By Railfan & Railroad Staff

Amtrak officials say service is slowly getting back to normal after communication issues with its Positive Train Control system forced the delay or cancelation of dozens of trains beginning on Friday and lasting through the weekend. Many of the cancelations occurred on trains based out of Chicago. 

Amtrak spokesperson Marc Magliari told Railfan & Railroad that the issues stemmed from the railroad’s third-party PTC provider. Many trains out of Chicago, including Hiawatha service to Milwaukee, Wolverine service to Pontiac and Missouri River Runner/Lincoln service to St. Louis were all canceled on Saturday and Sunday, in addition to all of the western long-distance trains. As a result of those cancelations, there was a cascading effect because the equipment was not in place for return trips, so for example, the Empire Builder out of Portland and Seattle was canceled on Sunday. 

Trains on the Northeast Corridor were also impacted, with some having to run at restricted speed.