NEWS




National Railroad Passenger Corporation
Amtrak Intercity
210 South Canal Street
Chicago, Illinois 60606-5715



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE				       ATK-96-162
July 11, 1996 - 6:30 P.M. ET				       Contact: Marc Magliari
								                     312-655-1338

AMTRAK TRAINS TAKE ALTERNATE ROUTE TO AVOID BERTHA'S BLAST

	CHICAGO -- Some Amtrak trains in the Carolinas will operate over inland routes to avoid Hurricane Bertha's landfall.

	The southbound Silver Meteor (Train #97), which operates from New York City to Miami, and the north and southbound Auto Trains (Trains #52 and 53), which operate without scheduled stops between Lorton, Va., and Sanford, Fla., will use tracks owned by the Norfolk Southern Railroad rather than their normal route over CSX trackage.

	Alternate transportation will be provided for the missed Silver Meteor stops in Fayetteville, N.C., and Dillon, Florence, Kingstree, Charleston and Yemassee, S.C. 

	Other Amtrak trains in the Carolinas, including the Silver Star (Trains #81, 91, 92 and 82), the Piedmont (Trains #74 and 73) and the Carolinian (Trains #80 & 79), are unaffected at this time.  Amtrak will continue to monitor the progress of the hurricane and its effect on tracks used by Amtrak in the Southeast to determine train schedules during the next 24 hours.  
	
	For up-to-date Amtrak train information, passengers are advised to contact their local Amtrak station or 1-800-USA-RAIL.

# # #