coast starlight lateness

why is the northbound coast starlight so late these days? i want to connect to the empire builder on the same day, but that looks impossible...............

Probably a combination of several things, including but not limited to: Freight traffic (those lines are busy), track work, weather (which had been very bad lately, snow, ice, wind).

Keep in mind however that Amtrak does guarentee that connection, so they won't leave you stranded. It could however mean taking a bus for a couple of hundred miles to catch the EB, or in the event of a very late Starlight your being put up overnight in a hotel at Amtrak's expense.

The NB Starlate always seems to lose a good deal of time between the LA area and Salinas. A couple of days ago the incident at Sacramento caused it to be delayed 2 1/4 hours account the need for a clear track through SAC. As for the connectionbetween the Starlate and the Builder at Portland they will usually make the determination at or near Klamath Falls whether to bustitute passengers to Portland.

Also, Oregon has not exactly recovered from the ice and snow from the past couple of weeks so that and trackwork, etc up there also causes some of the delays.

Actually, it seems to lose most of its time north of Sacramento. I have called in the middle of the night a few times and the northbound train has been on time (or close to it) into Oakland, Emeryville, Sacramento, etc. But, The southbound train usually gets in and leaves Portland on time (or close to it). I've called a few times to find out the arrival times for the southbound train into LA, and it is usually close to schedule. But, I am sure it depends on a number of factors on any day. Personally, I am not too concerned when the train is within one or two hours late, but I do become concerned when it is later than that. Of course, there are natural disasters that can affect train operations. In such cases, Amtrak cannot be blamed for them either. If I am going to be 2 hours late, would I rather spend two extra hours on the highway behind the wheel stuck in traffic, 2 hours circling in the air waiting to land, 2 hours waiting on a cold, snowy, rainy platform, or 2 hours extra on a warm train? I would choose the train. I admit, even I can get antsy after a while.

yes, i know its a guaranteed connection, but i would hate to be bussed from klamath falls. the area just north of there is one of the most scenic parts of the starlights route!!

Last November, we were two hours late and were bussed from Eugene. We reached Portland 20 minutes late. But our dinners were waiting for us in our room, complete with wine. It beat being bussed to Spokane.

can a passenger decline to be bussed and instead reserve a seat on the train for the next day (even if the passenger has to pay for a hotel room)?

shanghaiamtrak said:

can a passenger decline to be bussed and instead reserve a seat on the train for the next day (even if the passenger has to pay for a hotel room)?

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A couple years back in Chicago I was traveling with my mom back to Boston on the Lake Shore Limited and our Sleeping Car was pulled from the train for various reasons. We were offered a Coach accomadations and a refund for a Sleeping Car accomadations, but for various reasons we declined the offer. Instead we stayed another night in Chicago and took a plane back to Boston the next day. While at the station we did recieve the Sleeping Car accomadation refund, we did have to wait until we got home to recieve the refund of the railfare (Coach accomadation). This process took sending a letter to Amtrak as well as the tickets and ticket stubs that were not used for travel.

So I guess what I'm getting at here is that Amtrak will provide you with alternate transportation as you do have a garranteed connection to the Empire Builder. However, if you decide no to use that option, booking a hotel room and changing your intinerary may not be as easy as it may seem. You would probably have to find and book the hotel yourself and then purchase new tickets for the next days travel. Whether or not Amtrak decides to give you a full refund on the origional tickets you purchased is up to the ticket agent and the policies the have to follow. It may mean waiting until you get home and writing a letter to Amtrak and sending in tickets and stubs in order to get a refund.

Gotta love the Starlate!

January 23: Southbound train 11 scheduled to depart Klamath Falls, OR last night at 10:00pm did not actually depart that station until 6:10am this morning. ( = 8 HOURS & 10 MINUTES LATE)

Think that's bad???

January 23: Northbound train 14 scheduled to depart Salem, OR yesterday at 2:03pm did not actually depart that station until 1:25am this morning. ( = 11 HOURS & 22 MINUTES LATE)

Think that's bad???

About a month ago (December 23 or so??) I was in the San Fernando Valley in Southern California and saw a Superliner-type train roll through southbound at about 1:30pm in the afternoon. Knowing that the only Superliner train to travel on these tracks through the valley is the Coast Starlight (either northbound or southbound) I thought it must have been some kind of special train because if it was the Starlight it would have been about 16.5 hours late. NOPE! I got home and checked the Southbound Starlate's status on Amtrak's website and guess what? The Starlate arrived into Los Angeles at 2:10pm! (a whopping 17 HOURS and 10 MINUTES LATE!)

