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The Twilight Shoreliner was a passenger train operated by Amtrak on the Northeast Corridor between Boston, Massachusetts, and Newport News, Virginia, via New York City and Washington, D.C. Amtrak introduced it in 1997 to replace the Night Owl. It was discontinued in 2003 in favor of the Federal.

Twilight Shoreliner

The Twilight Shoreliner in Boston in 2002
Overview
Service type	Inter-city rail
Status	Discontinued
Locale	Northeast Corridor
Predecessor	Night Owl
First service	10 July 1997 (1997-07-10)
Last service	28 April 2003 (2003-04-28)
Successor	Federal
Former operator(s)	Amtrak
Route
Termini	Newport News, Virginia Boston, Massachusetts
Service frequency	Daily
Train number(s)	66,67
On-board services
Class(es)	Coach class Custom class Viewliner sleeper car
Catering facilities	On-board café Twilight Lounge
Technical
Rolling stock	Viewliner sleepers Amfleet coaches
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Route map Legend 0 mi 0 km Boston South Station 1 mi 2 km Boston Back Bay 11 mi 18 km Route 128 Massachusetts Rhode Island 43 mi 69 km Providence 70 mi 113 km Kingston 87 mi 140 km Westerly Rhode Island Connecticut 96 mi 154 km Mystic 105 mi 169 km New London 123 mi 198 km Old Saybrook 156 mi 251 km New Haven 195 mi 314 km Stamford Connecticut New York 231 mi 372 km New York Penn Station New York New Jersey 241 mi 388 km Newark Penn Station 255 mi 410 km Metropark 289 mi 465 km Trenton New Jersey Pennsylvania 322 mi 518 km Philadelphia Pennsylvania Delaware 347 mi 558 km Wilmington Delaware Maryland 416 mi 669 km Baltimore Penn Station 427 mi 687 km BWI Marshall Airport 448 mi 721 km New Carrollton Maryland District of Columbia 457 mi 735 km Washington D.C. District of Columbia Virginia 465 mi 748 km Alexandria 491 mi 790 km Quantico 511 mi 822 km Fredericksburg 555 mi 893 km Ashland 566 mi 911 km Richmond Staples Mill Road 621 mi 999 km Williamsburg 644 mi 1036 km Newport News

History

The Twilight Shoreliner replaced the Night Owl as Amtrak's dedicated overnight service on the Northeast Corridor. Amtrak equipped the train with a Viewliner sleeping car, replacing the Heritage Fleet equipment used by the Night Owl. The new train also featured a Custom-class coach and the specially-branded "Twilight Café," which served hot meals and was restricted to sleeper- and custom-class passengers. Finally, Amtrak extended the southern terminus from Washington, D.C., to Newport News, Virginia, and moved the departure time from Boston from 10 PM to 8 PM.[1] The Twilight Shoreliner provided a second daily frequency between the Northeast and Newport News, supplementing the Old Dominion.[2]

Amtrak launched the Twilight Shoreliner on July 10, 1997.[2] The cover of its Summer 1997 Northeast timetable called the train "An Unexpected Departure from the Northeast"; a full-page inset touted the many amenities available, including showers and in-room first-run movies for sleeping car passengers and the two cafe cars.[3] By October, ridership was up 28%.[4]

Amtrak discontinued the Twilight Shoreliner on April 28, 2003, replacing it with the Federal, which ran from Boston to Washington, D.C. Ridership from Newport News had declined in 2002–2003, and eliminating the Virginian portion of the route Amtrak could offer a better schedule to travelers on the Northeast Corridor.[5] A southbound connection from the Federal to a Newport News-bound Regional was available at Washington, but northbound trips required a three-hour layover.[6] The Federal was merged into the Regional brand on April 26, 2004.[7] Amtrak re-extended overnight trains 66 and 67 (now part of the Northeast Regional brand) to Newport News on November 1, 2004; however, they do not include the sleeping car and lounge car.[8][9]

Private sleeping rooms were restored to the unnamed overnight Northeast Regional trains 65/66/67 on April 5, 2021.[10] However, these sleeping cars removed by 2022. On July 11, 2022 Amtrak shifted the southern terminus of numbers 66/67 from Newport News to Roanoke, Virginia.[11][12]

Equipment

The Twilight Shoreliner operated with a mix of Heritage, Amfleet, and Viewliner equipment. A Heritage Fleet baggage car handled checked baggage for passengers and, beginning in 2001, bicycles.[13][14] The train carried a Viewliner sleeping car except for a brief period in 2002 when Amtrak had to withdraw it because of equipment shortages elsewhere.[15] The train carried four Amfleet coaches, two of which were configured for "Custom Class" seating.[2] The train featured a first class-only lounge car, the "Twilight Lounge", for sleeper and Custom Class passengers.[16] A second standard cafe car served regular coach passengers.[17]^: 13

References

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