Capitol Limited & Lake Shore Limited Delays Summer/Fall 2014

[AmtrakBlue]

Looks like they're hold 3 for 29, 49 & 6. They're all due in about the same time...crazy times on the platforms

 

[afigg]

Now looks like Both #29 and #49 will be in excess of 6 hours late, and perhaps as much as 7 hours behind--amazing. They literally sat, just a few miles from CHI ALL morning long and went almost nowhere. Both moving at a snail's pace and still perhaps an hour away from Union Station. Stunning collapse of this service.

It has been bad for the westbound CL and LSL this past week. I checked the Amtrak tracker several times in the late morning and early afternoon today and #29 & #49 were not moving at all for long periods to get from SOB to around Porter.

And still no service alerts or statements from Amtrak. They issued a service alert for one day a week track work delay of CS #11 through mid-November, but nothing on the severe delays for the CL and LSL. Perhaps those here who are active in NARP should get NARP to talk to Amtrak about issuing a statement on the situation.

 

[Barciur]

I was relatively at peace with all of this going on because my trip next month is not as time sensitive - I just need to make sure to make the Hiawatha at 5:08 at the latest... but.. on the 26th and today it looks like it might be cutting it very close for that Hiawatha. And it's a 8:45am arrival, having to worry about missing the 5:05pm connection is nuts.

Here's hoping that as we get closer to November things get better. I'm always in for more train time, but perhaps 9 hours each way on a weekend round trip would be a little bit too much train time

 

[not_a_user]

I hate that I am considering a flight to Chicago to kick off the trip now instead of 49.

Oh no! I'm considering reliable transportation! The horror!

 

[OlympianHiawatha]

Since these delays and this Thread have been going for several months, can someone in the know offer a current state of the situation involving the NS trackwork and dispatching problems? Thanks!

 

[greatcats]

Just looking at status on Amtrak app, which seems to have gone berserk. Arrival times of 29 and 49 showing between 8 and 9 am - early. Somehow I don't think this is the case! What a fiasco.

 

[montana mike]

I sent an email to Amtrak Customer Relations about this mess early today, no reply yet. I would surmise that I may not see any reply from them though....#49 arrived this evening in CHI-town just under 7 hours late. The entire trip from western NY to CHI is only supposed to be 11 hours long--good grief. Oh, well. Perhaps when the freight people scream loud enough NS will do something.

 

[OlympianHiawatha]

I sent an email to Amtrak Customer Relations about this mess early today, no reply yet. I would surmise that I may not see any reply from them though....#49 arrived this evening in CHI-town just under 7 hours late. The entire trip from western NY to CHI is only supposed to be 11 hours long--good grief. Oh, well. Perhaps when the freight people scream loud enough NS will do something.

When you do get a reply you will probably get a fill-in-the-blanks Form Letter. But let's hope it is not like the one United recently sent a Customer where the blanks were left-BLANK!

 

[tommylicious]

I"m guessing tonight's 30 will be 6 hours late departing, and lose another 3-4 along the way.

 

[montana mike]

I sent an email to Amtrak Customer Relations about this mess early today, no reply yet. I would surmise that I may not see any reply from them though....#49 arrived this evening in CHI-town just under 7 hours late. The entire trip from western NY to CHI is only supposed to be 11 hours long--good grief. Oh, well. Perhaps when the freight people scream loud enough NS will do something.

When you do get a reply you will probably get a fill-in-the-blanks Form Letter. But let's hope it is not like the one United recently sent a Customer where the blanks were left-BLANK!

I actually got something similar from Amtrak several year's ago and called them back to ask what the heck was going on. At the time it was somewhat humorous (and they gave me a $100 voucher for their goof up).....

I see Amtrak has not updated departure times for either #30 or #48 for tonight, even though #30 is already over two hours late already! My nephew works for CSX and he is even aware of the mess in Ohio and Indiana. He believes this is not something that will go away soon, since NS has been telling CSX to expect "worsening" movement times through the end of 2014 on this line. Gosh, I didn't think it could get much worse, but I guess we shall see. I wonder, if NS is telling other railroads about this mess they are in and what to expect, why hasn't Amtrak proactively gotten ahead of this and tried to come up with a game plan that will at least salvage these two routes. I would expect they told Amtrak management the same thing they told others? Right now these routes are going down in flames, big time.

:-(

 

[Bob Dylan]

The Silence from 60 Mass about this Newest Mess speaks Volumes about Amtrak's Management!

There needs to be a Plan in place Yesterday to deal with this Cluster Flub!

Doesn't anyone know how to run a damn Railroad anymore??!!!!

