A leaked email to employees has confirmed Amtrak's plans to reduce the frequency for all of its long distance trains to thrice weekly and provides details of the trains impacted and their new schedules. Thrice weekly operation will be phased in over a three-week period beginning 5-October-2020. All but two of Amtrak's trains, which cover a network including over 500 destinations in 46 states, currently operate daily.

Under the plan the California Zephyr (San Francisco to Chicago), the Coast Starlight (Los Angeles to Seattle), the Empire Builder (Seattle/Portland to Chicago), the Texas Eagle (San Antonio to Chicago), the Southwest Chief (Los Angeles to Chicago), the City of New Orleans (New Orleans to Chicago), the Lake Shore Limited (New York City to Chicago), the Crescent (New York City to New Orleans), the Texas Eagle (Chicago to San Antonio with through carriages to Los Angeles) and the Capitol Limited (Washington DC to Chicago) will all be cut from daily to thrice weekly. The Auto Train will continue to operate daily, while the Cardinal and Sunset Limited will continue their current (thrice weekly) schedule. Silver Service trains between the Northeast and Florida saw frequency reductions in July which will remain.

Amtrak claims the reduction in frequency is the result of falling demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic however could have been avoided if the funding it requested from Congress had been approved. The company released a set of criteria including rebounding demand and stable hospitalisation rates that it will use to assess if trains return to daily operation in 2021.

New schedules, including service cuts, will be implemented over three weeks and are expected to be reflected in Amtrak's booking system as soon as possible. The changes leaked today are:

From October 5:

• The California Zephyr will depart Chicago for the San Francisco Bay Area on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday, returning on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday
• The Capitol Limited will depart Washington DC for Chicago on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, returning on Monday, Thursday and Saturday
• The City of New Orleans will depart Chicago for New Orleans on Monday, Thursday and Saturday, returning on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday; and
• The Crescent will depart New York City for New Orleans on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday, returning on Monday, Thursday and Saturday.

From October 12:

• The Coast Starlight will depart Los Angeles for Seattle on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, returning on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday
• The Lake Shore Limited will depart New York City and Boston to Chicago on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, returning on Monday, Thursday and Saturday
• The Southwest Chief will depart Chicago for Los Angeles on Monday, Thursday and Saturday, returning on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday; and
• The Texas Eagle will depart Chicago for San Antonio on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday, returning on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday

From October 19:

• The Empire Builder will depart Chicago for Seattle and Portland on Monday, Thursday and Saturday, returning on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday; and
• The Palmetto will depart New York City for Savannah on Monday, Thursday and Saturday, returning on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.

TrainReview has undertaken a detailed analysis of the proposed timetable. Whilst some useful connections are maintained, the proposal leaves some key gaps in the network.

East/West connections that are maintained include:

• Thrice weekly connections in Chicago between the eastbound Empire Builder, California Zephyr and Southwest Chief and the eastbound Lake Shore Limited, Capitol Limited and City of New Orleans with a twice weekly connection to the Cardinal
• Twice weekly connections in Chicago from the eastbound Texas Eagle to the eastbound Lake Shore Limited, Capitol Limited and City of New Orleans, with a once weekly connection to the Cardinal
• Thrice weekly connections in Chicago between the westbound Lake Shore Limited, Capitol Limited, Crescent and City of New Orleans and the westbound Empire Builder and Southwest Chief with a twice weekly connection to the California Zephyr

West coast connections which are maintained include:

• Thrice weekly connections in Los Angeles between the westbound Sunset Limited and the northbound Coast Starlight
• Twice weekly connections in Los Angeles between the southbound Coast Starlight and the eastbound Sunset Limited
• Twice weekly connections in Los Angeles between the westbound Southwest Chief and the northbound Coast Starlight
• Thrice weekly connections from the westbound California Zephyr to the northbound Coast Starlight in Sacramento or Emeryville
• Thrice weekly connections form the southbound Coast Starlight to the eastbound California Zephyr in Sacramento or Emeryville
• Thrice weekly connections from the northbound Coast Starlight to the eastbound Empire Builder in Portland
• Thrice weekly connections from the westbound Empire Builder to the southbound Coast Starlight in Portland

The Texas Eagle becomes somewhat of an orphaned train in Chicago, connecting to other trains only from its Monday and Saturday arrivals, however through carriages conveyed on the Texas Eagle between Chicago and San Antonio and on the Sunset Limited between San Antonio and Los Angeles will continue to operate thrice weekly.

East coast connections which are maintained include:

• Thrice weekly connections in Washington DC between the eastbound Capitol Limited and the southbound Crescent and one of the Silver Star or the Silver Meteor
• Thrice weekly connections in Washington DC from the northbound Silver Meteor or Silver Star to the Capitol Limited
• Twice weekly connections in Washington DC from the northbound Crescent to the Capitol Limited

Unfortunately, all trains between the Chicago and the East Coast will depart Chicago on Monday, Thursday and Saturday. The Cardinal (Amtrak's existing thrice weekly Chicago to Washington DC and New York train) will remain on its current schedule departing Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday - the Thursday and Saturday departures coinciding with the reduced Lake Shore Limited and Capitol Limited services leaving no service on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Returning from the East Coast to Chicago all three trains, the Cardinal, the Capitol Limited and the Lake Shore Limited will depart on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday leaving no service on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday or Saturday.

Amtrak Executive Vice President, Chief Marketing and Revenue Service Officer Roger Harris previously told employees today that Amtrak's goal is “to restore daily service on these routes as demand warrants, potentially by the summer of 2021" however there is some concern that services will never be restored with slots lost on freight railroads and given the length of the suspension (longer than any other proposed service suspension in the travel industry). Whilst long distance trains have traditionally operated daily in the United States and Europe, in Australia, Canada, Russia and other parts of the world less than daily schedules are common.