Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach
Thruway Motorcoach is Amtrak's system of Amtrak-owned intercity coaches, locally contracted transit buses, through-ticketed local bus routes, and taxi services to connect Amtrak train stations to areas not served by its railroads. Train and Thruway Motorcoach tickets are purchased together from Amtrak for the length of a passenger's journey, and the connections are timed for convenient dedicated and guaranteed-reliable transfers between the two services. In addition to providing connecting service to unserved areas, some Thruway Motorcoaches operate as redundant service along well-established passenger rail corridors to add extra capacity.
California has the most extensive network of Thruway Motorcoaches in the nation; however due to California state law, tickets are sold only as part of train journeys.[1]
Amtrak establishes temporary Thruway Motorcoach service when normal rail service encounters disruptions.[2]
Thruway Motorcoach routes
Northeast
- Philadelphia to Atlantic City (through-ticketed NJ TRANSIT Atlantic City Line rail route)
- Newport News to Virginia Beach
- New York City to LaGuardia Airport/JFK Airport (through-ticketed New York Airport Service route)
- Portland, Maine to Bangor (through-ticketed Concord Coach Lines route)
- Boston to Newburyport, Massachusetts/Portsmouth, New Hampshire (through-ticketed C&J Trailways route)
- New London, Connecticut to Foxwoods Casino (through-ticketed SEAT route)
- Boston to Manchester/Concord/Berlin, New Hampshire (through-ticketed Concord Coach Lines route)
- Boston to Manchester/Concord/Littleton, New Hampshire (through-ticketed Concord Coach Lines route)
- Wilmington, Delaware to Dover, Delaware/Salisbury, Maryland (through-ticketed Greyhound Lines route)
- Buffalo to Jamestown, New York (through-ticketed Coach USA Erie route)
- Westport, New York to Lake Placid, New York (operated by Ground Force 1)
East
- Jacksonville to Lakeland, Florida via Ocala
- DeLand, Florida to Daytona Beach (thruway service is a taxicab provided by Southern Komfort)
- Orlando, Florida/Tampa to St. Petersburg/Fort Myers, Florida (operated by Martz First Class)
- Palatka, Florida to St. Augustine/Gainesville
- High Point, North Carolina to Winston-Salem (through-ticketed Winston-Salem Connector route)
- Washington, D.C. to Charlottesville, Virginia (through-ticketed Greyhound route)
- Charlottesville to Richmond, Virginia (operated by James River Transportation)
- Grantsville, Maryland to Baltimore via BWI Airport Amtrak station
- Wilson, North Carolina to numerous cities in eastern North Carolina (Greenville, New Bern, Havelock, Morehead City, Goldsboro, Kinston, Jacksonville, and Wilmington) (through ticketed motorcoach operated by Southeastern Tours of Greenville).