The Starlate is nothing but a joke, just as Union Pacific wants it to be I'm sure. If you need to arrive at your destination on the same DAY you are scheduled to arrive, take my advice and DO NOT ride the Starlate. Heck, a trip from Emeryville, CA to Seattle might even turn out to be quicker by taking the Zephyr all the way to Chicago and then the Empire Builder all the way back to Seattle!

:huh: :lol:

wow! 17 hours late. that makes my 7 hours being late into DC look like on time!

you would think that if the federal government could mandate national rail passenger service, it could also set a mandate to the freight railroads to keep the trains on time!

shanghaiamtrak said:

wow! 17 hours late. that makes my 7 hours being late into DC look like on time!
you would think that if the federal government could mandate national rail passenger service, it could also set a mandate to the freight railroads to keep the trains on time!

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They did make such a mandate. The agreement that the Federal Government and the freight RR's signed to create Amtrak clearly states that priority must be given to passenger service. However they never gave Amtrak or the FRA the authority to force the freight RR's to comply.

Amtrak is not allowed to withhold payments to the freight RR's for late trains. Instead they offer bonuses to RR's that keep Amtrak on time. Amtrak also has no legal appeals to force the RR's to comply. The FRA also has no authority to force the issue.

Congress must get off it's duff and give either Amtrak or the FRA some teeth to go after the worst offenders.

jccollins said:

Gotta love the Starlate!
January 23: Southbound train 11 scheduled to depart Klamath Falls, OR last night at 10:00pm did not actually depart that station until 6:10am this morning. ( = 8 HOURS & 10 MINUTES LATE)

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Umm, JC...11(23) was so late account a UP freight derailment in Albany, OR not much could be done to prevent that and 14(22) due to arrive in Seattle today is 9+ hours in the hole.

As for the 16+ hour delays of a few weeks ago there was severe winter weather in Oregon that even closed I-5 from Redding to some point across the border the delays didn't clear up for at least a week as I remember seeing 11 come through SAC at 1, 1:30, and 1:45 PM on 3 consecutive days.

I know, but the point is it's always something with the Starlates. When I worked Sunday mornings at the Martinez station for a little over a year it was a joke that #11 was "on-time" if it blessed us with its presence before noon. (scheduled through at 7:35am). There were a good number of days it didn't roll through before noon.

Yes, it does always seem to be something as to why the Starlight (and other Amtrak trains) is constantly late. But what can one do? Choose another means of transportation? During the big winter blast storm here in Portland, the airport was shut down for 4 days, streets and highways were snowed in and tretcherous for travel--a section of I-84 (between Troutdale and Hood River) was closed for a couple of days, and I-5 over Siskiyou Pass (near the Oregon/California border) was also closed for a time. At least one Empire Builder train was eight hours late getting into Portland--that includes almost two hours past the time it was to leave on its eastbound run. Trying to run through the Columbia River Gorge was the most challenging part of the trip (not even the subzero temperatures in Montana and North Dakota were much of a problem). Tracks and switches were frozen, signals didn't always work properly. I heard one rumor that toilets were frozen. Some of the movable bridges were frozen (the locks that keep the span and tracks in place between sections). I noticed BNSF crews brought the Builder in (as opposed to Amtrak crews). The eastbound run left about five hours later than usual. But there is one good part of the lateness: it allowed passengers to see the areas of Sandpoint, Northern Idaho, and Western Montana during the daylight hours, with the fresh-fallen snow. It would be quite a sight, and the train would still be traveling through Glacier National Park in daylight. Normally, Idaho and Western Montana are traversed at night in both directions.

You can fly, and the airport is closed or snowed in. There is fog (especially in the San Francisco area). There was an earthquake in the Paso Robles area a few weeks ago that did some damage. How about all those cruise ships on which people are getting sick for whatever reason(s)?

You can get into trouble just walking down the street. It can happen staying at home--some people had trees fall in through their roofs.

So what do you do? Me, just go with the flow and take it as comes.

Trying to connect from the Starlight to the Empire Builder, I would plan to spend a night in either Portland or Seattle and then catching the Builder the next day. Connecting from the Builder to the Starlight at Portland allows you a bit more leaway--the Builder arrives at about 10 am, and the Starlight leaves Portland at 2:25pm. There are plenty of inexpensive places to stay in either city that would make this option viable for many people (I am not wealthy either, and money is something I would have to consider).

Just read all of the above - is the Coast Starlight likely to be more on time in early September when the weather is better?

In therory it should however, it is dependant on how well the Union Pacific Railroad (freight) who owns the tracks decides to dispatch the train. However, barring something serious from Los Angeles to at least Sacramento should be reasonably on-time as it seems the problems are for the most part further north on the line.