Several trains running on Amtrak corridors outside the Northeast Corridor (NEC) have been cancelled, and the future of other trains is uncertain, due to removal from service of all Horizon cars on Amtrak’s equipment roster. Amtrak Cascades service in the Northwest was the most seriously affected. So were Hiawatha trains between Chicago and Milwaukee and the Borealis between Chicago and St. Paul. The Downeaster service linking Boston with Maine coastal points was also affected, but not as severely.
Bombardier Transportation (now Alstom) built the Horizon cars between 1988 and 1990. They have seen service mostly on corridor trains in the Midwest, although some have run in California and on the Downeaster and Cascades services. There were 86 coaches and 18 food service cars originally built.
The Horizon car, which features an aluminum carshell and a steel underframe, was based on the Comet I design developed in the late 1960s by Pullman Standard as a modern commuter car for North American passenger rail lines, and originally delivered between 1970 and 1973 to the New Jersey Department of Transportation. They were considered state of the art at the time, due to their all-aluminum carshell as well as their use of head-end power (HEP). Some Comet cars (later versions, specifically, Comet II, III and IV models), are still in service on New Jersey Transit, Metro-North (where they are called Shoreliners) and MBTA in Boston.
The Horizon cars’ removal from service was due to Amtrak’s discovery of corrosion on several cars. While the cause of the corrosion remains to be determined, it may have been created by the interface of the steel and aluminum components used in carbody construction. These two metals react over time and under the right conditions are known to generate “galvanic corrosion.”*
Amtrak cited the corrosion problem: “In compliance with federal requirements and its ongoing commitment to safety, Amtrak routinely inspects its railcars and locomotives. We discovered corrosion in several Horizon railcars and, while working with the manufacturer, decided to remove the equipment from service after learning of additional areas of concern from intensive inspections of multiple cars. The removal of this equipment from service will affect services on several routes: Downeaster, Hiawatha, Borealis, and Amtrak Cascades. Some trains, such as the Downeaster, will operate with fewer cars, while other services will be provided substitute transportation until a long-term plan is developed.”
Amtrak also issued announcements regarding specific trains. The one for the Hiawatha service noted that “until further notice, buses have been chartered as alternate transportation for approximately half of the service frequencies. Other Amtrak Hiawatha frequencies use different railcars and are unaffected.”
The notices were similar for Borealis and Cascades trains, although the specific impacts were different. The announcement for the Borealis said: “Buses were chartered as substitute transportation for Trains 1333 (north/westbound) and 1340 (east/southbound) on Wednesday, March 26, and for Train 1340 only on Thursday, March 27. Service by Borealis trains will be restored without bus substitutions, effective Friday, March 28. Business class passengers will be provided refunds for the cost difference from Coach Class, as bilevel railcars now operating on Borealis trains do not support Business Class.” The announcement for the Cascades indicated a more severe service reduction, as well as a refund of the difference between Business Class and Coach fares if applicable and noting that bicycle reservations would be honored on buses.
Service on the Amtrak Cascades was the most severely affected. Only Trains 503 (scheduled to leave Seattle at 7:10 AM and arrive at Eugene, Oregon at 1:48 PM) and 508 (scheduled to leave Eugene at 4:30 PM and arrive at Seattle at 10:30) ran on Wednesday with the one operational Talgo trainset. Even though a schedule for the line is available on Amtrak’s website, it is difficult to determine from the Reservations function which trains will run, and which will have a bus substitution for the next several days. The website does not mention any buses substituting for trains, but many departures are marked as SOLD OUT. Unclear is if Amtrak chartered enough buses to accommodate riders who had already booked seats. Amtrak shows the normal schedule as effective Sunday, March 31.
On the Hiawatha route for March 27, there are scheduled train departures from Chicago at 8:25 AM, 1:05 PM, and 5:08 PM, and from Milwaukee at 6:15 AM, 11:00 AM, 3:00 PM, and 7:35 PM. The website showed service increasing gradually until March 31, when it indicated that that the full schedule would run. Again, though, it is not clear when a bus would replace a train.
Reports indicate that some Horizon cars have been in use on Downeaster trains, and that they have been removed from consists, leaving them shorter, but the schedule remains unchanged.
*Editor’s Note: When aluminum and steel touch, especially in the presence of an electrolyte-like moisture, a process called galvanic corrosion can occur, potentially leading to corrosion of the aluminum. The electrons from the aluminum will transfer to the steel, causing the aluminum to corrode and the steel to be protected. The different metals have different electrochemical potentials, creating a voltage difference that drives a current flow. This current flow causes one metal (the anode) to corrode (dissolve) while the other metal (the cathode) is protected. In an aluminum/steel pairing, aluminum is more susceptible to corrosion because it’s the anode. Norfolk Southern’s 1,200 BethGon® II hybrid coal gondolas, built in the mid-2000s by FreightCar America, feature a combination stainless steel/aluminum carbody. Jointly designed by NS and FreightCar America to address Eastern coal shipper requirements and the railroad’s long-term replacement needs, these cars have a cold-rolled steel center sill, a lower stainless steel carbody to withstand heat applied to thaw frozen coal, and an aluminum upper carbody to maximize capacity. The stainless steel/aluminum connection point is insulated so that the two metals do not touch – William C. Vantuono
