Arrive Magazine - November/December, 2010

All Aboard!
Welcome Aboard
and Happy Holidays

Our lives can get so busy during the holidays, and traveling at this time of year can be hectic. Our aim is to take the hassle out of travel, and to provide you a pleasant journey. Please take the time aboard the train to relax, read, watch a movie on your laptop, catch up on work or simply watch the world go by as you rest comfortably in your seat.

To accommodate the heavy demand during the week of Thanksgiving—our busiest week of the year—we will be adding departures and extra cars. Last year, we carried nearly 686,000 passengers that week, and we hope to be the provider of choice for many more this year. Please keep in mind that our busiest travel days are the Wednesday before and Sunday after Thanksgiving. We sell out fast, so I recommend that you book your reservations early, and allow plenty of time at stations prior to your train’s departure.

We make the best use of our equipment during this busy travel season. It’s no secret that our fleet is aging and we run our fleet very hard compared with others in the transit and railroad industry. That, combined with the growth in demand for passenger rail, makes equipment procurement one of Amtrak’s most urgent needs.

To that end, this summer we announced that we have begun the process to purchase new equipment, with an order for 130 new single-level rail cars to support national long-distance service. This new equipment—the first of which we’ll start to see in service in late

2012—will replace equipment that is more than 60 years old. We also plan to acquire new electric locomotives, which we utilize on the Northeast Corridor. These are the first steps in a long-term, comprehensive fleet renewal plan for the next 30 years that will significantly improve service while also helping support a domestic rail manufacturing industry.

New equipment will go a long way toward better serving you. It will also improve Amtrak’s ability to help our nation reduce its dependence on foreign oil, strengthen America’s rail transportation network and provide millions of Americans a more robust energy-e;cient transportation option.

I wish you and your family safe and happy holidays—may there be another Amtrak trip in your stocking this year. I thank you, and the more than 28 million passengers who choose Amtrak, for riding with us today.