Amtrak Pulls the Pittsburgh to DC Trains for Nine Days in October
Amtrak will run no trains between Pittsburgh and Washington from October 16 to 26, right in the middle of peak foliage season on the GAP.
If your fall plan is to ride the Great Allegheny Passage one way and let Amtrak carry you home, check the calendar before you book. Amtrak will not run trains between Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C. from October 16 to 26.
The railroad is pausing part of its Floridian route for what it describes as a nine-day infrastructure upgrade in Washington. During the disruption the Floridian will operate only between Chicago and Pittsburgh. The Great Allegheny Passage Conservancy posted the closure as a trail alert on September 2.
For riders on this end of the trail, the timing stings. Mid to late October is peak foliage on the mountain, and the Pittsburgh to Cumberland to Washington run is one of the most popular ways to link the GAP with the C&O Canal Towpath. Plenty of people pedal out and train back. For that stretch, in the best color of the year, the return leg is gone.
What to do instead
The workaround is a shuttle. The Conservancy keeps a list of shuttle and luggage services at gaptrail.org, and several of them run this corridor through Confluence, Rockwood and Meyersdale. Book early. Nine days without a train means every other rider on the trail is dialing the same phone numbers you are.
If you are already holding a ticket in that window, Amtrak should contact you directly, but check your reservation rather than waiting to hear.
Fall on the GAP books up fast enough without a railroad going dark for a week and a half. Make the call now, not from a bench in Cumberland.