No trains will run between Washington Union Station and Alexandria for nine days this October while Amtrak replaces worn-out track equipment inside the First Street Tunnel, the railroad announced Monday, Aug. 24.

The shutdown begins after the last train Friday, Oct. 16, and ends before service resumes Monday morning, Oct. 26. Seven routes are affected: Northeast Regional, Carolinian, Cardinal, Floridian, Silver Meteor, Palmetto and Crescent.

Amtrak is calling the project "Pause for Progress." Crews will tear out switches and crossovers that currently force trains to crawl at 10 mph, rebuild the tunnel's track base and install modern electric switching systems. The work targets a chokepoint called A-Interlocking, which funnels all Virginia-bound trains through a tight bottleneck just south of Union Station.

Laura Mason, Amtrak's executive vice president for capital delivery, told the railroad's board in July that "extensive trackwork replacement is needed in a very difficult, confined area for assets that have exceeded their useful life and where conventional work methods are not possible."

Amtrak said a concentrated outage is more efficient than phased construction because the tunnel is cramped and difficult to access.

What riders should expect

During the shutdown, passengers heading south from Union Station will need to take shuttle buses. Amtrak will run three timed round-trip bus bridges between Alexandria and Union Station. Express buses will also connect D.C. directly with cities across Virginia, including Roanoke, Lynchburg, Charlottesville, Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Newport News, Williamsburg and both Richmond stations.

Several long-distance routes will be split into disconnected segments:

  • Cardinal: Chicago to Indianapolis only
  • Floridian: Chicago to Pittsburgh, and Jacksonville to Miami, with no service in between
  • Silver Meteor: New York to Washington, and Jacksonville to Miami
  • Palmetto: New York to Washington only
  • Crescent: New York to Washington, and Atlanta to New Orleans

Amtrak Virginia will operate limited rail service south of the closure: one round trip between Norfolk and Alexandria, and one between Roanoke and Alexandria. The Carolinian will run as a train from New York to Washington, switch to a bus between Washington and Alexandria, then resume as a train to Charlotte.

Northeast Regional service north of Washington to New York and Boston is unaffected.

VRE riders still waiting for answers

The shutdown also blocks Virginia Railway Express commuter trains, which use the same tunnel. Because VRE doesn't run weekends, the outage hits one full workweek: Monday, Oct. 19, through Friday, Oct. 23.

As of Monday, Aug. 24, VRE's published schedule still showed normal service on all five days. A VRE spokesperson told WJLA that more information was "coming very soon."

Amtrak said it is coordinating with VRE, the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority and the North Carolina Department of Transportation. An Amtrak spokesperson said freight trains can continue using alternative routes around the District, but those routes are not suitable for passenger service because they would require significant operational restrictions.

Travelers can check for updates at Amtrak.com/washington-dc-train-status-pause-for-progress.