Question

[starlight11]

Hey guys... couple of questions...

In June I'm planning to take the Lakeshore Limited from NYC to Chicago and then jump on the Zephyr for the California Coast. The Lakeshore LTD arrives Chicago about 3.5 hrs before the departure of the Zephyr. How risky of a timetable is this? The LTD is listed as being on time over 80 percent of the time. Would I be advised to take another route into Chicago to give more leeway or is it likely that I will be fine on the LTD, which is the route I prefer.

If my train is late coming into Chicago and I miss the departure of my westbound Zephyr, would Amtrak be able to get me onto a sleeper on the train that goes out the following day? What would be the recommended solution, should my LTD arrive too late to make the connection?

Thanks!

 

[Eric S]

I realize this isn't a direct answer to your question, but the Lake Shore Limited arrives Chicago over 4 hours before the California Zephyr departs (9:45am and 2:00pm).

If the LSL is late enough that you miss the connection to the CZ, Amtrak will take care of you in some way (put you up in CHI for the night, bus you ahead from some point on the LSL before CHI to some point on the CZ after CHI, or something like that).

 

[AlanB]

The only other viable option is the Capitol Limited, which only adds 1 hour more to the layover time between trains. And there is a good chance that if the LSL gets delayed so badly that it misses the connection, the delays will also affect the Capitol too. From Cleveland to Chicago, both trains run on the same route.

So I'd just go with the flow and hope for the best. If not, Amtrak will put you up overnight if you're really delayed or perhaps will bus you if you just miss the Zephyr. However, if they do have to overnight you, it will be the luck of the draw regarding getting a sleeper. If the train the next day is sold out, then there is nothing that they can do. You could try to see if you could get back into the sleeper on the second night, maybe only the first night is sold out. Also, make your best effort to be first in line at the customer service area, so that you get first shot at any available sleepers for the next day.

 

[darien-l]

I would say that as far as connections go, this one is very solid. It would take a pretty extraordinary set of circumstances for you to miss this connection. You can use http://www.amtrakdelays.com to check the OTP for Lake Shore Limited (train #49) into Chicago in the last month: it never even came close to getting delayed that much. In the very unlikely event the LSL is that delayed, chances are pretty good that they would hold CZ for an hour or two: there are usually a lot of passengers making this connection.