Texas Eagle, end of July

I am trying to help a friend book a trip on the Texas Eagle at the end of July. Anyone know why the reservations system is showing cancelled?

Kenneth said:

I am trying to help a friend book a trip on the Texas Eagle at the end of July. Anyone know why the reservations system is showing cancelled?

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track work till the end of september south of Ft. Worth

The trip is from St. Louis to Temple. I tried 24th to 28th, I also tried STL to Little rock. They all had cancelled. Thanks for the response.

It seems bizarre to me they'd just cancel. I have reservations for MIN to BNL on July 30th and back again on Aug. 8. I made them before people reported seeing the cancellations.

My understanding was they were going to bus people between SAS and FTW, and just "turn" the Eagles there.

I really hope I don't get a call at some point telling me my trip is off....

Hopefully Texas Eagle service north of FTW isn't being affected by the Bustitutions during the Tower 55 work, though unless a deal has been made to use the TRE, the Eagles still have to pass through the construction area to get in and out of the FTW station.

Or is there now something going on south of FTW that has things further messed up?

Kenneth said:

The trip is from St. Louis to Temple. I tried 24th to 28th, I also tried STL to Little rock. They all had cancelled. Thanks for the response.

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The trip to Temple may be due to the bustitution, but I don't understand the LRK one. I would just call to reserve.

The way they present the bustitution on the website is confusing. When you try to book STL to TPL, the first result shows that the train is cancelled. If you scroll down, however, you will see that they second travel option presented is the train to FTW followed by the bustitution to TPL.

They really need to put the bustitution option first (or even removed the cancelled train from the list of selections) because it is easy to miss the fact that a transportation option is available online. As is often the case with Amtrak's website, it seems likely to confuse the traveling public who will simply see the word "cancelled" and move on.

When booking STL to LRK I do see the train available. There is a large warning sign to click on for more information about the trackwork, but the train looks like it's available to book.

Oh, good. So it's not they're gonna outright cancel the trains, it's that they have the bustitution confusingly explained on the website.

I hadn't been back to check seeing as I had already bought my tickets (and should be unaffected by trackwork anyway, except for maybe the train is more likely to be on time, if the Eagle is being "turned" at FTW? I hope?)

I have a Texas Eagle trip on Aug 13, CHI-DAL, am I safe from cancellation?

TexasBorn said:

I have a Texas Eagle trip on Aug 13, CHI-DAL, am I safe from cancellation?

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You should be alright as the cancellations are now for delays south of FTW; the trains are turning at FTW and those going further south or coming from the south are being shoved onto buses.

I believe the bustitution is only from FTW to SAS, so you'll be safe from CHI to DAL.

I changed around my summer train plans to avoid the bus ride between Austin and Fort Worth outbound and between San Antonio and Austin on my return. While I certainly understand the need for track work and improvements at Fort Worth, it is an awfully long time for us to be without trains in Central Texas! We drove downtown the other night and watched a late Texas Eagle arrive in Austin, one of the last that will pass through for many weeks. (I'm grateful for this forum where I found about this trackwork in time to change plans.)

Amtrak really needs to explain the situation better on the website. Seeing the word cancelled as the first result when one attempts to book travel along with a large hazard symbol is offputting to those of us who are used to Amtrak's site. I can only imagine that the general traveling public quickly moves on to MegaBus or Southwest since a clear explanation of what's going on requires clicking through to another page or scrolling down to the bustitution.

Now we know how folks who have no trains thru their city feel and who have to drive or take a bus to get to a station where Amtrak stops!

I'll miss the Eagles this Summer and I won't be doing any Bar-B-Q runs to Taylor this summer!! (Sigh)

jimhudson said:

I won't be doing any Bar-B-Q runs to Taylor this summer!! (Sigh)

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THE AGONY! You'll starve! :giggle: