Amtrak delays

[Bob Dylan]

So indeed the 8 is arriving too late. I was able to reach Customer Relations when I noticed a roomette on the LSL tomorrow had opened up. She reserved it for me and noted it in my dossier. I'm curious about what hotel they'll put us in. Best way to find out? Can I choose my own hotel even if I have to pay the difference between the voucher and the charge?

Don't think you can use the Voucher except @ Amtraks Hotel, ( but I guess you could pay out of your pocket)but most of the time they're pretty nice/ If you're lucky you'll be in a Loop Area Place or Close to Union Station( we were put up @ the Hyatt Last time we missed Connections in CHI).

The Taxi Voucher is usable to any Hotel, and the Food $$$ they give you is yours to use!

Congrats on snagging a Roomette on the Lake Shore!

 

[pennyk]

I've read reports that some have been put up in this hotel and that it's very nice. It will depend on what Amtrak can get considering it is a holiday week.

https://www.swissotel.com/hotels/chicago/?y_source=1_MTIzNjE0MzAtNzE1LWxvY2F0aW9uLndlYnNpdGU=

When I missed a connection to the Capitol Limited (returning from the Dallas Gathering), I was put up at the Swissotel, which was very nice. The taxi voucher was only for a specific taxi company. (I was told what color the taxi would be). There were 2 of us and we only used one voucher. The food voucher, in my opinion, was worthless to me. I believe it was only valid at certain places in Union Station. I believe McDonald's was one of the vendors, which is place where I do not eat. I paid for my own breakfast at the hotel and probably pizza at Beggar's for lunch. The procedure for receivng the vouchers was fairly easy. I am a very fast walker and I managed to be first in line, so I was done before most of my fellow passengers arrived at the customer service office.

 

[Bob Dylan]

When I missed a connection to the Capitol Limited (returning from the Dallas Gathering), I was put up at the Swissotel, which was very nice. The taxi voucher was only for a specific taxi company. (I was told what color the taxi would be). There were 2 of us and we only used one voucher. The food voucher, in my opinion, was worthless to me. I believe it was only valid at certain places in Union Station. I believe McDonald's was one of the vendors, which is place where I do not eat. I paid for my own breakfast at the hotel and probably pizza at Beggar's for lunch. The procedure for receivng the vouchers was fairly easy. I am a very fast walker and I managed to be first in line, so I was done before most of my fellow passengers arrived at the customer service office.

That was in 2019, so perhaps Amtrak has changed the Policy on Meal !



We were given a Voucher for Food ($74) that the Ticket Office Cashed, along with $28 for a Taxi that was also Cashed.( No particular Taxi was prescribed)

We took the Cab that Night since it was Close to Midnight after a Very Late Zephyr arrival that caused us to miss the Shuttle from Galesburg to Springfield, then found that Breakfast was included in the Room Rate @ the Hotel upon arrival.

We ate Lunch @ a nice Cafe in the Loop the next day, and walked to Union Station since the Weather was nice and it wasn't far.

Amtrak had booked us into a Bedroom on the Texas Eagle for that afternoon, so we hung out in the Lounge till time to board.

I've heard stories of others being Bused to the Suburbs, so I guess it's YMMV!!!

 

[zephyr17]

So indeed the 8 is arriving too late. I was able to reach Customer Relations when I noticed a roomette on the LSL tomorrow had opened up. She reserved it for me and noted it in my dossier. I'm curious about what hotel they'll put us in. Best way to find out? Can I choose my own hotel even if I have to pay the difference between the voucher and the charge?

The hotels they sent me to in Chicago were always very nice. They were direct billed to Amtrak and I never had to deal with settling up with the hotel at all.

Opting out of Amtrak's direct bill will probably just cause you problems. It isn't worth the hassle. The hotels they've sent me to have always been nice to outstanding. Never the Swissotel though.

Glad to hear you snagged that roomette.

 

[Willbridge]

A trainload of passengers from Train 6 were moved by charter bus to the Swissotel this July, me among them. Train 6 had managed to miss every Chicago Amtrak connection. I think everyone was impressed with the hotel, but the best was a coach passenger going to Sandusky who called everyone he could think of to tell them what a good deal he was getting.

