Empire Builder Schedule Change

[TrainLoverJoy]

I just got notification from Amtrak that my upcoming Empire Builder#27 trip on April 24 has a new arrival time.......from 10:10am to 11:40am. In doing some checking I see this takes effect April 15......and the minutes start getting added west of Minot. It's about time!!

 

[lionelhoguy]

I have a short trip planned from CBS to MSP April 15 and returning on April 26th and I have not received a notice yet. I was kind of looking forward to a 12 noon departure from MSP to CBS instead of 7:00am. I guess I will have to keep looking for my notice.

 

[fairviewroad]

These changes are being discussed in page 5 of this thread, though I'd support the notion of making the schedule change a new thread.

 

[TrainLoverJoy]

I have a short trip planned from CBS to MSP April 15 and returning on April 26th and I have not received a notice yet. I was kind of looking forward to a 12 noon departure from MSP to CBS instead of 7:00am. I guess I will have to keep looking for my notice.

For some reason this schedule change is only on westbound EB.....at least for right now.

 

[Henry Kisor]

Amtrak Media Relations issued a release today that the EASTBOUND Builder will be departing Seattle at 1:40 p.m. rather than 4:40 p.m. beginning April 15. Didn't say how long the "temporary schedule" would last.

 

[Henry Kisor]

Oops, forgot to say that No. 28 will be departing Portland also at 1:40 p.m.

 

[Texan Eagle]

Oops, forgot to say that No. 28 will be departing Portland also at 1:40 p.m.

So bye bye to Starlight-Builder connection forever?

What about #27? Will it be arriving before southbound Starlight or is that connection also being broken?

 

[Ryan]

Not forever, just until BNSF gets their crap together.

The 27-11 connection has been broken for months.

 

[montana mike]

I have a short trip planned from CBS to MSP April 15 and returning on April 26th and I have not received a notice yet. I was kind of looking forward to a 12 noon departure from MSP to CBS instead of 7:00am. I guess I will have to keep looking for my notice.

For some reason this schedule change is only on westbound EB.....at least for right now.

Well, not exactly. Amtrak starts adding lots of time from MOT west. About 90 minutes later from there to SEA and PDX

 

[Texan Eagle]

Not forever, just until BNSF gets their crap together.

Haha, we know how well that went with Sunset East. Once Amtrak loosens its stance, the freight companies are not going to let them tighten up the schedule again.

 

[zephyr17]

Not forever, just until BNSF gets their crap together.

Haha, we know how well that went with Sunset East. Once Amtrak loosens its stance, the freight companies are not going to let them tighten up the schedule again.

Not entirely true. A few years ago, the Sunset was moved from it's traditional 10 pm departure time from Los Angeles to a mid afternoon departure (2:40 seems to ring a bell), for exactly the same reasons. It couldn't make it with the UP meltdown and was consistently hours and hours late. UP and Amtrak set that hugely padded schedule and UP kept it on time fairly well with it (not a huge accomplishment. That schedule had like double digit pads).

In any event, when things on UP cleared up, and they had put large swaths of double track on the Sunset Route, Amtrak and UP again agreed on a revised schedule, which put it back close to its traditional schedule with the 10 pm LA departure. And that was UP we are talking about.

 

[Ryan]

An excellent example.

Also, there's a huge difference between restoring a train that isn't running and changing the schedule. Once you stop running a train for a while, you lose the personnel needed to run it and the equipment is put to different uses (less a problem for the SL, since the equipment just sits in NOL when it should be running to Florida).

 

[June the Coach Rider]

http://www.amtrak.com/ccurl/213/614/Amtrak-Modified-Empire-Builder-Schedule-ATK-14-033.pdf

This includes the new schedules on the second page.

 

[NorthCoastHiawatha]

http://www.amtrak.com/ccurl/213/614/Amtrak-Modified-Empire-Builder-Schedule-ATK-14-033.pdf

This includes the new schedules on the second page.

Oddly enough for passengers traveling between Seattle and Spokane that would actually be a nicer arrival time.

 

[fairviewroad]

http://www.amtrak.com/ccurl/213/614/Amtrak-Modified-Empire-Builder-Schedule-ATK-14-033.pdf

This includes the new schedules on the second page.

