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Railroad Radio Frequencies This page provides information about radio communication channels and frequencies used by Amtrak, including information on where to learn more about railroad communications. Railroad Channels & Frequencies Ch.--Freq. ......Ch.--Freq. ......Ch.--Freq. ......Ch.--Freq.02--159.810......26--160.500......50--160.860......74--161.220 03--159.930......27--160.515......51--160.875......75--161.235 04--160.050......28--160.530......52--160.890......76--161.250 05--160.185......29--160.545......53--160.905......77--161.265 06--160.200......30--160.560......54--160.920......78--161.280 07--160.215......31--160.575......55--160.935......79--161.295 08--160.230......32--160.590......56--160.950......80--161.310 09--160.245......33--160.605......57--160.965......81--161.325 10--160.260......34--160.620......58--160.980......82--161.340 11--160.275......35--160.635......59--160.995......83--161.355 12--160.290......36--160.650......60--161.010......84--161.370 13--160.305......37--160.665......61--161.025......85--161.385 14--160.320......38--160.680......62--161.040......86--161.400 15--160.335......39--160.695......63--161.055......87--161.415 16--160.350......40--160.710......64--161.070......88--161.430 17--160.365......41--160.725......65--161.085......89--161.445 18--160.380......42--160.740......66--161.100......90--161.460 19--160.395......43--160.755......67--161.115......91--161.475 20--160.410......44--160.770......68--161.130......92--161.490 21--160.425......45--160.785......69--161.145......93--161.505 22--160.440......46--160.800......70--161.160......94--161.520 23--160.455......47--160.815......71--161.175......95--161.535 24--160.470......48--160.830......72--161.190......96--161.550 25--160.485......49--160.845......73--161.205......97--161.565
UHF Channels used by Railroads:
Amateur Radio Frequencies For Railfans Useful Amtrak FrequenciesCoast StarlightCh. Freq.22 160.440 On-board Manager: Portland to Klamath Falls, Oregon 23 160.455 On-board Manager: Klamath Falls, OR to Oakland, CA 22 160.440 On-board Manager: Oakland to Los Angeles, California Southwest ChiefCh. Freq.23 160.455 On-board Manager: Los Angeles, California to Kingman, Arizona 94 161.520 On-board Manager: Kingman, Arizona to La Junta, Colorado San JoaquinsCh. Freq.22 160.440 San Joaquins - Oakland to Bakersfield, California Sunset Limited/Texas EagleCh. Freq.49 160.845 On-board Manager: New Orleans,LA to Los Angeles,California 22 160.440 On-board Manager: East of Alpine, Texas 36 160.650 On-board Manager: Alpine, Texas to Phoenix, Arizona 42 160.740 On-board Manager: Alpine, Texas to Phoenix, Arizona 23 160.455 On-board Manager: Phoenix, Arizona to Los Angeles, CA Los Angeles, CaliforniaCh. Freq.-- 452.900 Car Dept. -- 457.900 Car Dept. 23 160.455 Terminal switching 63 161.055 Police 91 161.475 Police Other AmtrakCh. Freq.-- 452.900 Terminal services 13 160.305 West of Chicago, Illinois 81 161.325 Maintenance of way How My Scanner Is Programmed:Banks 1 through 5Channel 01 is the Priority Channel. My scanner will automatically check this channel in between scanning each other channel. I set this to whichever channel I'm most interested in and turn on the PRIority feature. If I'm riding on the train, I usually set it to the channel being used by the Engineer and Conductor. This is also the channel of the Hot Box Detectors (HBD) along the Amtrak route. The Hot Boxes automatically check the speed of the train, the length of the train, the number of axels, and other conditions and then transmit this information using a synthesized voice as the train passes. Channels 02 through 97 programmed to correspond to AAR Channels 02 through 97.
098 452.900 Amtrak Terminal Services Bank 6 - Southern California Metrolink
101 161.415 Ch. 01 Road, Pomona to Mission Tower Bank 7 - Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe (Los Angeles)
121 160.650 Road Bank 7 - Southern Pacific (Los Angeles)
130 161.550 Road Bank 8 - Amateur Radio Frequencies For Railfans
141 146.490 Primary Channel Bank 8 - Amtrak (Los Angeles)
144 160.455 Terminal switching Bank 8 - UHF Railroad Frequencies
151 452.900 Amtrak Terminal Services Bank 9 - Union Pacific (Los Angeles)
161 160.515 Ch 3 Road Bank 9 - Miscellaneous Amtrak (Los Angeles)
173 160.980 Harbor Belt Line General Operations Bank 10 - Amtrak (Los Angeles)
Scn Freq... Ch. Frequencies of interest in Los Angeles, California
Ch Freq... User If you see a crew member with a radio and the display shows "1414", that means that their radio is set to transmit on Channel 14 and to receive on Channel 14. Generally, transmit and receive are set to the same channel for communications with a few exceptions. Thus, you don't need to go out and buy two scanners to get both sides of a conversation. One of the easiest places to find where you can purchase scanners is Radio Shack. They have a great diversity of scanners in a range of prices from the most economical to the very expensive. The more you pay, the more channels your scanner will be able to store and you will find many advanced features in the more expensive receivers. I have the Raido Shack "PRO-51 Hyper Scan" which can store and scan all of the railroad frequencies simultaneously and very rapidly. It lists for $199 but is often on sale for quite a bit less. I wasn't a scanner buff before I found my interest in Amtrak and I still do not enjoy listening to the scanner except in regards to Amtrak. If you are not already experienced in working with a scanner, then you might find using some of the more advanced scanners a bit challenging! If you know someone that can help you, definitely ask them to help you both in your purchase and in how to use the scanner. I had to learn how to use this one on my own. It took several readings of the instructions and a lot of experimentation before I figured out how to program it just the way I liked it. One thing I was extremely surprised about was the great amount of railroad communications that I can receive from my home! I am about 2 miles from the nearest track. The Southwest Chief and the Desert Wind are the only Amtrak trains that travel that track other than quite a bit of freight. I am a few miles from the nearest train yard, but I receive a tremendous amount of railroad communications all day long from a number of sources. I've identified some of them. I'm definitely receiving communication from the yards where they load and unload the truck trailors from the flatbed train cars. I also receive communications from several dispatchers and from Metrolink. I'm just guessing, but if you are less than 30 miles from a train yard, you will probably be able to receive railroad communications from some source. If you are interested in more information about railroad communications, then get a copy of these books:
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