Coast Starlight in February?

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The train is still bookable, but there's a bus connection from Eugene. Not sure what the deal is since the Cascades aren't cancelled as well.
 
Track work between Eugene and Portland during the mid day. Only 11 and 14 affected with a bus bridge. Cascades trains operate earlier and later than the scheduled work window so they are not affected except for train 505 which will depart Portland at 6:00am instead of 8:30am to accommodate the work window.
 
Check the last week in January. I just booked EMY-SEA on Jan 27 and it's running the whole way. The week before is showing the bus bridge, though.
 
Cascades trains operate earlier and later than the scheduled work window so they are not affected except for train 505 which will depart Portland at 6:00am instead of 8:30am to accommodate the work window.
To clarify, train 505 is a Sat/Sun train only. On selected weekends in Jan/Feb, it will operate at 0600 instead of 0830. In other words, it will

operate on the schedule of train 503, which is its M-F counterpart.
 
I'm supposed to be taking a trip from Red Wing, MN to LAX in February. I leave on the Empire Builder on Saturday the 7th, reach Portland on Monday the 9th and transfer to the Coast Starlight, and arrive at LAX on Tuesday evening the 10th.

At this moment, the Coast Starlight cancellations do not cover the day that I need it, Monday the 9th, but they only finish up the day before, and they start up again the following week. How likely is it that this track work will spread onto my day and force me onto the bus bridge? If it's very likely, I will want to make alternate arrangements, and the sooner I know about that, the better.
 
With the recent history of the EB you might want to go by way of Chicago and take the CZ to MTZ or EMY followed by the CS the next morning to LAX.
Surely it would be faster to go to Chicago, stay overnight, and take the SWC from Chicago to LAX.

Eastbound EB on the 7th, overnight in Chicago the 7th, depart on SWC the 8th, arrive in Chicago morning of the 10th. Very low chance of misconnects.
 
With the recent history of the EB you might want to go by way of Chicago and take the CZ to MTZ or EMY followed by the CS the next morning to LAX.
Surely it would be faster to go to Chicago, stay overnight, and take the SWC from Chicago to LAX. Eastbound EB on the 7th, overnight in Chicago the 7th, depart on SWC the 8th, arrive in Chicago morning of the 10th. Very low chance of misconnects.
According to this post the discussion refers to an AGR award which would seem to indicate that your suggestion has a very low chance of being allowed by Amtrak.
 
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Yes, this trip was/is supposed to be an AGR one.

Given the announcement today about the Empire Builder returning to its original timetable, I'm more optimistic about making the connection to the Coast Starlight now, assuming the Starlight itself is running. It was a guaranteed connection when I booked it, and I haven't yet been given the dreaded phone call about them breaking it, so I assume it's still on. (I did get a call from them about how the Parlor cars are not on the Starlight now, but that was all.)

So the question now is how likely it is the Starlight will run as its supposed to. Right now, it says it will, but I wonder if that track work will spill over to my date. I'd rather not get involved with a bus bridge if I can help it.

My alternate plan would be to bounce off Chicago as suggested above, although I'd prefer to overnight in Milwaukee (because it's cheaper there), use a Hiawatha to get to Chicago the next morning and then use the Chief to get to LAX. In fact, I'm doing this already (in reverse) on the return trip, which includes a blackout date so I can't use an AGR there. (not enough points anyway) Instead I'm burning off most of a travel voucher from this same trip I was going to do last year and couldn't for other reasons. If I do the overnight-in-Milwaukee, I'd have to pay the coach fare to there, but I think I've got just about enough left on the voucher to cover that.
 
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Whether the trackwork will spill probably depends most on weather. If there is lots of rain during the workweek, progress could very well be delayed. Weather forecasts for heavy rain are unreliable beyond 5 days.
 
Since this is only a 2 hour bus bridge, Portland to Eugene, I would not be concerned. I would simply enjoy the bus ride. Heck, I have to fly from Nashville to connect to every train trip I take. And if I fly to LAX, then the bus shuttle is simply another bus bridge. I've taken many a shuttle that took 2 hours in a cramped van.

