Amtrak cancels trains through Kansas City ahead of possible railroad strike
Amtrak is canceling scheduled trains on long-distance routes around the country in preparation of a possible freight rail strike. The company defines “long-distance” as overnight routes, meaning that some single-day portions of multi-day routes are canceled as well.
The Missouri River Runner, an overnight route between Kansas City and Chicago by way of St. Louis, was canceled Wednesday afternoon. Thursday’s daytime Southwest Chief train to Chicago is also canceled, as is Thursday’s overnight Missouri River Runner train, which was scheduled to arrive in Chicago Friday morning.
Kansas Citians hoping to travel home from Chicago have only one option Thursday: an 11-hour Missouri River Runner trip departing at 9:30 a.m. The Southwest Chief train leaving Chicago for Kansas City Thursday afternoon has been canceled, as has an overnight City of New Orleans route train scheduled to arrive in Kansas City on Friday afternoon.
With the exception of routes in the Northeast part of the country, almost all Amtrak service runs on tracks owned by freight railroads. A possible freight rail strike is brewing, and could shut down these important corridors for passenger rail travel as well.
Depending on how the freight worker negotiations pan out, there could be further disruptions to Amtrak travel this week. Amtrak spokesperson Marc Magliari told The Star that the anticipated strike, if it moves forward, is expected to begin at 11 p.m. Central time on Thursday, Sept. 15.
It’s unclear whether the strike will move forward, but if it does, it could disrupt Amtrak and other passenger rail service for its duration. We’ll continue to update this story as we learn more about the pending strike and its impacts on travel in the Midwest.
If you already had a ticket on one of the canceled trains, Amtrak will reach out via email with the following options:
Rescheduling travel for another day, with any difference in fare waived for departures through the end of October
Refunding the ticket cost with no cancellation fees