Amtrak long term service cancellations and restorations (2022-2023H1)

[ScottR]

“We wanted to let you know that train #7, the Empire Builder, from Chicago, Illinois on Friday, December 31st, has been CANCELLED due to a service disruption. Unfortunately, we don't have other transportation available”

There goes my snowy train ride across the cold dark northern plains! I did find ONE available flight to Seattle New Years day that 1. Didn’t take 24 plus hours and 2. Didn’t cost 1500+, so I don’t have a lot of faith that one is going to go well…

Ive a Coast Starlight to get on Jan 3rd in Seattle to head back home….I hope


exciting times these! My circle trip is hanging by a thread!

Coast Starlight Salinas to LA. We were 1.5 hours late but they held the last Surfliner of the night for us
Surfliner to Oceanside
Private air to Taos NM…an amazing value and no security lines!
Taos to Raton to catch the SWC. I was the only one boarding there…3 hours late but we are one our way to Chicago
was Chicago to Seattle via the Empire builder now it’s air to Seattle…I hope!
Coast Starlight back to Salinas…I hope!

 

[MIrailfan]

how would they know 2 days ahead of service disription

 

[Devil's Advocate]

There goes my snowy train ride across the cold dark northern plains! I did find ONE available flight to Seattle New Years day [...] Ive a Coast Starlight to get on Jan 3rd in Seattle to head back home….I hope exciting times these! My circle trip is hanging by a thread!

Sucks to see a trip cancelled last minute but it might be better than getting stuck somewhere remote without access to supplies and you seem to have the right attitude about it.

Private air to Taos NM…an amazing value and no security lines! Taos to Raton to catch the SWC.

This sounds interesting - can you tell me more about this part?

 

[WWW]

“We wanted to let you know that train #7, the Empire Builder, from Chicago, Illinois on Friday, December 31st, has been CANCELLED due to a service disruption. Unfortunately, we don't have other transportation available”

There goes my snowy train ride across the cold dark northern plains! I did find ONE available flight to Seattle New Years day that 1. Didn’t take 24 plus hours and 2. Didn’t cost 1500+, so I don’t have a lot of faith that one is going to go well…

Ive a Coast Starlight to get on Jan 3rd in Seattle to head back home….I hope


exciting times these! My circle trip is hanging by a thread!

Coast Starlight Salinas to LA. We were 1.5 hours late but they held the last Surfliner of the night for us
Surfliner to Oceanside
Private air to Taos NM…an amazing value and no security lines!
Taos to Raton to catch the SWC. I was the only one boarding there…3 hours late but we are one our way to Chicago
was Chicago to Seattle via the Empire builder now it’s air to Seattle…I hope!
Coast Starlight back to Salinas…I hope!

was Chicago to Seattle via the Empire builder now it’s air to Seattle…I hope!
If you can't get a Seattle flight - think a flight to Portland and a Cascades work-around
Non-stop flights - OK - alternative one stop MSP DEN SLC fare should be reasonably the same. HA-HA !
There are alternatives - some better than others - ah er much better than others ! LOL !
But UGH taking an aero-plane #&%@*!

 

[AmtrakBlue]

Empire Builder is not the only train affected. The CONO & CZ & the Silver Meteor are also cancelled in both directions.
I believe it’s due to staffing shortages due to COVID. Plus for the CZ’s the late trains due to the snow storm have caused equipment delays.

 

[chrsjrcj]

And I can't really blame Amtrak for it either. The labor shortage has only been made worse by the latest surge in Covid cases. Everyone is feeling it.

 

[PaTrainFan]

Just look at what the airlines are facing now...

 

[Bonser]

how would they know 2 days ahead of service disription

Could be that they have no crew.

 

[WWW]

Let me put SERVICE DISRUPTION in a new light.

"No Shoes No Shirt (No Mask) NO SERVICE"

Simply NO CREW - NO SERVICE
Don't forget late trains - crews go into overtime extended hours - - -
And perhaps become more vulnerable to exposure to the damn covid

And then there is that NO (Serviceable) Train Equipment factor

Amtrak lost half a train set accident in Montana
A Locomotive sustained dings from an Amazon delivery vehicle in Wisconsin
On a few occasions locomotives have had issues and a host RR had to tow the Amtrak consist

And winter travel LD trains over the mountains adding a third engine to the consist

Financial assistance is coming BUT isn't quite there yet pending how and where to spend it

Yada - yada - yada

 

[user 14106]

I would also suspect these are due to covid infections in crew - there are some Acela and Northeast Regional cancellations this weekend as well notably 65/66 all weekend and a couple other frequencies.

 

[NSC1109]

Amtrak has canceled the California Zephyr and the Empire Builder in both directions on the 31st due to weather and crew availability. The Coast Starlight and Southwest Chief are still running.

 

[user 14106]

CONO and Silver Meteor also on the 31st because of crew availability (Covid cases/sick callouts.)

