,000 passengers ride more than 300 Amtrak trains daily. Nearly two-thirds of passengers come from
13534-443: The requirement. In early 2002, David L. Gunn replaced Warrington as seventh president. In a departure from his predecessors' promises to make Amtrak self-sufficient in the short term, Gunn argued that no form of passenger transportation in the United States is self-sufficient as the economy is currently structured. Highways, airports, and air traffic control all require large government expenditures to build and operate, coming from
13668-532: The rolling stock began appearing. Amtrak inherited problems with train stations (most notably deferred maintenance ) and redundant facilities from the competing railroads that once served the same communities. Chicago is a prime example; on the day prior to Amtrak's inception, intercity passenger trains used four different Chicago terminals: LaSalle , Dearborn , North Western Station , Central , and Union. The trains at LaSalle remained there, as their operator Rock Island could not afford to opt into Amtrak. Of all
13802-438: The route, and were labeled simply as "passenger, mail, and express " in timetables. The Express, contrary to its name, made stops at small towns; while the Gulf Wind made fewer stops, mainly in larger towns and cities. The train's 617-mile route ran from Jacksonville, Florida via Tallahassee , Chattahoochee , Pensacola , Flomaton , Mobile , and Biloxi to New Orleans . Locomotives were changed at Chattahoochee, where
13936-485: The run cost US$ 14.64 at 4¢ per U.S. gallon (equivalent to $ 333 and $ 9 per gallon respectively in 2023 after inflation). The Burlington's event was covered live on radio and drew large, cheering crowds as the "silver streak" zipped by. Adding to the sensation of the Zephyr were the striking appearance of its fluted stainless steel bodywork and its raked, rounded, aerodynamic front end that symbolized its modernity. The train's design echoed in steam locomotive styling throughout
14070-468: The schedule. Amtrak uses a sliding scale, with trips under 250 miles (400 km) considered late if they are more than 10 minutes behind schedule, up to 30 minutes for trips over 551 miles (887 km) in length. Outside the Northeast Corridor and stretches of track in Southern California and Michigan, most Amtrak trains run on tracks owned and operated by privately owned freight railroads. BNSF
14204-720: The services of the Trimotor design contributor William Bushnell Stout to apply airplane fuselage design concepts to railcars. The result was the Railplane (not the Bennie Railplane ), a streamlined self-propelled railcar with a tapered cross-section, lightweight tubular aluminum space frame and duralumin skin. In testing with the Gulf, Mobile and Northern Railroad in 1932, it reportedly reached 90 mph (145 km/h). The Union Pacific had been seeking improvements to self-propelled railcars based on European design ideas. The performance of
14338-461: The set in 1950. The visual styling of the new trainsets made the existing fleets of locomotives and railcars suddenly look obsolete. Rail lines soon responded by adding streamlined shrouding and varying degrees of mechanical improvement to older locomotives and re-styling heavyweight cars. The first American steam locomotive to receive that treatment was one of the New York Central Railroad 's (NYC's) J-1 Hudson class locomotives built in 1930, which
14472-508: The six busiest stations by boardings are on the NEC: New York Penn Station (first), Washington Union Station (second), Philadelphia 30th Street Station (third), and Boston South Station (fifth). The other two are Chicago Union Station (fourth) and Los Angeles Union Station (sixth). On-time performance is calculated differently for airlines than for Amtrak. A plane is considered on-time if it arrives within 15 minutes of
14606-498: The sixth president in 1998, with a mandate to make Amtrak financially self-sufficient. Under Warrington, the company tried to expand into express freight shipping, placing Amtrak in competition with the "host" freight railroads and the trucking industry . On March 9, 1999, Amtrak unveiled its plan for the Acela Express, a high-speed train on the Northeast Corridor between Washington, D.C. and Boston. Several changes were made to
14740-568: The speed record that the first DMU "Flying Hamburger" had set 1933 traveling between Hamburg and Berlin. A TGV high-speed test train set a world record for the fastest wheeled train, reaching 575 km/h (357 mph) in 2007. Conventional TGV services operate at up to 322 km/h (200 mph) on the LGV Est , LGV Rhin-Rhône and LGV Méditerranée . The power cars of the TGV Euroduplex (2N2) , which began commercial operations in 2011, have
14874-754: The spring. Most of these routes were restored to daily service in late-May 2021. However, a resurgence of the virus caused by the Omicron variant caused Amtrak to modify and/or suspend many of these routes again from January to March 2022. Amtrak is required by law to operate a national route system. Amtrak has presence in 46 of the 48 contiguous states, as well as the District of Columbia (with only thruway connecting services in Wyoming and no services in South Dakota ). Amtrak services fall into three groups: short-haul service on
