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Amtrak’s Southwest Chief to reduce service through Kansas

By Staff | Aug 26, 2020

In this file photo from May 25, 2017, an Amtrak train prepares to leave Penn Station in New York.

NEWTON — Amtrak riders in Kansas will encounter reduced service starting in October as part of the rail passenger service’s nationwide cutback in routes because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Southwest Chief, which runs through Kansas from Chicago to Los Angeles, will reduce its service beginning Oct. 12, Amtrak said on its website. Nearly every Amtrak route across the country has been or will be reduced because of a “dramatic drop” in passengers during the pandemic, the company said.

Currently, the Southwest Chief operates seven days a week.

After Oct. 12, the Southwest Chief will leave Chicago on Monday, Thursday and Saturday. The train will leave Los Angeles on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

The train currently serves Lawrence, Topeka, Newton, Hutchinson, Dodge City and Garden City.

Amtrak said it hoped to restore all services by June 30, 2021.