(The following article by David Patch was published in the January 11 issue of the Toledo Blade.)
TOLEDO, Ohio — Amtrak’s Pennsylvanian will continue running through Toledo a little while longer, though exactly how long is unknown.
Kathleen Cantillon, an Amtrak spokesman in Chicago, said the daily service between Chicago and Philadelphia that provides the only daytime train east of Toledo will continue to operate until Amtrak gets approval of its new schedule east of Pittsburgh from the railroad that owns the tracks it uses.
Amtrak had announced last month that the Pennsylvanian would make its last trips west of Pittsburgh on Jan. 26, because the beleaguered passenger line was quitting express-freight business that had justified the train’s extension west of Pittsburgh in November, 1998.
But changing the train back to a New York-Pittsburgh run has proven more complicated than Amtrak anticipated, because to serve New York, the schedule east of Pittsburgh needs to change.
Negotiations concerning the schedule change continue with Norfolk Southern, which owns the tracks west of Harrisburg, Pa., Ms. Cantillon said.
Once that matter is settled, Amtrak will provide 30 days’ notice before altering service, she said.
Passenger train advocates said the delay provides additional time for Ohio cities along the route, including Alliance, Cleveland, Elyria, Sandusky, and Toledo, to promote alternatives for preserving service instead of canceling it.
“This is a stay of execution for conveniently scheduled train service in Ohio,” said Stu Nicholson, administrative director of the Ohio Association of Railroad Passengers.
“We urge all local, state, and federal officials who represent those five cities to take advantage of this opportunity to not only preserve this service, but to improve it. It’s rare to have second chances like this,” Mr. Nicholson said.
But passenger volume on the train, at least through Toledo, has been light during its four-plus years of operation, and Ms. Cantillon said its cancellation west of Pittsburgh is still in the cards.
“It is still our desire to make the change,” she said.