Editing Keystone Service (section)

=== Declining service ===
[[File:Keystone Service train at Downingtown station, September 20, 1985.jpg|thumb|right|A ''Keystone Service'' train of Metroliners at Downingtown in 1985]]
In the late 1970s, [[New Jersey Department of Transportation|NJDOT]]'s new [[Arrow (railcar)|Arrow III]] railcars arrived several years ahead of the completion of electrification projects to allow their use in New Jersey commuter service. By this time, Amtrak was desperate for electric propulsion, as the aging [[Pennsylvania Railroad class GG1|GG1 locomotives]] were nearing the end of their usefulness, replacement [[GE E60|E60 locomotives]] were proving unreliable, and new [[EMD AEM-7]] locomotives were only just beginning to arrive. In April 1978, Amtrak leased 70 of NJDOT's Arrow II cars for use on the ''[[Clocker (train)|Clockers]]'', ''Keystone Service'', and the new ''[[Chesapeake (train)|Chesapeake]]''.<ref name="baer1978">{{Cite web |last=Baer |first=Christopher T. |date=April 2015 |title=A GENERAL CHRONOLOGY OF THE PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD COMPANY ITS PREDECESSORS AND SUCCESSORS AND ITS HISTORICAL CONTEXT: 1978 |url=http://www.prrths.com/newprr_files/Hagley/PRR1978.pdf |publisher=Pennsylvania Railroad Technical & Historical Society}}</ref> By January 1979, the Arrows were rotated between the ''Clockers'' and ''Silverliner Service''. The Arrows had bathrooms and water fountains, making them more suitable for regional service than the Silverliners.<ref name="baer1979">{{Cite web |last=Baer |first=Christopher T. |date=April 2015 |title=A GENERAL CHRONOLOGY OF THE PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD COMPANY ITS PREDECESSORS AND SUCCESSORS AND ITS HISTORICAL CONTEXT: 1979 |url=http://www.prrths.com/newprr_files/Hagley/PRR1979.pdf |publisher=Pennsylvania Railroad Technical & Historical Society}}</ref> In late 1980, under pressure from NJDOT, Amtrak returned all but 32 of the Arrows, which quickly created the need to find other rolling stock for the ''Silverliner Service''. Despite being pronounced unsuitable for Harrisburg service a decade before, the [[Budd Metroliner|Metroliners]] were the only easily available rolling stock, as they were being slowly retired from the eponymous service. A test run with Metroliners was made on January 20, 1981, and Metroliners were used in revenue service for two weeks in February.<ref name="baer1980" /> Metroliners were used on the New York – Harrisburg ''Valley Forge'' for a week in August, and a maintenance facility at Harrisburg opened on October 13, 1981.<ref name="baer1980" />

As the new AEM-7 locomotives continued to arrive, Amtrak assigned them to haul crack ''[[Metroliner (train)|Metroliner]]'' trains with [[Amfleet]] consists, and reassigned the less-reliable Metroliners for the secondary Philadelphia–Harrisburg service, dubbing them Capitoliners.<ref>{{Solomon-Amtrak|page=151}}</ref> On October 25, 1981, the service was rebranded as ''Keystone Service''.<ref name="tt19811025">{{Cite book |url=http://www.timetables.org/browse/?group=19811025&item=0023 |title=Amtrak National Train Timetables |date=October 25, 1981 |publisher=Amtrak |pages=22–23 |via=Museum of Railway Timetables}}</ref><ref name="baer1980" /> All service was then operated by the Metroliners, which lacked the quick acceleration of the Silverliners or Arrows, making them unsuitable for the service.<ref name="baer1980" /> After a single Metroliner set was withdrawn from ''Clocker'' service in March 1982, the ''Keystone Service'' was the only remaining use of the Metroliners.<ref name="baer1980">{{Cite web |last=Baer |first=Christopher T. |date=April 2015 |title=A GENERAL CHRONOLOGY OF THE PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD COMPANY ITS PREDECESSORS AND SUCCESSORS AND ITS HISTORICAL CONTEXT: 1980–1989 |url=http://www.prrths.com/newprr_files/Hagley/PRR1980.pdf |publisher=Pennsylvania Railroad Technical & Historical Society}}</ref> On April 24, 1983, a pair of weekday trains – the 9:54{{nbsp}}am arrival and 3:55{{nbsp}}pm departure from Suburban Station – were renamed ''Keystone Executive''. Intended to attract riders from the western end of the corridor, the trains made intermediate stops only at Lancaster, Downingtown, and 30th Street, with a 99-minute schedule.<ref>{{Cite book |url=http://www.timetables.org/browse/?group=19830424&item=0023 |title=National Train Timetables |date=April 24, 1983 |publisher=Amtrak |page=22 |via=Museum of Railway Timetables}}</ref>

