CHICAGO — Amtrak has canceled several trains in the Midwest and Pacific Northwest today (Friday, Feb. 6), along with a second day of large-scale cancellations in the Northwest.
Canceled today are Chicago-St. Louis Lincoln Service Nos. 300, 302, 305, and 307; Chicago-Pontiac, Mich., Wolverines Nos. 351, 352, 353, and 354; and Chicago-Quincy, Ill., Illinois Zephyrs Nos. 380 and 383. They are part of a series of multi-day equipment cancellations announced previously [see “Amtrak ‘weather-related’ cancellations extended,” Trains.com, Feb. 3, 2026].
An Amtrak spokesman wrote in an email, “We are working to restore service for our state partners and our passengers. This disruption is winter weather-related.”
In the Pacific Northwest, Amtrak Cascades Nos. 516 (Seattle-Vancouver, British Columbia), 518 (Eugene, Ore.-Vancouver), and 519 (Vancouver-Seattle) have been canceled. These are attributed to equipment unavailability and are reportedly related to a freight derailment.
These cancellations come as 20 trains on the Northeast Corridor are canceled for a second consecutive day [see “Amtrak cancels 20 trains …,” Feb. 5, 2026].
— Updated at 10:51 a.m. CT to correct Illinois Zephyr train numbers; updated at 12:40 with link to previous article and additional detail on Cascades cancellations.; updated at 4:40 p.m. with Amtrak comment. To report news or errors, contact trainsnewswire@firecrown.com.
Agree, this is absurd. Trains used to be the most reliable mode in harsh weather. Now with a mere prediction of cold or snow, service is cancelled.
Incidentally, on my last Lincoln Route trip with the new cars, the self retracting steps did not want to close following a station stop in the cold, forcing the conductor to kick at them repeatedly until they retracted resulting in a short delay. I know these things are built in California but they should be designed to handle the cold.
Is the problem really all about the equipment or does it have more to do with lack of mechanical staff to perform routine & required maintenance? On board staffing has been sharply reduced has the same occurred in the skilled mechanical areas?
There is no severe weather. Absolutely shameful. Amtrak received all this new Siemens equipment and none of it works in the winter???? A good house cleaning needs to be done of Amtrak management and some serious questions asked when it comes to all involved in procuring this equipment.
Why can’t anybody keep this expensive new Siemens equipment running? Buying foreign equipment has been a disaster!
Fred, I don’t think there is any alternative to foreign companies. O course, the companies, such as Siemens, all have US manufacturing sites.
The equipment may be unavailable, but as for severe weather conditions, may I respectfully ask, where in Illinois is there severe weather?
The BoringAlice (the name you gave that train seems to stick) has been running through colder temperatures than in Illinois. This train has Superliners and at least one engine is a Genesis-older but more winter-hardy and reliable than Chargers.
The Empire Builder also ran the last few days, mostly on time. Today, the webcam showed #8 about 3:30 late. That was after lunch, I haven’t checked since. Again, Superliners and usually a Genesis in the consist as well.