Late Trains, one major cause

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R

riderails

Train Attendant
Joined
Jul 20, 2017
Messages
41
First, had reservations for VIA's The Canadian (TOR to VAN) for Jan 29 -- cancelled.  OK, made reservations for Jan. 31 for Empire Builder to SEA and on northward.   Cancelled.  Figured best to forget the  whole thing for time being and I cancelled hotel reservations.  And don't believe "Trains 351, 352, 353 & 354 are scheduled to operate. Trains 350 & 355 are canceled on January 29, 30 and 3" that was originally put forth by Amtrak.   351 was not permitted to run to CHI on Jan. 31.   I had to discover the Amtrak cancels by my search while VIA at least notified me.  It appears that air travel is more dependable than rail.  Scheduled flight DETROIT to TOR departed  a few  hr late but it did depart.  (Not with me in that I cancelled upon discovering the Canadian situation.)  I suspect there are people like this writer who assume long distance rail travel is more dependable than rail because when the airlines are hit with delays and cancellations, the sheer number of travelers affected is massive compared to the comparatively minuscule numbers of rail riders affected by serious delays and cancellations.   Finally, although Delta was in no way responsible for the reason I cancelled a flight to TOR for The Canadian, they refunded me the entire amount of the ticket.    Fortunately, I have not in recent years had to cancel AMTRAK but what I've seen doesn't seem encouraging regarding refunds.   
 
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Examination of 



Host Railroad Report Card & FAQ

will help some understand what's behind a lot of late trains--host railroads whose tracks Amtrak has to use.  Host RRs are not always the cause of delays but how they run their business seems to weigh heavily on Amtrak's performance.  I know this is not news to many, but I suspect enough frustrated folks will at least have  better understanding of Amtrak's reputation for running late trains.  Unfortunately , the Department of Justice is unlikely to be of help.  See the cited material.    
 
riderails said:
First, had reservations for VIA's The Canadian (TOR to VAN) for Jan 29 -- cancelled.  OK, made reservations for Jan. 31 for Empire Builder to SEA and on northward.   Cancelled.  Figured best to forget the  whole thing for time being and I cancelled hotel reservations.  And don't believe "Trains 351, 352, 353 & 354 are scheduled to operate. Trains 350 & 355 are canceled on January 29, 30 and 3" that was originally put forth by Amtrak.   351 was not permitted to run to CHI on Jan. 31.   I had to discover the Amtrak cancels by my search while VIA at least notified me.  It appears that air travel is more dependable than rail.  Scheduled flight DETROIT to TOR departed  a few  hr late but it did depart.  (Not with me in that I cancelled upon discovering the Canadian situation.)  I suspect there are people like this writer who assume long distance rail travel is more dependable than rail because when the airlines are hit with delays and cancellations, the sheer number of travelers affected is massive compared to the comparatively minuscule numbers of rail riders affected by serious delays and cancellations.   Finally, although Delta was in no way responsible for the reason I cancelled a flight to TOR for The Canadian, they refunded me the entire amount of the ticket.    Fortunately, I have not in recent years had to cancel AMTRAK but what I've seen doesn't seem encouraging regarding refunds.   
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There was no service to or from Chicago on the day in question on any service. It was well-publicized too. Every corridor service out of Chicago uses Horizon cars and they don’t do well in extreme cold. You add that to the human factor (it was incredibly dangerous to be outside longer than 15 minutes without protective gear), and it quickly becomes clear that the cancellations were the safest option available for all parties (crews, pax, and equipment). 

Sorry that your trip didn’t work out. Hopefully better circumstances next time. 
 
riderails said:
First, had reservations for VIA's The Canadian (TOR to VAN) for Jan 29 -- cancelled.  OK, made reservations for Jan. 31 for Empire Builder to SEA and on northward.   Cancelled.  Figured best to forget the  whole thing for time being and I cancelled hotel reservations.  And don't believe "Trains 351, 352, 353 & 354 are scheduled to operate. Trains 350 & 355 are canceled on January 29, 30 and 3" that was originally put forth by Amtrak.   351 was not permitted to run to CHI on Jan. 31.   I had to discover the Amtrak cancels by my search while VIA at least notified me.  It appears that air travel is more dependable than rail.  Scheduled flight DETROIT to TOR departed  a few  hr late but it did depart.  (Not with me in that I cancelled upon discovering the Canadian situation.)  I suspect there are people like this writer who assume long distance rail travel is more dependable than rail because when the airlines are hit with delays and cancellations, the sheer number of travelers affected is massive compared to the comparatively minuscule numbers of rail riders affected by serious delays and cancellations.   Finally, although Delta was in no way responsible for the reason I cancelled a flight to TOR for The Canadian, they refunded me the entire amount of the ticket.    Fortunately, I have not in recent years had to cancel AMTRAK but what I've seen doesn't seem encouraging regarding refunds.   
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I fail to see your point?
 
I’m willing to cut Amtrak some slack when we are talking about the coldest temperatures in decades.  
 
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MODERATOR NOTE:  Two threads with identical posts were merged.  (thanks for heads up)
 
VTTrain said:
I’m willing to cut Amtrak some slack when we are talking about the coldest temperatures in decades.  
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No kidding. We're talking about -30º F (without windchill) in multiple cities, plus a ton of snow. Literally more than 60º below freezing. Seems pretty justifiable.
 
When I was in school in Cincinnati back in the dark ages and rode the train back to Powers Michigan in the UP, it was routinely 20 - 30 below at Christmas time. In fact, one year, there was a 45 day period in Jan - Feb where it never got above zero in Iron Mountain, my home at the time and much colder up in Houghton and Iron River.

Never had a train cancelled or delayed because of the cold.
 
JRR said:
When I was in school in Cincinnati back in the dark ages and rode the train back to Powers Michigan in the UP, it was routinely 20 - 30 below at Christmas time. In fact, one year, there was a 45 day period in Jan - Feb where it never got above zero in Iron Mountain, my home at the time and much colder up in Houghton and Iron River.

Never had a train cancelled or delayed because of the cold.
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Yeah, but had it been -30 in Cincinnati there would have been cancellations back then too. Places where it's regularly that cold have to prepare, maintain and build for that, but elsewhere doesn't.
 
I believe the Bengals played a playoff game in that range of temps but that was later. While I was in school, the Ohio River did freeze over once.

I would also point out that the train from Powers Michigan that I took terminated in. Chicago and the train to Cincy originated in Chicago.

I don’t remember any cancellations for weather.

I do recall one April 15, that when I left Cincinnati it was 85 degrees but when I arrived in Powers it was 15 below. My dad picked me up in Powers and we followed a snowplow all the way to Iron Mountain in a blizzard!
 

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