Southwest Chief Lateness

Amtrak Unlimited Discussion Forum

Help Support Amtrak Unlimited Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

greatcats

Engineer
Joined
Feb 27, 2006
Messages
2,385
Location
Flagstaff, Arizona
Recently the timekeeping of 3 has been unusually bad. I see today (6/24) that it is was almost on time at Lamy and now over 2 hours late into Albuquerque. Is it because of interference with the New Mexico Rail Runner or is there another problem?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Our #3 was delayed last week in Galesburg while four local police boarded to discuss a problem with a rowdy coach passenger. I was surprised they did not take him with them but they eventually left the train and returned to their cruisers. That put us nearly an hour late into KCY. Stuff happens so its hard to pinpoint a particular event that causes late trains. :)
 
I have been watching both 3 and 4 for about a week (since I will be taking both in July and will need to connect from 4 to 30), and it seems like both are routinely 3-4 hours late. I was thinking it was heat and slow orders - but that is just a guess.

Edit:

3(23) lost 2+ hours today in LMY:

LMY 2 220P 2 224P 229P 510P Arrived: 9 minutes late. | Departed: 2 hours, 46 minutes late.

Could it have something to do with Boyscouts?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
The Boy Scout deboard 3 at Raton. Could be a variety of reasons. On my last trip in March we were delayed because we missed our slot approaching ABQ and had to wait for Rail Runner. But what held it up today at Greater Metropolitan Lamy?
 
It looks like 4 lost almost 3 hours between ABQ and LMY today.
 
This was discussed over on Trainorders within the last few days, and one item mentioned was that thousands of ties have recently been installed in a 18 mile stretch from Lamy to the west, but that the ballast has not yet been dumped or tamped. That probably means severe slow orders, but maybe relief is just around the corner.
 
I've heard there's some track work going on around Lamy. I've been concerned too since I'm taking the 3 to LAX to pick up the 14 to SJC in July. Since June 1, they've missed that connection 10 times. I don't have a problem with taking a bus or the PS or whatever, but as I said in another thread, I'm a little worried about my luggage getting to SJC when I do. But that trip's still about a month away so if it is track work maybe a lot of it will be done by then.
 
#4 is 11.6 hours late at Dodge City. Like pennyk, I'm planning on taking #4 from ABQ to CHI at the end of July - I'm starting to get very worried about my connection to #30! What's the assembled wisdom - stick with 30, change to 48, or go really conservative and book a room in CHI?
 
#4 is 11.6 hours late at Dodge City. Like pennyk, I'm planning on taking #4 from ABQ to CHI at the end of July - I'm starting to get very worried about my connection to #30! What's the assembled wisdom - stick with 30, change to 48, or go really conservative and book a room in CHI?
I am staying with what I have. 48 is not an option for me since I need to connect to 97 to Florida after getting to DC on 30. I will be traveling in mid July and hope the track work (or whatever the issue(s) are resolved by then).
 
It's luck of the draw with the odds in your favor. Having to switch to #48 is not really necessary as the #4 to #30 Connection is guaranteed and Amtrak will take care of you if the connection is missed.

No need to do a layover in CHI on your dime either, unless you want to spend time in the Windy City.

In an extreme case Amtrak will put you up for the night (Station Sleeper or Hotel,feed you and arrange continuing Transportation).

The biggest risk is that no Rooms may be available on the LD Trains and you may have to go Coach. ( if #50 is running the day you leave Chicago that is also an option but it leaves Earlier than #30 or #48.)
 
#4 is 11.6 hours late at Dodge City. Like pennyk, I'm planning on taking #4 from ABQ to CHI at the end of July - I'm starting to get very worried about my connection to #30! What's the assembled wisdom - stick with 30, change to 48, or go really conservative and book a room in CHI?
The connection from 4 to 30 was missed 7/30 times (23%) in the past month. 4 to 48 was only missed once.

4_to_30.png
 
4 is 12 hours late today into CHI so I suppose that will be missing 48 tonight. I was thinking about booking the HF to Newton to connect with 4 to KCY next month. But maybe I won't now. I wonder what Amtrak does with connecting bus passengers in Newton that must make the connection to OKC. Being stuck in a small town such as Newton wouldn't be fun.
 
4 is 12 hours late today into CHI so I suppose that will be missing 48 tonight. I was thinking about booking the HF to Newton to connect with 4 to KCY next month. But maybe I won't now. I wonder what Amtrak does with connecting bus passengers in Newton that must make the connection to OKC. Being stuck in a small town such as Newton wouldn't be fun.
I didn't think Amtrak had any throughway bus service, between Newton, KS and OKC. But maybe I'm wrong on that? I know there has often been talk about extending the Heartland Flyer north from OKC to at least Newton, though.
 
I used that Thruway service at Newton in December. I connected from the westbound Southwest Chief to the southbound bus. My train was essentially on time into Newton, but the eastbound train was running 2+ hours late. There were probably 10ish people connecting from the westbound train to the bus and the station agent mentioned that a similar number were connecting from the eastbound train. Luckily I was just going to Wichita and not to Oklahoma City - it was decided that the bus would make a quick run from Newton to Wichita to drop off the handful of us going to Wichita from the westbound train and then return to Newton to pick up the remaining passengers from the westbound train and all passengers from the eastbound train.
 