 

[Sidney]

I have a circle trip in a few weeks. CZ to Davis,CS to LA and the the SL/TE to Chicago. Roomettes except for the day trip to LA. With no immediate end to Covid and the chance of any train being canceled at the last minute,I am hoping that if the CZ was canceled,maybe I could use the SWC. Only problem would be if all the sleepers were booked. No way I would do Coach from Chicago...plus if Amtrak would honor the same fare I paid.

Been riding annually since 1990. Never had any problems. But these are unprecedented times we are in. Another option would be to fly one way. Reading about the cancelation of tomorrows CZ gave me some concerns.

 

[neroden]

Empire Builder was suffering cascading delays (late arrival of the westbound -> late departure of the next eastbound) according to recent reports, so that may be another reason they had to cancel a train (to get "back on schedule").

 

[20th Century Rider]

“We wanted to let you know that train #7, the Empire Builder, from Chicago, Illinois on Friday, December 31st, has been CANCELLED due to a service disruption. Unfortunately, we don't have other transportation available”

There goes my snowy train ride across the cold dark northern plains! I did find ONE available flight to Seattle New Years day that 1. Didn’t take 24 plus hours and 2. Didn’t cost 1500+, so I don’t have a lot of faith that one is going to go well…

Ive a Coast Starlight to get on Jan 3rd in Seattle to head back home….I hope


exciting times these! My circle trip is hanging by a thread!

Coast Starlight Salinas to LA. We were 1.5 hours late but they held the last Surfliner of the night for us
Surfliner to Oceanside
Private air to Taos NM…an amazing value and no security lines!
Taos to Raton to catch the SWC. I was the only one boarding there…3 hours late but we are one our way to Chicago
was Chicago to Seattle via the Empire builder now it’s air to Seattle…I hope!
Coast Starlight back to Salinas…I hope!

You need customer service... but good luck in reaching them...

 

[oregon pioneer]

I'm following this thread because I'm supposed to board EB #28 a week from Sunday. The weather looks to be improving at least *some* by then, but the Covid situation won't, so I'm nervous about more cancellations.

 

[flitcraft]

Ive a Coast Starlight to get on Jan 3rd in Seattle to head back home….I hope
exciting times these! My circle trip is hanging by a thread! [snip]
was Chicago to Seattle via the Empire builder now it’s air to Seattle…I hope!
Coast Starlight back to Salinas…I hope!

Seatac airport is a mess right now. Two rounds of snow plus several days of sub-freezing temperatures have added to the general misery of too many COVID cases and resulted in the largest number of flight arrival and departure cancellations of any airport worldwide at the moment. Take whatever flight you can get to Seattle, but realize that it is more than possible it'll get delayed if not cancelled, so have some backups researched. Portland is in much better shape, weather-wise, so that plus a Cascades trip might be a good backup plan.

Good luck with the tail end of your circle trip!! We'll all be keeping our fingers crossed for you.

 

[Asher]

Weather on the W Coast is pretty extreme at the present time. LA Union Station was flooded in some areas because of rainfall and the CS was delayed for a short time today.

 

[Maverickstation]

Hot Off The Presses.

I asked, Ian, a reporter who covers Amtrak for the Washington Post, and he did some investigating.

Thanks again! They acknowledged the service cuts but not sure they would have had we not known to ask so I appreciate you getting in touch!

https://www.washingtonpost.com/transportation/2021/12/30/amtrak-trains-canceled-weather-omicron/

Ian

Ken

 

[ScottR]

You need customer service... but good luck in reaching them...

I called guest rewards and left my callback number and they returned it within the hour. Refunded back to my card the price of the trip

 

[ScottR]

I found a direct United flight leaving at 9.00 am…before the Jan 1 blizzard hits Chicago in the afternoon and makes things even moooore exciting!
1 seat left….in first class. Between that and the hotels to replace the nights aboard the Empire Builder $$$ are adding up

 

[ScottR]

Google Taos Air. A charter service that flies out of a couple of small CA and Texas airports. To be able to get up and walk right onto a plane with no TSA…I felt like it must have been 1960!

 

[pennyk]

MODERATOR NOTE: The title of this thread has been edited to include other cancellations.

I have heard from a reliable source that in addition to the Empire Builder, the following long distance trains will be canceled on 12/31: 5/6, 58/59, 97/98 and that the Crescent may be canceled 1/1 and possibly later. Also a few NEC trains will be canceled on dates between 12/31 and 1/6, including 65/66/67.

 

[tgstubbs1]

I found a direct United flight leaving at 9.00 am…before the Jan 1 blizzard hits Chicago in the afternoon and makes things even moooore exciting!
1 seat left….in first class. Between that and the hotels to replace the nights aboard the Empire Builder $$$ are adding up

You might miss the blizzard hitting Chicago but you are flying west, towards the front

I guess that could add to the excitement. I wonder how it will look from fl33. Maybe they will fly around it.

 

[TinCan782]

]Amtrak cancels dozens of trains because of weather, coronavirus cases among workers
https://www.seattletimes.com/nation...e-of-weather-coronavirus-cases-among-workers/