EB mess

[TraneMan]

Waiting for 8 to come to RDW. Looks like been sitting in hasting for a while. Few train came past the station going North.

-Sent from my iPad using Amtrak Forum App.

 

[Tumbleweed]

Wow...looks like even the bustitution will not be available 2/8-28 from FAR-GFK-MOT.....they show sold out on those dates.....unless a person has maybe already made a reservation.... hboy:

 

[yarrow]

Out of curiosity, are they still rolling with the 6th trainset?

we were in pdx last week and saw the pdx part of the extra set at the station though if 27 arrives early enough to be turned for 28 it appears they use the trainset that just came as opposed to the extra

If they were same-day turning even with a protect-set sitting there, that seems very odd to me. I would think the crews would like having the time to service the equipment at their leisure instead of rush-jobbing it. Spend that extra time actually cleaning, doing minor repairs, pumping the lavatories, etc.

yeah, well you know amtrak. i'm sure there is some sort of high level directive about which set to use

 

[montana mike]

This is getting so bad that even Hollywood couldn't make this up in a disaster movie!! All of the EBs today are verrrrrry late and #7, out of CHI is over two hours late and still has not left the station. Grim........

Thank goodness they have the extra train set at PDX and SEA, otherwise this would be a 3 day a week experience. Oh, I just can't wait until this summer.

 

[greatcats]

How is this for a brilliant idea? Reroute the Empire Builder on the CP via Vancouver, Banff, and to Winnipeg. Then into North Dakota and then via Crookston, MN, where I believe GN used to set out a sleeper and then to the Twin Cities. Of course, this can readily be set up in a few weeks time. ( Is it April Fools' Day yet? )

 

[Texan Eagle]

I did EB CHI-PDX late last year and told my non-railfan friends how much fun it was and the amenities onboard. I told them how there is a wine and cheese tasting session, you get champagne or sparkling apple juice in your room, local newspaper is delivered enroute, there is a Dining Car beautifully decorated with flowers at tables et al.. and a couple of them were sold on it, they decided they want to ride the train for the experience this summer.

Come now, I told them- sorry, there will be no more wine and cheese tasting, no more champagne in room, no more newspapers, no more flowers in the Dining Car and the train runs 8-12 hours late on average. Their reaction- as expected- "what the hell! We don't want to go for the 'experience' anymore. Amtrak sucks, no wonder nobody travels by trains except old retired folks with tons of free time and nothing to do" and cancelled their tickets. Well, can't blame them. I had painted a rosy picture of EB being a nice vacation option, and now it looks like anything but a fun vacation.

 

[jebr]

I did EB CHI-PDX late last year and told my non-railfan friends how much fun it was and the amenities onboard. I told them how there is a wine and cheese tasting session, you get champagne or sparkling apple juice in your room, local newspaper is delivered enroute, there is a Dining Car beautifully decorated with flowers at tables et al.. and a couple of them were sold on it, they decided they want to ride the train for the experience this summer.

Come now, I told them- sorry, there will be no more wine and cheese tasting, no more champagne in room, no more newspapers, no more flowers in the Dining Car and the train runs 8-12 hours late on average. Their reaction- as expected- "what the hell! We don't want to go for the 'experience' anymore. Amtrak sucks, no wonder nobody travels by trains except old retired folks with tons of free time and nothing to do" and cancelled their tickets. Well, can't blame them. I had painted a rosy picture of EB being a nice vacation option, and now it looks like anything but a fun vacation.

If someone framed it that drastically, then yeah, I'd probably bail too.

But if someone framed to me that there were some changes, but that I would still have a (delayed) trip throughout the Great North, having a nice steak dinner with wine (which, yes, the wine has to be purchased) and cheesecake (along with the two other meals of the day,) then going back to a warm room with juice to mix with whatever I may want to bring on board, and have a private room to relax in and enjoy the journey...then yes, it would be more appealing.

Ultimately, though, Amtrak's purpose is to transport people from point A to point B. And BNSF is making that hard to do efficiently and reliably on the Builder's line.

 

[D.P. Roberts]

Ultimately, though, Amtrak's purpose is to transport people from point A to point B. And BNSF is making that hard to do efficiently and reliably on the Builder's line.

Agreed. I'll miss the amenities, but if forced to choose between the two, I would take an on-time schedule back in a heartbeat. At this point, my greatest hope about a potential trip on the EB would be to

A) actually get to my destination

B) on an actual train (and not on a bus)

C) somewhere near my estimated arrival time.

If I get those things, I'll be happy with it.

