Will they hold the train for us?

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ciship

Service Attendant
Joined
May 4, 2004
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167
Need to catch the #59 from CHI to New Orleans tonight at 8 pm. Stuck in KC right now. Will they hold the train for us in Chicago if we are late?
 
Depends on a number of factors, including how late you will ultimately be.

That is, if you're projected to miss the connection by 10 minutes, they will likely hold it. If you're projected to miss by 2 hours, then probably not.

Another factor is how many other people on your train are making the connection. If it's just a couple of people, then the likelihood of holding the CONO

is smaller.
 
So...how do we get to New Orleans and how will they accommodate us ?
 
We had a recent trip where it was looking like the CHI connection would be very close. We asked OBS, and it was said "15 minutes" was the cutoff. Now the question is... when does that 15 minutes start? What they will do for you if it is very, very close is have a redcap ready to shuttle you and your stuff between the trains.

I will say we have experienced the train being held out of CHI for 20 minutes for a late connection.
 
A lot depends upon how many other "transfers" that Amtrak knows about, that is, both trips on one reservation number. If the number is high, they could decide to hold the train for hours, rare, but happens. Don't count on it though.

They could bus you, all or part of the way.

They could put you up for the night, and put you on the next day's train.

Call Customer Service ahead of time, don't wait til you get into Chicago........

Occasionally, conductors will be informed of the "plan", IF there is one, to handle the connections.
 
We live on the 58/59 line, so we have to deal with your problem frequently. To answer your question... there are two possibilities. First, which we have never experienced but have been told is possible, is they will take you off the train at Galesburg and bus you to pick up 59 in Champaign. That's a slightly tricky coordination, with a small window.

The second is the more usual way provided that your reservation is a through trip, and you didn't go off on your own and build a trip with separate trains. Amtrak will put you up in a hotel, give you cab fare and meal money, then issue or modify tickets for the next day's train. The severe downside of that is 59 is typically a full train this time of year. If you're in a sleeper the probability of getting a sleeper on 59 will be nil.

Good luck. We were sweating a similar connection last Monday, but fortunately arrived in CHI with an hour to spare.

EDIT (to correct RR dude): There will be no bus "all the way", as there is no provision for it on this route. If there's a bus in the solution, it will be GBB to CHM, or not at all,.
 
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I heard from a conductor once that the rule of thumb is that connections are held 1 minute for every passenger that is connecting. Not saying that's what always happens, but as far as guidelines go it seems to make sense.
 
C855B said:
The severe downside of that is 59 is typically a full train this time of year. If you're in a sleeper the probability of getting a sleeper on 59 will be nil.
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The other "severe downside" of that is that you arrive home 24 hours late. :eek:
 
Nyuk nyuk. Versus what... stranding you in CHI? :p

I just did a little bit of schedule math. ciship's train is no longer in KC, but moving (slowly) up the normal BNSF route and evidently not detouring via STL. That's a plus. They can be as much as 7 hours late to make the GBB-CHM bus bridge, where the CHI connection has only 4.5 hours. They are currently 3:45 behind, and I certainly don't see that improving. Possibly ciship needs to get on the phone to Amtrak CS to start the conversation, although they may respond with "call us closer to Galesburg and let's see our options then."
 
And if you do get switched to coach on a day-later City of New Orleans, then you may find 15 cars, 15 restless riders, 3 conductors, and 25 sacks of mail. But at least you won't be changing cars in Memphis, Tennessee.
 
We have to be in New Orleans to catch a ship! We must make that connection tonight . No time to wait for next train the following day.
 
chakk said:
And if you do get switched to coach on a day-later City of New Orleans, then you may find 15 cars, 15 restless riders, 3 conductors, and 25 sacks of mail. But at least you won't be changing cars in Memphis, Tennessee.
Click to expand...
You won't find Steve Goodman either.

RIP for a man I called friend
 
ciship said:
We have to be in New Orleans to catch a ship! We must make that connection tonight . No time to wait for next train the following day.
Click to expand...
In that case there is a chance that you may need a plan B perhaps involving a big silver bird, in case Amtrak cannot figure out a way to get you onto the CONO today.
 
Well, this is getting exciting. OP, please let us know how it turns out.

FYI, you can currently book a non-stop from Chicago Midway to New Orleans tomorrow on SWA for $219.
 
Update? #4 was 5:12 late into CHI... did they hold 59? (Answer: probably no. Only 4 minutes late into KKI.) Did ciship get a bus bridge? Enquiring minds want to know!
 
I've seen trains held an hour before for a connection... But Usually they will either pay for a hotel if you miss it but before they do that they will do whatever they can to get the connection (buses, other trains, etc)
 
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Just heard #59 whistle out of CEN, 25 minutes late. Did we make the connection?
 
jis said:
ciship said:
We have to be in New Orleans to catch a ship! We must make that connection tonight . No time to wait for next train the following day.
Click to expand...
In that case there is a chance that you may need a plan B perhaps involving a big silver bird, in case Amtrak cannot figure out a way to get you onto the CONO today.
Click to expand...
Agreed. As much as I love Amtrak, I don't think I'd use it for something that needs a timely arrival like a cruise.
 
Ryan said:
jis said:
ciship said:
We have to be in New Orleans to catch a ship! We must make that connection tonight . No time to wait for next train the following day.
Click to expand...
In that case there is a chance that you may need a plan B perhaps involving a big silver bird, in case Amtrak cannot figure out a way to get you onto the CONO today.
Click to expand...
Agreed. As much as I love Amtrak, I don't think I'd use it for something that needs a timely arrival like a cruise.
Click to expand...
I would but ALWAYS plan to depart the next day. Especially in a place like NOL where you can

  • walk or take the trolley to many hotels
  • enjoy a day in a walkable city with lots of things to see and do
  • walk to the cruise ship dock
Even if one has been to NOL many times before, it is still enjoyable - from the music to the bignets to the food and drink to the tours to walking the French Quarter and seeing the stores and characters to visiting the Garden District to ...
 
Your ticket with Amtrak guarantees passage but not timeliness; i.e. they'll get you there, but won't guarantee when.

Yeah, on routes with 1 train a day, don't rely on Amtrak for time critical trips.
 
StriderGDM said:
Your ticket with Amtrak guarantees passage but not timeliness; i.e. they'll get you there, but won't guarantee when.
Click to expand...
There have been multiple instances where Amtrak has simply offered a refund without transit of any kind. Amtrak guarantees nothing more than the option to give your money back if they determine that transporting you is simply not worth the trouble.

Ryan said:
jis said:
ciship said:
We have to be in New Orleans to catch a ship! We must make that connection tonight . No time to wait for next train the following day.
Click to expand...
In that case there is a chance that you may need a plan B perhaps involving a big silver bird, in case Amtrak cannot figure out a way to get you onto the CONO today.
Click to expand...
Agreed. As much as I love Amtrak, I don't think I'd use it for something that needs a timely arrival like a cruise.
Click to expand...
Personally I think that the OP should have done better research so that they'd realize Amtrak scheduling is nothing more than a best effort attempt at most. That being said I also think Amtrak should be forced to include a warning that outside of the NEC their scheduling is entirely unsuitable for time sensitive transportation. Seems like a reasonable compromise to me.
 
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