What happens with missed connection at LAX ?

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onree

Joined
Oct 4, 2009
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7
My first post.

Although I used to take AMTRAK a lot, in January I'l be taking my first long distance train trip in about ten years, :) the Coast Starlight from Seattle to Santa Ana,CA, connecting at LAX. I've been checking Status reports for the last week or so, and CS is sometimes so late for its 9:00pm arrival that I would miss my Surfliner connection to SNA, and it is the last train of the day. :angry: That would make me a no-show for my hotel reservation and car rental in Orange County.

What does AMTRAK do in this situation? My wife is concerned that we'll just be stuck at Union Station until the next morning.

 

Thanks.
 
Welcome!

If it is a guaranteed connection, it is Amtrak's responsibility to get you to your destination. There is also a late night bus that goes there (and continues to San Diego). They may put you up at a hotel in LA (at Amtrak's expense) and send you on a morning train. Or they could even send you by bus or taxi to your destination.

If you are worried about being a no-show at your hotel or car rental, I would suggest to keep an eye on the schedule near the end of the run of the CS. If you are (such as) 1-2 hours late, I would first ask the on board staff what will happen. (They could tell you that the Surfliner will be held.) If necessary, you could use your cell phone while on the train to call and cancel your reservation!
 
onree said:
My first post. Although I used to take AMTRAK a lot, in January I'l be taking my first long distance train trip in about ten years, :) the Coast Starlight from Seattle to Santa Ana,CA, connecting at LAX. I've been checking Status reports for the last week or so, and CS is sometimes so late for its 9:00pm arrival that I would miss my Surfliner connection to SNA, and it is the last train of the day. :angry: That would make me a no-show for my hotel reservation and car rental in Orange County.

What does AMTRAK do in this situation? My wife is concerned that we'll just be stuck at Union Station until the next morning.

 

Thanks.
Click to expand...
The last time that I connected from the Coast Starlight to the Pacific Surliner headed to San Diego, Amtrak put us on a Thruway bus. Got us there that late evening but with tons of stops at all of the Amtrak stps between LAX and San Diego. Long bus ride.
 
the_traveler said:
Welcome!
If it is a guaranteed connection, it is Amtrak's responsibility to get you to your destination. There is also a late night bus that goes there (and continues to San Diego). They may put you up at a hotel in LA (at Amtrak's expense) and send you on a morning train. Or they could even send you by bus or taxi to your destination.

If you are worried about being a no-show at your hotel or car rental, I would suggest to keep an eye on the schedule near the end of the run of the CS. If you are (such as) 1-2 hours late, I would first ask the on board staff what will happen. (They could tell you that the Surfliner will be held.) If necessary, you could use your cell phone while on the train to call and cancel your reservation!
Click to expand...
How can I tell if it is a guaranteed connection? Does it say so on the ticket? As a newby here, I'm pretty ignorant
 
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onree said:
How can I tell if it is a guaranteed connection? Does it say so on the ticket? As a newby here, I'm pretty ignorant
Click to expand...
If you can put in "FROM: Point A" and "TO: Point B" on Amtrak.com (on the "regular" screen, not always the multi-city screen), and it shows a routing, that is a guaranteed connection. Normally, anything with more than a 60 minute connection is guaranteed.
 
onree said:
the_traveler said:
Welcome!
If it is a guaranteed connection, it is Amtrak's responsibility to get you to your destination. There is also a late night bus that goes there (and continues to San Diego). They may put you up at a hotel in LA (at Amtrak's expense) and send you on a morning train. Or they could even send you by bus or taxi to your destination.

If you are worried about being a no-show at your hotel or car rental, I would suggest to keep an eye on the schedule near the end of the run of the CS. If you are (such as) 1-2 hours late, I would first ask the on board staff what will happen. (They could tell you that the Surfliner will be held.) If necessary, you could use your cell phone while on the train to call and cancel your reservation!
Click to expand...
How can I tell if it is a guaranteed connection? Does it say so on the ticket? As a newby here, I'm pretty ignorant
Click to expand...
If they ticket the connection under the same reservation, it is guaranteed. And that particular connection is absolutely protected. Be it train, or bus, Amtrak will get you there.

