City of New Orleans Service Set to Resume Daily July 13

City of New Orleans cancellations are due to end on July 13, with Amtrak planning to restore daily trains in both directions after replacing wheels on two trainsets.

Repairs during City of New Orleans cancellations

The planned restart comes after more than two weeks of disruption, including an intermittent return to service this week. All three Superliner consists were ⁠withdrawn from operation on June 27 after numerous wheelsets were found damaged. Neither Amtrak nor Canadian National, the host railroad, has announced that a cause has been established.

Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari said most of the wheel replacement work was being carried out at the company’s recently modernized maintenance facility in New Orleans. Many of the additional wheels needed for the repairs are being delivered there by truck.

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Service schedule and equipment availability

⁠Equipment that reached Chicago on June 27 made its first southbound trip on Tuesday, July 7. The first Chicago-bound services then left New Orleans on Thursday, July 9, and Friday, July 10. No southbound departures, however, were planned between July 8 and Monday, July 13. The next northbound train is also scheduled to leave on July 13.

It remains unclear what equipment will be available for an on-time departure from New Orleans on Tuesday, July 14. Two serviceable trainsets were in Chicago, while the third was in New Orleans and was presumed to be ready for the July 13 trip. The southbound service is scheduled to reach New Orleans two hours after the northbound train is due to depart.

Northbound train No. 58 was observed approaching Chicago Union Station beside the lakefront on Friday, July 10. It was running 5½ hours late after being held for high water at Fulton, Kentucky. The delay was caused by the same torrential rain that had affected the Texas Eagle during the previous two days.

Washouts on Union Pacific’s DeSoto Subdivision in Missouri also forced the Texas Eagle to operate between St. Louis and Poplar Bluff, Missouri, by way of Thebes, Illinois, during those two days.

During the same observation, rust was visible along the outer edges of many wheels on the City of New Orleans’ seven Superliner cars as the train backed in from the 21st Street interlocking. The condition suggested that the wheels had recently been installed, although the observation could not establish exactly how many wheelsets were new.

What is known about the service?

⁠Amtrak describes the City of New Orleans as a daily, 900-mile service linking Chicago, Memphis and New Orleans. The ⁠official timetable dated July 12 lists northbound train No. 58 with a scheduled journey of 19 hours 30 minutes and southbound train No. 59 at 19 hours 42 minutes. Stops include Jackson, Memphis, Fulton and Carbondale.

These details show the geographic reach of the passenger service affected by the cancellations. However, the published timetable does not by itself confirm that the planned July 13 departures will operate.