15008-629: The style of the Pennsylvania Railroad 's T1 . In all cases, the streamlining on Australian steam locomotives were purely aesthetic, with negligible impacts on train speeds. In Europe, the streamliner tradition gained new life after World War II . In Germany, DRG Class SVT 137 trains resumed service, but at slower speeds than before the war. Based on the Kruckenberg SVT 137, the Deutsche Bundesbahn 's (DB's) streamlined diesel-electric Class VT 11.5 (later renamed to DB Class 601) built in 1957
15142-431: The system with an aim to reduce costs, speed construction, and improve its corporate image. However, the cash-strapped railroad would ultimately build relatively few of these standard stations. Amtrak soon had the opportunity to acquire rights-of-way. Following the bankruptcy of several northeastern railroads in the early 1970s, including Penn Central, which owned and operated the Northeast Corridor (NEC), Congress passed
15276-626: The trains serving Dearborn Station, Amtrak retained only a pair of Santa Fe trains, which relocated to Union Station beginning with the first Amtrak departures on May 1, 1971. Dearborn Station closed after the last pre-Amtrak trains on the Santa Fe arrived in Chicago on May 2. None of the intercity trains that had served North Western Station became part of the Amtrak system, and that terminal became commuter-only after May 1. The trains serving Central Station continued to use that station until an alternate routing
15410-623: The trainsets' additional power requirements. The Burlington's four-car Mark Twain Zephyr entered revenue service in October 1935 on the railroad's Saint Louis– Burlington, Iowa , route. Two partially-articulated six-car trainsets entered service in May 1936 on the Burlington's Denver Zephyr route, which connected Chicago and Denver. The Burlington then replaced those sets with a pair of partially-articulated ten-car trainsets in November 1936. The Burlington moved
15544-471: The west coast consisted of five runs monthly for each route. The railroad maintained its daily overnight service on the Chicago–Denver run by assigning three locomotive sets for two trains. The railroad then augmented that stable with locomotive equipment taken from other runs. Despite the breakthrough schedule times of the long-distance M-1000x "City" trains, the records of the Union Pacific's fleet reflected
15678-597: Was a five-unit (including power car) articulated trainset for day service. The Pullman-built set had the same power format and 1,200-horsepower (890 kW) Winton diesel engine as M-10001, with some style aspects that resembled the later M1000x trainsets. The Illinois Central ran the 121 trainset on the Green Diamond from May 1936 to 1947. After an overhaul, the railroad placed the set on the Jackson Mississippi–New Orleans run until it retired and scrapped
15812-459: Was adopted in March 1972. In New York City , Amtrak had to maintain two stations ( Penn and Grand Central ) due to the lack of track connections to bring trains from upstate New York into Penn Station; a problem that was rectified once the Empire Connection was built in 1991. The Amtrak Standard Stations Program was launched in 1978 and proposed to build a standardized station design across
15946-458: Was again suspended in 2005 when Hurricane Katrina did extensive damage to the Gulf Coast. Passenger service had not resumed as of 2016. In 2016 and 2017, Gulf Coast regional officials agitated for restoration of daily train service between New Orleans and Florida. Streamliner A streamliner is a vehicle incorporating streamlining in a shape providing reduced air resistance . The term
16080-414: Was aided by troop movement and gasoline rationing . The railroad's market share surged to 74% in 1945, with a massive 94 billion passenger-miles. After the war, railroads rejuvenated their overworked and neglected passenger fleets with fast and luxurious streamliners. These new trains brought only temporary relief to the overall decline. Even as postwar travel exploded, passenger travel percentages of
16214-557: Was also a regular part of the Gulf Wind consist. In December 1967, the first winter season of the merged Seaboard Coast Line Railroad , the train was the last, along with the company's Silver Star , to have open section sleepers, along with roomettes and other rooms. By the December 1968 schedule, the L&N and the SCL had dropped sleepers from the Gulf Wind altogether. Passenger service existed on this route from its construction in 1882 by
16348-424: Was eliminated in 1966. In the train's final year, from 1970 to April 1971, the L&N and Seaboard Coast Line made the Gulf Wind a three departures a week train. The last run of the Gulf Wind occurred on April 30, 1971. Amtrak , which took over nearly all passenger train operations in the United States on the following day, elected not to continue running the Gulf Wind , which despite good equipment and service
16482-609: Was fired. Gunn's replacement, Alexander Kummant (2006–08), was committed to operating a national rail network, and like Gunn, opposed the notion of putting the Northeast Corridor under separate ownership. He said that shedding the system's long-distance routes would amount to selling national assets that are on par with national parks, and that Amtrak's abandonment of these routes would be irreversible. In late 2006, Amtrak unsuccessfully sought annual congressional funding of $ 1 billion for ten years. In early 2007, Amtrak employed 20,000 people in 46 states and served 25 million passengers
