Tuesday 7 April 2020

United States: Amtrak takes active measures to maintain safe environment

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The safety of Amtrak’s customers and employees is our top priority. We continue to monitor the coronavirus situation closely and we are taking action based on guidance from public health experts; that includes restoring service to trains and routes once demand returns. In order to maintain a safe environment and address customer concerns and potential business impact, we are taking the following measures:

Before You Travel

If you are Traveling with Amtrak:

  • Plan ahead: At this time, various states are undertaking specific safety precautions at stations for customers arriving from out of state. Check with each state for specific guidance. The CDC has urged residents of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut to refrain from non-essential travel for 14 days. (https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/travel-in-the-us.html). Amtrak service continues to operate on the Northeast Corridor to provide vital transportation for employees of essential services.
  • Providing an essential transportation service: We are waiving change fees on all existing or new reservations made before May 31, 2020. Simply log in to your account or go to Modify Trip on Amtrak.com, or find your reservation from your account on the home screen in the Amtrak app. A fare difference may apply to your new itinerary. If you want to cancel your reservation with no fee, you must call 800-USA-RAIL and speak with an agent (not available via Amtrak.com or the app).
  • Take care of yourself and keep others safe: If you are feeling ill, please stay home until feeling better.

Maintaining a Safe Environment

To reduce risk, we are:

  • Enhancing cleaning protocols: We have increased the frequency of cleaning services on our trains and at our stations.
  • Increasing disinfectant supplies: We have increased the quantity of sanitizers and disinfectant wipes available for customers and employees on our trains and stations.
  • Reinforcing good hygiene practices: We are regularly sharing best practices with employees and customers on ways to protect against communicable diseases.
  • Limiting Bookings: To help maintain CDC recommendations for social distancing onboard our trains, we are temporarily reducing coach class and business class sales to 50% of capacity.
  • Going Cashless: As an added measure to ensure the health and safety of our customers and employees, we will temporarily be accepting cashless payments only in stations and on trains.
    We continue to recommend that everyone follow CDC guidelines around social distancing. If you do need to travel with us, know that we are taking extra steps to keep our stations and trains clean, keep you safe, and remain an essential part of transportation in America. See how we’re maintaining a safe environment.

Service Impacts

While Amtrak continues to operate, we have temporarily suspended some services due to reduced demand. See details on service impacts. (Updated March 29, 12:30 pm ET)

What You Can Do

To protect against all communicable diseases:

  • Wash your hands: Wash hands frequently with soap and water – and for 20 seconds. If you can’t wash your hands, use hand sanitizer.
  • Cover your mouth: When sneezing or coughing, use tissues and promptly dispose of them or cover your mouth with your sleeve or elbow.

Ongoing Updates
We will continue to monitor and make changes to our procedures, policies and operations as necessary. We will continually update this page with any changes. For more information about the coronavirus, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website.

(Source: Amtrak)

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