Cardinal #50 7/19 service disruption

[El Capitan]

The Cardinal has had a service disruption, leaving Chicago 5 hr 20 min late and last reported at Connersville 6 hr 25 min late. Does anyone have an explanation? I would like to take the Cardinal from Cincinnati to Washington, DC in the near future, but service disruptions like this make me uneasy. I know these are isolated cases, but I think a similar disruption occurred in late June.

 

[Mary Martin]

We arrived on the #50 at Clifton Forge this evening about 7 hours late. It continued on.

Mary

 

[Ryan]

Late arriving on the incoming - here's 51(17):

* Train 51 of 07/17/2013.
* Cardinal
* +---------------- Station code
* |    +----------- Schedule Arrival Day  
* |    |  +-------- Schedule Arrival time
* |    |  |     +----- Schedule Departure Day
* |    |  |     |  +-- Schedule Departure Time 
* |    |  |     |  |     +------------- Actual Arrival Time
* |    |  |     |  |     |     +------- Actual Departure Time
* |    |  |     |  |     |     |     +- Comments
* V    V  V     V  V     V     V     V
* NYP  *  *     1  645A  *     645A  Departed:  on time.
* NWK  *  *     1  705A  *     706A  Departed:  1 minute late.
* TRE  *  *     1  740A  *     741A  Departed:  1 minute late.
* PHL  *  *     1  815A  *     817A  Departed:  2 minutes late.
* WIL  *  *     1  840A  *     840A  Departed:  on time.
* BAL  *  *     1  929A  *     929A  Departed:  on time.
* WAS  1  1010A 1  1105A 1005A 1105A Departed:  on time.
* ALX  *  *     1  1124A *     1124A Departed:  on time.
* MSS  *  *     1  1157A *     1159A Departed:  2 minutes late.
* CLP  *  *     1  1230P *     1234P Departed:  4 minutes late.
* CVS  1  146P  1  155P  200P  211P  Departed:  16 minutes late.
* STA  *  *     1  259P  *     515P  Departed:  2 hours and 16 minutes late.
* CLF  *  *     1  410P  *     714P  Departed:  3 hours and 4 minutes late.
* WSS  *  *     1  502P  *     830P  Departed:  3 hours and 28 minutes late.
* ALD  *  *     1  533P  *     907P  Departed:  3 hours and 34 minutes late.
* HIN  *  *     1  603P  *     959P  Departed:  3 hours and 56 minutes late.
* PRC  *  *     1  635P  *     1047P Departed:  4 hours and 12 minutes late.
* THN  *  *     1  651P  *     1106P Departed:  4 hours and 15 minutes late.
* MNG  *  *     1  742P  *     1159P Departed:  4 hours and 17 minutes late.
* CHW  *  *     1  816P  *     1235A Departed:  4 hours and 19 minutes late.
* HUN  1  938P  1  945P  132A  137A  Departed:  3 hours and 52 minutes late.
* AKY  *  *     1  1008P *     204A  Departed:  3 hours and 56 minutes late.
* SPM  *  *     1  1051P *     304A  Departed:  4 hours and 13 minutes late.
* MAY  *  *     1  1146P *     359A  Departed:  4 hours and 13 minutes late.
* CIN  2  113A  2  123A  608A  619A  Departed:  4 hours and 56 minutes late.
* COI  *  *     2  318A  *     810A  Departed:  4 hours and 52 minutes late.
* IND  2  457A  2  600A  1010A 1033A Departed:  4 hours and 33 minutes late.
* CRF  *  *     2  658A  *     1159A Departed:  5 hours and 1 minute late.
* LAF  *  *     2  733A  *     1242P Departed:  5 hours and 9 minutes late.
* REN  *  *     2  738A  *     104P  Departed:  5 hours and 26 minutes late.
* DYE  *  *     2  827A  *     306P  Departed:  6 hours and 39 minutes late.
* CHI  2  1005A *  *     517P  *     Arrived:  7 hours and 12 minutes late.

 

[Acela150]

Ouch, 7 hours Late into CHI..

 

[Ryan]

Apparently some CSX had a couple crews die on the law in VA and things just went downhill from there.

Late arriving equipment put yesterday's 50 behind the 8 ball.

Fortunately, the 3x/week schedule means that no more trips will get broken!

 

[Acela150]

Apparently some CSX had a couple crews die on the law in VA and things just went downhill from there.

Three big letters in there.. CSX. :lol:

 

[Linda T]

I was on the 50/51 on Wednesday down and back to WSS. Apparently signals were down between WSS and STA (due to a lightning strike), which resulted in 51 (which was on time) being delayed in STA for a couple hours, behind a backlog of freights... and things just snowballed. After getting home, I wondered why the train had lost more time. I called Amtrak and they said that as it approached CHI it got into heavy freight traffic. Obviously Wednesday's 50 also ran into the same signal problems (6 hours and 56 minutes late into NYP).

I know that there's been a number of external things that Amtrak has not had power over. A warehouse fire near IND, a freight derailment near CHI, CSX working on the tracks at CLF, signal outages... all these things are unusual, but can and do happen, as is evidenced by the Cardinals performances. I don't know why, perhaps track work is generally completed? But I've heard that the Cardinal has better on time performance in the fall. I'd take the chance with her between CIN and WAS, but then I enjoy just being on the train, and if she's late well... that's all part of the experience.

 

[danlb_2000]

We were on the 50 on Wednesday night on the way back to Philly, finally got in around 3:20 AM. The train sat for a couple hours in various spots near Clifton Forge waiting for freight traffic to pass. We were told this was due to a backup of freight trains caused by the freight derailment in that area. I was very happy to have a sleeper, and the crew did their best to make the situation as pleasant as possible passing out snacks and sandwiches later in the evening to people in the sleepers an coach.

 

[afigg]

It has not been a good week for the Cardinal. #50(7/20) is reported on TO as having struck a trespasser in Indiana and has arrived at Cincinnati 7 hours and 25 minutes late. But it has not been good for the Eastern routes and the NEC either with the heat wave, thunderstorms, locomotive breakdowns, CSX train derailments, etc.

 

[Anna]

I am taking a train on 26 from Cincinnati to Washington. It's my first time on a train... Any advice? Like bringing a blanket? Also is there a wifi? Should I be expecting delays as well? Thanks

 

[afigg]

I am taking a train on 26 from Cincinnati to Washington. It's my first time on a train... Any advice? Like bringing a blanket? Also is there a wifi? Should I be expecting delays as well? Thanks

The eastbound #50 Cardinal has been encountering frequent delays in the past several months, so, yes you should be prepared for the train to be running late. Just have to be patient.

I assume you are traveling in coach? There will be different opinions on whether a light blanket will be useful for a late July trip. You may want to bring some snacks and soda, water for the trip. the train has a food car, so you can buy meals and snacks onboard as well.

WiFi? No, the Amtrak long distance trains have not been equipped with WiFi yet.

Have a good trip.