SWC Disruption

[CNW]

Am planning to book a trip in near future which will involve leaving KCY on the SWC and arriving in GBB and waiting the afternoon for the CZ to DEN. I often look at the Amtrak status website and map and I don't understand the service disruption part of it. When it says a service disruption occurred on a certain day like it says for 6/30 does that mean the train did not run at all or only to a certain station and if so what happens to the PAX?

 

[caravanman]

Hi,

I might be giving misleading info here, but others will no doubt correct me if so..

When a service disruption occurs, that seems to indicate that the train can no longer complete its route, rather than just experiencing a "delay". This can be for any number of reasons, and could meant it failed to start it's journey, or more likley, encountered technical problems en route. You should contact an Amtrak agent if you hear of a disruption, as there is no set response. It might result in a train being cancelled just one day, or for several days, eg in the case of flooding or landslide, or it might be that a bus is being provided to work around a minor problem. If you are aboard a train which has a problem, Amtrak will try to work to get you to your ticketed destination.. This might be mean transfering to a bus, or just waiting aboard the train untill the problem is fixed.

If a train is halted en route before you board it, then your choices are often limited, and you can only call Amtrak and ask what, if any, alternatives there are for you, such as re-booking a day later.

It seems a good plan to me to always have a few decent snacks and a drink in your carry on luggage, just in case, too!

Ed

 

[MikeM]

I think it'll keep showing service disruption until the wash out around Las Vegas NM is resolved, which should be later this week, hopefully.... But you can still travel the whole route, it's just there's a bus for four hours you'll get to experience mid-route...

 

[MJL]

I think it'll keep showing service disruption until the wash out around Las Vegas NM is resolved, which should be later this week, hopefully.... But you can still travel the whole route, it's just there's a bus for four hours you'll get to experience mid-route...

How long do you think the wash situation will last? And IF this is the source of the service disruption noted, will that affect the KCY to GBB or CHI timing?

 

[chertling]

Well, I can't be certain this has been the case for every day of the "Service Disruption"... but yesterday morning, I happened to be driving on I-35 past KC's Union Station right as the SWC was pulling into the station. It was arriving around 7:45... or about 30 minutes late. If that is the typical delay, the connection in GBB should still be fine. Typically, when the SWC is running late, the crew does whatever they can to speed up the service stop in KC to make up some time.

 

[amtkstn]

From KC to Galesburg is a lot of fast straight track with some of it with a 90 mph speed limit. The only deleys can be at Fort Madison if the bridge is up or making the connection between the former Santa Fe and the former BN(CB&Q) at Cameron.