JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – Pennsylvania and Amtrak officials today (Tuesday, Oct. 6) announced a Nov. 18 start date for a second daily frequency of the New York-Pittsburgh Pennsylvanian, after 46 years with just one round trip.
The state-supported service will offer morning and afternoon departures from each endpoint. While the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation has long funded Amtrak Keystone Service between New York, Philadelphia, and Harrisburg, with 25 total trains on weekdays, the Pennsylvanian has been the sole state-supported train on the 249-mile Harrisburg-Pittsburgh route, which is Norfolk Southern’s Pittsburgh Line.
State officials had previously announced that the train would begin operation in mid-November but had not specified a date [see “Second Amtrak Pennsylvanian will begin …,” Trains.com, Aug. 24, 2026].
PennDOT Secretary Mike Carroll hailed the $143 million in funding from the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that, along with $80 million in state funding, paid for NS improvements — most still underway or in planning — at a dozen junctions and interlockings to facilitate the additional frequencies…