Amtrak had booked me for three nights, as Train 59 had been deleted on weekends. Nice hotel, but I had paid for a reunion and hotel in New Orleans. After one night I was on my way to NOLA via Charlottesville. This was my second Chicago hotel stay in a row. On the previous stay, it was also a nice hotel, reached by taxi.

 

[trimetbusfan]

Watched this video on YouTube not too long ago about the delay/missconnect process in Chicago

 

[joelkfla]

Train 8(18) running 4 hours late, and report on YouTube chat that it's in emergency stop a few miles west of Perham MN with 3 of 4 engines refusing to start.

 

[joelkfla]

Train 8(18) running 4 hours late, and report on YouTube chat that it's in emergency stop a few miles west of Perham MN with 3 of 4 engines refusing to start.

Still stuck. Hope the heat is on. It's -20F out there.

 

[jis]

That is the other thing. Long welded rails would tend to pull apart and fracture under extreme low temperatures. And undetected that would cause a derailment starnding the train in life threatening situation for an extended period. Depending on the nature of the derailment the engine may or may not be able to deliver HEP potentially causing an even more life threatening situation.

Unfortunately a situation that is potentially dire is already developing near Detroit Lakes involving an Empire Builder which has lost all three ALC42s and has only one alive P42 and is currently stuck due to brake failure of some sort. It is not clear how they will extricate it from this mess with a blizzard bearing down. Quite concerning actually.

 

[joelkfla]

Unfortunately a situation that is potentially dire is already developing near Detroit Lakes involving an Empire Builder which has lost all three ALC42s and has only one alive P42 and is currently stuck due to brake failure of some sort. It is not clear how they will extricate it from this mess with a blizzard bearing down. Quite concerning actually.

Stuck 4 hours now. Mechanical is in communication with Siemens.

 

[Lonnie]

The hotels they sent me to in Chicago were always very nice. They were direct billed to Amtrak and I never had to deal with settling up with the hotel at all.

Opting out of Amtrak's direct bill will probably just cause you problems. It isn't worth the hassle. The hotels they've sent me to have always been nice to outstanding. Never the Swissotel though.

Glad to hear you snagged that roomette.

Indeed we were brought to the Swissotel and it was such luxury! I have to say, they handled the whole process really well, and the dozens of people, filling two buses, were incredibly well behaved and patient. Not a single entitled knucklehead among them. We slept like babies and opted to walk to the station, which actually got us there before everyone else. What a delight it was to walk through a real city with a fascinating history reflected in its buildings!

 

[Ryan]

And you're all set in a roomette for the next train?

 

[alpha3]

Unfortunately a situation that is potentially dire is already developing near Detroit Lakes involving an Empire Builder which has lost all three ALC42s and has only one alive P42 and is currently stuck due to brake failure of some sort. It is not clear how they will extricate it from this mess with a blizzard bearing down. Quite concerning actually.

Yikes. Bad stuff; hoping the best for the folks on board. New locomotives, too. Inexcusable.

 

[joelkfla]

EB 8(18) still stuck since 8:45 Central time east of Detroit Lakes MN, fouling a switch blocking both mainlines of double track. It has 4 engines. The first 2 are Ventures, I'm not sure about the 3rd, the 4th is GE. The 2nd & 3rd engines will not release brakes. Reports from on board say there is heat, but toilets are not working.

A railcam YouTuber was live streaming on site, but his phone died.

Semens is on scene, but has been unable to fix the problem. A BNSF freight engine is about to arrive. They need to push the train back 2 car lengths to clear the switch. There's a report that Amtrak is sending buses, but it will take them 2 hours to reach the site.

 

[Mystic River Dragon]

Glad the hotel was lovely and provided you with a nice respite. I’ve been in Chicago only once, but I too was impressed with the buildings. I’m glad you got to walk and see some of them.

Keep us posted on how the LSL and the last leg of your trip goes.

 

[west point]

Three locos shut down?? Even though it might come in conflict with EPA rules there needs to be exceptions. There must be some kind of overide of all protection circuits to allow the loco to start and run to a safe location. HEP cannot be hostage to computer that has a glich.

 

[Lonnie]

And you're all set in a roomette for the next train?