- Tuscaloosa, Alabama to Mobile, Alabama (through-ticketed Capital Trailways route)
- Meridian, Mississippi to Dallas (through-ticketed Greyhound route)
Midwest
- Chicago/Indianapolis to Louisville, Kentucky (through-ticketed Greyhound route)
- Carbondale, Illinois to St. Louis (Vandalia Bus Lines)
- New Orleans to Baton Rouge (Greyhound Lines)
- Battle Creek, Michigan to Flint (through-ticketed Indian Trails route)
- Kalamazoo, Michigan to St. Ignace (through-ticketed Indian Trails route)
- Indianapolis to Galesburg, Illinois/Davenport, Iowa (through-ticketed Burlington Trailways route)
- Kansas City, Missouri to Oklahoma City via Tulsa (through-ticketed Jefferson Lines route)
- Milwaukee to Oshkosh, Wisconsin/Wausau, Wisconsin (through-ticketed Lamers Bus Lines route)
- Milwaukee to Houghton, Michigan (Indian Trails)
- Milwaukee to Minneapolis/St. Paul via Eau Claire, Wisconsin (Jefferson Lines)
- Chicago to Rockford, Illinois/Madison, Wisconsin (through-ticketed Van Galder Bus Company route)
- Galesburg, Illinois to Springfield, Illinois
- St. Paul-Minneapolis to Duluth, Minnesota (through-ticketed Jefferson Lines route)
- Toledo, Ohio to East Lansing, Michigan via Detroit and Ann Arbor, Michigan (Metro Cars)
West
- Salt Lake City to Boise (through-ticketed Greyhound route)
- Salt Lake City to Las Vegas (through-ticketed Greyhound route)
- Denver to Colorado Springs/Pueblo (through-ticketed Greyhound route)
- Denver to Glenwood Springs, Colorado (through-ticketed Greyhound route)
- Williams Junction to Williams, Arizona (Grand Canyon Railway connection)
- Flagstaff to Williams/Grand Canyon (through-ticketed Arizona Shuttle route)
- Flagstaff to Phoenix (through-ticketed Arizona Shuttle or Greyhound route)
- Flagstaff to Sedona, Arizona (through-ticketed Arizona Shuttle route)
- Raton, New Mexico to Denver (through-ticketed Greyhound route)
- Kingman, Arizona to Laughlin/Las Vegas (through-ticketed Commuter Services route)
- Albuquerque to El Paso (through-ticketed Greyhound route)
- Lamy, New Mexico to Santa Fe, New Mexico
- Los Angeles to Las Vegas (through-ticketed Greyhound route)
- Longview, Texas to Shreveport, Louisiana
- Longview to Houston/Galveston
- San Antonio to Laredo (through-ticketed Greyhound route)
- San Antonio to McAllen (through-ticketed Greyhound route)
- Temple to Killeen/Fort Hood
- Oklahoma City to Kansas City, Missouri via Tulsa (through-ticketed Jefferson Lines route)
- Houston to Galveston (through-ticketed Kerrville Bus route)
Pacific Northwest
- Seattle to Vancouver, BC (through ticketed Cantrail Coachlines Inc.)
- Seattle to Bellingham and Vancouver, BC
- Seattle to Vancouver Island/Victoria, BC (through-ticketed Victoria Clipper ferry route)
- Portland to Eugene-Springfield
- Portland to Astoria (through-ticked by Amtrak, operated by the NorthWest POINT)
- Spokane to Boise (through-ticketed Northwestern Trailways route)
- Seattle to Wenatchee/Spokane (through-ticketed Northwestern Trailways route)
- Portland to Pendleton/Boise (through-ticketed Greyhound route)
- Portland/Albany to Corvallis/Newport (through-ticketed Valley Retriever)
- Redmond to Chemult (through-ticked by Amtrak, operated by the High Desert POINT/TAC Transportation)
- Klamath Falls to Brookings (through-ticked by Amtrak, operated by the SouthWest POINT/Klamath Shuttle)
- Klamath Falls to Crater Lake(through-ticked by Amtrak, operated by Crater Lake Trolley/Klamath Shuttle)
- Eugene to Bend/Ontario (through-ticked by Amtrak, operated by Eastern POINT/TAC Transportation)
- Eugene to Coos Bay (through-ticked by Amtrak, operated by TAC Transportation)
- Klamath Falls to Ashland
California
- 1a: Bakersfield – Los Angeles – Long Beach – San Diego
(also serving Santa Clarita, Van Nuys, Glendale, Fullerton, Anaheim, Santa Ana, Long Beach, Irvine, Laguna Niguel, San Juan Capistrano, Oceanside, and Solana Beach)
