Empire Builder Summer Blues Started Early this year

[Steve4031]

8 is due to arrive Chicago on 8:30. My friend states that he has been rebooked on 48 for his connection to Cleveland. He was notified of this at milwaukee. He also has sleeper space.

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

The train didn't skip any stops.

I'm glad it didn't! Must be a glitch, then.

 

[RRUserious]

If it gets far behind, the passengers on board will be served the food meant for an on-time schedule. Result: Passengers who booked a sleeper including paid-for dinner will now get some cheap substitute. And no refund for not delivering the hot dinner. That's what I got.

 

[montana mike]

As we feared--#8 in ND this AM is about 8 hours behind--arrrrrrrrgh. And #7 yesterday appears to be turning in SPK today because it was almost 8 hours behind as well.

No way to run a RR--sadly.......

 

[amamba]

If it gets far behind, the passengers on board will be served the food meant for an on-time schedule. Result: Passengers who booked a sleeper including paid-for dinner will now get some cheap substitute. And no refund for not delivering the hot dinner. That's what I got.

Call customer relations after the trip and you will get a voucher.

Sorry you are so far behind.

 

[Ispolkom]

We arrived in Minot today on #8 at 5 am, 8 hours late. One reason we lost additional time overnight was the train going slow by several work crews adding track and replacing ties between Stanley and Minot. I'm not used to middle-of-the-night maintenance of way, but I suppose that they work when they can.

It was a beautiful night, lit by a bright moon, but still not one of my favorite trips. I hope Saturday's train east isn't as late.

 

[JayPea]

Mrs. Ispolkom and I just finished breakfast at the Izaak Walton Inn, and given how late #8 is, it looks like we'll have lunch here too. ...Oh well, better stuck here than in Glasgow, and now I'm really glad we booked a roomette for the day trip between Essex and Minot.

Yes, at least you can have some huckleberry cobbler! Too bad about the delays, but Essex is a really nice place to stay while waiting.

Glasgow will forever hold a dear place in my hard to my unexpected 20 hour stay. But yes, there is truly nothing thing of merit. Sorry Montanans.

Reminds me of a time several years ago, when an eastbound (I believe) EB had a perfect storm of events in the hinterlands of Eastern Washington: The lead locomotive died, which of course meant waiting for a replacement from BNSF, which in turn also died. Add of course crews timing out and it resulted in a large wait, 10-12 hours, I believe, at the town of Wilson Creek. I wasn't on the train, but couldn't help thinking that Wilson Creek was a devil* of a place to be stranded. :lol: :

*Wilson Creek High School's nickname for its athletic teams, what few of them there are, is the Devils. :lol:

 

[JayPea]

I don't understand why Amtrak can't issue service alerts for the ongoing trackwork. Those of us that have been around the block on Amtrak know what's happening with late trains and why, and know that the EB this time of year will be hours late, regardless of direction. But a newbie to Amtrak travel would be unlikely to know this, with missed connections and increasing frustration levels a result. I have to wonder how many newbies have said "Never again!" to Amtrak travel simply because they had no clue what was going on with the EB.

 

[montana mike]

I had a brief discussion with an Amtrak CS rep yesterday-right after I purchased my ticket for an EB adventure later this Fall and asked just that question. She was verrrrry well aware of the EB's troubles this summer and the missed connections (which she said have really made a mess of trying to get people to their ultimate destinations). She either did not know or would not say why AMtrak has not put out some sort of service bulletin, but she did agree this was not a short term issue, as the BNSF people had recently briefed Amtrak officials about actually stepping up the pace of track work throughout many places on the hi-line in order to meet huge increases in rail traffic over the next couple years. Ouch!!

It certainly would seem to make the most sense to alert people to this fact, but then again, I would also think this would effect ticket sales if Amtrak admitted that the EB could be as much as 8 hours late on a trip.......

 

[jebr]

It seems like the crazy (over 3.5 hour) delays could be mitigated if they would just always turn in Spokane. Not ideal, but maybe Amtrak simply always turns in Spokane and bustitutes the rest of the way. (An extra set in Seattle/Portland would also work, if that's possible.)

If Amtrak could turn the train so that it hits the construction on time, that would help a lot. This isn't all BNSF's fault.

 

[Rail Freak]

I'll be leaving WGL tonight on #7. Received an e-mail & phone message this morning saying the train will be 46 minutes late. I have a feeling that it will be much longer than that!!!

