Amtrak has increased lower-priced Northeast Regional service, a mainstay at the Biden Wilmington Train Station. Northeast Regional trains also stop in Newark three times a day. The change will add options for Wilmington passengers making trips to Washington, DC and New York City. (See listing at end of post and check Amtrak’s timetable for Wilmington stops.
The expansion includes four additional weekday roundtrips and two new weekend roundtrips between New York City’s Penn Station and Washington Union Station. A weekend trip between Philadelphia and Boston South Station was also added.
The expansion will result in a 20% increase in weekday service and a 10% increase on Sundays. It adds up to more than one million seats on the non-Acela service.
“More people are taking the train than ever before, and we’re proud to offer our customers additional travel options when they ride with us on the Northeast Regional,” said Amtrak Executive VP Eliot Hamlisch. “The Northeast Regional gets you where you want to go comfortably, conveniently and sustainably as you breeze past traffic on I-95 for a more enjoyable travel experience.”
The new schedules drive is part of Amtrak’s plan to increase ridership to 66 million by fiscal 2040. Amtrak will also add new passenger cars and locomotives to replace 40—to 50-year-old equipment.
Amtrak saw a surprisingly strong recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, with ridership 8% above pre-pandemic levels. The Northeast Regional accounted for nearly 9.2 million customers in fiscal 2023, up more than 29% from the previous fiscal year. Amtrak has worked to fill trains with sales and Night Owl fares, which put more passengers on largely empty trains.
By contrast, commuter trains, like those operated by SEPTA, have seen a slow recovery, due to fewer people using returning to the workplace, despite back-to-the-office mandates from large employers,
Northeast Regional trains also offer a higher-fare business class with added legroom and assigned seats. Corridor service on Acela and Northeast Regional trains has run near a break-even operating basis, a sharp contrast to longer-distance trains. Nearly all train service requires subsidies for track and other infrastructure.
Amtrak employs upwards of 1,000 people in Delaware in various positions and operates maintenance sites in Bear and Wilmington.
Below is a listing of the additional service
Weekdays
- Southbound
- Train 181 at 7:30 a.m.
- Train 183 at 9:07 a.m.
- Train 119 at 1:00 p.m.
- Train 131 at 2:10 p.m.
- Train 197 at 7:52 p.m.
- Northbound
- Train 112 at 9:16 a.m.
- Train 114 at 11:40 p.m.
- Train 196 at 7:39 p.m.
Saturdays
- Southbound
- Train 101 at 9:40 a.m.
- Train 103 at 10:40 a.m.
Sundays
- Southbound
- Train 103 at 10:40 a.m.
- Train 105 at 2:17 p.m.
- Train 107 at 8:20 p.m.
- Northbound
- Train 106 at 3:30 p.m.
