The Northeast Regional is an intercity rail service operated by Amtrak in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic United States. In the past it has been known as the NortheastDirect, Acela Regional, or Regional. It is Amtrak's busiest route, carrying 8,686,930 passengers in fiscal year (FY) 2018, a 1.4% increase over the 8.57 million passengers in FY 2017. The Northeast Regional service earned over $613.9 million in gross ticket revenue in FY 2016, a 0.4% increase over the $611.7 million earned during FY 2015.
The Crescent is a daily long-distance passenger train operated by Amtrak in the eastern United States. It operates over a 1,377 miles (2,216 km) route between Pennsylvania Station in New York City and Union Passenger Terminal in New Orleans as train numbers 19 and 20. Major service stops outside the Northeast Corridor include Birmingham, Alabama; Atlanta, Georgia; and Charlotte, North Carolina.
The Norfolk and Western Railway, commonly called the N&W, was a US class I railroad, formed by more than 200 railroad mergers between 1838 and 1982. It was headquartered in Roanoke, Virginia, for most of its existence. Its motto was "Precision Transportation"; it had a variety of nicknames, including "King Coal" and "British Railway of America". In 1986, N&W merged with Southern Railway to form today’s Norfolk Southern Railway.
The Southern Belle was a named passenger train service offered by Kansas City Southern Railway (KCS) from the 1940s through the 1960s, running between Kansas City, Missouri, and New Orleans, Louisiana.
The Golden State was a named passenger train between Chicago and Los Angeles from 1902–1968 on the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad and the Southern Pacific Company (SP) and predecessors. It was named for California, the “Golden State”.
The Pocahontas was one of the named passenger trains of the Norfolk and Western Railway. It ran overnight between Norfolk, Virginia, and Cincinnati, Ohio, with a through-car to and from Chicago, Illinois. The Pocahontas ran from November 1926 until May 1971.
The Powhatan Arrow was one of the named passenger trains of the Norfolk and Western. Its route ran from Norfolk, Virginia, to Cincinnati, Ohio.
The Cavalier was one of the named passenger trains of the Norfolk and Western Railway. Originally running from Norfolk, Virginia to Cincinnati, Ohio, by 1957 trains 15 and 16 had been cut back to a Petersburg, Virginia to Portsmouth, Ohio run. Service to Norfolk was maintained by combining train 15 with train 27, and train 16 with train 22, the eastbound Cannonball.
The Norfolk and Western class J was a class of fourteen 4-8-4 "Northern" streamlined steam locomotives built by the Norfolk and Western Railway (N&W) at its Roanoke Shops in Roanoke, Virginia, from 1941 to 1950. They were operated in revenue service until the late 1950s.
The City of St. Louis was a streamlined passenger train operated by the Union Pacific Railroad and the Wabash Railroad between St. Louis, Missouri and Los Angeles, California. It operated from 1946 to 1971.
The Cascade was a passenger train of the Southern Pacific on its route between Oakland, California, and Portland, Oregon, with a sleeping car to Seattle, Washington. The Southern Pacific started the train on April 17, 1927, soon after the opening of its Cascade Line between Black Butte, California, and Springfield, Oregon.
The Alabama Great Southern Railroad is a railroad in the U.S. states of Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee. It is an operating subsidiary of the Norfolk Southern Corporation (NS), running southwest from Chattanooga to New Orleans through Birmingham and Meridian. The AGS also owns about a 30% interest in the Kansas City Southern-controlled Meridian-Shreveport Meridian Speedway.
The Birmingham Special was a passenger train operated by the Southern Railway, Norfolk and Western Railway, and Pennsylvania Railroad in the southeastern United States. The train began service in 1909 and continued, with alterations, after Amtrak assumed control of most long-haul intercity passenger rail in the United States on May 1, 1971. The Birmingham Special is the namesake of the famed Glenn Miller big band tune "Chattanooga Choo Choo".
The Mountaineer was a passenger train operated by Amtrak between Norfolk, Virginia, and Chicago, Illinois, via Cincinnati, Ohio. It was the first train to use the Norfolk and Western Railway's tracks since the creation of Amtrak in 1971 and followed the route of the Pocahontas, the N&W's last passenger train. Service began in 1975 and ended in 1977. A new train, the Hilltopper, operated over much of the Mountaineer's route but was itself discontinued in 1979.
The 21st Century Steam program was conducted by the Norfolk Southern Railway from 2011 to 2015, featuring four classic steam locomotives pulling passenger excursions along Norfolk Southern rails in the eastern United States. The last train was to be Southern 4501's Piedmont Limited excursion trip from Atlanta, Georgia, to Toccoa, Georgia, but cancelled on October 1 due to Hurricane Joaquin.
Bedford station was an intercity rail station located in Bedford, Virginia. It was served by Norfolk and Western Railway passenger trains until 1971. It was later served by Amtrak's Mountaineer from 1975 to 1977, then the Hilltopper until 1979. The station building remains extant and is used as a restaurant.
Roanoke station is a train station in Roanoke, Virginia, the current southern terminus of Amtrak's Northeast Regional line. Built in 2017, it follows several other Roanoke passenger stations that operated from the 1850s to 1979. The unstaffed station consists of a single high-level platform with no station building or waiting room available for passengers. All tickets must be purchased in advance; there is no Quik-Trak kiosk at the station.
Christiansburg station was an intercity rail station located in Christiansburg, Virginia. Originally built in 1906 to replace a previous station, it was served by Norfolk and Western Railway passenger trains until 1971. It was later served by Amtrak's Mountaineer from 1975 to 1977, then the Hilltopper until 1979. The station building remains extant.
The Kansas City–Florida Special was a pooled night train and the premier train of the Frisco Railroad and the Southern Railway. Operating from Kansas City, Missouri to Jacksonville, Florida, it was unique as being one of very few long distance passenger train to traverse the Mississippi River south of St. Louis, Missouri and north of New Orleans, Louisiana.
The Southwestern Limited was a night train, as #205 of the Illinois Central Railroad in the Southeastern United States. Running on the IC subsidiary Yazoo and Mississippi Valley Railroad Vicksburg Division, from Meridian, Mississippi's Union Station to Shreveport, Louisiana's own Union Station, it was one of the few trains spanning the Mississippi River south of St. Louis, Missouri and north of New Orleans, Louisiana.
