Empire Builder Performance Unraveling for the summer Again!

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montana mike

Conductor
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Apr 21, 2012
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Whitefish, Montana
Over the past week or so timekeeping has gotten progressively worse for the Empire Builders as they have traversed the Hi-Line. Some of the delays are weather related (heat), but the old bugaboo of heavy freight traffic and construction remain major players (as my BNSF local folks had predicted they would).

The performance of BOTH east and west bound trains have continued to get worse this week, with delays rivaling those of the past two summers now. With no "protect consist" in PDX and SEA several of the subsequent east bound EBs have left hours late, which just further compounds the issue. Oh, well. We were all hoping that things would get better this summer. I guess we shall just have to wait until the construction is completed in 2016.......
 
The CEO of BNSF expects total oil shipments to actually increase slightly by the end of this year--per a speech he made just a couple of weeks ago. With oil hovering around $60/bbl most ND operations are still quite profitable (my neighbor says most of his contacts in ND make money at anything above mid 30's). BNSF continues to receive brand new tanker cars at the rate of about 40-50 per month as well. I don't know how many are allocated to take care of ND/MT, but it is likely that at least some of these are being put into serve on the Hi-Line. Rig count in ND actually went up very slightly last week too, a sign some operations are confident enough oil will stay at least around the current price to jump back into the game.
 
The CEO of BNSF expects total oil shipments to actually increase slightly by the end of this year--per a speech he made just a couple of weeks ago. With oil hovering around $60/bbl most ND operations are still quite profitable (my neighbor says most of his contacts in ND make money at anything above mid 30's).
It's new drilling/fracking which typically stops being profitable at $60/bbl (outside the very limited sweet spots)... and the reduced production from less new drilling won't show up for a couple of years.
 
#8 in ND is now over 9 hours behind. Wow, how fast the timekeeping has collapsed. Looks like they may have stopped #7 in SPK for a turnaround there as well? Sad to see things go back to the way they were last year.
 
If they didn't turn 7(25) at Spokane then why did they turn 7(27)?

Is there a problem on the Stevens pass route?
 
We were 3:30 late on #8 into CHI last week mostly due to locomotive problems in western Montana. Of the three (yes, three) we had on the point, two had issues, and it took them two hours to shuffle everything around to get a working arrangement. Other than that, we did not encounter that much traffic, oil or not. Not many "stuck in siding" delays en route, as most time added to the initial loss of two hours was spending too much time at crew change points.

IOW, at least based on what we experienced, BNSF might be a useful scapegoat but I think there's just enough of Amtrak's doings in the mix to make you wonder.
 
I think there are a number of factors causing the delays lately. So far, the past four weeks have averaged just under 3 hour delays into CHI--which not surprisingly is almost exactly what BNSF had told Amtrak to expect this summer. Sadly, the last week has had some very late trains, again for a variety of reasons (equipment troubles, heat, freight traffic).

On our recent trek aboard the Empire Builder we did not appear to have any engine issues, but some of the equipment in the sleepers was clearly not working.
 
If they didn't turn 7(25) at Spokane then why did they turn 7(27)?

Is there a problem on the Stevens pass route?
Fast moving and still uncontrolled wildfires broke out sunday in Wenatchee. All freight and passenger service is halted.
 
Passengers from Seattle are being bussed to Pasco. Apparently the Seattle section of the Builder is waiting there. It is not clear whether the Portland section will connect there or in Spokane. I would guess the latter as they are set up for the needed switching.
 
That will be good news for those traveling to SEA. Meanwhile #8 in ND this AM is well over 7 hours behind, having started 3 hours late in SPK and losing an additional 4 hours across the Hi-Line. This continues the string of very late Empire Builders over the past couple of weeks.
 
I was in PDX on the 29th and the entire Empire Builder consist was there. Since they don't normally stock the diner there, it took an extra long time to get it turned. It left PDX about 2.5 hours late. I think some pax who knew about the busing ahead of time were able to catch a Cascades train and get on there in PDX. That's what I would have done!
 