- 1b: Bakersfield – Los Angeles – Long Beach
(also serving Santa Clarita, Van Nuys, Glendale, and San Pedro)
(also serving Santa Clarita, Burbank, Van Nuys, UCLA, Westchester, and El Segundo)
- 3a: Stockton/Sacramento – Redding
(also serving Lodi, Elk Grove, Marysville, Oroville, Chico, Red Bluff, and Redding)
- 3b: Stockton/Sacramento
(also serving Lodi, Elk Grove, and Davis)
- 6: Stockton – San Jose
(also serving Lathrop/Manteca, Tracy, Vasco Road, Livermore, Dublin, Pleasanton, Fremont, and Santa Clara)
- 7: Martinez – McKinleyville
(also serving Benicia, Discovery Kingdom, Vallejo, Napa, Petaluma, Rohnert Park, Santa Rosa, Healdsburg, Cloverdale, Ukiah, Willits, Laytonville, Leggett, Garberville, Rio Dell/Scotia, Fortuna, Eureka, and Arcata)
(also serving Barstow and Primm, Nevada)
- 10: Bakersfield – Santa Barbara
(also serving Fillmore, Santa Paula, Oxnard, Ventura, and Carpinteria)
- 12: Bakersfield – Victorville
(also serving Tehachapi, Mojave, Lancaster, Palmdale, Littlerock, and Adelanto Junction)
(also serving El Portal, Midpines, and Mariposa)
- 17: Oakland – San Luis Obispo – Santa Barbara
(also serving San Francisco, San Jose, Salinas, King City, Paso Robles, Atascadero, San Luis Obispo, Grover Beach, Santa Maria, Solvang, and Buellton)
- 18a: Hanford – Santa Maria
(also serving Lemoore, Kettleman City, Paso Robles, Atascadero, San Luis Obispo, and Grover Beach)
- 18b: Hanford – Visalia
(also serving Goshen Junction)
- 19a: Bakersfield – Hemet
(also serving La Crescenta, Pasadena, Claremont, Ontario, Riverside, San Bernardino, Moreno Valley, Perris, and Sun City)
- 19b: Bakersfield – Indio
(also serving La Crescenta, Pasadena, Claremont, Ontario, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Palm Springs)
- 20a: Sacramento – Reno/Sparks, Nevada
(also serving Roseville, Rocklin, Auburn, Colfax, and Truckee)
- 20c: Sacramento – South Lake Tahoe
(also serving Placerville, Stateline, Nevada, and Kingsbury Transit Center)
- 21: San Jose – Santa Barbara
(also serving Gilroy, Salinas, King City, Paso Robles, San Luis Obispo, Grover Beach, Santa Maria, Solvang, and Buellton)
- 34: Stockton – San Francisco
(also serving Lodi, Livermore, Dublin, Oakland, and Emeryville)
- 35: Santa Cruz – San Jose
(also serving Scotts Valley) [connects with 6]
(also serving Monterey)
- 99: Oakland/Emeryville – San Francisco
Substitution for Amtrak trains
Thruway Motorcoaches are also substituted in place of an Amtrak California train on the following unnumbered segments:
- Oakland – San Jose
- Van Nuys, Los Angeles to central Los Angeles (one southbound trip)
- Central Los Angeles to Santa Barbara
Thruway Motorcoaches can also be used as an alternative to the Amtrak Downeaster on the following segments:
- Boston (North Station) to Dover, Exeter, or Durham/UNH – one northbound (Bus 8619) and one southbound (Bus 8618) (C&J bus)- this segment can be reserved through Amtrak ticketing systems
- Boston (South Station) to Portland, Maine – Portland/Boston Flexpass is valid on Concord Coach or Downeaster runs between Portland and Boston – no reservations required (The Downeaster serves Boston-North Station, while Concord Coach serves Boston-South Station)
Replaced Thruway Motorcoach service
Thruway Motorcoach service has been replaced by through-ticketed local transit on the following California segments:
- San Jose – Santa Cruz: Highway 17 Express
- San Jose – Monterey: Monterey-Salinas Transit Line 55
- Auburn – Grass Valley: Gold County Stage Line 5X
References
- ↑ "California Thruway Buses Reach Hot Vacation Spots". Amtrak. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
- ↑ "Thruway Motorcoach Service and Accessibility." Amtrak. Accessed July 27, 2008.