16616-541: Was followed by research into streamlined trains and tilting trains , the first to enter passenger service, in 1976, being the diesel powered InterCity 125 ( Class 43 ), followed by the electric, tilting, British Rail Class 370 , and Class 91 , in combination offering 125 mph (201 km/h) streamlined train services across the United Kingdom. High-speed service with the electric German ICE 1 (Class 401) began in 1991. The train, which has traveled at speeds of up to 280 km/h (174 mph) in revenue service, broke
16750-803: Was increased dramatically. In subsequent years, other short route segments not needed for freight operations were transferred to Amtrak. In its first decade, Amtrak fell far short of financial independence, which continues today, but it did find modest success rebuilding trade. Outside factors discouraged competing transport, such as fuel shortages which increased costs of automobile and airline travel, and strikes which disrupted airline operations. Investments in Amtrak's track, equipment and information also made Amtrak more relevant to America's transportation needs. Amtrak's ridership increased from 16.6 million in 1972 to 21 million in 1981. In February 1978, Amtrak moved its headquarters to 400 North Capitol Street NW, Washington D.C. In 1982, former Secretary of
16884-635: Was leased from Sweden for test runs from October 1992 to January 1993, followed by revenue service between Washington, D.C. and New York City from February to May and August to September 1993. Siemens showed the ICE 1 train from Germany, organizing the ICE Train North America Tour which started to operate on the Northeast Corridor on July 3, 1993. In 1993, Thomas Downs succeeded Claytor as Amtrak's fifth president. The stated goal remained "operational self-sufficiency". By this time, however, Amtrak had
17018-422: Was more about marketing than performance, newly designed locomotives with state-of-the-art steam technology were able to travel at high speeds. The Milwaukee Road class A Atlantics , built in 1935 to compete with the Twin Cities Zephyr , were the first "steamliners" equipped to back up their styled claim to extra speed. In a 15 May 1935 run by locomotive No. 2 and a dynamometer car, the railroad documented
17152-544: Was named Amtrak President and CEO. In addition to Atlas Air, Flynn has held senior roles at CSX Transportation , SeaLand Services and GeoLogistics Corp. Anderson would remain with Amtrak as a senior advisor until December 2020. As Amtrak approached profitability in 2020, the company undertook planning to expand and create new intermediate-distance corridors across the country. Included were several new services in Ohio, Tennessee, Colorado, and Minnesota, among other states. During
17286-432: Was not a profitable train at that point in time. The western portion of the Gulf Wind route from Mobile to New Orleans was briefly served by Amtrak's Gulf Coast Limited from 1984 to 1985, and again from 1996 to 1997. The Gulf Wind route had no scheduled passenger train service between Jacksonville and Flomaton until the revived and extended tri-weekly Sunset Limited was inaugurated by Amtrak in 1993. The service
17420-445: Was publicly announced less than two weeks before operations began. Amtrak began operations on May 1, 1971. Amtrak received no rail tracks or rights-of-way at its inception. All of Amtrak's routes were continuations of prior service, although Amtrak pruned about half the passenger rail network. Of the 366 train routes that operated previously, Amtrak continued only 184. Several major corridors became freight-only, including
17554-448: Was published, a documentary was created, six locomotives were painted in Amtrak's four prior paint schemes , and an Exhibit Train toured the country visiting 45 communities and welcoming more than 85,000 visitors. After years of almost revolving-door CEOs at Amtrak, in December 2013, Boardman was named "Railroader of the Year" by Railway Age magazine, which noted that with over five years in
17688-470: Was re-introduced with streamlined shrouding and named the Commodore Vanderbilt in December 1934. The Vanderbilt styling was a one-off design by Carl Kantola. The NYC's next venture in streamlined styling was Henry Dreyfuss ' 1936 full-length exterior and interior design of the railroad's Mercury trainsets. Raymond Loewy also designed in 1936 art-deco shrouding with a bullet-front scheme for
17822-515: Was reduced to under 3 hours due to system improvements and limited stop service. This improvement was cited as a reason why Amtrak grew its share of intercity trips between the cities along the corridor. Elsewhere in the country, demand for passenger rail service resulted in the creation of five new state-supported routes in California, Illinois, Missouri, Oregon and Pennsylvania, for a total of 15 state-supported routes. Amtrak added two trains in 1983,
17956-594: Was used as the " Trans Europ Express (TEE)" for international high-speed trains. From 1965, the DB used the streamlined electric locomotives DB Class 103 with regular trains for high-speed service. From 1973, the DB used the DB Class 403 , a fully streamlined four-unit electric train with tilting technology. In East Germany, the DR Class VT 18.16 [ de ] was built for international express service. The Swiss SBB and
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