During the early Amtrak era, the "Riley" was plagued by the poor condition of ex-New York Central track in Indiana. In 1973, it was moved to ex-Pennsylvania Railroad track through Indianapolis. By 1974, Amtrak rerouted it off Penn Central track altogether; by then, the trackage had deteriorated so badly that the "Riley" was limited to for much of its route through Indiana. The Newport News section ended in 1976, replaced by the Boston–Newport News "Colonial". A number of long-distance trains running along former Penn Central trackage in the Midwest were plagued by similar problems.