If you fool around manually and just put two trains together under different reservations, you are on you're own. And that even goes for reservations that would normally be "guaranteed". If you aren't in the system as a connecting passenger, you aren't one, and you may not be included in the arrangements for those whose connections were missed.
 
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zephyr17 said:
If they ticket the connection under the same reservation, it is guaranteed. And that particular connection is absolutely protected. Be it train, or bus, Amtrak will get you there.
If you fool around manually and just put two trains together under different reservations, you are on you're own. And that even goes for reservations that would normally be "guaranteed". If you aren't in the system as a connecting passenger, you aren't one, and you may not be included in the arrangements for those whose connections were missed.
Click to expand...
Thanks for all the help. The tickets are under the same reservation number, so I will set my mind at ease. I won't fret much about being late, as long as I know that I'll get there. Thanks again. :)
 
onree said:
zephyr17 said:
If they ticket the connection under the same reservation, it is guaranteed. And that particular connection is absolutely protected. Be it train, or bus, Amtrak will get you there.
If you fool around manually and just put two trains together under different reservations, you are on you're own. And that even goes for reservations that would normally be "guaranteed". If you aren't in the system as a connecting passenger, you aren't one, and you may not be included in the arrangements for those whose connections were missed.
Click to expand...
Thanks for all the help. The tickets are under the same reservation number, so I will set my mind at ease. I won't fret much about being late, as long as I know that I'll get there. Thanks again. :)
Click to expand...
Here is some more history on CS 11 into LAX (the last 4 weeks):

