#29 & 30 C.L. canceled on Labor day weekend??

[amtrakmichigan]

I was just looking for a possible weekend getaway and noticed that the reservation system shows train 30 canceled from CHI-WAS on Sept 5 and 6. Also train 29 is canceled from WAS-CHI on Sept 6 and 7. Just wondering what that could be all about. Seems like a bad time to take the Cap out of service, but maybe a good time for track maintenance over a holiday weekend?

 

[jebr]

It looks like the train is being annulled in Pittsburgh and replaced with a Thruway bus. No stated reason, but guessing it would be due to track work.

 

[Thirdrail7]

CSX is scheduled to replace a bridge by CUM so the entire line is closed to all traffic. 29 and 30 will operate WAS-PGH on the dates listed above.

 

[neroden]

Yet another example of where the Broadway Limited/Three Rivers, or the "through cars" from the Capitol Limited to the Pennsylvanian, would be a good idea. It's a weird artifact of mistakes made by Gunn that the Capitol Limited is running and the Three Rivers isn't. (Philly is a bigger metro area than DC, so Chicago-Philly is a more important route than Chicago-DC.)

 

[jis]

I wonder if this will cause the Cardinal to get additional Sleeper assigned to it that weekend. I will be on the Card that Saturday CHI - WAS.

 

[west point]

One possibility would be to add thru coaches WASH - PHL - Pennsylvanian - Pittsburg the capital schedule but will never happen.

 

[Thirdrail7]

I wonder if this will cause the Cardinal to get additional Sleeper assigned to it that weekend. I will be on the Card that Saturday CHIA - WAS.

It is possible....but not probable.

 

[afigg]

Yet another example of where the Broadway Limited/Three Rivers, or the "through cars" from the Capitol Limited to the Pennsylvanian, would be a good idea. It's a weird artifact of mistakes made by Gunn that the Capitol Limited is running and the Three Rivers isn't. (Philly is a bigger metro area than DC, so Chicago-Philly is a more important route than Chicago-DC.)

Actually, according to the 2014 populations stats, the Philadelphia and Washington DC Metropolitan Statistical Areas now have almost the same MSA population: 6.05 million for Philly and 6.03 million for DC. Source: Wikipedia list of US MSAs. Given population growth trends, the DC MSA will move ahead of Philly MSA in the next couple of years. yes, this is being picky.

What the MSA population numbers show when combined with the size and ridership numbers of the respective transit systems, is that Amtrak should be running both the Capitol Limited and a restored Three Rivers/Broadway Limited, so there is reasonably direct LD train service between all 4 major cities of the NEC that have extended rail transit systems and Chicago & the Mid-west. And a restored TR/BL would provide NYC with an option to the LSL and the long way around on the 3 day a week Cardinal. If the Viewliner IIs had been delivered close to the original schedule, through-cars with a sleeper car may have been running on the Pennsylvanian as an option for those wanting to skip this WAS-PGH weekend bustitution.

 

[VentureForth]

Besides, there are more power-wielding politicians in DC than Philly.