Pennsylvanian (Amtrak)

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Pennsylvanian
The Amtrak 42 Pennsylvanian arriving in Greensburg.
Info
Type Inter-city rail
System Amtrak
Terminals New York, NY
Newark, NJ
Philadelphia, PA
Harrisburg, PA
Pittsburgh, PA
Operation
Opened April 27, 1980
Owner NS
AMTRK (track)
Operator(s) Amtrak
Technical
Line length 444 miles (715 km)
Gauge 4 ft 8½ in (1,435 mm)
Amtrak Pennsylvanian route[1]
Distance Station
tINTa
0 New York City (subway)
tGRENZE
New York/New Jersey border
TUNNELe
North River Tunnels
BHF
10 mi (16 km) Newark
HST
58 mi (93 km) Trenton
GRENZE
New Jersey/Pennsylvania border
BHF
91 mi (146 km) Philadelphia
HST
99 mi (159 km) Ardmore (train 44 only)
HST
110 mi (177 km) Paoli
HST
112 mi (180 km) Exton (trains 42 & 44 only)
HST
123 mi (198 km) Downingtown (train 44 only)
HST
159 mi (256 km) Lancaster
HST
177 mi (285 km) Elizabethtown
HST
195 mi (314 km) Harrisburg
HST
256 mi (412 km) Lewistown
HST
293 mi (472 km) Huntingdon
HST
313 mi (504 km) Tyrone
HST
327 mi (526 km) Altoona
HST
366 mi (589 km) Johnstown
HST
403 mi (649 km) Latrobe
HST
413 mi (665 km) Greensburg
KBFe
444 mi (715 km) Pittsburgh

The Pennsylvanian is a 444-mile (715 km) daytime Amtrak train running between New York and Pittsburgh via Philadelphia. The trains travel through Pennsylvania's capital, the Pennsylvania Dutch Country, suburban and central Philadelphia, and pass through New Jersey up to New York.

Trains run once daily in each direction. The entire train ride takes about 9 hours total, with 1.5 hours between New York and Philadelphia, 2 hours between Philadelphia and Harrisburg, and 5.5 hours between Harrisburg and Pittsburgh. The Pennsylvanian runs a portion of the Three Rivers route, which ran from New York to Chicago. East of Harrisburg, the Pennsylvanian runs over Amtrak's own railroad, but between Harrisburg and Pittsburgh it runs over Norfolk Southern's ex-Pennsylvania Railroad line through Horseshoe Curve. The route east of Philadelphia is along the Northeast Corridor (originally owned by the PRR); the rest is the old main line of the PRR, consisting of the Amtrak-owned Keystone Corridor east of Harrisburg.

Services on the Pennsylvanian includes coach, business class (reserved deluxe seating), dinette (for food, snacks, and drinks), and Railfone for public telephone access, which is available in the food service cars.

Originally, this train was started to provide daytime departures between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, and New York service was provided as a connecting train at Philadelphia. At the time the Pennsylvanian was inaugurated, the Broadway Limited was departing Pittsburgh at an inconvenient early morning hour. Since then, the length of the Pennsylvanian's route has undergone a number of iterations. The most recent iteration involved the cancellation of the Pennsylvanian as part of Amtrak's statuatory 180-day cancellation notice of service along a route. After that period, and after the required public hearings were conducted, the Pennsylvanian was restarted on March 8, 2005 as a truncation of the Three Rivers over the original route of the Pennsylvanian. Continuing service beyond Pittsburgh to Chicago, formerly provided by the Three Rivers, can be made by a transfer to the Capitol Limited at Pittsburgh.

Trains running through Philadelphia require a reverse move/engine change at 30th Street Station, resulting in a 20-30 minute delay.

[edit] Route details

The Pennsylvanian operates over Amtrak and Norfolk Southern Railway trackage:


[edit] References

  1. ^ Pennsylvanian Schedule (PDF). Amtrak (2007-04-02). Retrieved on 2007-08-21.

[edit] External links