Amtrak service restoration to New Orleans

[WMAveteran]

 Amtrak announces New Orleans service restoration

Reported in TRAINS magazine:

By Bob Johnston

Published: August 31, 2012


NEW ORLEANS — Flooding, power outages, and track damage as a result of Hurricane Isaac have delayed the return of passenger service to New Orleans until this Sunday, Sept. 2, when the northbound Crescent is scheduled to depart with a trainset that weathered the storm in the train's namesake city. The Sept. 1 departure of the Crescent from New York will be extended past Atlanta that morning for the first time since August 27, when service to New Orleans was suspended.

According to an Amtrak advisory, the City of New Orleans is now set to resume service south of Memphis on Tuesday, Sept. 4, although as of Thursday evening, www.amtrak.com was showing trains not operating south of Memphis in both directions until Friday, Sept. 7. The first Sunset Limited will depart westbound on Wednesday, Sept. 5, and the next eastbound from San Antonio and Los Angeles is set to arrive in New Orleans on Tuesday, Sept. 4. As was the case with hurricanes Katrina in 2005 and Gustav in 2008, locomotives and the Superliner equipment for those two trains made a special move to McComb, Miss., last Monday to avoid the storm before New Orleans' levee gates were closed