Positive COVID-19 Test Trims Westbound Amtrak Trains

WASHINGTON, DC – Following an apparent positive COVID-19 test amongst Amtrak staff, westbound passenger trains from Denver to Salt Lake and San Francisco were cancelled without warning yesterday and will remain closed until further notice.

The service, the western half of the transnational California Zephyr service, stopped abruptly yesterday after reports surfaced of a positive test for an Amtrak team member. The forced 14-day self-quarantine of their colleagues left the carrier short-staffed for the Reno-Denver segment of the line, leading to the decision to suspend service.

Amtrak Alerts, the carrier's Twitter page, posted that effective immediately Zephyr trains from Chicago would terminate in Denver due to “operational issues” and that no onward connection for westbound passengers would be provided.

Although Amtrak has reduced operation on more than twenty of its routes following the coronavirus outbreak, the Zephyr becomes the first of their long distance trains to see a change in service. Seasonal service from Denver to the Winter Park Resort had previously been abandoned following the closure of the state’s ski resorts.

Denver has been the center point of the Zephyr line since the Chicago-San Francisco service began in 1949. Amtrak assumed ownership of the service in 1983. On average the Zephyr carries more than 1,000 passengers per day.

Despite this cancellation, Colorado’s rail passengers are still able to reach California; a twice-daily bus link from Denver to Raton, NM is timed to connect with the Southwest Chief, the carrier’s daily westbound Chicago-Los Angeles service.

Amtrak’s corporate office has been approached for comment but is yet to respond.