# Connecting the Zephyr to Des Moines and the Empire Builder



## jebr (Nov 19, 2018)

Exploring some alternatives to driving down to Osceola, IA to catch the Zephyr (just in case my primary plan falls through,) I noticed that while the timing of the Jefferson Lines buses would make taking them down to Osceola possible, the stops are nearly two miles apart, with no sidewalks for a decent portion of the walk. Further exploration made me realize that connecting to the 5 and from the 6 (trains to/from destinations west of Osceola) is actually quite possible with a little bit of cooperation between Amtrak and Jefferson Lines. Even connecting to/from destinations east of Osceola is possible, though requires a bit more work. FWIW, Jefferson Lines is already Amtrak e-ticket capable for the Duluth route and their Wisconsin route.

Here's the current schedule. Changes to the schedule to allow easy Amtrak connections (other than moving the stop to the Amtrak station) are noted in *bold*. While these buses start in Kansas City, I'm not noting those times to keep the connection times clear. (Connections to/from the SWC could be made in Galesburg.) The additions do not immediately appear to cause disruption to connecting bus service (that I'm aware of.) No time was added to the Osceola stop if the stop was already served; Google suggests the round-trip difference in travel time to/from the current stop to the Amtrak stop is 2 minutes.

JL 0804 - connect from AMTK 6 (7:40 AM) and to AMTK 7 (10:20 PM)

Osceola, IA            10:40 AM
Des Moines           11:25 AM arrive/11:40 AM depart
Ames                      12:20 PM arrive/12:25 PM depart
Williams                 1:05 PM
Dudley's Corner    1:20 PM
Mason City            2:05 PM
Albert Lea, MN      2:50 PM arrive/3:10 PM depart
Owatonna              3:45 PM
Fairbault                4:10 PM
Burnsville               4:45 PM
*St. Paul                  5:10 PM *_Stop added for easy access to St. Paul Union Depot_
Minneapolis          5:15 PM *(5:45 PM)*

JL 0802 - connect from AMTK 5 (8:09 PM) and to AMTK 8 (8:00 AM)

*Osceola, IA            10:05 PM *_Currently bypassed, adds 10 minutes to current schedule._
Des Moines           10:45 PM *(10:55 PM)* arrive/11:30 PM depart
Ames                      12:10 AM arrive/12:15 AM depart
Clear Lake              1:40 AM arrive/2:00 AM depart
Albert Lea, MN      2:30 AM
Burnsville               3:40 AM
St. Paul                  4:20 AM
Minneapolis          4:45 AM

JL 0803 - connect to AMTK 5 (8:09 PM) and from AMTK 8 (7:43 AM)

*St. Paul, MN          11:05 AM *_Added for easy access from St. Paul Union Depot_
*Minneapolis          11:40 AM arrive*/12:01 PM depart
MSP Airport           12:20 PM
Burnsville               12:40 PM
Fairbault                 1:20 PM
Owatonna              1:45 PM
Albert Lea              2:15 PM arrive/2:30 PM depart
Mason City, IA       3:20 PM arrive/3:25 PM depart
Dudley's Corner     3:55 PM
Williams                 4:15 PM arrive/4:20 PM depart
Ames                      5:00 PM
Des Moines           5:45 PM arrive/6:15 PM depart
Osceola                  7:00 PM

JL 0805 - connect to AMTK 6 (7:40 AM) and from AMTK 7 (10:03 AM)

*St. Paul, MN          11:15 PM *_Added for easy access from St. Paul Union Depot, though I'd imagine connecting traffic from AMTK 7 is small_
*Minneapolis          11:45 PM arrive*/12:01 AM depart
Clear Lake, IA        1:55 AM arrive/2:10 AM depart
*Ames                      3:35 AM arrive/3:40 AM depart *_Added for connections to Iowa State University_
Des Moines            4:00 AM *(4:25 AM)* arrival/4:10 AM *(4:35 AM) *depart
*Osceola, IA            5:00 AM/5:25 AM *_Currently bypassed, adds 10 minutes to current schedule._

The final one is the trickiest, especially with the added Ames stop as well. The bus currently continues to Cameron, MO and Kansas City, MO. A 10-to-35 minute addition to the schedule may not be worth it, given that most of those destinations already have service to Chicago and most of the larger destinations via a daylight bus route. I think the extra 10 minutes for a stop is justified, but it might not be worth the additional 25 above that to connect Ames.

Thoughts? Maybe Amtrak or Jefferson Lines will see this and hash out an agreement.


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## railiner (Nov 19, 2018)

It would seem to be mutually beneficial, but JL has never seemed to be interested in developing an interline connection at OSC...

I did it myself just prior to Amtrak in 1971...rode the combined Afternoon Zephyr/Empire Builder/North Coast limited to Minneapolis, JL to OSC, and CZ back to Chicago.   IIRC, JL at that time stopped 'in town' in OSC....whereas Continental Trailways had lots of interline agreements with it's former local CB&Q owner's at various points....


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