| Host Railroads
See whose rails the Texas Eagle and Heartland Flyer use |
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Freight railroads that host the Texas Eagle Official song: "The Eagle Way" Spanish-language guide to Amtrak travel (PDF, 1.1 MB) |
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 The law that created Amtrak also obliged America's investor-owned freight railroads to carry Amtrak trains on their track. This was necessary because Amtrak owned no track of its own. Even today 95% of Amtrak's network--and the entire routes of the Texas Eagle and Heartland Flyer--are on "host" railroads. Amtrak trains use these track under the terms of agreements negotiated with each railroad. America's freight railroads are busier than ever. Just like urban highways at peak hours, some routes experience traffic jams. When this occurs, all trains are affected, including Amtrak's. Historically this type of congestion accounts for most of the delays to Amtrak long-distance trains. Traffic and capacity vary from railroad to railroad, region to region, and even season to season. In recent years, one of the most congestion-prone rail corridors in the United States has been the Union Pacific Railroad between Los Angeles and El Paso, which hosts the Texas Eagle/Sunset Limited.
Amtrak and its host railroads maintain continual, often round-the-clock communication with one another, in order to maintain and improve on-time performance--and to minimize the effects of delays when they occur. Amtrak's very existence represents a promise by the freight railroads to preserve America's passenger-train network. Amtrak schedules represent a joint commitment by Amtrak and its hosts to run trains promptly and in good order. To visit the websites of the Texas Eagle and Heartland Flyer host railroads, click the color bars in the legend above, or the logos below.
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