March 15, 2025 - TRA Newswire -

Springtime always brings out the track crews for necessary repairs and infrastructure upgrades and 2025 will have Union Pacific maintenance-of-way gangs hard at work between Marshall in East Texas and the Dallas-Fort Worth area. 

If you are travelling on Amtrak's Texas Eagle (trains #21 and #22) during a number of 8-day-in-a-row periods starting March 20th and ending June 10th you will be on alternate transportation between Fort Worth and Marshall.

Passenger trains will only operate between Chicago and Marshall and between Fort Worth and San Antonio with an interim replacement bus service between Marshall and Fort Worth.

The Dallas subdivision, which runs all the way to Longview, will see Union Pacific crews performing major track work for eight straight days in a row and then taking a five day break. During each five days when track renewal stops this spring, the Texas Eagle will resume its full route coverage from Chicago to San Antonio. 

Refer to the Texas Eagle Service Schedule Changes issued by Amtrak to determine if you will be on a thru-train or will have a bus bridge if you are traveling between Fort Worth and Marshall. 

If you're planning to take the Texas Eagle to the 21st Annual Southwestern Rail Conference April 7-8 in the DFW Metroplex, your trip could be affected by the change.

During the Marshall-Fort Worth bus substitution, stops will continue to be made at Longview, Mineola and Dallas, however the scheduled times will be adjusted, so its important to read updated notices, use Amtrak.com, the Amtrak app, call 800-USA-RAIl or speak with station personnel. 

The track work will directly affect riders who are normally booked on trains #421 and #422, a section of the Texas Eagle that runs tri-weekly.

• During the 8 day work windows train #421, which normally originates in Chicago and finishes at Los Angeles, will start from Fort Worth.
• Train #422  which operates between Los Angeles and Chicago will terminate at Fort Worth. 

Passengers who already booked trains #421 and #422 through the affected work zone areas could still travel and Amtrak should be reaching out to you if you already have tickets purchased. Your journey may now involve a train at either end and one bus to bridge across the construction areas. 

Regardless, you may want to check online and plan ahead. A cursory look at several of the bustitued days showed that trains were sold out. 

Photo credit: Union Pacific