Amtrak SouthWest Chief (4) cancelled :-(

Today completely sucked.. drove 2 hours to Los Angeles Union Station to catch the south west chief at 6.15 pm. At 6 pm the screen shows that the train was cancelled. I called customer service and received the response that it's only running from ABQ onwards.. there would be no trains between LA and ABQ.

I'm hoping that it runs tomorrow.. just wanted to ask if anyone knows what is the earliest time that customers can get notice regarding a train's status? Getting notice 15 minutes before a train is cancelled is too last minute. Thanks!

I am on the same boat as you , I am stuck at Flagstaff waiting for the West bound SouthWest Chief got cancelled sunday at 6pm due to some flash flooding in CA , I just hope it runs on Monday

I got a call around 6pm ( my boarding was a 9pm) telling me of the cancellation, but monday I will need to contact the amtrak station and find out if the SWC will be cancelled again due to flash flooding

So what happens of you are already enroute ? Do they get you there by other means?

If you're on a cancelled train, they'll get you to your destination. I am concerned that if they knew that a train was going to be truncated in ABQ, they should have known more than 15 minutes before departure.

I'm wondering if the OP had left a cell phone with Amtrak connected to the reservation. I certainly would hope Amtrak was contacting everyone they could to let them know of the cancellation.

The 3 and 4 Service Disruption is due to a huge washout on BNSF and 3/4 are cancelled between LAX and ABQ, possibly for a couple of days. The Interstate I-40 is also intermittently closed at two places between Needles and Barstow with many vehicles stuck in mud, so no possibility of bustitution either. This from Gene Poon on TO.

4(25) is cancelled out of LAX. 4(25) will originate in ABQ and run the regular schedule from there east to CHI.

Whether 3(25) will get turned at ABQ as 4(26) on the 27th with 4(26) canxed between LAX and ABQ is YTBD. More will be known later today.

VentureForth said:

If you're on a cancelled train, they'll get you to your destination. I am concerned that if they knew that a train was going to be truncated in ABQ, they should have known more than 15 minutes before departure.

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Sometimes when a train is annulled or flat out cancelled there is no alternate transportation. Sounds like that might be the deal right now. They will give you a refund or rebook you for a different day (space available).

do you know by when we will know if the SWC 3 will be cancelled today ? I am in Flagstaff trying to get to LAX

thank you

SWC 3/4 that was to travel LAX - ABQ and ABQ - LAX are now reported cancelled for the night between Aug 26 and 27 (i.e. 4(26) and 3(25)). 3(25) will turn at ABQ to become 4(26) originating in ABQ on the 27th, for normal service east of ABQ. This according to the usually reliable info from Gene Poon on TO.

Do please call Amtrak for absolute positive confirmation though. Do not depend exclusively on what is posted here.

So far it is expected that they will run tomorrow night (night of 27 and 28), but stay tuned for confirmation sometime tomorrow.

The washout is big, some 2.6 miles.

See http://domino.bnsf.com/website/updates.nsf/updates-service-consumer/E527C499C6E3EC3086257BD3002305A2?Open

Guest said:

do you know by when we will know if the SWC 3 will be cancelled today ? I am in Flagstaff trying to get to LAX
thank you

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Guest, there is no other reasonable rail alternative today. If the SWC is not running through Flagstaff tomorrow too, you may wish to consider heading south to Tucson or Phoenix/Maricopa and catching the Sunset Limited there to LAX tomorrow (27) evening. Both Coach and Sleeper are available on that train as of now.

jis - thanks for the comments. Yes, the 4 has been cancelled today, and thankfully I received an email at about 10.30 am. I'm thinking of driving to ABQ and catching the 4 from there tomorrow. Although the status for 4 (for ABQ) for tomorrow hasn't changed

According to Gene Poon Amtrak has now cancelled 4(27) ex LAX and 3(26) ex ABQ. So 3(26) will terminate at ABQ on the 27th and go back as 4(27) starting ABQ on the 28th. No service between ABQ and LAX the night of Aug 27/28. Beware though that this has not yet been reflected in the Amtrak Reservation System.

There are reports surfacing claiming that the line will be out till at least Thursday.

Saw a couple of pictures of the washout. One has two double stack trains precariously balanced on a piece of track with nothing supporting it underneath. Whatever that track was supported on is gone, washed away. Apparently most of the approach roads to get to the washout sites to start restoration work have also been washed away. Someone mentioned that what one needs is an Abrams Tank to get across those Aroyos.

So Guest, there will be 4 ex ABQ headed east tomorrow, and no 4 west of ABQ tomorrow either. So might as well start heading out to ABQ.

