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Amtrak has announced it is canceling all of its long-distance trains ahead of a possible freight rail strike on Friday (September 16). Amtrak is not involved in the ongoing negotiations, and its workers are not planning to go on strike.
The cancelations are happening because most of the tracks that Amtrak uses are owned and maintained by freight railroad companies.
"Amtrak is closely monitoring the ongoing freight rail – rail labor contract negotiations. The negotiations do not involve Amtrak or the Amtrak workforce. While we are hopeful that parties will reach a resolution, Amtrak has now begun phased adjustments to our service in preparation for a possible freight rail service interruption later this week," Amtrak said in a statement.
Several suspensions started on Tuesday, including the Southwest Chief, Empire Builder, California Zephyr, and the Train #421 portion of the Texas Eagle.
On Wednesday, the following lines were suspended: City of New Orleans, Coast Starlight, Crescent, Lake Shore Limited, Silver Star, Sunset Limited, and Texas Eagle.
On Thursday, an additional four lines will be canceled. Those include the Auto Train, Capitol Limited, Cardinal, and Palmetto (south of Washington).
Amtrak said that most trains in the Northeast Corridor, which includes Boston, New York, and Washington, D.C., would not be affected. In addition, Acela trains will continue to operate on a normal schedule.
Amtrak did caution that a strike could result in further disruptions to train schedules.
"These initial adjustments include canceling all Long Distance trains and could be followed by impacts to most State-Supported routes. These adjustments are necessary to ensure trains can reach their terminals before freight railroad service interruption if a resolution in negotiations is not reached."