Oddly enough for passengers traveling between Seattle and Spokane that would actually be a nicer arrival time.

Yeah, definitely some winners and losers here. SEA-Spokane is a winner eastbound. WFH is a loser eastbound.

MSP, in theory, a winner since times haven't changed and the train is more likely to be closer to on-time eastbound.

 

[montana mike]

http://www.amtrak.com/ccurl/213/614/Amtrak-Modified-Empire-Builder-Schedule-ATK-14-033.pdf

This includes the new schedules on the second page.

Oddly enough for passengers traveling between Seattle and Spokane that would actually be a nicer arrival time.

Yeah, definitely some winners and losers here. SEA-Spokane is a winner eastbound. WFH is a loser eastbound.

MSP, in theory, a winner since times haven't changed and the train is more likely to be closer to on-time eastbound.

As a WFH traveler I feel we lost both ways. :-(((

 

[rusty spike]

Well all is not lost. AGR is allowing the next day connection from #14 (CS) to #28 (EB) on the same reward, but the hotel/meals in Portland is on your dime. I don't mind the stay over but as mentioned, you are delivered to Whitefish at the ungodly hour of 4:26 AM. hboy:

 

[gn2276]

It starts April 15 and I heard will run until at least the end of May.

 

[CHamilton]

The new EB schedule: more laughs than Jimmy Fallon, more padding than Dolly Parton.

 

[Trogdor]

Not forever, just until BNSF gets their crap together.

Haha, we know how well that went with Sunset East. Once Amtrak loosens its stance, the freight companies are not going to let them tighten up the schedule again.

Not entirely true. A few years ago, the Sunset was moved from it's traditional 10 pm departure time from Los Angeles to a mid afternoon departure (2:40 seems to ring a bell), for exactly the same reasons. It couldn't make it with the UP meltdown and was consistently hours and hours late. UP and Amtrak set that hugely padded schedule and UP kept it on time fairly well with it (not a huge accomplishment. That schedule had like double digit pads).
In any event, when things on UP cleared up, and they had put large swaths of double track on the Sunset Route, Amtrak and UP again agreed on a revised schedule, which put it back close to its traditional schedule with the 10 pm LA departure. And that was UP we are talking about.

The Sunset changed its departure time to 10 pm, but the total travel time has not changed. There was a lot of attempted negotiation over that, but UP wouldn't budge.

As I noted in the other thread, one of the likely contributors to it taking this long to make the schedule change was to ensure the proper contractual wording was in place to allow Amtrak to restore the old schedule within some period of time (even if that period is measured in years). Amtrak has learned a lot about dealing with host railroads in the past ten years.

 

[EB_OBS]

. Amtrak has learned a lot about dealing with host railroads in the past ten years.

For what's it's worth I did hear upper Amtrak management state that the BNSF is overall "one of the best host railroads we do business with." "It's just the congestion on this route."

So I suppose the only way it could actually be any worse would be if we were dealing with say, the UP, instead of BNSF.

 

[D.P. Roberts]

http://www.amtrak.com/ccurl/213/614/Amtrak-Modified-Empire-Builder-Schedule-ATK-14-033.pdf

This includes the new schedules on the second page.

I think it's interesting that the introductory letter indicates that there may be "further schedule changes possible in June," but the actual posted timetable doesn't post an end date at all.

 

[EB_OBS]

http://www.amtrak.com/ccurl/213/614/Amtrak-Modified-Empire-Builder-Schedule-ATK-14-033.pdf

This includes the new schedules on the second page.

I think it's interesting that the introductory letter indicates that there may be "further schedule changes possible in June," but the actual posted timetable doesn't post an end date at all.

I'm guessing that a schedule change will be around for at least 18 to 24 months. There will likely be some tweaking one way or the other.

 

[montana mike]

I am thinking that Amtrak is waiting to see how things go for this "trial period" and if the tardiness is still bad, they may agree with BNSF's original recommended schedule shifts as an alternative. With the increasing freight traffic and the construction efforts all coming into play shortly we are heading into uncharted territory here.

 

[andersone]

this little twist, if continued, will make one day of my vacation hell,,,,, there is not rental pickup in west glacier so i have to get up in the morning and head east,,, was gonna be a 9 am departure, now 6,,,, oh well if this is as bad as it gets,,,,,