I misread your earlier post and thought you were headed to LAX, hence my previous response.

jis - sorry, this is Guest-Vishal (the OP) so yes, I am heading to chicago. Do you think we can drive to ABQ (from LA)? If there is a washout.. is it just affecting the trains or freeways as well? Thanks!

thank you very much Engineer

I checked with Amtrak here at the Flagstaff station, I re-scheduled for the 27 departured but it seems that the only way now out of here is by Plane , I have already booked to fly out of here tomorrow at 12:30pm

thank you for your posts and help , it is incredible how this weird weather is causing this many delays .. I was told by the Amtrak clerk that there are about 9 freight trains waiting to cross to LAX since the washout

I don't know what happened, so I'm only guessing here.

When passengers make reservations (online,in person or by phone), you are asked to leave a contact number in case Amtrak has to contact you. (As in this case about a cancelled train.) Many people give their home phone number. That does little good if you have left for the station and nobody is home. I myself always give my cell phone number as my contact number. That way I can be reached if I'm on the way. Or even if I'm out at lunch or dinner.

As far as the times, I'm not certain but I think it's 15 minutes up to like 3-4 hours. But if Amtrak knew the train was annulled the night before, I don't know why you weren't contacted. Unless (again only guessing) the "contact number" you left was your home in New York (or wherever), even though you were vacationing in California. (Believe it or not, some passengers do that!)

And if the cause is flash flooding, earthquake, tornado, hurricane or some other thing beyond Amtrak's control, what do you want Amtrak to do?

Reports are that I40 through that area is pretty iffy too. many cars stuck in mud and the highway is open off and on is what is being posted on TO.

I guess I am now all mixed up between two Guests

So let's see, one is Guest who is trying to get from Flagstaff to LAX. You should try heading south to Phoenix/Maricopa or Tucson and get on the Sunset (train 1) tomorrow (Tuesday 27th).

The other, the OP of this thread is Guest_Vishal who is trying to get from LAX to CHI. The locals around Barstow/Needles where the washouts are, are advising against attempting to drive on I40. If you are going to drive those kinds of distances you might consider driving to Emeryville tonight and get on the California Zephyr (train 6) tomorrow morning from there. Both seats and sleeper are available. Maybe Amtrak will even rebook you on it. Unfortunately they cannot rebook you all the way from LAX because the bus/San Joaquin connection this evening from LAX to Oakland is sold out.

Or if two days delay is unacceptable then consider flying.

marcosoliva said:

thank you very much Engineer
I checked with Amtrak here at the Flagstaff station, I re-scheduled for the 27 departured but it seems that the only way now out of here is by Plane , I have already booked to fly out of here tomorrow at 12:30pm

thank you for your posts and help , it is incredible how this weird weather is causing this many delays .. I was told by the Amtrak clerk that there are about 9 freight trains waiting to cross to LAX since the washout

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That is not counting the two that are hanging in mid air over the washout. Both are stack trains that found themselves at the wrong place at the wrong time. Fortunately neither has derailed. They are just hanging in air. It is a site to behold!

I wonder if BNSF is detouring via Barstow to northern CA then over their trackage rights on the UP/DRGW to Denver then down to LaJunta and east. Or perhaps detour via UP to El Paso then up to Albuquerque. With the volume of traffic out of LA, can't imagine everything backing up for 3 or 4 days.

We have just been having a violent storm here in Flagstaff. If this keeps up there will be floods and washouts here, too.

marcosoliva said:

it is incredible how this weird weather is causing this many delays.

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Nothing weird about it. Perfectly normal in fact.

Bus/San Joaquin is listed as too close to departure. Hopefully if that was open the OP made it.

Bus/San Joaquin connection is a guarantee because it's a dedicated Amtrak bus route. If bus is late, they'll hold the train for it.

Palmland said:

I wonder if BNSF is detouring via Barstow to northern CA then over their trackage rights on the UP/DRGW to Denver then down to LaJunta and east. Or perhaps detour via UP to El Paso then up to Albuquerque. With the volume of traffic out of LA, can't imagine everything backing up for 3 or 4 days.

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They have a connection in Vaughn, NM from the UP Tucumcari/Sunset lines to the BNSF transcon. From there they can go east as usual. They can also use the Pevine which rejoins the transcon at Williams Jct. or joins the UP in Phoenix where it can continue on the Sunset route to El Paso and then to Vaughn. So they have several routes to choose from, none of which entails going north out of Barstow.

jis said:

Guest said:

do you know by when we will know if the SWC 3 will be cancelled today ? I am in Flagstaff trying to get to LAX
thank you

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Guest, there is no other reasonable rail alternative today. If the SWC is not running through Flagstaff tomorrow too, you may wish to consider heading south to Tucson or Phoenix/Maricopa and catching the Sunset Limited there to LAX tomorrow (27) evening. Both Coach and Sleeper are available on that train as of now.

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Why don't you just fly to Albuquerque from LAX and catch it there? From Flagstaff take a Greyhound to Alb.