Its busiest station is in New York City, where nearly 9 million passenger step on or off a train every year.
But the rail provider's operations -- the nuts-and-bolts of making the trains run safely and on-time -- happens, of all places, in Wilmington, Del.
In 1998, Amtrak opened the 50,000 square-foot facility known as Consolidation National Operations Center in Wilmington. From there, a busy staff oversees Amtrak's nationwide operations of about 85,000 passengers riding 300 trains per day.
Also in Wilmington is Amtrak's High-Speed Rail Training Facility, opened in 1999, where engineers learn to operate the trains on high-tech, full-motion simulators.
Wilmington is home to a facility where dispatchers manage a huge chunk of traffic along the Northeast Corridor, Amtrak's busiest route.
And Delaware is home to two major maintenance facilities as well. All of the Northeast Corridor's electric locomotives are maintained at the Wilmington Shops. Just a few miles away in Bear, Del., another facility services the the distinctive round Amfleet passenger cars, used along the Northeast Corridor and elsewhere.
The city is home to the newly-renovated Joseph R. Biden Railroad Jr. Railroad Station -- named for the vice president -- which reopened in 2010. More than a century old, the station underwent a $37.7 million renovation that included waterproofing and a facade rehabilitation.
All told, Amtrak emplys more tahn 1,100 Delaware residents. Here's a look behind the scenes of how the rail provider gets the job done.