Status for train 11 arriving into LAX

2009-12-03: Scheduled: 9:00 pm Actual: 8:56 pm Delay: -4 minutes

2009-12-02: Scheduled: 9:00 pm Actual: 10:21 pm Delay: 81 minutes

2009-12-01: Scheduled: 9:00 pm Actual: 9:56 pm Delay: 56 minutes

2009-11-30: Scheduled: 9:00 pm Actual: 8:39 pm Delay: -21 minutes

2009-11-29: Scheduled: 9:00 pm Actual: 2:28 am Delay: 328 minutes

2009-11-28: Scheduled: 9:00 pm Actual: 8:25 pm Delay: -35 minutes

2009-11-27: Scheduled: 9:00 pm Actual: 8:45 pm Delay: -15 minutes

2009-11-26: Scheduled: 9:00 pm Actual: 8:25 pm Delay: -35 minutes

2009-11-25: Scheduled: 9:00 pm Actual: 10:19 pm Delay: 79 minutes

2009-11-24: Scheduled: 9:00 pm Actual: 9:23 pm Delay: 23 minutes

2009-11-23: Scheduled: 9:00 pm Actual: 8:52 pm Delay: -8 minutes

2009-11-22: Scheduled: 9:00 pm Actual: 8:36 pm Delay: -24 minutes

2009-11-21: Scheduled: 9:00 pm Actual: 8:26 pm Delay: -34 minutes

2009-11-20: Scheduled: 9:00 pm Actual: 8:37 pm Delay: -23 minutes

2009-11-19: Scheduled: 9:00 pm Actual: 8:43 pm Delay: -17 minutes

2009-11-18: Scheduled: 9:00 pm Actual: 8:43 pm Delay: -17 minutes

2009-11-17: Scheduled: 9:00 pm Actual: 8:33 pm Delay: -27 minutes

2009-11-16: Scheduled: 9:00 pm Actual: 8:44 pm Delay: -16 minutes

2009-11-15: Scheduled: 9:00 pm Actual: 8:21 pm Delay: -39 minutes

2009-11-14: Scheduled: 9:00 pm Actual: 8:29 pm Delay: -31 minutes

2009-11-13: Scheduled: 9:00 pm Actual: 10:19 pm Delay: 79 minutes

2009-11-12: Scheduled: 9:00 pm Actual: 8:44 pm Delay: -16 minutes

2009-11-11: Scheduled: 9:00 pm Actual: 8:58 pm Delay: -2 minutes

2009-11-10: Scheduled: 9:00 pm Actual: 8:42 pm Delay: -18 minutes

2009-11-09: Scheduled: 9:00 pm Actual: 8:41 pm Delay: -19 minutes

2009-11-08: Scheduled: 9:00 pm Actual: 8:30 pm Delay: -30 minutes

2009-11-07: Scheduled: 9:00 pm Actual: 8:26 pm Delay: -34 minutes

Average delay is 7 minutes
 
You could hop off the Coast Starlight at Martinez and transfer to the San Joaquin and give yourself 4 hours or so if the connection was looking tight. I'm just down on the Coast Starlight right now, but the San Joaquin is a dependable, on-time ride with more recent equipment.
 
pebbleworm said:
You could hop off the Coast Starlight at Martinez and transfer to the San Joaquin and give yourself 4 hours or so if the connection was looking tight. I'm just down on the Coast Starlight right now, but the San Joaquin is a dependable, on-time ride with more recent equipment.
Click to expand...
Or, you could change your reservation to detrain in LA, stay downtown the first night instead of Orange County; and take the Surfliner to SNA the next morning on a leisurely basis without any worry about a misconnection. As another board member posted, the Westin Bonaventure in LA has some good rates:

http://www.starwoodhotels.com/westin/searc...propertyID=1004
 
Metrolink, the Los Angeles Light Rail also goes to Santa Ana- That might provide a better connection.
 
pebbleworm said:
Metrolink, the Los Angeles Light Rail also goes to Santa Ana- That might provide a better connection.
Click to expand...
But luggage probably works better on the Surfliner than on light rail; and it sounds like his Surfliner ticket is bought and paid for.
 
jmbgeg said:
pebbleworm said:
Metrolink, the Los Angeles Light Rail also goes to Santa Ana- That might provide a better connection.
Click to expand...
But luggage probably works better on the Surfliner than on light rail; and it sounds like his Surfliner ticket is bought and paid for.
Click to expand...
Metrolink is not light rail, it's commuter rail. Schedule may not work it out well either at late night.
 
zephyr17 said:
If you fool around manually and just put two trains together under different reservations, you are on you're own. And that even goes for reservations that would normally be "guaranteed". If you aren't in the system as a connecting passenger, you aren't one, and you may not be included in the arrangements for those whose connections were missed.
Click to expand...
This is not what an agent told me recently, I'm booked on the SWC LAX-CHI on an AGR redemption and then on the Capital Limited back to WAS on a paid reservation. When I called to inquire about combining the reservation to guarantee the connection, I was told that since it was a valid connection that I would be taken care of as if I were a through passenger. If I do end up in the situation where it looks like we're going to be running late, I'll certainly be proactive about making sure that I'm "on the list" of pax that need attention.
 
Is there a San Joaquin that 11 connects with either in SAC or Martinez that will get you to the SWC on time in LAX?
 
I agree, it all depends on which trains you chose when using the multi-city booking. If you chose train A that arrives at 9 AM and train B that departs at 4 PM, that would be guaranteed. But if train A arrives at 9:06 and train B departs at 9:10, that would not be guaranteed! (Even though you could make 2 separate reservations and chose those 2 specific trains!)
 
zephyr17 said:
onree said:
the_traveler said:
Welcome!
If it is a guaranteed connection, it is Amtrak's responsibility to get you to your destination. There is also a late night bus that goes there (and continues to San Diego). They may put you up at a hotel in LA (at Amtrak's expense) and send you on a morning train. Or they could even send you by bus or taxi to your destination.

If you are worried about being a no-show at your hotel or car rental, I would suggest to keep an eye on the schedule near the end of the run of the CS. If you are (such as) 1-2 hours late, I would first ask the on board staff what will happen. (They could tell you that the Surfliner will be held.) If necessary, you could use your cell phone while on the train to call and cancel your reservation!
Click to expand...
How can I tell if it is a guaranteed connection? Does it say so on the ticket? As a newby here, I'm pretty ignorant
Click to expand...
If they ticket the connection under the same reservation, it is guaranteed. And that particular connection is absolutely protected. Be it train, or bus, Amtrak will get you there.

