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July 27, 2022

Extreme Heat Preparations

High temperatures can impact Amtrak operations as the extreme heat can cause rail, bridge and catenary wires to expand. As a safety measure, Amtrak imposes heat restrictions, which require locomotive engineers to operate trains at lower speeds than under normal operating conditions. Speed reductions are based on the rail temperature, not the ambient (air) temperature. That data ensures we’re only issuing heat restrictions when necessary.