San Joaquin Switch

[tomfuller]

I just got a phone call from Amtrak (no email yet) I have a reservation from SAC to New Hall (Santa Clarita) on Feb. 6. The original reservation was bus from SAC to SKN then San Joaquin all the way to Bakersfield and another bus to NHL (regular bus to LAX).

Now the plan is the bus to Stockton and another bus from Stockton to Modesto then the 712 San Joaquin to Bakersfield. I may be a little later to NHL than I planned.

The website is still showing the 712 from Stockton. The news still says that southbound San Joaquins are not affected.

Anyone else going south on a San Joaquin that this will affect?

 

[roadman3313]

I don't see any changes that have been uploaded to the reservation system as of yet. Were there any more specifics provided or was a new E-Ticket issued? The track work referenced online is rail and tie replacement being performed by UP between RIC and MTZ. This is being performed between 7pm and 4am and shouldn't affect any Southbound San Joaquin's.

If it is a legitimate change, the only thing I can think of is a track project being performed by BNSF on the San Joaquin route that will necessitate bus substitution along a portion of the route. If so, it may not have been loaded into the system yet. They should issue you a new E-Ticket which will be your biggest clue as to what is going on (i.e. the bus number between SKN and MOD).

 

[roadman3313]

The information has now been posted to Amtrak.com:

"San Joaquin Trains 701, 702, 711, 712 and 714: Track Work Affects Service and Schedules

Effective January 26 - 30 and February 2 - 6, 2014

Track work being performed by BNSF Railway will affect San Joaquin service and schedules, as described below:

Busing between Stockton and Modesto January 26 - 30 and February 2 - 6, 2014

• Train 701 and 711 will terminate at Modesto, where passengers will board a bus to Stockton. At Stockton, passengers will transfer to another San Joaquin train and continue on to their destination.
• Trains 702 and 712 will terminate at Stockton, where passengers will board a bus to Modesto. At Modesto, passengers will transfer to another San Joaquin train and continue on to their destination.

Temporary Schedule Change Trains 701, 702 and 712: January 26 - 30 and February 2 - 6, 2014Trains 701, 702 and 712 will arrive at their end points 45 minutes later than the times shown in Amtrak printed timetables on January 26 - 30 and February 2 - 6, 2014:

• Train 701 will arrive in Sacramento at 1:15 pm
• Trains 702 will arrive in Bakersfield at 12:47 pm
• Train 712 will arrive in Bakersfield at 2:26 pm

Train 711: January 26 - 30, 2014On January 26 - 30, Train 711 will depart Stockton 30 minutes later at 9:31 am, depart later from intermediate stations and arrive at Oakland at 12 noon, 60 minutes later than the time shown in Amtrak printed timetables.

Train 711: February 2 - 6, 2014On February 2 - 6, Train 711 will depart Stockton 30 minutes later at 9:31 am, depart later from intermediate stations and arrive in Oakland at 11:45 am, 45 minutes later than the time shown in Amtrak printed timetables.

Train 714: Possible DelayPassengers aboard Train 714 may encounter delays of up to 30 minutes between Stockton and Bakersfield.

Thank you for traveling with Amtrak. We appreciate your patronage and apologize for any inconvenience you may experience. Reservation and train status information is available on Amtrak.com, our free mobile apps and at 1-800-USA-RAIL (1-800-872-7245).

Like us on facebook.com/Amtrak and follow us on twitter.com/Amtrak. Check out our blog at blog.amtrak.com.

PSN 0114-32"

As a side note I noticed that for both this project and the one on the Capitol Corridor route Amtrak has only changed the timepoint at the final stop along the route. I assume this is to assist with posting an "on-time" arrival for the train statistically as they use the end-point in making that OTP determination. Also, I assume that it also is to prevent from having the train hold at intermediate stops in the event the work does not delay the train as severely as they anticipate. Before, Amtrak adjusted all the time points from the project site onward. Recently they have addopted this new method it seems.

 

[tomfuller]

Still have not got a promised email from Amtrak on this. It looks like I'l be about 40 minutes later into New Hall but at least it will still be daylight. 4:05 vs 3:25 on my eticket.

We can always hope that they will finish the track work on the 5th. The schedule still does not show a bus # from Stockton to Modesto.