Contingencies for any cancellations in a heavily multi-segmented trip?

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jshell

jshell

Train Attendant
Joined
Sep 16, 2013
Messages
65
Location
SLC
I've got a solo trip starting in a few days that starts with a flight from SLC to LAX and then is two weeks of trains and busses through the heartland (Kansas City, MO, Oklahoma City) and the gulf coast (San Antonio, Lafayette LA) and ultimately a long railroad back home to SLC. The rail portions are all paid with Amtrak points. There's one Greyhound bus portion in there too. And watching the Intercity Rail Map / transitdocs site over the past few weeks (even days) I've watched more than once one of the trains I'm scheduled to be on just completely disappear - storms disrupting Sunset Limited about a month ago; a bomb scare causing evacuation of a Heartland Flyer train in Oklahoma; I don't know what happened to the California Zephyr today but there's no 5 or 6 in Colorado and only a '1005' originating in Grand Junction going back west...

And there was this a freight derailment somewhere in Kansas disrupted at least one Southwest Chief train this week (source):

Southwest Chief Train 4 which departed Los Angeles (LAX) on 07/23 is canceled between La Junta (LAJ) and Kansas City (KCY). No alternate transportation will be provided. Customers currently en route will be returned to originating stations.
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I've been riding Amtrak cross-country for years and have only had one hard cancellation, and a few heavy delays. But this is one of my more complex trips with a lot of parts, following a music group around to a few shows, and that "No alternate transportation will be provided" line scares me.

I've largely built in time to allow for moderately to extremely late trains - ie, I get in at least a day early to all but one show (which I'm going to because of scheduling convenience). But I'm a bit worried about things like the above happening: instead of being really late, the train just gets cancelled and I'm taken back somewhere with no easy way of resuming schedule (I don't drive so I can't fall back on renting a car to get from New Mexico or Colorado to Kansas City if the above happened to me).

Should I plop some money down for travel insurance in case I need to cover getting a $500-$900 last minute plane ticket between locations? Would it cover it? Or should I just make sure I'm prepared to roll with the punches? The good thing is I've got four chances to see this group (though only the first couple of shows are with full-perks tickets) so if one segment gets completely messed up, I could stand to miss one. But part of me is also feeling like i gave myself too many moving parts, too many trains, too many chances for storms and heat and freight derailments to interfere. But I also feel like I'm just insanely restless after a long bout of seclusion and isolation and I just need to get off the computer and back out in the world and on a train.
 
Travel Insurance a very good idea - although cavet-emptor it may not cover everything -
still yet something to fall back on.
With the current situation - Amtrak with limited train sets and late operation causing
cancellations due to late arrival of the previous days to turn into todays consist.
Numerous host railroads having maintenance of their own equipment and track
And the distance around these problems making bustitution a full day event some resulting
in the returning to the starting GO station do not collect points dollars or compensation
Independent air travel around this is questionable - peak summer travel season

Appears that you have plans well mapped out for your events - - -
What is happening today this week is not routine - - -

My suggestion - "GO FOR IT" - enjoy the gigs/events !
 
I am in a slightly similar situation, trying to be realistic and not overdo my natural urge to cram in train after train on my next visit stateside!

I guess the longer your scheduled trip is for, the more chance, statistically of one element going wrong.

As mentioned above, insurance makes good sense, but be sure to check the small print. Maybe something aimed at, say, student

backpackers who are moving about on a trip might offer better cover for your needs, than a standard "vacation" policy?
 
I did a Canadian/Empire Builder loop last fall, and I just programmed extra night layovers in the connecting points: Toronto, Vancouver, Seattle, and Chicago. That's four nights of hotels minimum, and I guess one might want to decide whether the travel insurance costs less than 4 nights of hotels. I guess I could have booked a through ticket from Seattle to Baltimore, and then if a late Empire Builder (which I had) caused a misconnect to the Capitol, Amtrak would have taken care of me. But I think I did the right thing planning a layover, as I was sure to have my desired accommodation on the next day's train, and, in my case, I had a coupon for a free night at the JW Marriott hotel, a short walk from the station.

I did get travel insurance, though, mainly because I wanted to be sure I had medical coverage while in Canada, where US Medicare is not accepted. It might have also helped if there was a massive delay on the Canadian where I might have had to forfeit a night's stay at my hotel in Vancouver.
 
MARC Rider said:
I did get travel insurance, though, mainly because I wanted to be sure I had medical coverage while in Canada, where US Medicare is not accepted. It might have also helped if there was a massive delay on the Canadian where I might have had to forfeit a night's stay at my hotel in Vancouver.
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The medical situation outside the USA is a real problem. Well done MARC Rider
 
You might consider setting aside a time each day - I was going to suggest before bed, but if you're attending shows, perhaps not - during that time, look at the next 24 hours of your travel.

Run through likely scenarios of what might go wrong, then hop on your phone/computer, and plan an alternate.

For instance, let's say tomorrow afternoon you're planning to have a 5 hour connection to a new train in Chicago, and from Chicago, you're heading to Denver. A likely "go wrong" is that a delay causes you to miss your connection.

So, find flights from Chicago to Denver, with departure times aligned with a late arriving train. Keep the browser tabs open for easy reference, that way when the inevitable glitches occur, you'll be prepared.

If you're travelling outside of major cities, browse a map to see what airports you'll be near, and see what airlines they're served by.

If a particular destination or arrival time is especially important, and you feel there may be a delay, even consider buying a fully refundable plane ticket so there's a (reasonably) guranteed backup plan. With air travel, you can do that far ahead. Obviously, with a train/bus journey, you'll have to do it day by day, since you don't know where you'll be starting off in the event of a problem.