From Amtrak:

Southwest Chief Trains 3 and 4: Train Delays May Affect Connections in Los Angeles, Kansas City and Chicago Effective through Approximately July 22, 2017Trains 3 and 4 may encounter delays along the route due to track reconstruction being performed between Lamy and Albuquerque. This work is expected to continue through approximately July 22, 2017.

  • Train 4: Eastbound Delays Albuquerque - Chicago
    Eastbound customers may experience delays up to two hours at stations from Albuquerque to Chicago.
  • Train 3: Westbound Delays Lamy - Los Angeles
    Westbound customers may experience delays of up to two and a half hours at stations from Lamy to Los Angeles.
  • Are You Connecting in Chicago, Kansas City or Los Angeles?
    If these delays cause customers to miss their train or Amtrak Thruway connections, alternate transportation may be provided to passengers connecting eastbound in Kansas City and Chicago and westbound in Los Angeles.
Don't Miss Your Train - Check the Train StatusTrains can make up time along the route. We encourage you to check the status of your train on your day of travel. For the most up-to-date departure and arrival times, visit Amtrak.com, use our free mobile apps, call 1-800-USA-RAIL (1-800-872-7245), or speak with station personnel. You can also sign up to receive text or email delay alerts on Amtrak.com and when booking your reservation.

Thank you for traveling with Amtrak.

PSN 0617-117
 
So #4 due into CHI today (2017-06-29) is currently in service interruption west of Lawrence, KS - ~10 hours late and counting. <sigh> Thanks to everyone who replied. I know it's a guaranteed connection and Amtrak will house us and get us to PHL somehow. However, my wife and daughter will be VERY unhappy if "somehow" means coach. We like Chicago and wouldn't mind staying there a day, but I swear the ladies in the family would rather go CHI-PHL via the CONO and Crescent than sleep in coach!
 
Daily bus service between Newton and OKC to connect between the SWC and Heartland Flyer.
Not sure why I didn't notice that earlier, but that's nice it was implemented. Hopefully the Heartland Flyer is extended north to Newton someday, if not(IMO, what I'd prefer) all the way north to at least Kansas City.

From Amtrak:

Southwest Chief Trains 3 and 4: Train Delays May Affect Connections in Los Angeles, Kansas City and Chicago Effective through Approximately July 22, 2017Trains 3 and 4 may encounter delays along the route due to track reconstruction being performed between Lamy and Albuquerque. This work is expected to continue through approximately July 22, 2017.

  • Train 4: Eastbound Delays Albuquerque - ChicagoEastbound customers may experience delays up to two hours at stations from Albuquerque to Chicago.
  • Train 3: Westbound Delays Lamy - Los AngelesWestbound customers may experience delays of up to two and a half hours at stations from Lamy to Los Angeles.
  • Are You Connecting in Chicago, Kansas City or Los Angeles?If these delays cause customers to miss their train or Amtrak Thruway connections, alternate transportation may be provided to passengers connecting eastbound in Kansas City and Chicago and westbound in Los Angeles.
Don't Miss Your Train - Check the Train StatusTrains can make up time along the route. We encourage you to check the status of your train on your day of travel. For the most up-to-date departure and arrival times, visit Amtrak.com, use our free mobile apps, call 1-800-USA-RAIL (1-800-872-7245), or speak with station personnel. You can also sign up to receive text or email delay alerts on Amtrak.com and when booking your reservation.

Thank you for traveling with Amtrak.

PSN 0617-117
Ah, so that explains all the very delayed SWC trains I've been noticing, when looking up recent Southwest Chief train statuses! That's too bad, but hopefully those track repairs are completed soon. Probably from that recent funding agreement on track repairs from the 3 states and all the local cities and towns, that saved the SWC from being rerouted through Clovis, Amarillo, and Wichita.

So #4 due into CHI today (2017-06-29) is currently in service interruption west of Lawrence, KS - ~10 hours late and counting. <sigh> Thanks to everyone who replied. I know it's a guaranteed connection and Amtrak will house us and get us to PHL somehow. However, my wife and daughter will be VERY unhappy if "somehow" means coach. We like Chicago and wouldn't mind staying there a day, but I swear the ladies in the family would rather go CHI-PHL via the CONO and Crescent than sleep in coach!
Just know that if you did go south on the CONO to connect in New Orleans, then the Crescent, that you would have to stay overnight in New Orleans. Plus get up EARLY(7am departure from NO, and you'd need to get to the station earlier), for the Crescent north to New York the next day. Yep, CONO to Crescent in New Orleans is not a same day train connection. I can deal with getting up early in rare cases, but am not a huge fan of that. And if I lived somewhere in the east and not in Chicago, I'd probably deal with being put up in a room and waiting for a train the next day to head east. :) To each their own, though.
 
Back
Top