My suggestion in keep your current schedule and enjoy the adventure.
 
"Since this is only a 2 hour bus bridge, Portland to Eugene, I would not be concerned. I would simply enjoy the bus ride."

Heck even hour and half bustitution rides here in Illinois were far from enjoyable - especially with providers Amtrak chose. It was more like hang on tight hope bus doesn't rattle apart and we make it to destination alive. Many of us prefer not to deal with buses for multiple reasons. Some of us are also well aware of safety issues with bus providers and on highway systems - compared with what is usually safer Amtrak travel.

I have always stated this in regards to Amtrak's fascination with buses = If I wanted to ride a bus I wouldn't have booked a train!!
 
Heck even hour and half bustitution rides here in Illinois were far from enjoyable - especially with providers Amtrak chose. It was more like hang on tight hope bus doesn't rattle apart and we make it to destination alive.
Often bustitutions are thrown together in an emergency, Amtrak is forced to contract with whatever charter operator has buses available. Amtrak doesn't have that problem this time.

Also there is a currently operating Thruway Motorcoach service between EUG and PDX, operated by MTR Western with a dedicated fleet of buses. My guess is that they will likely use MTR Western for this bustitution as well since they have drivers who are used to making the trip.

Many of us prefer not to deal with buses for multiple reasons. Some of us are also well aware of safety issues with bus providers and on highway systems - compared with what is usually safer Amtrak travel.
Safety concerns on buses are overblown.

Is there room for improvement? Yes.

Are buses less safe than trains? No. Trains and buses have very similar fatality rates per billion passenger-miles. Either way you cut it, you're far more likely to be involved in a fatal accident driving to the train station than while on the train or on this short bustitution.

If you're really concerned about safety I suggest flying since airlines have 65% less fatalities per billion passenger-miles, compared to buses and trains.

I have always stated this in regards to Amtrak's fascination with buses = If I wanted to ride a bus I wouldn't have booked a train!!
Amtrak's fascination with buses has to do with the fact that they can easily detour around construction and closures, something trains often struggle to do.

The real loss to passengers is in terms of amenities. Passengers are forced to exit their sleeping accommodations or oversized coach seats to transfer to a bus with smaller seats. It's totally understandable why passengers would want to avoid the hassle.

I'm likely going to take a trip from LA to Seattle in February. I'm going to try to pick a date without a bustitution, but if it's unavoidable, at least it's only a two hour bus trip.
 
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In the 'bad old days" when the northbound CS was late into Klamath Falls, Amtrak would run a bus north from KFS on US 97 with a lunch break at Biggs and then on to Pasco WA to connect with the EB.

I suppose this could happen again in the case of a blizzard in the Cascades which would slow the trip from Chemult to Eugene.

I do remember a slow trip north from Dunsmuir when snow had blown into the signals. I don't remember how late we got into CMO on that trip.
 
Safety concerns on buses are overblown.

Is there room for improvement? Yes.

Are buses less safe than trains? No. Trains and buses have very similar fatality rates per billion passenger-miles. Either way you cut it, you're far more likely to be involved in a fatal accident driving to the train station than while on the train or on this short bustitution.
I think this is confounding different bus companies, unfortunately. If you add it up, there are about 30 bus-passenger deaths per year, and about 7 Amtrak/commuter rail passenger deaths per year. But the bus crashes are clustered in particular bus companies with bad records.
I got very uncomfortable with one of my local bus services when they sideswiped a truck and ripped its mirror off, and the bus driver didn't notice. (The truck driver was taking down the bus's plate number.) This was the higher-end company, not Shortline. Shortline, which runs most of the services from Ithaca, seems tolerable on safety but has a really terrible reputation regarding treatment of customers (just look at Yelp).

MTR Western has a pretty decent reputation, according to Yelp.
 
No that is a Cascades Talgo.
Exactly my point: It's NOT the Coast Starlight.
That is called "an online editor searches the Oregonian's archives for 'Amtrak' and uses the first/most recent staff archive photo they can

find." Lazy but common. Just look at the many news articles about the airline industry that use photos of the wrong aircraft.
 
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