I am taking Amtrak for the first time on Friday cross country from NY Penn Station to San Diego. I change trains in Chicago on Saturday. It's a little over a 5 hour window to make the connection which when i booked i thought would be way more then enough time. But i just found a website that gives the times the train actually arrived over the last 4 weeks and wow it seems like the train is always late. Now i'm starting to get a little nervous. Should i be worried? Most days even with being really late still would have made the connection but a few days it look like it missed the connection. Also a few days it looks like it would have missed the connection by under 10 minutes. Do they ever hold the connecting train if it is that close. One day it looks like it would have missed by 3 minutes. I would hate to miss the connection and have to wait till the next day because of just 3 minutes. Probably worrying for no reason but thought i would ask what people think.
First time on Amtrak and getting worried about Chicago connection
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the_traveler
Engineer
This may sound wrong, but with Amtrak expect the worst and hope for the best! That said, I would not worry.
The day it missed by 3 minutes it is possible (very much) that nobody from that train that day to the other train. If someone or many people are connecting to that train, Amtrak will do their best to hold it. If the incoming train is like 30 minutes or 1 hour late, they try to hold the train. If is is 12 hours late, that's a different story.
I would just sit back and enjoy the ride!
The day it missed by 3 minutes it is possible (very much) that nobody from that train that day to the other train. If someone or many people are connecting to that train, Amtrak will do their best to hold it. If the incoming train is like 30 minutes or 1 hour late, they try to hold the train. If is is 12 hours late, that's a different story.
I would just sit back and enjoy the ride!
neroden
Engineer
They usually hold the connecting trains for one or two hours, sometimes even longer.
crescent2
Conductor
And you know that if your connection is guaranteed and you miss the connection, Amtrak will do something to take care of you? Sometimes they bus people to catch up to the train, or if you have to stay overnight, they will put you up in a hotel. I hope that doesn't happen, but if it does, you won't have to deal with it alone. I hope you have a pleasant trip with an easy connection!
Silver Star rider
Service Attendant
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I always wondered how successful it is for a bus to catch up to a moving train, do they hold the train further down the line for the bus to meet? I would think the train is able to go faster and consistently keep its speed then a bus could.
Bruce-SSR
Bruce-SSR
boxcarsyix
Service Attendant
Unfortunatly, that is not always the case. Driving is often slower than Amtrak.
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crescent2
Conductor
I've never had that happen so I don't know personally. I'm only echoing what I've read from many other posts here. I think driving is faster in some areas, though. Maybe others with more knowledge will post. Otherwise, I don't see how busing would work.
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the_traveler
Engineer
It depends on the area. If they bus from say GBB to TOL, it is all on I-80 at 65-70 MPH and going south of Chicago. If they bus from CHI to IND, the bus goes over 65 MPH but the Cardinal goes under 40 MPH.
I was on the CS that was running late and was going to miss the connection with the EB (old schedule). So they bussed the connecting passengers from Albany, OR to PDX, while the CS continued it's regular route and stops. The trip up I-5 was actually faster, and the EB departed PDX over 30 minutes before the CS arrived!
I was on the CS that was running late and was going to miss the connection with the EB (old schedule). So they bussed the connecting passengers from Albany, OR to PDX, while the CS continued it's regular route and stops. The trip up I-5 was actually faster, and the EB departed PDX over 30 minutes before the CS arrived!
Silver Star rider
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Thanks, I always wondered about that. The closest I ever came to using a bus was when they were doing track work which would have canceled service south of Jacksonville. After I purchased tickets, they announced a bus connection between ORL and JAX. Even with a reduction in fare, I didn't want to sit on a bus for x amount of hours and left Disneyworld 24 hours later.
Bruce-SSR
The connection is guaranteed. It's good that they will take care of everything if it does come down to it but i would still hate to loose a day at my destination especially if the connection was missed by only a few minutes. I'm sure everything will work out fine i just worry about all sorts of things before i go on vacation. Once i actually get going i'm much more relaxed it's just the days leading up to going that i get kind of crazy about what could go wrong.
Devil's Advocate
⠀⠀⠀
The main issue I have with missing Amtrak connections is when you're in a sleeper and they downgrade you to coach on the next day's train. They might give you a voucher if you call to complain after the trip but they won't refund your money. They also won't let you schedule a stopover for award tickets on your own dime in order to avoid the potential for misconnecting.
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neroden
Engineer
Amtrak will refund the sleeper portion of the (paid, not AGR) fare if they forcibly downgrade you to coach. You have to be quite pushy about it to get the refund, though.
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crescent2
Conductor
I agree. And apparently, they won't refund any of your AGR points for the downgrade, either, although I think they'll issue a voucher.
I have to agree here too. I did get a partial refunds of points plus a voucher one time as a result of different circumstances on one occasion, those circumstances being I was scheduled to travel from Chicago to Sacramento on the CZ. The CZ was cancelled a day before departure and was rebooked on the SWC in coach to Los Angeles, then on the CS to Sacramento and beyond. As I said, different circumstances. I don't believe they issue points refunds in the event of a missed connection but they will give vouchers. I also wish they'd allow a stopover on your own dime. The increasingly shoddy timekeeping of Amtrak is making me increasingly leery of scheduling AGR trips that involve connections.I agree. And apparently, they won't refund any of your AGR points for the downgrade, either, although I think they'll issue a voucher.
