Amtrak is preparing to deal with the surge of holiday travelers with extra trains and capacity on several routes.
Customers are encouraged to plan ahead and book tickets early.
With the Thanksgiving travel season looming, Amtrak is prepared to operate every available passenger railcar in its fleet.
Amtrak is adding extra trains for more seating on the Northeast Corridor (NEC) and is adding extra cars to existing trains along the Midwest and West Coast routes. Wilmington is a major stop on the Northeast Corridor, with Newark having limited regional service.
Newark also has operations, dispatch and maintenance sites in northern Delaware. The passenger railroad employs 1,000 in Delaware
“With more than 500 destinations nationwide, customers can witness some of the best sightseeing opportunities the United States has to offer while getting to their holiday destination of choice,” said Amtrak CEO Richard Anderson. “This year for Thanksgiving, Amtrak customers can also do something good for the environment while traveling with ease to family, friends and loved ones.”
On the Northeast Corridor, Amtrak Acela (Boston – Washington, D.C.) and Northeast Regional (Boston – Washington, D.C. – Richmond) trains will operate full and extended schedules with additional frequencies and added capacity during the Thanksgiving week.
Last year, Amtrak had its largest passenger count to date during the Thanksgiving week with over 846,000 riders on its trains across the country. Amtrak carried over 160,000 customers the Sunday following Thanksgiving last year.
