Amtrak & Conrail U.S. Geological Survey bench mark at Midway Tower, Monmouth Jct, NJ. March 3, 1980. Conrail & Amtrak ran trains on the Northeast Corridor for several years. Originally the PRR 4 track mainline, then Penn Central main line which Amtrak used since the beginning of Amtrak. Conrail took over operations on the 4 track mainline on April 1, 1976. Penn Central & Conrail ran the Amtrak trains during that period.