by Donald Wood
Last updated: 12:23 PM ET, Mon March 16, 2020
As travelers continue to adjust to life during the coronavirus outbreak, rail companies are adjusting schedules and waiving change fees.
Amtrak announced it would continue to operate across the United States, but would be forced to adjust service as a result of significantly reduced demand in key markets. The company also revealed cafe service would be suspended on trains operating between Washington D.C. and New York City.
Officials said the reduced schedule includes the Northeast Corridor operating approximately 40 percent of its standard service. The Keystone Service will only operate between Harrisburg and Philadelphia starting Monday through March 29, and the New York State Service is also now running on a modified schedule.
In addition, the Amtrak Hartford Line and Valley Flyer will be operating its Saturday schedule on a daily basis starting Monday and Winter Park Express service is canceled for the rest of the season.
As a result, Amtrak is waiving change fees on all existing or new reservations made before April 30, but impacted travelers can typically be accommodated on trains with similar departure times.
VIA Rail Canada announced services would be reduced by 50 percent in the Quebec City-Windsor corridor starting Tuesday, but regional services continue to operate according to their respective schedules with no change.
Officials from VIA Rail also introduced a modified meal service aboard its trains.
As for Rocky Mountaineer, the rail company will implement enhanced screening and prevention procedures for the start of its travel season in April, plus enhanced sanitation onboard with additional disinfection.
For travelers looking to cancel or change their bookings, Rocky Mountaineer has temporarily adjusted terms to enable those who are 30-60 days ahead of travel to rebook to a later date without penalty. The company also changed its cancellation terms to offer more options.
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