Keystone Service
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KEYSTONE SERVICE LEGEND Supporting State: Pennsylvania The Keystone Service provides frequent daily rail service connecting Harrisburg, PA and New York City via Lancaster and Philadelphia, PA and Trenton and Newark, NJ. Connecting rail service continues from New York via scheduled Amtrak trains from Penn Station, regional commuter rail services including Metro-North Railroad, Long Island Railroad, and NJ Transit as well as NYC Transit. SEPTA commuter rail trains connect in Philadelphia and operate over the same tracks between Downingtown and Philadelphia. Connecting bus services are also available at multiple station stops. Keystone Service Keystone Service ROUTE CHARACTERISTICS/SUMMARY Sources: Amtrak State Fact Sheets and Schedule; National Association of Rail Passengers Fact Sheets (2017) Route Distance 195 miles (Harrisburg, PA to New York City (Penn Station)) Average Trip Distance (2016) 88 miles Trips by Length (2016) 0-99 mi: 60.4% 100-199 mi: 39.6% Scheduled Time Length of Route Approximately 3 hours and 45 minutes (schedule varies by day of week) Frequency 26 one-way weekday trips, with 13 in each direction; 14 one-way weekend day trips, with 7 in each direction Operating Entity Amtrak Scheduled Trains Eastbound: Trains 640, 642, 600, 644, 646, 648, 650, 652, 654, 656, 620, and 622 (M-F), Train 618 (M-Th), Train 658 (F), Train 610 and 662 (Sa), Trains 660, 664, 666, 670, and 672 (SaSu), and Trains 674 and 612 (Su) Westbound: Trains 601, 605, 607, 641, 643, 645, 609, 647, 649, 651, 653, 655, and 619 (M-F), Train 611 (Sa), Trains 661, 663, 665, 667, 669, and 671 (SaSu), and Train 615 (Su) Number of stations 21 cities in 3 states (14 in PA, 6 in NJ, and 1 in NY) Ridership level (2016) 1,446,976 Relation to other Amtrak/ Connections to other Amtrak routes, regional commuter rail services, passenger rail services and and/or transit at NYC-Penn Station, in Philadelphia, Lancaster, and Thruway connections in Harrisburg. Connections with local transit services at major stations along route. Host railroad(s) Amtrak-owned Page 1 Keystone Service Annual Passengers 2011-2016 (Thousands) 2011 1326.9 2012 1398.9 2013 1448.8 2014 1307 2015 1343.9 2016 1447 1200 1250 1300 1350 1400 1450 1500 *Note: In 2014 Amtrak changed the way they calculated multi-ride tickets resulting in an apparent drop in ridership. Amtrak had previously estimated multi-ride users and after implementing new ticketing technology, ridership for these customers is calculated more accurately. Top City Pairs, 2016 By Ridership By Revenue 1. Lancaster, PA - Philadelphia, PA 67 mi 1. Harrisburg, PA - New York, NY 195 mi 2. Harrisburg, PA - Philadelphia, PA 104 mi 2. Lancaster, PA - New York, NY 158 mi 3. Harrisburg, PA - New York, NY 195 mi 3. New York, NY - Paoli, PA 110 mi 4. Lancaster, PA - New York, NY 158 mi 4. Lancaster, PA - Philadelphia, PA 67 mi 5. New York, NY - Paoli, PA 110 mi 5. Harrisburg, PA - Philadelphia, PA 104 mi Activity by Station, 2014-2016 Station 2014 2015 2016 Station 2014 2015 2016 Ardmore 56,332 61,129 67,629 New 176 206 231 Brunswick Coatesville 14,899 14,433 15,527 New York 380,609 379,743 431,398 Downingtown 59,206 61,292 77,337 Newark 20,866 19,519 24,087 Elizabethtown 102,787 103,806 100,159 Newark-- 657 840 852 Liberty Exton 102,041 108,677 130,341 Paoli 156,037 162,051 186,547 Harrisburg 446,319 459,308 458,332 Parkesburg 49,080 48,505 46,950 Lancaster 477,716 486,828 507,284 Philadelphia 626,631 654,804 720,885 Metropark 444 406 490 Princeton Jct. 927 863 936 Middletown 66,357 67,957 67,491 Trenton 6,580 6,635 6,777 Mount Joy 46,288 50,648 50,640 Page 2 Keystone Service GOVERNANCE State-funded service, funded primarily by Pennsylvania DOT (PennDOT) The Amtrak Keystone Service is supported by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania through funding from its Department of Transportation. The host railroad for the Keystone Service is Amtrak as Amtrak owns the route as part of the Northeast Corridor. HISTORY Service along the Keystone Corridor between New York and western Pennsylvania was established by the Pennsylvania Railroad in the late 1800s. The Amtrak Keystone Service has been operated by Amtrak since its inception on the eastern part of the corridor between New York and Harrisburg via Philadelphia. This rail route is owned by Amtrak as part of its Northeast Corridor infrastructure and has electric overhead catenary power for its locomotives. Several recent projects have been undertaken to provide higher speed service and remove at-grade crossings to improve safety and speed. The Keystone West segment of the corridor beyond Harrisburg to Pittsburgh is owned by Norfolk Southern and hosts the once-daily Amtrak Pennsylvanian. Keystone Service trains typically operate with a trainset made up of an electric locomotive, four coaches, and a cab car. The average speed over the length of the route is currently 60 mph, although the maximum operating speed is 110 mph following years of strategic infrastructure improvements.1 Keystone Service Train Operating during Winter Storm Jonas in January 2016 Source: Amtrak, Photo by: Gary Pancavage, Available at: https://media.amtrak.com/media-images/amtrak-northeast- regional-train-operates-blizzard/, Accessed: February 20, 2018. 1 Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, Plan the Keystone Frequently Asked Questions, December 2017, Available at: http://www.planthekeystone.com/Projects%20Documents/Printable_FAQs.pdf, Accessed: February 5, 2018. Page 3 .