Yes. At about 4pm yesterday I noticed in the app that when I tried to book today's train, there was a roomette available that hadn't been available earlier. I called Customer Relations right away and she reserved it for me as it was clear by then that our train was never going to make the connection. She emailed me confirmation and by the time we got off the train, I'd been emailed with a fresh ticket with the roomette included. Needless to say, I was thrilled. Looking forward to my Viewliner upper bunk in a few minutes.

 

[Amtrak709]

I must say that I am gratified to read these past few positive posts on this thread after so many days, weeks, months, even a year of negative reporting. Makes this long time rail passenger since the 1960's feel somewhat positive toward the future of Amtrak operations and performance.

 

[joelkfla]

Completing the saga of EB 8(18): Transitdocs shows it arriving at Staples MN @ 6:30pm, 13 hours late. Transit time from Detroit Lakes to Staples was 10:02, compared to normal 1:00. At least 7 ½ hours of that was spent sitting in one place. Arrival in CHI was at 9:46am today, 17 hours late.

From listening to the scanner traffic, after the train somehow lost it's brake line air when going over a crossover, the main problem was that the computers in the 2nd & 3rd Charger locos just wouldn't allow their brakes to be released. I heard someone say that the computer showed the brakes were released, but they were still applied.

 

[jis]

From listening to the scanner traffic, after the train somehow lost it's brake line air when going over a crossover, the main problem was that the computers in the 2nd & 3rd Charger locos just wouldn't allow their brakes to be released. I heard someone say that the computer showed the brakes were released, but they were still applied.

Looks like they somehow got the brakes released since the entire consist is being pulled by the BNSF power. Maybe they finally did the old "Three finger Salute" - or even a "Power Down and Reboot".

 

[alpha3]

Three locos shut down?? Even though it might come in conflict with EPA rules there needs to be exceptions. There must be some kind of overide of all protection circuits to allow the loco to start and run to a safe location. HEP cannot be hostage to computer that has a glich.

Absolutely, couldn't agree with you more. Why aren't they having a Siemen's maintenance rep ride these trains until the bugs are worked out? Brand new locos, that is just unacceptable BS, and in weather like this, dangerous as hell. Override everything, get the #$% things going, let's go. Glad everyone arrived safe.

 

[jis]

Three locos shut down?? Even though it might come in conflict with EPA rules there needs to be exceptions. There must be some kind of overide of all protection circuits to allow the loco to start and run to a safe location. HEP cannot be hostage to computer that has a glich.

Absolutely, couldn't agree with you more. Why aren't they having a Siemen's maintenance rep ride these trains until the bugs are worked out? Brand new locos, that is just unacceptable BS, and in weather like this, dangerous as hell. Override everything, get the #$% things going, let's go. Glad everyone arrived safe.

Suffice it to say that locked brakes have nothing to do with the prime mover or EPA. But hey, when we are on a roll.....

They did get the thing going, and Siemens technicians were involved. It just took some time to release the brakes, which probably required shutting down the units since it was a computer problem and those tend to be on when the engine is switched on, and then they got additional power from BNSF and finally arrived 17 hours late. In general HEP was not lost through the episode.

 

[joelkfla]

Suffice it to say that locked brakes have nothing to do with the prime mover or EPA. But hey, when we are on a roll.....

They did get the thing going, and Siemens technicians were involved. It just took some time to release the brakes, which probably required shutting down the units since it was a computer problem and those tend to be on when the engine is switched on, and then they got additional power from BNSF and finally arrived 17 hours late. In general HEP was not lost through the episode.

But there were reports from passengers that the toilets were not operational. I don't know whether that was due to a reduction in HEP, or something else, like frozen pipes or full holding tanks.

 

[jis]

But there were reports from passengers that the toilets were not operational. I don't know whether that was due to a reduction in HEP, or something else, like frozen pipes or full holding tanks.

Frozen pipes. Also has nothing to do with EPA. HEP was being supplied from the P42 anyway.

 

[Lonnie]

But there were reports from passengers that the toilets were not operational. I don't know whether that was due to a reduction in HEP, or something else, like frozen pipes or full holding tanks.

Toilets in at least two coach cars were not operational for most of the trip on the EB departing Seattle 12/17.