If you fool around manually and just put two trains together under different reservations, you are on you're own. And that even goes for reservations that would normally be "guaranteed". If you aren't in the system as a connecting passenger, you aren't one, and you may not be included in the arrangements for those whose connections were missed.
Click to expand...
Would it not be safe to say that if a routing is otherwise a guaranteed connection, if a passenger was travelling on two reservation numbers that mirror the same route; your train is late and the connection missed; and Amtrak is bussing passengers with guaranteed connections on to the final destination; that the passenger travelling on two reservations is going to get a seat on that bus? Assuming that is correct, the only issue open for debate would be if Amtrak decides not to or cannot arrange for a bus and has to overnight the passengers with a guaranteed connection whether the passenger travelling on two reservations gets an Amtrak paid hotel room?
 
I would say yes. But if by chance there are no other passengers connecting, or if there are 41 passengers, and you're the 41st passenger and Amtrak charters a 40 passenger bus because they didn't know there were 41 passengers, you may be out of luck!
 
the_traveler said:
I would say yes. But if by chance there are no other passengers connecting, or if there are 41 passengers, and you're the 41st passenger and Amtrak charters a 40 passenger bus because they didn't know there were 41 passengers, you may be out of luck!
Click to expand...
I have had three instances where I had a guaranteed connection and upon late arrival the agent @ the station (twice in PDX/once in CHI)didnt have any info on pax that were connecting to another train @ their station. The last time was in Nov. when CS#14 was late into PDX. #28 had a bad ordered sleeper,so we were put in coach to SPK, where upon arrival the SCA on #8 didnt have several of the other pax on their manifest but did have me! :blink:

I would be sure the connections were on the same reservation #, if seperate tickets be sure Amtrak links them so they are guaranteed! If you're riding the Cardinal or Sunset it's bad to be told; "Next train in three days!" :eek:
 
the_traveler said:
I would say yes. But if by chance there are no other passengers connecting, or if there are 41 passengers, and you're the 41st passenger and Amtrak charters a 40 passenger bus because they didn't know there were 41 passengers, you may be out of luck!
Click to expand...
I agree with that hypothetical, but I have yet to be on a bustitution or scheduled Thruway bus where the seats are 100% full. Others' experience may differ.
 
the_traveler said:
Rob_C said:
Is there a San Joaquin that 11 connects with either in SAC or Martinez that will get you to the SWC on time in LAX?
Click to expand...
There is a connection from the CS at 6:15 AM in SAC that connects to a Thruway to SKN, the SJ to BFD and a Thruway to LAX that arrives at 2:30 PM.
Click to expand...
The connection to the SJ through SKN is the regular connection to the SJ that they put CS passangers on who are going to Vegas via BFD. I have been ticketed on that itinerary severals times. The good news is that if the CS is early enough in to SAC you can ask to get on the SJ in SAC instead of through SKN.
 
jmbgeg said:
the_traveler said:
Rob_C said:
Is there a San Joaquin that 11 connects with either in SAC or Martinez that will get you to the SWC on time in LAX?
Click to expand...
There is a connection from the CS at 6:15 AM in SAC that connects to a Thruway to SKN, the SJ to BFD and a Thruway to LAX that arrives at 2:30 PM.
Click to expand...
The connection to the SJ through SKN is the regular connection to the SJ that they put CS passangers on who are going to Vegas via BFD. I have been ticketed on that itinerary severals times. The good news is that if the CS is early enough in to SAC you can ask to get on the SJ in SAC instead of through SKN.
Click to expand...
When you request SEA-LAX at amtrak.com, besides the CS, you also get the following:

  • SEA-SAC # 11 (CS)
  • SAC-SKN # 3812 (Thruway)
  • SKN-BFD # 712 (SJ)
  • BFD-LAX # 5812 (Thruway)
I was wrong! :eek: It arrives LAX at 4:10 PM.
 
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