Amtrak Cancels Most Piedmont Service

[AlanB]

Train passengers traveling between Raleigh and Charlotte during the next month will have limited options beginning Tuesday.
Norfolk Southern Railway Corporation will be resurfacing the tracks as part of routine heavy maintenance of the railroad between Charlotte and Kannapolis for the next four weeks. The railroad company notified the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) and Amtrak yesterday that it plans to begin work Tuesday, March 18 and expects to be completed April 17.

Railroad construction crews will work on the tracks Mondays through Thursdays from mid-morning to early evening. Probable delays of several hours on those days prompted transportation officials to cancel the state-sponsored Piedmont passenger service (trains 73, 74) on weekdays from March 18 through April 16. The Piedmont will continue to operate as scheduled Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. The Charlotte to Raleigh and New York Carolinian (trains 79, 80) service will continue as scheduled because it travels through the affected area during non-construction hours. State transportation and Amtrak officials are working with passengers and groups affected by the change.

Both the Piedmont and Carolinian travel daily over the state-owned North Carolina Railroad, which is maintained by Norfolk Southern.

"We regret that we must cancel one of our weekday train services," said NCDOT Rail Director Patrick Simmons, "But hope our customers will understand and will travel with us again soon. In the meantime, we want to apologize to our passengers for any inconvenience the track work may cause and thank them for their patience."

The full press release from Amtrak can be found here.

 

[jccollins]

Motorcoaches should be provided in lieu of the trains and should run as close as possible to the schedule. People depend on the trains and this is what happens - an alternate service, such as by motorcoach, should eb provided by Amtrak until train service can be restored. <_<

 

[Superliner Diner]

Motorcoaches should be provided in lieu of the trains and should run as close as possible to the schedule. People depend on the trains and this is what happens - an alternate service, such as by motorcoach, should eb provided by Amtrak until train service can be restored. <_<

I agree, but I guess that since most stations will continue to be served by the Carolinian and Crescent, they did not feel a bus would be justified.