There’s undeniably something melodic about riding a train from point A to point B across the boundless terrain of the American landscape.
Now, thanks to a new interactive website from Amtrak, there’s a real, actual soundtrack to America’s passenger railroad.
On Monday, Amtrak unveiled a new interactive experience called Train Jazz, a musical project made in partnership between the railroad and luggage brand Away.
Using a real-time map of active trains, Train Jazz creates ambient and abstract musical compositions in a jazz-inspired arrangement.
Each train across the Amtrak system, from long-distance routes to short-haul commuter trains, is assigned its own musical note to represent its current location and status. The train is placed along a 15-second measure and played to create a wholly original composition.
“Every dot is a real Amtrak train, somewhere in America right now,” the project website reads. “Around two hundred of them, give or take, form a small jazz combo playing the country the way it actually moves at this moment.”
Long-distance trains are given bass tones to represent the hours they spend between stops. Amtrak’s high-speed Acela trains around the busy Northeast Corridor create a fast-moving solo. Trains grouped tightly together can create chords and the gaps between each train act as real rests in the musical arrangement.
The songs or soundscapes or whatever you want to call them are original and random. Amtrak says whatever you’re hearing when you open the page has never been heard before and likely will never be heard again.
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Train Jazz is a promotional partnership between Amtrak and Away. The interactive website provides links to purchase Away products specifically tailored for the site.
Currently, it appears that only the East Coast and Midwest portions of the Amtrak system are mapped out for Train Jazz. Hopefully, Pacific Northwest, California and East-West long-distance routes will be added to the timeline—although maybe that’s too chaotic for even jazz fans to enjoy.
Still, it’s a fun marketing exercise and promotional tool for an Amtrak that needs creative solutions to keep its system operational and in the public consciousness.
Jazz music aside, is Amtrak struggling right now?
The current state of Amtrak is a bit of a mixed bag.
Ridership numbers are healthy, and demand for flying and driving alternatives is high while gas prices remain at nauseating figures.
But Amtrak has a bit of a ticking time-bomb on its hands in the form of a growing backlog of delayed maintenance, a system-wide shortage of replacement parts that could leave trains out of commission in the event of a breakdown, and a rapidly aging fleet of vehicles currently in use across its long-distance routes.
Amtrak is currently evaluating a major restructuring plan that could break up operations into multiple parts to allow for three separate but equal branches to focus on passenger operations, infrastructure and the train vehicles themselves.
The parent company version of Amtrak would provide overall direction for its lower subsidiaries.
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The reorganization plan has its own detractors, with some voicing concerns that a major restructuring could cause operational delays and disruptions.
The reorganization comes during a time of uncertainty for the future of public transit projects across the nation. The Trump Administration and Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy have made it clear their desire to cut funding for several public transportation and infrastructure projects across the country in favor of spending on highway improvements and upgrades.
This interactive musical experience is just another another way Amtrak is trying to stay relevant and in the public eye, for its own future and stability… and all that jazz.
To test out Train Jazz for yourself, click here.
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