Yesterday (Thursday) I rode the Lincoln Service from Chicago to Springfield and back. I was traveling with a group of Midwest High Speed Rail Association members, and the purpose of the trip was to lobby the Illinois legislature for ... more trains! :lol:
Woke at the ungodly early hour of 5am and took the 5:54am Metra UP-Northwest train from Des Plaines to Chicago (Ogilvie). I was somewhat surprised to see that the train was PACKED!. I know from my daily commute that the later trains are routinely packed, but so many people traveling so early was still a surprise.
At Ogilvie, crossed the street to Union Station, bought 2 bottles of soda at one of the lobby shops in the station, and went to the gate area, where they were already boarding the 7:00 am Lincoln Service train. Signed the ticket when the "gate agent" reminded me, then walked out on the platform to the train, where a conductor directed me to a particular car based on the fact that I was going to Springfield.
There were three coaches and a cafe/business car, so I am fairly sure they were grouping passengers by destination: one car for Bloomington-Normal passengers, one for Springfield passengers, and one for Alton and St. Louis passengers. This control was necessary; the train was PACKED!. (See a theme here? :lol: )
We left on time, and were told that the cafe would open after about 20 minutes because it was stocked late at Chicago. Sure enough, they opened the cafe right about 20 minutes out from CHI. The cafe line ran out into the vestibule until the opening "crush" was served.
I bought the cheeseburger and the cheese & cracker tray, both of which I've had before and like. I personally feel Amtrak cafe food is fine, but I had bought the sodas in CUS because soda is soda and I didn't feel like paying the Am-cafe prices for a can of soda. Paid by credit card, which was rung up electronically and not on carbon forms like it was just a few years back.
Unfortunately, the cafe line was moving faster than the train at that point, which was not moving at all. Shortly past the Brighton Park service facility, we stopped for a Metra train to pass. It passed after only two-three minutes, but then the conductor told us we were still holding for a Metra train to pass. :huh: After about 45 minutes, another Metra train passed us, <_< and we were on our way a short time later. Another brief trip into a one-way siding -- go in forward, but back out -- near Bloomington put us into Springfield almost precisely one hour late.
The train nearly half emptied at Bloomington-Normal, not surprisingly mostly college-age people. Many of the rest of the coach passengers got off at Springfield. When I stuck my head into the business-class section shortly before our Springfield stop, it was somewhat more than half full, which is not bad considering business class on the Midwest trains gets (IIRC) only a nicer seat and a free non-alcoholic drink.
Our lobbying done (and hopefully successful!) we came back on the 4:57 departure from Springfield, which was about 15 minutes late according to the station display. It was actually a little more than 20 minutes late on arrival, and about 25 minutes late at departure. A large crowd boarded in Springfield, including many people in suits and ties, showing that it's not just the college crowd or tourists using the Lincoln Service between CHI and SPI. Again, the conductors directed Chicago-bound people to one car and people going to intermediate stops to another.
When I went back to the business/cafe car, business class was again more than half full. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the cafe was still open while we were within the Chicago city limits, showing that Amtrak is at least trying to live up to cafes being open bumper-to-bumper. All the tables were full of people drinking their alcoholic beverages of choice and chatting quite loudly -- a real party atmosphere!
Even in the PACKED coaches (see the theme again :lol: ), people chatted across the aisle, wandered around to find friends riding in other cars, looked out the back of the train, etc., throughout the trip. Not something you would see on a plane!
We experienced few delays going back to Chicago, except for about 10 minutes waiting for a crossing freight train at Brighton Crossing. We arrived into CUS almost exactly a half-hour late from the scheduled 8:40pm arrival, and I crossed the street to catch my (PACKED again!) homeward 9:30 pm Metra.
All in all, a long day, but also an object reminder why I was going to Springfield -- if you run more trains, they will come!
Woke at the ungodly early hour of 5am and took the 5:54am Metra UP-Northwest train from Des Plaines to Chicago (Ogilvie). I was somewhat surprised to see that the train was PACKED!. I know from my daily commute that the later trains are routinely packed, but so many people traveling so early was still a surprise.
At Ogilvie, crossed the street to Union Station, bought 2 bottles of soda at one of the lobby shops in the station, and went to the gate area, where they were already boarding the 7:00 am Lincoln Service train. Signed the ticket when the "gate agent" reminded me, then walked out on the platform to the train, where a conductor directed me to a particular car based on the fact that I was going to Springfield.
There were three coaches and a cafe/business car, so I am fairly sure they were grouping passengers by destination: one car for Bloomington-Normal passengers, one for Springfield passengers, and one for Alton and St. Louis passengers. This control was necessary; the train was PACKED!. (See a theme here? :lol: )
We left on time, and were told that the cafe would open after about 20 minutes because it was stocked late at Chicago. Sure enough, they opened the cafe right about 20 minutes out from CHI. The cafe line ran out into the vestibule until the opening "crush" was served.
I bought the cheeseburger and the cheese & cracker tray, both of which I've had before and like. I personally feel Amtrak cafe food is fine, but I had bought the sodas in CUS because soda is soda and I didn't feel like paying the Am-cafe prices for a can of soda. Paid by credit card, which was rung up electronically and not on carbon forms like it was just a few years back.
Unfortunately, the cafe line was moving faster than the train at that point, which was not moving at all. Shortly past the Brighton Park service facility, we stopped for a Metra train to pass. It passed after only two-three minutes, but then the conductor told us we were still holding for a Metra train to pass. :huh: After about 45 minutes, another Metra train passed us, <_< and we were on our way a short time later. Another brief trip into a one-way siding -- go in forward, but back out -- near Bloomington put us into Springfield almost precisely one hour late.
The train nearly half emptied at Bloomington-Normal, not surprisingly mostly college-age people. Many of the rest of the coach passengers got off at Springfield. When I stuck my head into the business-class section shortly before our Springfield stop, it was somewhat more than half full, which is not bad considering business class on the Midwest trains gets (IIRC) only a nicer seat and a free non-alcoholic drink.
Our lobbying done (and hopefully successful!) we came back on the 4:57 departure from Springfield, which was about 15 minutes late according to the station display. It was actually a little more than 20 minutes late on arrival, and about 25 minutes late at departure. A large crowd boarded in Springfield, including many people in suits and ties, showing that it's not just the college crowd or tourists using the Lincoln Service between CHI and SPI. Again, the conductors directed Chicago-bound people to one car and people going to intermediate stops to another.
When I went back to the business/cafe car, business class was again more than half full. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the cafe was still open while we were within the Chicago city limits, showing that Amtrak is at least trying to live up to cafes being open bumper-to-bumper. All the tables were full of people drinking their alcoholic beverages of choice and chatting quite loudly -- a real party atmosphere!
Even in the PACKED coaches (see the theme again :lol: ), people chatted across the aisle, wandered around to find friends riding in other cars, looked out the back of the train, etc., throughout the trip. Not something you would see on a plane!
We experienced few delays going back to Chicago, except for about 10 minutes waiting for a crossing freight train at Brighton Crossing. We arrived into CUS almost exactly a half-hour late from the scheduled 8:40pm arrival, and I crossed the street to catch my (PACKED again!) homeward 9:30 pm Metra.
All in all, a long day, but also an object reminder why I was going to Springfield -- if you run more trains, they will come!
