Lateness of Capitol Limited Train 30

[amtrakmichigan]

Well its 5;50 AM ET and I'm sitting in a B&B in Harpers Ferry,Wv., trying to figure out what might happen with our train / transfer today. My family (4 of us) are ticketed today 6/18 from HFY - WAS , and WAS - KIS (sleepers on the Meteor). However as I'm writing this 30 still hasn't reached Toledo (est 7:22am 7 hours; 22 minutes late). I'm betting that we will get bussed to DC later to make our connection. Any thoughts on this matter would be very helpful

 

[CREW-DORM#2524]

Call the 800 number.

 

[amtrakmichigan]

They already called me

 

[user 1215]

I'm sure it's too late, but how about taking a commuter train from Harpers rather than the bus? Yes, it's $9 per person, and you'll lose your Amtrak fare (there is no cross-fare honoring), but it's a train.

It could be crowded, but since you're at the beginning of the line, it shouldn't be too bad.

Just a thought. I think I'd cancel my Amtrak portion and take the train.

Sucks that you were only just notified. BTW, since the train is over 2 hours late, you should be eligible for a full refund for that portion.

Never mind. MARC's last train leaves Harper's at 6:50 AM. Blech.

 

[amtrakmichigan]

I thought about taking a MARC train, but it would have been a very mad dash for the 4 of us to grab our bags and gear and go since the last MARC train departs HFY at 6:50 am. The AWESOME Inn Keeper here is going to drive us to WAS at about 3pm today for a reasonable fee. Looks like 30 most likely had engine / equipment problems since 48 passed it long ago west of TOL.

 

[user 1215]

By then, won't the Cap be rolling through?

Awesome Innkeeper. May tap you for a reference.

 

[amtrakmichigan]

hahaha...NO! As of right now (8:40 am et) the Cap is scheduled to arrive HFY at 7:35 PM, 8hours and 10 min late

 

[amtrakmichigan]

Looks like 48 the LSL is in the same boat as 30

 

[user 1215]

Looking at the detailed status, there must have been something catastrophic in Chicago. Both 48 and 30 lost the bulk of their time between CHI and South Bend, IN.

 

[afigg]

I thought about taking a MARC train, but it would have been a very mad dash for the 4 of us to grab our bags and gear and go since the last MARC train departs HFY at 6:50 am. The AWESOME Inn Keeper here is going to drive us to WAS at about 3pm today for a reasonable fee. Looks like 30 most likely had engine / equipment problems since 48 passed it long ago west of TOL.

Boy, both the east and westbound CL and LSL are seriously late with delays piling up between Toledo and Chicago. #30(17) is currently 9 hours and 42 minutes late out of ELY in OH.

Great that the Inn keeper is willing to drive you to Union Station. As a backup plan in case of bad traffic, keep in mind he could drop you off at one of the DC Metro Red Line stops at Shady Grove, Rockville, Twinbrook, White Flint. The DC Metro Red Line train will take you directly to Union Station.

 

[Paulus]

TrainOrders says it left left Chicago 1:42 late due to a late turn of equipment (though you'd think that the six hours since 29(16) arrived would have been plenty of time to get it ready) and then ran into freight interference all the way through (understandable since it was significantly out of slot).

 

[Dovecote]

hahaha...NO! As of right now (8:40 am et) the Cap is scheduled to arrive HFY at 7:35 PM, 8hours and 10 min late

There was times back in the days when I was a MARC commuter working in DC and living in HFY that I would pass a a late 30 chugging into DC. The latest I recall seeing a delayed 30 was in Silver Spring around 5:15 PM. This takes the prize! Happy the Innkeeper has come to the rescue. I probably know him/her if you can to share.

BTW, have you notified Amtrak about your change in itinerary? To be on the safe side you should do this to assure that your itinerary from WAS to Florida is not removed from the system. It would be a bummer if you were removed from the passenger list.

 

[neroden]

Looking at the detailed status, there must have been something catastrophic in Chicago. Both 48 and 30 lost the bulk of their time between CHI and South Bend, IN.

There are a couple of possibilities for this. Chicago Mechanical could still be failing to do their job, as has happened so often; we'd need departure times from Chicago to tell whether that was the case.

Or this could be an effect of the Indiana Gateway trackwork, which is supposed to add capacity between Chicago and South Bend, but which will of course cause delays while it's under construction.

Or it could just be congestion in this most congested section of NS's network.

...I see the previous equipment for the CL arrived late. That doesn't explain the LSL though; when on schedule, there's a gazillion hours between arrival and departure.

 

[user 1215]

Tracker says it left Chicago on time at 6:40 PM and arrived at its next stop in South Bend 5 hours late.

 

[MIKE CARLISLE]

What in the world is wrong with # 30 these days? Arrived in Was. 11 hours late yesterday.

 

[afigg]

What in the world is wrong with # 30 these days? Arrived in Was. 11 hours late yesterday.

It is not just #30, #29, #48, #49 have all been seriously delayed between Cleveland and Chicago the past 3-4 days. According to trainorders, NS is in meltdown mode on the route.

 

[pennyk]

It appears that 30 was held in CHI for several hours on 6/19 to wait for the very late California Zephyr (#6). It has lost some more time since then.