A sad blog post on the Empire Builder

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CHamilton

CHamilton

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This won't be news to anyone here, but it's a blunt assessment of the state of the Builder. Read the whole post.

Mind the gap: Amtrak’s funding dilemma
As a new immigrant to the US the opportunity to travel across the continent by rail – from sea to shining sea – was not to be missed. Seattle to Chicago, Chicago to Boston, three days out, three days back and in between a weekend in the stellar company of Nieman Fellows at their 75th anniversary at Harvard. What’s not to like?...
What followed revealed far more than the epic scenery in my newly chosen country, it showed the daunting determination of pioneers who put a railroad through tremendously harsh terrain, and a distinct lack of ambition by modern-day politicians to build on their legacy.

Our Amtrak adventure began badly. The scheduled departure from Seattle’s King Street Station was delayed due to the unexplained late arrival of the Empire Builder from Chicago.

With no digital displays on site, no wifi, and no useful information from Amtrak there was much confusion among passengers. An hour’s delay became two, then three, then four....

With time hanging heavy and excitement ebbing out the door I started to ponder: Why was there no sense of occasion when arriving at the station? Why wasn’t this route being promoted as a wonder of the rail network?

Where was the signage for Empire Builder travelers? Where was the lounge for those embarking on this 2,200-mile trip? And in a land of hype and hard sell where were the mugs, the T-shirts, the baseball caps and trinkets? Why did we feel forgotten instead of special?...
Click to expand...
 
...and it could have been worse as he made his LSL connection (9/22 SEA dep reached CHI about 4.5 hr. late) and avoided the experience many CHI misconnected pax face when sleepers on the following day's 48 are full with not sufficient cancellations.
 
Sat 5 hours on the Cardinal #50 at 80th street in Chicago 10/19. We left Union exactly on time...I was excited to be on time. But feet from the staion we grind to a hault and sit in the dark without any real info other than 'something ahead is broke'. Very hard for me to believe there was no work around for our issue. We were almost 6 hours late by my stop WSS. Not a good day.
 
They are working on getting a first class lounge in Seattle, but there has never been any digital displays for train times, also Amtrak does not have for sale hats and cups as those things where discontued a few years ago.
 
I was hoping to buy a lapel pin on the Cardinal, but they didn't have any. I don't want to pay s&h, which I'm sure is more than the pin. Maybe if I decide to buy something else online I'll get the pin too.
 
I bought a t-shirt at PDX Union Station last June. It featured two Amtrak engines side by side with a couple steam engines side by side in the background...and the words on the bottom of the shirt say Union Station, Portland, Oregon. They had a few different shirts on sale there.
 
He wants HSR. It ain't gonna happen. Even at HSR average speed, it would still take at least 25 hours to go transcon.

In the current situation, I just use the best option for me, but it's not suitable for this forum, so I will not discuss it here.
 
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I don't believe the writer was asking for high-speed rail, but rather a simple, efficient, modern rail system. Unfortunately, America has such emphasis on a fast-paced life-style, that long-distance travel, if not by air, is ignored. Somehow, the general public believes that Amtrak is nothing more than another drain on the economy, yet believe that the airlines are the epitome of capitalism. They miss the whole point of living; to be able to step back now and then, and simply contemplate.
 
Looking forward to a trip from Boston to Portland, OR, which certainly includes the Builder... I'm getting more and more worried about what we will find. On the Amtrak site they are warning....

Empire Builder Trains 7/27 and 8/28: Temporary Service Delays
Please be advised the Empire Builder has been experiencing delays of two hours or more while operating in North Dakota and Montana.

This is primarily due to temporary speed restrictions imposed by BNSF Railway Co. while it carries out track improvement work. We expect these issues to continue through the construction season this November.

Largely unaffected are Empire Builder trains westbound from Chicago to Fargo, ND, via St. Paul, and Empire Builder trains eastbound from Seattle and Portland to Shelby, MT, via Spokane.

