Effect of early January 2022 Virginia Snowstorm on Amtrak

[west point]

Cancellations too numerous to list in NE Virginia both CSX and NS lines. Situation very bad as nothing getting thru. Auto Train did not get to Lorton util sometime after 2100.a

 

[jis]

Cancellations too numerous to list in NE Virginia both CSX and NS lines. Situation very bad as nothing getting thru. Auto Train did not get to Lorton util sometime after 2100.a

Virginia is a disaster not just for rail yesterday and last night. They are still trying to recover. I wonder what the people who arrived on Auto Train did after arrival since I understand I-95 was thoroughly borked too. Did we have any of our members on it? A first hand report would be useful.

 

[tgstubbs1]

Virginia is a disaster not just for rail yesterday and last night. They are still trying to recover. I wonder what the people who arrived on Auto Train did after arrival since I understand I-95 was thoroughly borked too. Did we have any of our members on it? A first hand report would be useful.

They're say people had to spend over 12 hours stranded in their cars on I-95.

I bet they would rather be on the train, feasting on Dinty Moore and Diet Coke!

 

[AmtrakBlue]

Virginia is a disaster not just for rail yesterday and last night. They are still trying to recover. I wonder what the people who arrived on Auto Train did after arrival since I understand I-95 was thoroughly borked too. Did we have any of our members on it? A first hand report would be useful.

https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/drivers-snowed-night-95-shuts-virginia-82065523

 

[jis]

Getting back to trains cancellations, in the context of the Virginia snowstorm...

Apparently today (1/4) 86, 80, 90, 66, 67(3), 89, 79 are canceled.

92(3) is expected into RVR 33 mins late. We'll know for sure after it departs from there.

174, 84 and 94 have under 10 minute delays.

There is no information on 98(3) or 95.

All departures after 3pm from WAS to RVR are on so far (as of 11am).

 

[allanorn]

I noticed 92 (2) was delayed six hours in Deland, FL for an auto accident before getting stuck in the snowstorm at RVR.

 

[jis]

Both 92(2) and 90(3) were massively delayed. Amtrak's own train status appears to be incapable of reporting on such things so it cops out with an "Unavailable" for those.

Apparently the Northeast is in for another whopper of a snowstorm in a couple of days.

 

[SarahZ]

They're say people had to spend over 12 hours stranded in their cars on I-95.

I bet they would rather be on the train, feasting on Dinty Moore and Diet Coke!

Reports from the AT last night stated they’d been without food since 7 a.m.

 

[tgstubbs1]

Reports from the AT last night stated they’d been without food since 7 a.m.

Maybe they don't carry the emergency rations?

I guess normally the AT wouldn't stop somewhere they couldn't access supplies.

 

[allanorn]

Maybe they don't carry the emergency rations?

I guess normally the AT wouldn't stop somewhere they couldn't access supplies.

AT is classified as a cargo train, so there are no intermediate stops outside of crew change in Florence, SC. I have to imagine they stopped the train at a station somewhere so they could get resupplied. Looks like it may be at PTB.

92(3) pulled into PTB 1 hr 8 mins late but is stopped there along with 98(3). Hasn’t made it to RVR yet.

 

[jis]

Crescent stuck in Lynchburg ..

https://www.ajc.com/neighborhoods/n...Dd_xb2DbVrEMy5g8HHk2Ks1wSGl1jtnr9ywkG8b4PLj_s

 

[JeanA]

https://abc7ny.com/amtrak-train-passengers-stuck-bad-weather/11424407/

 

[jis]

https://abc7ny.com/amtrak-train-passengers-stuck-bad-weather/11424407/

I don't think the Lynchburg Regional is doing any better either, if it made it to Lynchburg at all yesterday that is.

Haven't found anyone on Crescent yet, but found someone, a member of the Facebook AU Group, on the Star which until an hour or two back was stuck behind the Meteor at Petersburg, Naturally both running many hours late now.

 

[jis]

Moderator's Notes: Moved all posts regarding 1/3/22-1/4/22 snowstorm event in Virginia from several threads to consolidate in this thread. All posts above this came from other threads.