 

[Bob Dylan]

Hopefully the Beer is Cold and the Snacks are Good in WGL while you wait for the New Year, er the Empire Builder! Good luck, we look forward to your Adventure across the Wilds of Montana and North Dakota! ^_^

 

[Ryan]

It seems like the crazy (over 3.5 hour) delays could be mitigated if they would just always turn in Spokane. Not ideal, but maybe Amtrak simply always turns in Spokane and bustitutes the rest of the way. (An extra set in Seattle/Portland would also work, if that's possible.)
If Amtrak could turn the train so that it hits the construction on time, that would help a lot. This isn't all BNSF's fault.

Or do what they did last year and scrounge up an extra set of equipment so that the eastbound trains can always start on time without having to wait for equipment.
Has enough equipment been lost in the past year to stop this?

 

[CHamilton]

#8 is close to 10 hours late out of Detroit Lakes.

* DLK * * 3 310A * 1255P Departed: 9 hours and 45 minutes late.
Edited to fix station info. Too many lakes in that part of the world.

 

[jebr]

#8 is close to 10 hours late out of Devil's Lake.

* DLK * * 3 310A * 1255P Departed: 9 hours and 45 minutes late.

DLK would be Detroit Lakes, actually. Will be interesting to see how it does through Minnesota here. Seems like every connection will be missed here...hotels will be loving Amtrak tonight!

 

[RRUserious]

#8 is close to 10 hours late out of Devil's Lake.

* DLK * * 3 310A * 1255P Departed: 9 hours and 45 minutes late.

DLK would be Detroit Lakes, actually. Will be interesting to see how it does through Minnesota here. Seems like every connection will be missed here...hotels will be loving Amtrak tonight!

Late trains aren't everybody's misfortune. Berkshire Hathaway should own some of those hotels too that their coal trains will make business for!

 

[Empire Builder tracker]

This train has been cursed since Seattle!

* SEATTLE * * 1 440P * 955P Departed: 5 hours and 15 minutes late.* EDMONDS * * 1 512P * 1029P Departed: 5 hours and 17 minutes late.* EVERETT * * 1 539P * 1102P Departed: 5 hours and 23 minutes late.* LEAVENWORTH * * 1 800P * 848P Departed: 4 hours and 48 minutes late.* WENATCHEE 1 832P 1 842P 202A 211A Departed: 5 hours and 29 minutes late.* EPHRATA * * 1 942P * 1027P Departed: 4 hours and 45 minutes late.* SPOKANE 2 1245A 2 130A 521A 618A Departed: 4 hours and 48 minutes late.* SANDPOINT * * 2 235A * 315A Departed: 4 hours and 40 minutes late.* LIBBY * * 2 526A * 600A Departed: 4 hours and 34 minutes late.* WHITEFISH 2 726A 2 746A 1221P 1234P Departed: 4 hours and 48 minutes late.* WEST GLACIER * * 2 816A * 840A Departed: 4 hours and 24 minutes late. ESSEX * * 2 855A MT* EAST GLACIER PARK * * 2 954A * 308P Departed: 5 hours and 14 minutes late.* CUT BANK * * 2 1045A * 1108A Departed: 24 hours and 23 minutes late.* SHELBY 2 1138A 2 1143A 429P 434P Departed: 4 hours and 51 minutes late.* HAVRE 2 112P 2 132P 618P 635P Departed: 5 hours and 3 minutes late.* MALTA * * 2 252P * 805P Departed: 5 hours and 13 minutes late.* GLASGOW * * 2 347P * 912P Departed: 5 hours and 25 minutes late.* WOLF POINT * * 2 433P * 1014P Departed: 5 hours and 41 minutes late.* WILLISTON * * 2 709P * 143A Departed: 6 hours and 34 minutes late.* STANLEY * * 2 811P * 322A Departed: 7 hours and 11 minutes late.* MINOT 2 922P 2 942P 508A 532A Departed: 7 hours and 50 minutes late.* RUGBY * * 2 1038P * 620A Departed: 7 hours and 42 minutes late.* DEVILS LAKE * * 2 1132P * 826A Departed: 8 hours and 54 minutes late.* GRAND FORKS * * 3 1257A * 1012A Departed: 9 hours and 15 minutes late.* FARGO * * 3 213A * 1151A Departed: 9 hours and 38 minutes late.* DETROIT LAKES * * 3 310A * 1255P Departed: 9 hours and 45 minutes late. STAPLES * * 3 409A CT* ST. CLOUD 3 502A 3 514A 300P 305P Departed: 9 hours and 51 minutes late. ST. PAUL/MINNEAPOLIS 3 705A 3 750A CT RED WING * * 3 854A CT WINONA 3 1005A 3 1011A CT LA CROSSE * * 3 1047A CT TOMAH * * 3 1126A CT WISCONSIN DELLS * * 3 1208P CT PORTAGE * * 3 1227P CT COLUMBUS * * 3 1257P CT MILWAUKEE 3 207P 3 215P CT GLENVIEW * * 3 312P CT CHICAGO 3 355P * * CT
Hotels in Chicago are going to be a little bit busier tonight.

