Amtrak trains will now have half of seats facing ‘backwards’ out of Norfolk, Newport News

NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — You will no longer be guaranteed a seat facing the direction the train is traveling if you are riding the Amtrak in and out of Hampton Roads.

Starting this week, the railroad announced all their Northeast Regional trains will transition to what they call a “permanent fixed forward and backward seating.” This means half the seats of the train will face the direction of travel, with half positioned in the opposite direction.

“This offers customers the option to choose the direction in which they’re most comfortable facing,” a release from the railroad company said. “Most customers say they are comfortable traveling backward and it makes no difference to their onboard experience.”

However, there is a larger reason behind the change, and it has to do with lessening the turn around time for equipment.

Monday, Amtrak announced four additional weekday roundtrips, and two new weekend roundtrips between New York and Washington D.C..

Fixed seating “will allow us to operate a number of these trains as push-pull with platform turns, without rotating seats so that all seats face forward as they do today,” an internal advisory obtained by Trains.com said.

The article went on to say the turnaround time would be down from about 2.5 to 3 hours required to wye the trains.”

“Wying” is a railroad term that means turning a train around on a track that resembles the letter “Y” if viewed from above.

Currently, both trains in Newport News and Norfolk are turned this way before and after their station stops. A spokesperson for Amtrak said that would continue.

As of now, no new service is expected in Hampton Roads until Newport News gets an additional daily train in 2026.

Passenger traffic has been steadily increasing in recent years, with more than 250,000 passengers passing through Norfolk’s station in 2023.

For those who have strong feelings about traveling in a forward-facing seats, Amtrak said coach seating will remain on a first-come, first-serve basis. If you are unable to find one, Amtrak said passengers should speak with their conductor.