FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ATK-98-10
February 6, 1998
Contact: Marc Magliari (312) 655-1338

AMTRAK AND THE TEXAS EAGLE COALITION CELEBRATE SERVICE EXPANSION
Texas Eagle Now Operates Four-Days- Weekly with Additional Service Improvements in May

CHICAGO -- Amtrak Texas Eagle customers are being joined Friday and Saturday, Feb. 6 and 7, by hundreds of invited guests celebrating the fourth frequency of Texas Eagle service. This Texas Eagle California Service will provide a through train to and from Chicago and Los Angeles, via Missouri, Arkansas, Texas, New Mexico and Arizona.

Previously, Amtrak has operated service three-days- weekly between Chicago and San Antonio on its Texas Eagle route and service three-days- weekly between San Antonio and Los Angeles on its Sunset Limited route. The additional Texas Eagle service provides direct rail passenger service to points along the entire 2,726-mile Chicago- San Antonio-Los Angeles route.

Amtrak is expanding service along the route because prospects for future customer growth warrant the expansion. In addition, mail and express business along the route is increasing.

"By increasing the number of trains per week on this route, Amtrak becomes even easier to do business with," said Amtrak Intercity President Lee W. Bullock. "This is part of our ongoing effort to increase train frequencies in order to be more responsive to customers. The new Texas Eagle service is the first expansion of passenger rail service between San Antonio and Los Angeles in nearly 28 years."

Bullock will be joined by Arkansas and Texas officials and the Texas Eagle Coalition for a news conference and celebration of the service expansion Saturday, Feb. 7, at 5:30 p.m., at the Amtrak station, 1501 Jones St., in Fort Worth. Along the way, this initial run of the Texas Eagle California Service will break banners erected at Amtrak stations Saturday in Little Rock, Ark., Texarkana, Ark./Texas, and Marshall, Longview, Mineola, Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas.

Amtrak has been working closely with a group of mayors and other officials along the Texas Eagle route to create a Texas Eagle Coalition to improve promotion of the service, develop a larger customer base and enhance station facilities. Amtrak gratefully acknowledges the Texas Eagle Coalition and others for their continuing support and promotion of the Texas Eagle.

Chicago-San Antonio-Los Angeles Route Schedules

The fourth day of westbound Texas Eagle service departs Chicago on Fridays and San Antonio on Sundays. The fourth day of eastbound Texas Eagle service departs Los Angeles on Mondays and San Antonio on Wednesdays. The Texas Eagle also continues to depart Chicago and San Antonio on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays.

The Sunset Limited continues to depart Los Angeles eastbound on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays, en route to San Antonio and points east, including Houston, New Orleans and Orlando. The Sunset Limited departs San Antonio westbound on Thursdays, Saturdays and Mondays.

May Service Improvements

Effective with the Spring/Summer Amtrak timetable on May 17, Amtrak will further improve the Texas Eagle and Sunset Limited service by initiating through car service between the two trains. The Texas Eagle and the Sunset Limited will exchange cars to and from Chicago and Los Angeles, enabling customers to connect between the two trains without requiring passengers to walk from train to train. Currently, passengers who wish to connect between the Texas Eagle and the Sunset Limited to and from Los Angeles make a physical transfer between the trains in San Antonio. The through car service will operate during the peak summer travel season and will be evaluated again before the 1998-1999 Fall/Winter timetable is issued.

Fare Promotion

A free companion fare promotion continues through Feb. 28 on the Texas Eagle. With the purchase of a one-way or round-trip adult coach ticket, a second ticket on an identical itinerary is complimentary. Customers can also purchase an upgrade to sleeping accommodations, subject to availability.

Customers should visit a staffed Amtrak station, call 1-800-USA-RAIL or see an authorized Amtrak travel agent, for details on this or any other Amtrak service. Ticketing, schedules and service information are also available at the Amtrak site on the World Wide Web at www.amtrak.com.

Amtrak Intercity operates passenger rail service throughout most of the United States, including the Texas Eagle, Sunset Limited and most other Amtrak long-distance services, and short- distance trains along corridors serving the Chicago, Detroit, Milwaukee, Kansas City, St. Louis, Raleigh and Charlotte markets. Headquartered in Chicago, Amtrak Intercity employs nearly 6,400 people in 39 states and is one of three Amtrak strategic business units.