I do a fair amount of work travel with consequential obligations, and that's habit I've gotten in to. Granted, work travel for me is by air, but the same overall strategies apply. I'll very commonly book two air tickets for the same route, so, for instance, if the 9am on Delta is delayed, I know I can just walk across the airport and I'll be all set for the 11am on United.

Just book the backup option as fully refundable, and once you have confidence the primary choice will be on time (for me, usually right after takeoff), I go online and cancel the backup for a refund.
 
jshell said:
that "No alternate transportation will be provided" line scares me.
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I think that is a rational reaction. In the past Amtrak would do what they could to get passengers to their next destination but as you can see these days they just hand some or all of your fare back and wash their hands of any further responsibility.

jshell said:
Should I plop some money down for travel insurance in case I need to cover getting a $500-$900 last minute plane ticket between locations?
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I think you should investigate what insurance is available to you and confirm that recovery costs resulting from late or cancelled Amtrak trains will be reimbursed by that policy. If not it may be a little late to address this before your trip.

west point said:
The medical situation outside the USA is a real problem.
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In my experience uninsured medical problems abroad cost less than insured pricing in the US.
 
west point said:
The medical situation outside the USA is a real problem.
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You ought to see the reverse. Post-Covid, insurance is the biggest impediment to going to the US.

Devil's Advocate said:
In my experience uninsured medical problems abroad cost less than insured pricing in the US.
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Agreed, although Canada has gotten very expensive for visitors.
 
railiner said:
Would they? Maybe. But as we have seen, in some cases, they don’t.🤷‍♂️
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For the issue of misconnects at Chicago, I think they still take care of passengers that have a through ticket. The main problem is that the next day's train might not have your accommodation (sleeper space) available, and you would be stuck in coach (with a refund for the difference in fare, and maybe food included). Of course, I guess the next day's train could be cancelled entirely because of derailment, weather, etc., and then maybe you'd be stuck in Chicago. I've never heard of instances of that.
 
jiml said:
Agreed, although Canada has gotten very expensive for visitors.
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Except for the hotel prices in Toronto, which seem to be equivalent to Boston in the summer, I didn't think Canada was that expensive. But I live in a big city in the Northeast Corridor, where things can be more expensive than in some other parts of the USA.
 
MARC Rider said:
Except for the hotel prices in Toronto, which seem to be equivalent to Boston in the summer, I didn't think Canada was that expensive. But I live in a big city in the Northeast Corridor, where things can be more expensive than in some other parts of the USA.
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All Cities in Canada are expensive in the Summer for Tourists, especially Toronto,Montreal,Ottawa and Vancouver.( even with the favorable Exchange Rate between the American and Canadian Dollars)

But as has been discussed here many times, the Hotels in US Cities have really gone Sky High since the Pandemic recovery.
 
S
TaseMeBro said:
Just book the backup option as fully refundable, and once you have confidence the primary choice will be on time (for me, usually right after takeoff), I go online and cancel the backup for a refund
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Some good advice. Unfortunately, fully refundable air tickets are usually much more expensive than non-refundable discount tickets.
 
railiner said:
S

Some good advice. Unfortunately, fully refundable air tickets are usually much more expensive than non-refundable discount tickets.
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A good middle ground, if you're confident you'll use the credits before they expire, is to buy a ticket that is cancellable for a credit on that airline. The major US airlines have a main cabin fare that is cancellable for a full credit, usually up until a few minutes before departure (though check the details before booking.) Most airlines have a year from initial booking to book/use the ticket (details vary between airlines,) though Southwest has no expiration for their flight credits.

If you have frequent flier miles, this is also a good use of them, as most of them have decent cancellation policies, and then you're not stuck with a credit if you cancel (just the points that you already had.)
 
jebr said:
If you have frequent flier miles, this is also a good use of them, as most of them have decent cancellation policies, and then you're not stuck with a credit if you cancel (just the points that you already had.)
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Indeed. Was about to reply the same, but you've beaten me to it.

I've done this technique with miles (for personal travel) all the time. I *think* all the major US carriers allow consequence free cancellation of mileage tickets. I know I've done it with DL, AA, UA, and WN - but not all recently, so it's possible the rules have changed.
 
railiner said:
S

Some good advice. Unfortunately, fully refundable air tickets are usually much more expensive than non-refundable discount tickets.
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The real question is how do the fully refundable tickets compare in price to however many nights you might need at a hotel, and a last-minute airfare to your final destination? (Plus cab fare to/from the hotel, meals, etc.)
 
About those Fully Refundable tickets reservations - - -
Fully Refundable up and until 24-48 hours before the date/time of use - - -
Then the fineprint kicks in and clauses and disclaimers become vague - - -
Fully Refundable if there is a full blue moon and only if not crossing the international date line - - -
LOL - - -
But the FR tickets/reservations beats the heck out of the NON-Refundable Zero Zip Ziltch Nada !
 
Seeing the number 4 train AGAIN cancelled today (July 30 - two days before my trip starts) between Albuquerque and Kansas City with "No alternate transportation provided" due to a freight derailment... Yikes. I think I might have to really look into that refundable airline ticket. This is the second time I think this has happened somewhere on that stretch of rail this week.

http://dixielandsoftware.net/cgi-bin/gettrain.pl?seltrain=4&selyear=2024&selmonth=07&selday=29
 
Literalman said:
About a year ago, when Amtrak stranded us in Vermont at the time my mother died in New Jersey, I resolved to research alternative transportation home before future big Amtrak trips and find out whether there is a Traveler's Aid office at our destination.
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Is that organisation still around?
I used to see their desks at airports, rail, and bus terminals all over, but it’s been a long time since…🤔
I believe their primary mission was to serve poor or vulnerable travelers…
 

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