 

[montana mike]

#7 in Central Washington now 13+ hours late and continuing to lose time at every station--arrrrgh. BTW--#7 left CHI around 5 hours late.

:-((

 

[Gabe]

To put a bit of an optimistic tone on the issues of late, does anybody know of any scenic highlights that are often missed at night, but would be passed in daylight in an extreme delay?

I've got a trip to SEA planned for next month, and I honestly wouldn't mind a large enough delay that puts Glacier into daylight for #7.

 

[greatcats]

I would like to see the Idaho trackage by daylight. Gosh, I made a joke earlier, but maybe it would make better time routed through Canada!

 

[Cma]

Even after reading these posts I will be riding the EB this summer. I could do it either direction . Any thoughts of which would be the better way to go. I may make a couple days break in Glacier.

 

[montana mike]

For scenery thru Glacier National Park take the east bound trek, otherwise you will likely be too late to see much of anything going westbound

 

[tim49424]

I would like to see the Idaho trackage by daylight.

This happened to me when I was on #7 back in June, 2012. The scenery at Sandpoint is simply breathtaking.

 

[andersone]

I am going to Glacier on EB in August. I am catching her at LCE and my hope was it would be there in time for us to have dinner (scheduled at 7:14) PM. I am hoping she leaves CHI on time,,, and we lose all the time west of MPL,, looking forward to that steak,,,,

 

[Nathanael]

Well, looks like the bustitiution FAR-GFK-DVL-MOT is still in effect....I was notified that my 2/13 arrival in DVL is affected....guess I'll change destination to FAR and rent a car rather than do the bus gig in the middle of the night.....

It is disturbing that Amtrak does not currently see fit to provide a service alert for this.

I know the LD trains tend to run late, but bustitutions are actually fairly unusual, and if they're ongoing for weeks it's just poor customer service not to notify people prior to booking.

 

[yarrow]

I would like to see the Idaho trackage by daylight. Gosh, I made a joke earlier, but maybe it would make better time routed through Canada!

we were on a 9 hour late eb heading to spk in september and got to run along the kootenai river in daylight. very, very nice. of course, gn used to schedule the eb for daylight running through such a scenic section

 

[fairviewroad]

Well, looks like the bustitiution FAR-GFK-DVL-MOT is still in effect....I was notified that my 2/13 arrival in DVL is affected....guess I'll change destination to FAR and rent a car rather than do the bus gig in the middle of the night.....

It is disturbing that Amtrak does not currently see fit to provide a service alert for this.

I know the LD trains tend to run late, but bustitutions are actually fairly unusual, and if they're ongoing for weeks it's just poor customer service not to notify people prior to booking.

I agree there should be a service alert. But in this case, Amtrak has blocked out bookings to GFK, DVL and RUG through most of February. The only people being bustituted at this point are people who booked their tickets prior to the diversions, and those people are being notified by phone.

 

[montana mike]

I just wish Amtrak would let potential customers know that #8 and #7 are experiencing very long delays (look at today's roster--just a mess, with #7 looking like it will not even depart until after 6 PM tonight-arrrrgh)--and that passengers should be aware of this and make travel plans accordingly. I was 7 hours late on my #7 ride about a week ago and that appears to be almost the norm now.

 

[Tumbleweed]

Actually, it would work better for me if they are 6-7 hours late...would make for a mid-morning arrival into FAR......

 

[TraneMan]

What's up with the late start out of CHI? I am leaving CHI on Sunday, hope that is not going to happen to us.

-Sent from my iPad using Amtrak Forum App.

 

[CHamilton]

From the Facebook Empire Builder group:

Just got in to Seattle King Street on #7 today [sat 2/8]. 5 hours 37 minutes late leaving Chicago! ... First they said it was a crew rest issue. Then they said it was something wrong with one of the coaches. Then something else wrong.... Frozen shower drains. Then HEP blew up just after passing Cascade Tunnel. so no lights or toilets for last 2 hours of the trip. what a mess! 7 hours 15 minutes late to King Street. ...

 

[Steve Manfred]

Another Minneapolis Star-Tribune story on the Empire Builder mess: http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/travel/244616791.html

 

[Guest]

If you try doing an Empire Builder booking on amtrak.com it warns about the number 7/27 detour from Fargo to Minot until February 28. Also it says to expect long delays due to freight train congestion. So a customer can find out about this but only if they actually try to book travel on the Empire Builder

 

[yarrow]

anybody know the deal with 28 out of pdx yesterday. looked like they didn't have the protect set available as 28 apparently had to wait for 27 to arrive and be turned. it's now very late. 8 left sea on time yesterday and evidently has been waiting in spk for 28????