On my first Amtrak trip, 2 of us were scheduled to transfer from the bus to the SWC in San Bernardino. About 20 minutes out of Bakersfield, the rear duals on the driver side blew. I was hoping that Amtrak would send another bus to transfer us all to. No such luck, they sent out a truck with new mounted tires and jacked up the bus with all of us still on. It became clear that we weren't going to make the connection in San Bernardino. The two of us got transferred to a 60 passenger bus and were taken to Barstow. I saw the SWC from I-15 and we were ahead of it. The driver had never been to Barstow and had to stop to ask how to get to the station. We got on the SWC about 10 minutes after we got to the Barstow station.
The SWC was not late into Barstow or ABQ on that trip (2001). This was the first of several times that Amtrak has gone out of their way to be nice to me
crescent2
Conductor
Ditto on this, too. If they'd allow stopovers on your own dime, planning AGR trips would be much easier.I have to agree here too. I did get a partial refunds of points plus a voucher one time as a result of different circumstances on one occasion, those circumstances being I was scheduled to travel from Chicago to Sacramento on the CZ. The CZ was cancelled a day before departure and was rebooked on the SWC in coach to Los Angeles, then on the CS to Sacramento and beyond. As I said, different circumstances. I don't believe they issue points refunds in the event of a missed connection but they will give vouchers. I also wish they'd allow a stopover on your own dime. The increasingly shoddy timekeeping of Amtrak is making me increasingly leery of scheduling AGR trips that involve connections.I agree. And apparently, they won't refund any of your AGR points for the downgrade, either, although I think they'll issue a voucher.
So if i miss my connection because Amtrak can't schedule trains correctly they can downgrade me from the sleeper and i would have to ride coach from Chicago to California and i don't even get anything back since i used points. I really hope i am worried for no reason but this is all making me second guess my decision to take Amtrak. I'm starting to think i should have driven.
crescent2
Conductor
We don't mean to be discouraging at all! Hopefully you'll have a pleasant experience on the trains. I would love to take the trip you're taking!
The only reason you might be downgraded from sleeper to coach is that all the sleepers on the following day's train might already have been sold to other passengers. They can't give you what they don't have. If a sleeper is available, you would get it. And/or you'd get a voucher for future travel. (Although personally I'd prefer a points refund.)
With your 5 hour layover hopefully the connection won't be a problem, or that they'll catch you up to the train. Try to relax and go with the flow. Best wishes to you for a great trip!
The only reason you might be downgraded from sleeper to coach is that all the sleepers on the following day's train might already have been sold to other passengers. They can't give you what they don't have. If a sleeper is available, you would get it. And/or you'd get a voucher for future travel. (Although personally I'd prefer a points refund.)
With your 5 hour layover hopefully the connection won't be a problem, or that they'll catch you up to the train. Try to relax and go with the flow. Best wishes to you for a great trip!
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You wouldn't get Points but you will get a Voucher good for one year for future travel plus Amtrak is supposed to let you eat in the Diner and use the Shower, I've done this several times through the years! Call AGR for the Official Rules!
the_traveler
Engineer
Also, I don't know which train you're taking from Chicago, but if you‘re taking the Texas Eagle to LA but for some reason miss the connection, they could also put you on the Southwest Chief, which also goes to LA, and departs later that day.
I would not worry.
I would not worry.
I'm taking the Southwest Chief out of Chicago to LA. I know i shouldn't worry but it's hard not to worry when you look at how often the train from Penn to Chicago is late. It's never on time. It has been at least 2 hours late every day for the past month. The average delay over the last month is 4 hours. In fact it arrived so late again today (Wednesday) that unless they held the connecting train for almost 2 hours it would have missed the connection today.
Then i just read another thread here today about someone missing a connection in Chicago. They put the people up in a hotel 40 minutes outside of Chicago. If they do that it's not like you can even go see the sights of Chicago. Never worried about this type of stuff when i flew. Unfortunately i can no longer fly.
I do appreciate everyone trying to calm me down and make me feel better and hopefully it will all work out but i am starting to think that Amtrak at least for cross country trips with a connection may not be for me if i have to worry about this stuff.
Then i just read another thread here today about someone missing a connection in Chicago. They put the people up in a hotel 40 minutes outside of Chicago. If they do that it's not like you can even go see the sights of Chicago. Never worried about this type of stuff when i flew. Unfortunately i can no longer fly.
I do appreciate everyone trying to calm me down and make me feel better and hopefully it will all work out but i am starting to think that Amtrak at least for cross country trips with a connection may not be for me if i have to worry about this stuff.
crescent2
Conductor
I hope your connection goes smoothly and the rest of your trip also. Please let us know how it turns out. Best to you...
The one time I missed a connection and was put up in a motel, it was about 25 minutes from downtown Chicago. But we were bussed to Union Station in plenty of time before our train left so had time to do some exploring around Chicago.
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