Amtrak SouthWest Chief (4) cancelled :-(

[jis]

do you know by when we will know if the SWC 3 will be cancelled today ? I am in Flagstaff trying to get to LAX
thank you

Guest, there is no other reasonable rail alternative today. If the SWC is not running through Flagstaff tomorrow too, you may wish to consider heading south to Tucson or Phoenix/Maricopa and catching the Sunset Limited there to LAX tomorrow (27) evening. Both Coach and Sleeper are available on that train as of now.

Why don't you just fly to Albuquerque from LAX and catch it there? From Flagstaff take a Greyhound to Alb.

The Guest from Flagstaff wanted to go to LAX, so going to Albuquerque would be going in the wrong direction and won't get him to LAX.

There are two Guests involved, one who is traveling from Flagstaff to LAX, who is now flying, and the other one who is trying to travel from LAX to CHI. I don't know what he finally decided to do.

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

We have just been having a violent storm here in Flagstaff. If this keeps up there will be floods and washouts here, too.

3 and 4 still seems to be stuck. Lots of natural disasters around the West these days, including fires in Idaho, Washington, and California, a sinkhold in I-80, an earthquake near Reno, and this as well.

 

[marcosoliva]

Hello ,

I am the guest trying to get to LAX from Flagstaff , and I can tell you that this un-intended delay over here at least allowed me to check and enjoyed more of Flagstaff alongside with my kid who is attending NAU , good breakfasts and decent dinners around town and well time to visit the Barringer crater and the Powell observatory

I am flying out tomorrow at 12 noon with a layover of about 1.5 hr in phoenix, but I am glad i was able to book one , these storms remains me a lot of my trips in Central America, nice cool water on a warm day

 

[marcosoliva]

Hello

well it is a beautiful day here at FlagStaff and the sun is up and shining , I wander if the trains will start working tonight ?

any updates on the washout ?

 

[jis]

No further news, so tonight most likely there is no service. Heard nothing yet about tomorrow.

 

[Bob]

1-800-usa-rail just said #4 will leave on schedule tonight (27th)

 

[jis]

Oh good to know! Thanks Bob!

 

[greatcats]

Just checked Amtrak Status: #3 is supposed to be on time in Flg tonight.

 

[henryj]

do you know by when we will know if the SWC 3 will be cancelled today ? I am in Flagstaff trying to get to LAX
thank you

Guest, there is no other reasonable rail alternative today. If the SWC is not running through Flagstaff tomorrow too, you may wish to consider heading south to Tucson or Phoenix/Maricopa and catching the Sunset Limited there to LAX tomorrow (27) evening. Both Coach and Sleeper are available on that train as of now.

Why don't you just fly to Albuquerque from LAX and catch it there? From Flagstaff take a Greyhound to Alb.

The Guest from Flagstaff wanted to go to LAX, so going to Albuquerque would be going in the wrong direction and won't get him to LAX.

There are two Guests involved, one who is traveling from Flagstaff to LAX, who is now flying, and the other one who is trying to travel from LAX to CHI. I don't know what he finally decided to do.

:Yes, I missed that. But he is now flying. If he wanted to stay on the ground then the bus to Phoenix would have been the best option. There he could either take a bus, fly or take the Sunset to LAX

 

[marcosoliva]

well and the drama continues .. ;-)

currently another storm hitting the flagstaff area, US Airways did not land and the flight at 12:40pm has been cancelled, we are waiting for the one at 3pm to see if that one will come thrut , but storm is very heavy here at the flagstaff airport

Amtrak #3 still schedule to leave at 9pm tonight bound to LAX with some luck that is my last option

Mother Nature showing us their power ..

 

[George Harris]

If going to Chicago from Los Angeles, and no Southwest Chief, then there would be the Sunset - Texas Eagle or go north to Emeryville or Sacramento and then east on the CZ. Either would obviously take considerably longer than the SWC, but they would get you there.

 

[henryj]

well and the drama continues .. ;-)
currently another storm hitting the flagstaff area, US Airways did not land and the flight at 12:40pm has been cancelled, we are waiting for the one at 3pm to see if that one will come thrut , but storm is very heavy here at the flagstaff airport

Amtrak #3 still schedule to leave at 9pm tonight bound to LAX with some luck that is my last option

Mother Nature showing us their power ..

Did you try the Arizona Shuttle to Phoenix. You could then fly out of there. One way is only $45. Next one is 5PM

http://www.arizonashuttle.com/flagstaff-phoenix

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

well and the drama continues .. ;-)
currently another storm hitting the flagstaff area, US Airways did not land and the flight at 12:40pm has been cancelled, we are waiting for the one at 3pm to see if that one will come thrut , but storm is very heavy here at the flagstaff airport

Amtrak #3 still schedule to leave at 9pm tonight bound to LAX with some luck that is my last option

Mother Nature showing us their power ..

Did you try the Arizona Shuttle to Phoenix. You could then fly out of there. One way is only $45. Next one is 5PM

http://www.arizonashuttle.com/flagstaff-phoenix

If you're going to ride a bus to Phoenix, might as well ride the Greyhound. Their station is right beside Sky Harbor Airport and last-minute fare $15 to Phoenix.

But more disasters seem to hitting Arizona, including the Phoenix area, so nothing looks good right now.

Another alternative would be to ride Greyhound to Los Angeles through Las Vegas. That's $62.70 for a last-minute fare. Greyhound no longer operates a direct Flagstaff-Los Angeles service on I-40.