The first westbound train of the morning made numerous local stops for commuters to Harrisburg, including some at stations not served by any other Amtrak train. This was first shown in the April 29, 1973, schedule.<ref>{{Cite book |url=http://www.timetables.org/browse/?group=19730429&item=0029 |title=All-America Schedules |date=April 29, 1973 |publisher=Amtrak |page=28 |via=Museum of Railway Timetables}}</ref> These one-off stops were gradually dropped: Merion in 1979; [[52nd Street station (SEPTA Regional Rail)|52nd Street]] and Berwyn in 1980; Radnor and Narberth in 1982; and Bryn Mawr, Overbrook, and Wayne in 1987.{{fact|date=July 2018}} Amtrak and SEPTA opened a station in {{amtk|Exton}} on November 2, 1981, to serve fast-growing suburban areas.<ref name="baer1980" />

[[File:Keystone Service train laying over at Harrisburg, April 2002.jpg|thumb|left|Diesel-powered ''Keystone Service'' train at Harrisburg in 2002]]
The ''Silverliner Service'' carried over one million passengers in 1980, but ridership was in steep decline due to a variety of factors.<ref name="dawson" /> On October 30, 1983, Amtrak reduced the service from 11 to 9 weekday round trips, prompting an 8% drop in ridership.<ref name="baer1980" /><ref name="dvrpc">{{Cite web |date=January 1992 |title=PHILADELPHIA – HARRISBURG RAIL STUDY: Executive Summary |url=http://www.dvrpc.org/reports/91042.pdf |publisher=Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission}}</ref> A decrease to 6 weekday round trips on January 12, 1986, and 5 round trips on April 27, cut ridership by an additional 45%.<ref name="baer1980" /><ref name="dvrpc" /> The cuts included the termination of the ''Keystone Executive''.<ref name="tt19860427" /> Despite the loss of service, fares doubled from 1980 to 1987.<ref name="dawson" /> The single SEPTA round trip past Paoli to {{amtk|Downingtown}} was cut in 1983, but two round trips were restored in March 1985, with additional midday and weekend service added in 1988. Service was further extended to {{amtk|Parkesburg}} in 1990, with lower fares than Amtrak.<ref name="dawson" /> By 1990, SEPTA carried 595,000 passengers west of Paoli, twice that of Amtrak's ridership on the entire ''Keystone Service''.<ref name="dvrpc" />

The Metroliner cars, worn out from nearly two decades of heavy use, began to fail frequently. In April 1985, Amtrak began studying the possibility of removing electrification west of Paoli.<ref name="baer1980" /> On-time performance decreased from around 85% in 1985 to below 60% in early 1988.<ref name="dawson" /> On January 25, 1988, Amtrak began towing the Metroliner cars with AEM-7 locomotives rather than running them under their own power, although the cars had their pantographs up to power lighting and heating systems.<ref name="baer1980" /> A wreck of the ''[[Night Owl (train)|Night Owl]]'' four days later took two AEM-7 locomotives out of commission, exacerbating a shortage of electric power available to Amtrak.<ref>{{Cite web |date=January 6, 1989 |title=Collision of Amtrak Train 66, The Night Owl with On-track Maintenance- of-way Equipment |url=https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Reports/RAR8901.pdf |publisher=National Transportation Safety Board}}</ref> On February 1, Amtrak converted all ''Keystone Service'' trains to diesel power and terminated them on the lower level of 30th Street Station, as diesel-powered trains were not allowed in the tunnels to Suburban Station.<ref name="baer1980" /> The change was listed as "temporary" on timetables starting on May 15, 1988, and lasting into 1990.<ref>{{Cite book |url=http://www.timetables.org/browse/?group=19880515&item=0065 |title=Amtrak National Train Timetables |date=May 15, 1988 |publisher=Amtrak |page=65 |via=Museum of Railway Timetables}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=http://www.timetables.org/browse/?group=19900401b&item=0069 |title=Amtrak National Train Timetables |date=April 1, 1990 |publisher=Amtrak |page=69 |via=Museum of Railway Timetables}}</ref> After dieselization and the lengthening of schedules, on-time performance began to consistently exceed 90%.<ref name="dawson" />