More About Amtrak’s Long-Distance Trains

I received an email the other day from someone asking for more information about Amtrak operations and, specifically, what goes into maintaining their schedule of long-distance trains.

As you would expect, it’s an immensely complicated business. Every day, day after day, Amtrak overnight trains are carrying many thousands of people all over the country, not to mention feeding and providing beds for many of them along the way. It takes a lot of people and equipment to make it all happen.

It sounds simple to say that the California Zephyr runs between Chicago and the San Francisco area. But remember that the train runs every day … in each direction … and it’s a two night trip. So, at any given moment, Amtrak needs six complete train sets to operate the California Zephyr: two are en route heading west, another two are somewhere out there heading east, and two more are getting ready to depart — one in Chicago, the other at Emeryville in the Bay Area.

The westbound California Zephyr passes Gross Dam an hour out of Denver. Photo by Kevin Morgan.

Each of those six trains requires two (sometimes three) locomotives, a baggage car, a dorm car for the crew, plus coaches, sleeping cars, a lounge car, a dining car. That means, at a minimum, Amtrak needs 54 railcars and a dozen locomotives just to operate that one long-distance train.

Then, of course, there are three other western trains that run two-night trips: the Sunset Limited, the Southwest Chief and the Empire Builder. In addition, there are eleven other trains that operate over routes that require one overnight to complete.

Leaving very little to chance, Amtrak also has what they call “protect” locomotives located in strategic places around the country ready to be pressed into emergency service … in Denver, for example, in case one of the Zephyr’s locomotives should fail.
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This information comes directly from the 3rd edition of my book, All Aboard-The Complete North American Train Travel Guide. Click here for the link to Amazon.