Advice for a non-US traveller on the Zephyr, please?

[misterpomp]

We have booked to go from Chicago to San Francisco & return on the Zephyr in a couple of weeks' time; leaving on 23rd and getting back for 7th June. Unfortunately (it didn't seem so at the time) we've booked to do it with intermediate stops each alternate day so overnights in Burlington, Denver, Salt Lake City etc with nights on the train in between....

I understand that the possible detour through Wyoming is not yet clear (but is probably likely to disrupt weekday services - is this correct?). We're OK going west as the delays are reasonably predictable - at least as to where they'll happen but am really concerned about coming back east as we have overnights in Reno, Glenwood Springs and Denver booked - again with nights on the train in between. The delays there seem so unpredictable and, given our schedule, we need to make these trains and are subject to the delays two or three times.

I'm looking for a bit of advice if anyone can give it - particularly about how reliable Amtrak are with updates to expected times on the day of departure. I really don't fancy spending 327 minutes or some such waiting at Glenwood Springs station for a train - nor do I want to miss that day's train because it actually turned up sooner than expected. Just really looking for some general advice about the reliability of the train info on the day - the alternative is to get out of San Francisco the night before we've planned and get the Empire Builder from Portland. Anybody who wants to advise me as to the inadvisability of the whole trip in this way will probably get my agreement but too late now!

Thanks in advance...

 

[TRSTACIE]

We have booked to go from Chicago to San Francisco & return on the Zephyr in a couple of weeks' time; leaving on 23rd and getting back for 7th June. Unfortunately (it didn't seem so at the time) we've booked to do it with intermediate stops each alternate day so overnights in Burlington, Denver, Salt Lake City etc with nights on the train in between....
I understand that the possible detour through Wyoming is not yet clear (but is probably likely to disrupt weekday services - is this correct?). We're OK going west as the delays are reasonably predictable - at least as to where they'll happen but am really concerned about coming back east as we have overnights in Reno, Glenwood Springs and Denver booked - again with nights on the train in between. The delays there seem so unpredictable and, given our schedule, we need to make these trains and are subject to the delays two or three times.

I'm looking for a bit of advice if anyone can give it - particularly about how reliable Amtrak are with updates to expected times on the day of departure. I really don't fancy spending 327 minutes or some such waiting at Glenwood Springs station for a train - nor do I want to miss that day's train because it actually turned up sooner than expected. Just really looking for some general advice about the reliability of the train info on the day - the alternative is to get out of San Francisco the night before we've planned and get the Empire Builder from Portland. Anybody who wants to advise me as to the inadvisability of the whole trip in this way will probably get my agreement but too late now!

Thanks in advance...

I am in Denver and scheduled to depart to Sacramento on May 24th. Now going west from CHICAGO TO DENVER, the CZ runs practically on time. Once you leave Denver time starts to be lost because of slow orders, so you can expect to wait for trains going west of Denver at any intermidiate stop to be late. I rode the CZ in Oct of 06 and we got to Sac around 7pm. Now going eastbound on the CZ is where time is lost during the leg of the trip up to Denver. You can expect to arrive in Denver anywhere from 8pm onto early morning the next day, it is inevitable. The train has some so so days and some HORRIBLE days! But if you already booked hotels and they are non refundable, I am sorry but you may lose your money unless you notify them that your traveling by train and could possibly be late. I believe (and I say this is my opinion ,NOT FACT AND I HAVE NOT HEARD IT FROM ANYONE) that the detopurs will not start until June due to the fact that the schedule change that AMTRAK had implemented has been cancelled until the 13th of June. So you should be fairly safe to view the Rockies! Other than that, enjoy your trip and make the most of it and since your on a vacation RELAX! ALANB may have more to offer so keep an eye out on a reply post from him.

 

[AlanB]

I believe (and I say this is my opinion ,NOT FACT AND I HAVE NOT HEARD IT FROM ANYONE) that the detopurs will not start until June due to the fact that the schedule change that AMTRAK had implemented has been cancelled until the 13th of June.

Please note that this is not Amtrak's schedule change. This is being forced upon Amtrak by Union Pacific, Amtrak's host RR through the Rockies. Amtrak would much prefer not to have to make any changes if they could help it.

 

[George Harris]

The schedule change is not related to the Wyoming detour, but to the significant amount of slow orders in Nevada. The Woming detour is an alternatative to the normal route across the rockies in Colorado and Utah. The detour via Wyoming can have little to no effect on the total elapsed time between Denver and Salt Lake City. Without train delays, the Wyoming route could be faster than the normal route. Since the freight volume is much higher thorugh Wyoming, this is the original Union Pacific transcontinental line, after all, it is unlikely that it would be any faster than the normal route.

George

 

[AMTK6]

Allow some time for delays. They happen although rarely at the fault of Amtrak. Amtrak depends upon the ability of the host RR's to get the trains over the road as quickly as possible. UP and CSX do a terrible job of doing this. BNSF does an exceptional job. That being said, you can check the website for updates or call "Julie", the automated AVR with Amtrak for arrival and departure times. Keep in mind that Julie is not updated as frequently as we would like and as things can change on the RR, she may not be accurate.

Between Chicago and Denver you should do fine. However, once you get onto the Union Pacific RR portion of the trip, the schedule will fall down a bit. West of Denver the train should be on time until you hit Salt Lake City. We have several slow orders between Salt Lake City and Roseville. The same can be said of the return trip going east. Expect an on-time departure from Emeryville, arriving into Winnemucca about 2 hours late, and then Salt Lake City about 2-3 hours late. Everyday.

As far as the detour goes it depends upon the amount of traffic between Cheyenne and Salt Lake City. But just sit back, relax and enjoy the ride. Just as the passengers are stuck on the slow train, so are the crew members. We want to get over the road as quickly as possible.

 

[train novice]

[West of Denver the train should be on time until you hit Salt Lake City. We have several slow orders between Salt Lake City and Roseville. The same can be said of the return trip going east. Expect an on-time departure from Emeryville, arriving into Winnemucca about 2 hours late, ]

Hi -

I'm taking a short trip - from emeryville to truckee and back. Do you know if these delays apply to my trip?

Thanks!

 

[ceblack]

[West of Denver the train should be on time until you hit Salt Lake City. We have several slow orders between Salt Lake City and Roseville. The same can be said of the return trip going east. Expect an on-time departure from Emeryville, arriving into Winnemucca about 2 hours late, ]
I'm taking a short trip - from emeryville to truckee and back. Do you know if these delays apply to my trip?

Thanks!

My experience based on a couple trips on the Zephyr is that you'll be about one to one-and-a-half hours late arriving into Truckee eastbound. Westbound the train is generally around three hours late getting into Truckee, and loses about another hour before arriving in Emeryville.

You can go HERE to look up recent on time performance for Amtrak trains (Zephyr is trains 5 & 6).

Clark