Mid-Atlantic/NE snowstorm and Amtrak

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sppunk

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I am planning on taking Amtrak's Keystone from Harrisburg to NYC Saturday morning, and hope to return from NYC to Harrisburg via the Keystone Sunday early afternoon.

At this time, there is a major winter storm predicted with upwards of a foot of snow between Harrisburg and Philadelphia (where there is a stop at 30th St) and from Philadelphia to NYC Saturday afternoon until late Saturday night. The snow should be moved out by midnight or 2 a.m. Sunday.

My question is: Is it wise for me to go ahead and travel and expect the train to operate Sunday afternoon? I've not been here for a big snow event (8-14 inches) and have no idea if Amtrak travel through the NE and Keystone lines shuts down.

I will not go to NYC and eat the money already spent on show tickets and hotel if there is a high chance of Amtrak cancellations/delays Sunday. Thanks in advance!
 
I would say there is a very good chance your train should be alright, although maybe a bit late. When the roads and airports are dead in the water from bad weather, the trains are usually still rolling, albeit slower than normal.
 
Others may have more experience in this than me, so please do chime in... but for most winter storms in the Northeast, Amtrak does keep running, although it can be a slow go. It's hard to tell right now.

In some cases, only two of the four tracks between New York and Philadelphia are able to stay open, and that means half the capacity (think of a four-lane highway narrowing to two). If it's really bad, there may also be some slowdowns Sunday to try to get the tracks in better shape for the Monday morning rush hour.

It depends on the kinds of "delays" that would affect your decision, and it's hard to tell before the snow's on the ground. I wouldn't expect things to be right on time, just as a bus or a car probably wouldn't be perfectly on time in those conditions. But I also wouldn't expect the sorts of major delays (several hours) that you often see at airports when bad weather hits.
 
Thank you - it's usually a 3:15 run (with the 10 minute layover in Philly). I'm perfectly OK with it taking longer and can easily hop on early trains ... but I can't not be home Sunday night so being stuck in a traincar somewhere between NYC and Philly or in Philly itself isn't a good situation for my family!
 
My best guess is that you will be fine. The brunt of the snow is expected in Central Pa. Saturday afternoon and evening.
 
j653 said:
My best guess is that you will be fine. The brunt of the snow is expected in Central Pa. Saturday afternoon and evening.
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Agreed here, some delays but hopefully nothing like they get out west. I'm on #98 Silver Meteor right now headed for DC, then a Regional tomorrow morning to go onto Boston. Looking forward to seeing some snow while riding Amtrak!
 
I would add to the expect delays, to plan for delays. Make sure you are all set to have a longer than expected train ride. I would bring extra money to buy food, or better, bring some of your own along. That includes possibly soft drinks too.

Hay if the train is really late, you might be able to re-coop the cost of your theater tickets, but selling extra sandwiches for $50 a piece. :lol:
 
I was watching CNN at 2.55 pm this Friday afternoon 12/18/09. The weatherman was mentioning the major highways and suspected all of them will have trouble.

Then he finally swooped his hand over the whole map and said something like, "I guess the train will be the safest way". If was just an off-hand remark but I will take it!! Hearing anything half way complimentary about the train is much appreciated.

Dare I say that his gestures imply that he even knows there are trains besides just those in the N.E. corrider?
 
I went Philadelphia - Pittsburgh on the Broaway Limited several years ago during an awful storm. Other than being a few minutes late, I don't remember any problems.

What I do remember was a poor woman who somehow got caught in the vestibule between cars an when the car door finally opened she looked like a snowman. But she laughed about it and we shared the laugh with her.

Enjoy your trip!!
 
Bill Haithcoat said:
I was watching CNN at 2.55 pm this Friday afternoon 12/18/09. The weatherman was mentioning the major highways and suspected all of them will have trouble.
Then he finally swooped his hand over the whole map and said something like, "I guess the train will be the safest way". If was just an off-hand remark but I will take it!! Hearing anything half way complimentary about the train is much appreciated.

Dare I say that his gestures imply that he even knows there are trains besides just those in the N.E. corrider?
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Isn't that the truth! A nice plug for passenger rail.
 
I just saw on CNN their weatherman said "the train is probably the safest here between New York and Virginia-- these roads are going to be BLOCKED."

He had previously said flights will be ruined.
 
In over 10 years of watching things, I think that I've only seen one occasion where Amtrak totally shut down and gave up. Often they'll cancel half the trains because of a really bad snow storm, but usually they still get through.

All that said, based upon the current forecast, I'd say that your real worry would be getting to NY. IMHO it's far more likely that trains on Saturday will have the biggest problems and not so much on Sunday, at least for where you're' traveling. If one was going to/from Boston, then Sunday would remain a big potential problem.
 
Spokeswoman Karina Romero said in an e-mail that the company was preparing for a snowstorm expected to dump up to 20 inches of snow on the Washington region.

Romero says extra crews will be on duty in part to ensure that the overhead wires electric trains use to get power do not get a buildup of ice. Extra locomotives, all of which are equipped with snow plows, would be available if the company needs them.

Romero says Amtrak does not anticipate delays, but she recommended travelers make a reservation before heading to the station and check on the status of trains using Amtrak's Web site.

http://www.nbc12.com/Global/story.asp?S=11701393
 
While I think that the trains will run fine - even if a little late - I think the REAL problem will be driving or walking to and from the train stations! :blink:

I was planning on taking a point run on Saturday afternoon, but will postpone - because I think that I'll have trouble on the drive to and from the station! ;)
 
As an aside, would anyone like to go out and videotape the trains when there's ice on the wires? You should be able to get a pretty fireworks display from the arcing.
 
We're leaving Harrisburg at 9:30, and getting into NYC around 12:45 p.m. Snow won't really pick up from Philly to NYC until 2 or 3 p.m. so we'll have no issues getting there (ahead of the snow).

I'm confident coming home won't be too bad - thanks everyone for your kind remarks and input. I love Amtrak and the Harrisburg-NYC route is great, if only a tad cheaper ... ;)
 
The latest forecast for Northern New Jersey and New York City is 12 to 18 inches.

Eastern Long Island will have blizzard conditions.

I think the snow is coming late tonight / early tomorrow morning.

Good Luck.
 
DH took the NE regional this morning from BOS to PVD and he said it was PACKED, but luckily still on time (left BOS around 11:30 am). He did say that most of the northbound trains coming from WAS and NYP were delayed.
 
amamba said:
DH took the NE regional this morning from BOS to PVD and he said it was PACKED, but luckily still on time (left BOS around 11:30 am). He did say that most of the northbound trains coming from WAS and NYP were delayed.
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I can confirm #82 and #88 originating in Richmond - both are delayed by a few hours heading north. I'm in WAS now and it's still snowing steadily.
 
Local news here in Baltimore just reported that the Bears have not yet made it into Baltimore for their game tomorrow, and are quite possibly going to fly to New York and take the train into town instead!
 
The Metropolitan said:
Local news here in Baltimore just reported that the Bears have not yet made it into Baltimore for their game tomorrow, and are quite possibly going to fly to New York and take the train into town instead!
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"..I might take a plane,I might take a train,

If I have to walk I'll get there just the same.." :lol:

The Bears will once again be the Cubs!!! :lol:
 
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