 

[montana mike]

Now approaching 3 hours past departure time and Amtrak still shows the normal anticipated departure of 6:40 PM on their web site. #48 also has no information on any delayed departure either. We all know doo doo happens, and yes, this is a big time mess, but don't the Amtrak "suits" realize that they would be far, far better off with both current and potential travelers if they just got out in front of these SNAFUs and both let people know what is really happening and also what (if anything) they are doing to try to mitigate the mess?

Good Public Relations is critical. Ignoring the disaster that is unfolding just makes passengers angry, frustrated, upset and in some cases, sadly "never ever again" people. Which is so sad, because when train travel does work it is an enjoyable experience.

 

[tommylicious]

I wonder what they're telling people waiting now 3 hours for this train!

 

[afigg]

When it rains, it pours. LSL #48(9/28) is 11 hours late departing SYR. It was stuck in Cleveland for over 4 hours, Departed ELY 3 hours and 40 minutes late, CLE 8 hours and 5 minutes late. According to trainorders, a high tension power line fell onto the CSX tracks, then a train reportedly hit the downed line, shutting down traffic east of Cleveland for much of the day. #48 is now running into delays across upper state NY on CSX.

If the traffic jam between South Bend and Porter is going to be the same tomorrow for #29 and #49, Amtrak should be looking at finding a detour route.

 

[neroden]

There's a really, really obvious detour route through Michigan... even if the trains have to rejoin NS from Porter to Chicago, that stretch seems to be OK now. AFAIK the line from Dearborn to Toledo is still moving as well.

South Bend, Elkhart, Waterloo, and Bryan can be bused to Niles and Toledo.

I don't know how to contact Amtrak management, but this changfe should be made immediately.

 

[montana mike]

#30 didn't make it far from CHI before coming to a halt. Who knows how many hours they will lose between CHI and SOB tonight!

 

[neroden]

If there are still problems from Chicago to Porter, that may explain why the Michigan line reroute hasn't happened; little point if the trains just get stuck west of Porter. Michigan Line to South Shore to the Illini/Saluki route would be the best short-term reroute, but South Shore Line and CN are probably being difficult, as they don't like to accept reroutes on short notice.

Some reports on other forums indicate that the Michigan trains are losing hours from Chicago to Porter, so this may beht case.

FWIW, the removal of the diamonds at Englewood will probably cause additional short-term delays by requiring the entire line to be shut down for several hours...

 

[neroden]

I wish the Cardinal were an option, but the two days I could possibly begin my trip are two days in which it does not run.

I hate that I am considering a flight to Chicago to kick off the trip now instead of 49. I'm not worried about 48's lateness as there is no connection involved.

49 to Toledo (at which point it's morning), bus from Toledo to Chicago?

 

[montana mike]

Looks like we may have a replay of yesterday's mess in OH and IN. Both #29 and #49 are beginning to lose time and have slowed to a crawl as they head west. #30 lost just under 4 hours as it went thru the mess in those two states last night. It is going to be a very late arrival for the CL in DC and the LSL in NYP later today

 

[tommylicious]

Average delay thru NS, either way, seems ~3+ hours. Yesterday it was more like 7. Hopefully they get this sorted.

 

[montana mike]

Not sure how they are going to do this in the short run. What I have heard is that there are just way too many trains trying to get thru not enough tracks right now and there are two constants: (1) the number of trains will not be going down (in fact an increase is expected), (2) the number of tracks isn't going to change in the foreseeable future. With those two givens it would appear the 3-6 hour delays (depending somewhat on time of day) thru this area will likely be something everyone will have to live with until trains are rerouted or additional trackage is provided.......and has been stated, the Amtrak woes, though great, are nothing compared to the many, many freight customers who are not getting their goods in a timely manner. My nephew (the CSX person) says that, more than anything else, will eventually be the catalyst to get something done as a more meaningful "fix".

 

[AmtrakBlue]

From this thread yesterday: http://discuss.amtraktrains.com/index.php?/topic/61546-worst-case-scenario-with-late-trains/

I just talked with AGR and the agent told me they were bussing those with connections between Toledo and CHI!!

 

[montana mike]

Well, at least they are trying to do something. Not sure it is worth $350 for a "roomette" from western NY to CHI if I get bussed from TOL, so if this continues to be the only way the LSL is going to make any connections I think I will just fly to CHI on my return trip. I hate to do that....darn.

 

[AmtrakBlue]

I'm supposed to switch from coach (paid) to a roomette (AGR) in Toledo. Might be switching to a bus instead. Depending on how late 49 is into TOL, I hope to at least get breakfast before boarding the bus.

 

[Railroad Bill]

That would be my fate as well. Hope they will reimburse some voucher value for the lost AGR sleeper from TOL to CHI. Lot of difference between a bus and a roomette :huh: