Pennsylvanian (Amtrak)
The Pennsylvanian is a 444-mile (715 km) daytime Amtrak train running between New York and Pittsburgh via Philadelphia. The trains travel through Pennsylvania's capital, the Pennsylvania Dutch Country, suburban and central Philadelphia, and pass through New Jersey up to New York.
Trains run once daily in each direction. The entire train ride takes about 9 hours total, with 1.5 hours between New York and Philadelphia, 2 hours between Philadelphia and Harrisburg, and 5.5 hours between Harrisburg and Pittsburgh. The Pennsylvanian runs a portion of the Three Rivers route, which ran from New York to Chicago. East of Harrisburg, the Pennsylvanian runs over Amtrak's own railroad, but between Harrisburg and Pittsburgh it runs over Norfolk Southern's ex-Pennsylvania Railroad line through Horseshoe Curve. The route east of Philadelphia is along the Northeast Corridor (originally owned by the PRR); the rest is the old main line of the PRR, consisting of the Amtrak-owned Keystone Corridor east of Harrisburg.
Services on the Pennsylvanian includes coach, business class (reserved deluxe seating), dinette (for food, snacks, and drinks), and Railfone for public telephone access, which is available in the food service cars.
Originally, this train was started to provide daytime departures between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, and New York service was provided as a connecting train at Philadelphia. At the time the Pennsylvanian was inaugurated, the Broadway Limited was departing Pittsburgh at an inconvenient early morning hour. Since then, the length of the Pennsylvanian's route has undergone a number of iterations. The most recent iteration involved the cancellation of the Pennsylvanian as part of Amtrak's statuatory 180-day cancellation notice of service along a route. After that period, and after the required public hearings were conducted, the Pennsylvanian was restarted on March 8, 2005 as a truncation of the Three Rivers over the original route of the Pennsylvanian. Continuing service beyond Pittsburgh to Chicago, formerly provided by the Three Rivers, can be made by a transfer to the Capitol Limited at Pittsburgh.
Trains running through Philadelphia require a reverse move/engine change at 30th Street Station, resulting in a 20-30 minute delay.
Route details
The Pennsylvanian operates over Amtrak and Norfolk Southern Railway trackage:
- Amtrak Northeast Corridor, New York to Philadelphia
- Amtrak Philadelphia to Harrisburg Main Line, Philadelphia to Harrisburg
- NS Pittsburgh Line, Harrisburg to Pittsburgh
Station stops
The Pennsylvanian runs as trains 43 westbound and 42 (Monday to Saturday) and 44 (Sunday) eastbound. It makes the following station stops:
- Philadelphia 30th Street Station
- Ardmore (train 44 only)
- Paoli
- Exton (trains 42 & 44 only)
- Downingtown (train 44 only)
- Lancaster
- Elizabethtown (trains 42 & 44 only)
- Harrisburg Transportation Center
- Lewistown
- Huntingdon
- Tyrone
- Altoona Transportation Center
- Johnstown
- Latrobe
- Greensburg
- Pittsburgh Penn Station