 

[City of Miami]

I was reticketed sun on 2 & 20 lax to cvs. Currently held prisoner in nol upt waiting for 20 departure

 

[Guest - Vishal]

This is the OP - (Guest Vishal) Just wanted to thank everyone who posted important information regarding this route. I made it to ABQ on Tuesday, August 27.. via a 12 hour drive. Passed through some pretty scary storms in AZ.. but thankfully they were only short bursts for a few minutes or so.. and then it was clear. The drive was, surprisingly, enjoyable (had never driven on the 40 E before)

Boarded the 4 from ABQ at 12 pm and arrived in Chicago on Wednesday, August 28. Spent a few hours there, and then we were on our way to Washington, DC via the 30.

Now we're in NY.. returning home on Friday via the same routes. Hopefully no more storms!

For the posters assuming that Amtrak did not have my contact info -

Amtrak did have my cell #.. and I received a call on Sunday (August 25) at 6 pm informing me of the cancellation. This, when I was at Union Station (train was scheduled for 6.15 pm departure) Oddly enough, the display screen at Union Station showed a status of "Lobby" for this train, until 5.45 pm .. after which it changed to 'cancelled'.

So if Amtrak knew that this train would not be running 24 hours in advance (heck, even a few hours) they should definitely have notified me. I don't know if there is a delay in their system? The same train was cancelled for monday (august 26) and I received a call and email at 10.30 am. Information from the posters here helped me to decide on driving anyway.

So thank you again, fantastic community - and the Amtrak rides were great! Amtrak customer support is also very efficient. Cheers!

 

[Ryan]

Thanks for the followup! Hope your trip back is less eventful.

 

[City of Miami]

I thought it was he railroad company (what is it in this case? UP? BNSF? I dunno....) who tells Amtrak when and whether they may run on their tracks. So it would depend on when Amtrak received the notification of the closure. Since it was dramatic unexpected weather that produced a flash flood I assumed that it was earlier Sunday sometime, probably in the afternoon, that the damage occurred. Does anyone know, or care, when the flash flood occurred?

I arrived on the Ambus from Bakersfield a little after 4 Sunday afternoon, checked my bag (free) and took a hike to Phillipe's and the Mexican enclave across Alameda St. I came back to the station around 5:30 to see the CANCELLED notice on the board. I got on line at the ticket windows and waited maybe half an hour. The options presented to me were reticketing on the next day's #4 (no guarantee of course and it turned out that it didn't go) or later that night #2 connecting to #20 in New Orleans to CVS. I would miss my desired ride on the eastbound Cardinal either way. I felt the agent was very accommodating, esp since my trip involved both a paid portion and an AGR portion and she had to negotiate with AGR about the change. She neither offered nor did I ask for a paid hotel provided in NOL.

We arrived NOL on time, i.e. about 9:40pm and were told that if we left the station there would be no readmittance under any circumstances after 10pm - 20 minutes away. The Magnolia Room was closed and I was refused use of the room - it's open from 5:45am-1:15pm ONLY. I chose to stay in the station given the uncertainties of the situation and relative short duration (~8 hours). There were 5 people in the station plus the martinet from the sheriff's dept who patrolled the station and laid down the rules. Sheesh! I slept not at all. We boarded #20, had breakfast pretty quickly and I managed to stay awake for Lake Ponchartrain and as far as Slidell before I crashed for a nap til lunch in my roomette. The trip was uneventful, although the train struck a trespasser about an hour after I got off.

For attendants I had Henry Ford (in the transdorm) on the Sunset and Charles (Ingram, I think) on the Crescent. The former was pretty worthless (e.g. I put my bed up/down both nights/mornings) and the latter was OK. Both claimed they were in their final year before retirement. Neither train was particularly busy and the diners were never anywhere near full and at some meals deserted. The food provided was mediocre I thought with the exception of the salmon for my last dinner.

I felt pretty bummed during my night of confinement in New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal. Somewhere in there I resolved to cancel my 2 existing reservations in October and not to make an effort to acquire any more AGR points. Right now I don't know if I even want to use the 75K I still have. No more cross-country LD trips for me. Been there, done that (all the existing routes) and I don't need the hassle anymore. It doesn't matter whether it's Amtrak's fault or not......the hassle is the same.

 

[yarrow]

I don't need the hassle anymore. It doesn't matter whether it's Amtrak's fault or not......the hassle is the same.

i'm not to that point yet but i can visualize it. too bad

 

[Bob Dylan]

Don't give up the ship John! No-one likes spending the night in ANY kind of Jail, er Station, been there , done that! (Both! :giggle: )

Of course before the_traveler beats me to it, I'll Volunteer to use your AGR Points if you dont want them anymore! (Actually as you know you have the options since you now live in the NE of the Regionals, Acela and the New England and Canada Trains as well as using them for Hotels, Rent Cars etc. etc. )

We still hope to see you in CHI, perhaps if you ride the Party Train on Wed 10/16(#49/#449) to CHI from NYP with those Wild and Kooky AUers and return on #30 with the Survivors, er Returning Easterners it will make the Train trip to CHI for the Gathering worthwhile! BTW: Did you hear anymore on a Room in CHI, several of us are staying @ the Hosteling Intl. on Congress, highly recommended!

 

[gswager]

The monsoon storms usually occurred in late afternoon and early evening when the weather cools down.