(The Associated Press circulated the following article on September 10.)
NAPPANEE, Ind. — Amtrak train service in this northern Indiana city will be discontinued by March 1, leaving many Amish passengers without transportation to visit Pennsylvania, the mayor said.
Amtrak is ending its Three Rivers route, which runs daily between Chicago and New York and stops in Nappanee at 6 a.m. and midnight.
“We are disappointed because many from our Amish community rely on Amtrak to visit their roots in Pennsylvania,” said Nappanee Mayor Larry Thompson.
Thompson also said tourists are among those who used the train each year to travel to the city about 20 miles southeast of South Bend.
Amtrak is ending its mail-hauling contract with the U.S. Postal Service, according to Amtrak’s Web site. The Three Rivers route had carried this business.
The rail line, owned by CSX, will still carry about 80 freight trains each day.
Effective Nov. 1, Three Rivers will be replaced by one New York-Pittsburgh-Chicago train offering coach and business-class service, officials said. On March 1, service on the new route will end west of Pittsburgh, including Nappanee.
“It’s a shame, really,” said Thompson. “We have one of the nicest, cleanest waiting areas along the entire line, and now it won’t get used for that.”