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At least they should be able to turn that train for a close to on time departure later today. #8 in MN as I write this note (still not in MSP) is now 9 hours late and my guesstimate is an arrival around 1 to 2 AM in CHI-town, which may mean a delayed departure for #7 the following day, which just compounds the delays going west again. #8 in MT right now is about 2 hours behind, but will likely lose another 2-4 hours as they traverse the Hi-Line later today and tonight.

The EB's just can't break the cycle of bad timekeeping issues. I spoke again with my local BNSF contact and he said BNSF issues are likely accounting for 3-5 hours of the daily EB delays, but other Amtrak and non-Amtrak/BNSF related problems (like the fire for example) are likely also contributing to the very long delays over the past couple of weeks as well. Hopefully the one time events will subside. I guess we can live with normal 3-5 hour delays this summer????
 
7 just left Leavenworth, and we should be in Seattle only a couple of hours late.
It was more like 3 hours, but they should still be able to turn it in time. We lost time waiting for a freight to traverse the Cascade Tunnel, and a few minutes more waiting for marine traffic to pass through the Ballard Locks (the bridge was up).

Hats off to the excellent OBS crew, though. The dining crew with LSA Cathleen, and SCAs Curtis and O.C., were all outstanding.
 
We arrived in Portland Saturday afternoon from the Coast Starlight expecting the 4:45 departure. 7 arrived in PDX at 8:30PM, over TEN hours late. We left at 11:30, almost seven hours late and the timekeeping got worse. One bonus was seeing the great scenery through Idaho and extreme Western Montana. Downside was missing the ride along The Columbia river. 28 arrived in Chicago at 3:07AM Tuesday morning, just shy of twelve hours late.
 
Wow! Looks like today's CHI arrival for #8 will be around 10 hours late-arriving around 2 AM tomorrow. The #8 in MT is only about 3 1/2 hours behind, but it will likely lose another 2-3 hours as it passes thru ND overnight. For our trip on both #7 and #8 last month we were a little over 2 hours behind both ways, not great, but a lot better than what is happening now. Tough to get a taxi at 2 AM in Chi-town, even at Union Station. I have been in that situation before and I had to get out in the street to get one to stop and drive me to my hotel, none were waiting at the Station.
 
Tough to get a taxi at 2 AM in Chi-town, even at Union Station. I have been in that situation before and I had to get out in the street to get one to stop and drive me to my hotel, none were waiting at the Station.
I wouldn't call that tough. I would call that typical (and available.) Tough is when you're in some city that you can't step out onto the sidewalk and hail a passing taxi within a few minutes, because there aren't any driving around looking for a fare.
The only reason it might be tough getting a taxi in downtown Chicago at 2 A.M. is because bars are closing. So there's competition.
 
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LOL. I should have clarified that it took me 10 minutes of standing in the street, waiting for a taxi and then flagging one down (about the 4th or 5th try). They appeared reluctant to stop.
 
I was on #7 which left CHI on time (June 27) and arrived in MOT the next day on time. It was downhill from there. In the beginning, it was neither Amtrak's nor BNSF's fault. We arrived at MOT only to be told that we would be waiting for two hours for the replacement crew to finish up their federally mandated rest period. Even with that we exited North Dakota more or less on time. It was in Eastern Montana that we began to be held up by freights. We had lost our slots, so I guess it was inevitable. We arrived in SPK about four hours late, after it was already getting light. Something was odd, because there was no separation of the SEA and PDX sections, no rumbling of engines, no cutting of power, no shunting between tracks, etc. We eventually got underway, but, still unbeknownst to me, we were ALL headed to PDX with a bustitution for SEA passengers from there. We were eventually told that the tracks in Wenatchee were in or near the wildfire. I did get some "rare mileage" in, never having taken the old SPS route on the north bank of the Columbia. Still, I wish the buses had been able to pick us up in VAN instead of PDX. It would have gotten us to SEA at least an hour earlier. Perhaps some contractual arrangement prevents that. We finally arrived SEA a little after 5 PM.
 
With #7 still not at SEA and over 4 hours late today it will be interesting to see how quickly they can turn the train around. I would not be surprised if #8 was a couple hours late departing fro SEA this evening given the tardiness of the arriving #7. Meanwhile #8 is now just under 5 hours late in Wisconsin this afternoon. Certainly better than several others this past week, but still a struggle.
 
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