 

[Palmland]

I see yesterdays Auto Train out of Lorton was canceled. No surprise since the storm delayed the inbound and it didn’t arrive until 9pm.The A-T arriving Lorton this morning was only a couple hours late. And today’s A-T out of Sanford was canceled, presumably because there are two in Lorton.

I don’t recall there being much track space in Lorton, so where did they park two trains? How do they get the trains back on schedule? Did they run one of them South without passengers?

 

[Rover]

WSLS 10 News:
Amtrak #20 Crescent -- passengers stranded in Lynchburg for more than 24 hours

"Passengers frustration is off the rails."

"Train forced to come to Lynchburg after encountering fallen trees and downed power lines on the tracks. They got back to Lynchburg around 5pm last night. Passengers said they were without food and water overnight."

"Hear more from the passengers on 10 News at 5pm."

 

[jis]

Lots of equipment and staff will be badly out of position as this clears slowly.

Looks like 91 has managed to depart south from WAS 22 mins late but expected in RVR 54 mins late.

125 and 93 have departed south too and so far it is claimed that they will arrive on time on RVR. We'll know in a few hours how things turned out. In the opposite direction everything now appears to be canceled for the day.

For 97 the status is the ubiquitous "Unavailable". Since it is well past its departure time from NYP, it may be safe to surmise that it is not running anywhere near on time, if it eventually runs.

I wonder what happened to 20(3). The train stuck at LYH is 20(2). 19(3) was cancelled as is 19(4)

 

[Night Ranger]

The Crescent is finally on the move as of Tuesday afternoon per the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

https://www.ajc.com/neighborhoods/n...us-hours-on-train/77QSQTWQDNEW5F7WEC6KCIDR6M/

 

[jis]

This would also imply that 176 which was stuck at CVS has also moved. It was stuck there since yesterday afternoon.

 

[chrsjrcj]

WSLS 10 News:
Amtrak #20 Crescent -- passengers stranded in Lynchburg for more than 24 hours

"Passengers frustration is off the rails."

"Train forced to come to Lynchburg after encountering fallen trees and downed power lines on the tracks. They got back to Lynchburg around 5pm last night. Passengers said they were without food and water overnight."

"Hear more from the passengers on 10 News at 5pm."

i think those frustrated passengers, while understandably so, should keep things in perspective. It’s better than being stuck in your car for 15 hours. And at least they were able to move back to the station and get off the train if they wished. Far worse places to get stuck.

 

[MARC Rider]

i think those frustrated passengers, while understandably so, should keep things in perspective. It’s better than being stuck in your car for 15 hours. And at least they were able to move back to the station and get off the train if they wished. Far worse places to get stuck.

And at least they were out of the weather in a heated location. (I hope.) I couldn't imagine being stranded in my car on a frozen highway somewhere. There's only so much gas in your tank, and you can only run your engine for so long. How long can a passenger locomotive run hotel power before the fuel runs out?

 

[John Bredin]

Here's an interesting spin on the delayed Crescent: wait until literally the last paragraph to mention weather, and then only obliquely in quoting the Amtrak spokesperson.

Edited to add:
1) What part of a train is the "main cabin"? Coach, I presume.

2) There's probably "been no talk of alternative transportation" because the roads are snarled too...by the same snow the article doesn't acknowledge.

 

[Just-Thinking-51]

I couldn't imagine being stranded in my car on a frozen highway somewhere. There's only so much gas in your tank, and you can only run your engine for so long.

Emergency Supplies Maybe. Nothing too fancy but a warm blanket, some candy bars, and don’t let the tank get below 1/2.

I been stuck in a blizzard before, basic supplies will make it a pain in the butt, not a emergency.

 

[TheVig]

Can't clear the trees from tracks when a former employee stole and sold all the chainsaws.

 

[Exvalley]

As an EV owner, the thought of being stranded in the snow for 12 hours is very frightening. Heating the car takes up a lot of the battery.