D.P. Roberts
Conductor
I've been avidly following the "EB Mess" thread, as I have a trip planned for the CS-EB this summer, CHI-LAX round trip in a roomette. Here's my dilemma, and I'm hoping some more experienced AUers can give me some advice.
On our westbound trip from Chicago to Los Angeles (27-11), I took advantage of the "overnight at my own expense" exception (AGR reward) and will be overnighting in Portland before taking the southbound Coast Starlight the next day, so I'm not terribly concerned about any lateness in the EB on that leg.
However, on our return trip we're booked 14-28. That used to be a same day connection with a window of approximately 4 hours. Unfortunately, with the new EB schedule that has 28 departing about 4 hours earlier, that connection can no longer be made. Amtrak has not contacted me about this, presumably because the new schedule is temporary and only goes through the end of May, while my trip is in June.
So, I have two options:
1) Wait to see if the schedule change stays in place. If it doesn't, then I'm okay. If it does, I can allow Amtrak to re-book me on the SWC or another route. The problem with this is that if Amtrak waits until late May to change the June schedules, the sleepers on the alternate routes may be all booked up.
2) Call Amtrak now and re-book on the SWC. Problem solved, but I'd really prefer the current CS-EB route (better scenery, more train time), and I don't want to cancel if I don't have to.
So if I decide to wait and see if Amtrak does cancel on me, is the SWC the only route they would consider? What happens if the SWC runs out of roomettes - would they just cancel my trip altogether, or consider moving one of the two legs of my existing trip & putting me up in a hotel in PDX, or work out some route on the CZ? On any of these routes, is there a chance Amtrak would move me to an available bedroom or coach (even though it's an AGR trip) if there are no roomettes available?
I really have no idea what Amtrak will do. Any help will be appreciated!
On our westbound trip from Chicago to Los Angeles (27-11), I took advantage of the "overnight at my own expense" exception (AGR reward) and will be overnighting in Portland before taking the southbound Coast Starlight the next day, so I'm not terribly concerned about any lateness in the EB on that leg.
However, on our return trip we're booked 14-28. That used to be a same day connection with a window of approximately 4 hours. Unfortunately, with the new EB schedule that has 28 departing about 4 hours earlier, that connection can no longer be made. Amtrak has not contacted me about this, presumably because the new schedule is temporary and only goes through the end of May, while my trip is in June.
So, I have two options:
1) Wait to see if the schedule change stays in place. If it doesn't, then I'm okay. If it does, I can allow Amtrak to re-book me on the SWC or another route. The problem with this is that if Amtrak waits until late May to change the June schedules, the sleepers on the alternate routes may be all booked up.
2) Call Amtrak now and re-book on the SWC. Problem solved, but I'd really prefer the current CS-EB route (better scenery, more train time), and I don't want to cancel if I don't have to.
So if I decide to wait and see if Amtrak does cancel on me, is the SWC the only route they would consider? What happens if the SWC runs out of roomettes - would they just cancel my trip altogether, or consider moving one of the two legs of my existing trip & putting me up in a hotel in PDX, or work out some route on the CZ? On any of these routes, is there a chance Amtrak would move me to an available bedroom or coach (even though it's an AGR trip) if there are no roomettes available?
I really have no idea what Amtrak will do. Any help will be appreciated!