Potential impacts of strike on Zephyr

McMartin · Nov 2, 2022

Hi. We are supposed to travel on the California Zephyr over Thanksgiving. Wondering about two things:

1. Getting stuck in Chicago due to a disruption/cancellation that happens while we are there, before we are scheduled to return to Denver.
2. Morale being so poor, or staffing low, that the trip is miserable.

We have taking this trip many times, but not since before Covid.

Thanks.

McMartin · Nov 3, 2022

I didn't really put that in the form of a question.... I was wondering when/how I should decide to drive instead of taking the train over Thanksgiving?

And also wondering how the on-train service and food is these days, if it has degenerated from the pre-pandemic norms? As I said in my first post, we've taken this trip several times, and so we are familiar with the range of outcomes. But can see how conditions might be ripe for a particularly unhappy trip these days.

Metra Electric Rider · Nov 3, 2022

My guess (very uneducated) is that the freight RR labor issues won't affect Amtrak staff morale much, if at all.

Whether the strike will affect one of the legs of your trip should be known soon - I think some of the dates have been posted elsewhere in this forum.

joelkfla · Nov 3, 2022

McMartin said:
And also wondering how the on-train service and food is these days, if it has degenerated from the pre-pandemic norms? As I said in my first post, we've taken this trip several times, and so we are familiar with the range of outcomes. But can see how conditions might be ripe for a particularly unhappy trip these days.

I haven't been on any Western trains lately, but most posts I've seen say that the food is actually better than it was in the months before the pandemic cuts.