Westbound Lake Shore Limited (49) delays in May?

[Jacob Goes By Jack]

Hi forum,

I was thinking of taking Amtrak from New York to Toledo, OH this May to visit relatives in Michigan nearby. However, I have limited time for the visit and it looks from Amtrak's status website like these days the westbound #49 is routinely delayed over 2 and a half hours by the time it reaches Toledo, and often much longer (4+ hours.) Is this normal year round? Should I probably expect this in May as well? If so, I'll have to fly due to tight schedule. I'm ok on this trip with a slight risk of a big delay, but not with a near guarantee (as it seems to be these days.)

Any insight 3 months in advance?

-Jack

 

[AmtrakBlue]

I suspect a lot of the delay is due to the weather, but it is also known to run into delays in NY state, so hard to tell. I'm sure others w/more knowledge will chime in.

 

[neroden]

NS and CSX have been making a royal mess of their dispatching lately. In previous years, the LSL was usually either on time or 2 hours late into Toledo in the summer. But past performance is no predictor of future results, etc.