[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] The transcontinental railroad system in the United States, which had been restricted due to the spread of COVID-19, will be fully restored after more than a year.
Amtrak, the National Railroad Passenger Corporation, announced on the 10th (local time) that "starting in May, 12 major long-distance routes will resume daily operations as before."
Accordingly, 1,200 employees who were placed on unpaid leave during the pandemic will return to work as early as next month.
Amtrak plans to sequentially resume operations on 12 routes from May 24 to June 7. On May 24, routes such as the California Zephyr, Empire Builder, and Texas Eagle will begin full operation.
The California Zephyr is the longest Amtrak route in the United States, running a total of 3,924 km from Chicago, Illinois, a railroad transportation hub, to Emeryville in the San Francisco Bay Area, California.
The Empire Builder runs from Chicago to Seattle, Washington (3,550 km total) and Portland, Oregon (3,632 km total), while the Texas Eagle is divided into an eastern section from Chicago to San Antonio, Texas (2,102 km total) and a western section from San Antonio to Los Angeles, California (2,288 km total).
From May 31, the City of New Orleans, Lake Shore Limited, and Southwest Chief routes will resume normal operations.
The City of New Orleans route runs from Chicago to New Orleans, Louisiana (1,503 km total), the Lake Shore Limited route runs from Chicago to New York (1,543 km total) and Boston (1,637 km total), and the Southwest Chief runs from Chicago to Los Angeles (3,645 km total).
Most of Amtrak's long-distance routes had been limited to three times a week since October last year. This was due to a decrease in passengers by up to 95% amid the COVID-19 crisis, making it difficult to cover operating costs.
The normalization of Amtrak operations after more than a year is attributed to the House of Representatives approving an additional $1.9 trillion economic stimulus package on the same day. Amtrak was allocated $1.7 billion from this package.
Bill Flynn, Amtrak's CEO, stated, "Deciding to resume daily operation of long-distance trains is a very meaningful decision for economic recovery."
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