 

[Fan_Trains]

is it possible that Amtrak Rep. will be boarding the 9 hour late train 8 several hours out of Chicago, to help with passengers to rearrange their connections?

 

[amamba]

is it possible that Amtrak Rep. will be boarding the 9 hour late train 8 several hours out of Chicago, to help with passengers to rearrange their connections?

Yes that is possible.

 

[Tennessee Traveler]

It seems like the crazy (over 3.5 hour) delays could be mitigated if they would just always turn in Spokane. Not ideal, but maybe Amtrak simply always turns in Spokane and bustitutes the rest of the way. (An extra set in Seattle/Portland would also work, if that's possible.)
If Amtrak could turn the train so that it hits the construction on time, that would help a lot. This isn't all BNSF's fault.

Turning in Spokane would not solve the problem as the most delays are on eastbound train 8 between Williston and Minneapolis/St Paul. When I rode in late July we were on time all the way to Williston and lost 3+ hours overnight but luckily arrived in Chicago about 7:15pm with all connecting trains held.

 

[jebr]

It seems like the crazy (over 3.5 hour) delays could be mitigated if they would just always turn in Spokane. Not ideal, but maybe Amtrak simply always turns in Spokane and bustitutes the rest of the way. (An extra set in Seattle/Portland would also work, if that's possible.)

If Amtrak could turn the train so that it hits the construction on time, that would help a lot. This isn't all BNSF's fault.

Turning in Spokane would not solve the problem as the most delays are on eastbound train 8 between Williston and Minneapolis/St Paul. When I rode in late July we were on time all the way to Williston and lost 3+ hours overnight but luckily arrived in Chicago about 7:15pm with all connecting trains held.

True. But it should stop the cascading delays where instead of 3-4 hours late the train is nine to ten hours late.

 

[whitefish mike]

Sadly, timing as to when the EBs arrive in the construction zones is likely problematic. If one looks at the BNSF maintenance scheduling you will see that the work is not just done during a normal work day, but rather at all times during a 24 hour period along the hi-line. It actually makes sense to do it this way, since if all of the work was concentrated in an 8 hour daytime period very few trains would get thru during that timeframe. The delays will be as they are until this year's efforts wind down in the first half of November. As stated before, things will improve, but the reality of the increased freight traffic is a year around deal and the current amount of padding in the EB schedules will likely not be sufficient to overcome the increase in this traffic, so delays will continue to be a part of this route....we just don't know the extent at this time.

 

[RRUserious]

I think the prediction of things improving is optimistic and iffy. They aren't doing the work for recreation. They want to increase traffic. On that line, I've heard optimism repeatedly. Meanwhile, the record gets worse. Realists should buy their ticket expecting the experience of the past or worse. There are always opportunities to bail if it gets intolerable. Till then, the time a trip takes falls in a range, it isn't just some constant.

 

[Whitefishmike]

I think the prediction of things improving is optimistic and iffy. They aren't doing the work for recreation. They want to increase traffic. On that line, I've heard optimism repeatedly. Meanwhile, the record gets worse. Realists should buy their ticket expecting the experience of the past or worse. There are always opportunities to bail if it gets intolerable. Till then, the time a trip takes falls in a range, it isn't just some constant.

And One should be very cautious about making same day connections thru CHI unless it is on one of the late trains!! My advice, if you have the time-enjoy a night on the town in Chicago and leave refreshed and relaxed the next day. I know many folks cannot afford the extra time or the money it costs to stay in one of America's last great cities, but if you can it is worth it!

 

[Bob Dylan]

I think the prediction of things improving is optimistic and iffy. They aren't doing the work for recreation. They want to increase traffic. On that line, I've heard optimism repeatedly. Meanwhile, the record gets worse. Realists should buy their ticket expecting the experience of the past or worse. There are always opportunities to bail if it gets intolerable. Till then, the time a trip takes falls in a range, it isn't just some constant.

And One should be very cautious about making same day connections thru CHI unless it is on one of the late trains!! My advice, if you have the time-enjoy a night on the town in Chicago and leave refreshed and relaxed the next day. I know many folks cannot afford the extra time or the money it costs to stay in one of America's last great cities, but if you can it is worth it!

If you are short on Funds, the Hosteling International on Congress is 8 Blocks from Union Station (you can Walk, Ride the Bus or Hop a Cab )and you can stay for $38 a night in a Shared Room with Bath, Breakfast included! Great Place to Layover!

Cue Sinatra singing "..Chicago, my kind of Town, Chicago is.."