EB mess

[fairviewroad]

It will be close, but the two Empire Builders could conceivably arrive in WFH today about the same time--#8 is several hours late and #7 continues to be verrrrry late. Both cannot be at the station together, so I guess BNSF dispatchers might let the 12+ hour late train in first!!!

To follow up on this, #7 was in Whitefish from 9:31 to 9:37 this morning and #8 was in Whitefish from 10:07 to 10:19. Busy hour for the Whitefish

station personnel.

 

[montana mike]

All two of them!!

 

[JayPea]

Unbelievable, number 7 left CHI only 8 minutes late today! And number 8 in Wisconsin is only a little under 3 hours down!

And yesterday's #7, that departed Chicago 3 hours and 46 minutes late, lost "only" an hour and 12 minutes between Chicago and Stanley. And the SWC departed Chicago on time and the CZ only 25 minutes late. Not bad at all considering the mess that Chicago's had lately.

 

[montana mike]

I asked my local BNSF guy about these improvements and he said part of this may be due to a gradual lowering of grain shipment volume over the past week, along with a decrease in new vehicle shipments and slightly slower than expected Intermodal requirements for this week (due partly to the crappy weather on both coasts). He believes this will fluctuate from week to week depending on BNSF and customer needs. He did remind me of the thousands of new tanker cars that will begin delivery commencing at the end of the second quarter of this year as well.

 

[fairviewroad]

I think you can file this under the category of "we'll believe it when we see it."

Still...

Railroad pledges to improve service, end Amtrak detour

BNSF Railway promised Tuesday to provide more locomotives and workers in the next few weeks to break the logjam of rail shipments that has dismayed North Dakota farmers and forced the detour of passenger trains through the state.

In a meeting with North Dakota’s congressional delegation and agricultural leaders in Washington, BNSF Executive Director Matt Rose said the railroad would invest $5 billion in new resources this year, including $600 million in North Dakota.

He also agreed to end the detour of westbound of Amtrak passenger trains by Feb. 28. The detours meant the train has not stopped in Grand Forks, Devils Lake or Rugby the past few weeks and passengers have been bused there instead.

 

[Ryan]

Yeah, they pledged to run the train on time when they signed a contract, too.

 

[montana mike]

Well, at least this mess and the attendant media coverage has gotten their attention!

 

[Bob Dylan]

I'm from Missouri on this one also, Show Me! (But at least the Politicians are getting involved even if it is probably because of the Freight Customers being Shorted on Promised Service, Not Amtrak!)

 

[Texan Eagle]

Can someone offer Warren Buffett a ticket for the Empire Builder and drag him to Chicago to actually ride the train into North Dakota? Maybe if he sees what a horrid mess his BSNF has created, some of his philanthropic side may feel sorry for the local residents left without any transit options?

 

[RalphCT]

I'm kind of late with this post. My empire builder arrived in MSP less than 3 hours late. Compared to recent runs that time was good. My car attendant and the dining car staff were very pleasant all making for a very pleasant trip.

A Montanan who enjoys train travel.

 

[montana mike]

Glad you arrived the same day of scheduled arrival. It is sad when we rejoice at a 3 hour "late" arrival. Oh, well.

I will concur with you that on my last two long delayed EB runs so far this winter the crew members were all as pleasant as possible throughout the trip (I even had a chance to speak with one of the engineers as he got on the train in WFH and he projected the same positive attitude). As my attendant said there was nothing they could do about the mess, so they might as well try to make the best of a bad situation. Bravo to the folks in the trenches.

PS-I looks like today's arrival in CHI will be less than 4 hours late as well--whoo, whoo.

 

[greatcats]

On my trip from Seattle to Chicago in October, we arrived at 10pm, over six hours late. This wasn't great but I had raved about the dining car crew under Timmy. As we neared Chicago I said to them jokingly, " Now you can go out carousing. " The reply:
" We have to be back on here at 9am. We're not that type anyway! "

 

[Groundpounder]

Boy....I always had a fantasy of travelling coast to coast on Amtrak....reading these horror stories really kills that fantasy!

 

[greatcats]

Oh, just go do it, but do not be in a hurry. Avoid making commitments such as reserved concert tickets the day of arrival, especially Chicago. Go with the fllow and sit back and appreciate this great country!

 

[Guest]

Any idea what's happening to 7 (12) today on the Surrey cutoff? It left Fargo only 17 minutes late but still has not made it to Minot. According to the amtrak tracker map it has been stopped quite a bit and still closer to Fargo than Minot.

 

[fairviewroad]

Can someone offer Warren Buffett a ticket for the Empire Builder and drag him to Chicago to actually ride the train into North Dakota? Maybe if he sees what a horrid mess his BSNF has created, some of his philanthropic side may feel sorry for the local residents left without any transit options?

Just as long as he travels incognito. If dispatch gets word that he's aboard, then it's nothing but clear running all the way to Seattle! ^_^

 

[montana mike]

LOL

 

[Texan Eagle]

Can someone offer Warren Buffett a ticket for the Empire Builder and drag him to Chicago to actually ride the train into North Dakota? Maybe if he sees what a horrid mess his BSNF has created, some of his philanthropic side may feel sorry for the local residents left without any transit options?

Just as long as he travels incognito. If dispatch gets word that he's aboard, then it's nothing but clear running all the way to Seattle! ^_^

Well that works too. In that case, attach a PV at the end of one EB trainset and move Mr Buffett's office and bedroom there permanently. At least one in 4 (or 1 in 5, I forgot how many EB trainsets are there) EB will run on schedule, a big improvement from what is currently going on

 

[fairviewroad]

Better yet, invest in five PV's and attach them to the end of ALL the Builders. Kind of like how the Secret Service

sometimes has a decoy limo in the presidential motorcade. Only his hairdresser will know for sure whether

Mr. Buffet's on board.

 

[EB_OBS]

Any idea what's happening to 7 (12) today on the Surrey cutoff? It left Fargo only 17 minutes late but still has not made it to Minot. According to the amtrak tracker map it has been stopped quite a bit and still closer to Fargo than Minot.

Switch failure.

 

[montana mike]

It is now well over 8 hours behind-arrrrgh. And #7 left CHI over 3 hours behind. The Empire Builders just cannot catch a break at all.

:-(

 

[montana mike]

Update on BNSF capital spending in 2014. Most have heard or seen the news reports that BNSF will spend $900 million on the Hi-Line this year. A partial breakdown on where this $$ will be spent was shared with me. Of course most of the effort will be concentrated in eastern MT and most of ND, but not to build extra trackage. My BNSF contacts say a lot of upgrades to existing tracks, track beds, switches and sidings and repairs are needed--after about three years of "very light maintenance" (read neglect). He said internal BNSF memos already are indicating that the summer slow downs and traffic issues may rival some of the delays seen this winter, but hopefully not on a daily basis like we see now. The only saving grace would be fewer grain shipments thru the summer months, but as my BNSF guy pointed out the additional tanker cars are scheduled to begin arriving late second quarter, so their increased numbers will probably just offset any decrease in grain cars.

He said personally he would expect if everything went "well" the EB's will likely average 4-5 hour delays BOTH ways this summer, with perhaps slightly better time on weekends (freight traffic is slightly less on the weekends) and a slightly worse average Mon thru Fri. He said the project "slow orders" charts he has seen cover over 800 miles of hi-line trackage over the course of the summer (not all at once fortunately, but it gives one an appreciation for the scope of what will be going on). Lastly, he reminded me this is a multi-year project. No quick fix.

 

[Just-Thinking-51]

So we need to file a complain to the STB and force BNSF to add track? Or should we try and break up the marriage of BNSF and BH.

Last year 2 hour delay, this year 4 hours, next year 6 ???

Going the wrong way.

 

[CHamilton]

Train 8(20) left Seattle on time, but it may be headed for some delays. According to a knowledgeable source, "due to extreme snow, BNSF is annulling trains over Stevens Pass for several hours. Snow is falling at 3-7" per hour. No ETA of reopening."

The traffic camera at Stevens Pass summit is definitely showing lots of snow.

 

[CHamilton]

Sounds like BNSF freight traffic is moving again through Stevens Pass, although some was rerouted through Stampede Pass. Train 8 got through the Cascade Tunnel, and looks to be approaching Leavenworth.