As with all transportation modes, passengers should check for delays before heading to their boarding locations. The most up-to-date Amtrak arrival and departure times are available on Amtrak.com, our free mobile apps and at 1-800-USA-RAIL (1-800-872-7245).

Thank you for traveling with Amtrak. We appreciate your patronage and apologize for any inconvenience.

Join us on facebook.com/Amtrak, and follow us on twitter.com/Amtrak.
 
Scott,

The Builder has been having issues, but don't give up yet. It's still a great train, with outstanding crew and service, and the scenery is still well worth the trip. Keep in mind that:

  • Westbound train 7/27 generally does better than the eastbound train.
  • If you are traveling to Portland, relax, since you won't need to worry about connecting to another train. And Portland is a great city, and you'll have lots of fun.
  • The delays seem to be less on the weekends, so if you can plan to be traveling then, it would be recommended.
  • Montana Mike's BNSF friend says that the construction is finishing up for the year soon, so the delays are likely to lessen.
  • Follow this thread for the latest updates.
Take it easy, and enjoy your trip!
 
While the Empire Builder has struggled with keeping schedule this summer (and on and off over the past couple years due to a variety of factors) I do take exception to the portrayal as the "norm". Yes, the equipment is "getting old", but most of my many treks on the EB's over the past years, and especially recently have been characterized by Amtrak folks who really do care about giving superior service and trying their very best to earn the passenger's loyalty. The food is generally very good-no one should ever go hungry on LD trains-and I would say almost all car attendants go the extra mile to make each journey a pleasant and fun experience.

An example of the service on my last EB trip: The car attendant greeted me with a friendly smile, a newspaper and a chocolate as I boarded the train in MT. After a hearty and filling breakfast in the dining car I was asked if I cared for a Mimosa and another chocolate later that morning! Lunch was a really excellent, a Milwaukee Bratwurst with a wonderful pico de gallo dressing on a Pretzel roll. The PM consisted of a fun and congenial wine and cheese tasting event for about an hour-again with plenty of wine (4 wines), cheeses (4 types), crackers and silliness to pass the time. Dinner was again excellent--the Turkey Shanks are to die for and upon my return from the evening meal (I had a later dinner) my bed was made, another chocolate on the pillow and I was ready to turn in for the night. It's all about people here. This experience is more the norm than what was earlier posted-at least for me it has been. I have taken the EB many times and several other LD trains this year and overall they were very positive travel experiences. Yes, I have sat a waited as our train paused, sometimes for an hour or more for freight traffic or construction, but I have seen firsthand the results of the construction this year--the ride is MUCH smoother on many segments. Who knows, the 79 mph limit may be raised on these excellent new segments-time will tell.

I have enjoyed the EU's generally excellent trains as well and the circumstances are very different. All of the EU would fit in the eastern third of the US. The vast distances, the small communities served by most of Amtrak's LD trains and unique relationship that Amtrak has with its host railroads mitigate against an apples to apples comparison.

I am sorry the writer had a less than positive experience, but these things do happen, despite the best efforts by all concerned. I would not judge the entire system and especially the Empire Builder experience by this one trip.

:)
 
Thanks CH and Montana - I'm still very much looking forward the trip (one of my 'bucket list' items being fulfilled). I don't even much care about the lateness, since I'm in no hurry - and what's the bad news about more time on the train. I haven't had the infamous Stew in quite some time! LOL

I'll certainly report on my experience. We leave 11/10.

Scott
 
Where he says (in the blog) the heating didn't work, the air conditioning didn't work.

Isn't it either/or? Everyone gets heat, or everyone gets a/c. You can get more or less of whichever is on offer, but someone is always going to be unhappy?
 
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The wife and I were on the EB in Sept CHI to SEA our first LD Amtrak trip . Yes we knew that the route was having delays in Mt and ND, but we like most riders on the LD are not in a hurry to get to our destination. We are there to enjoy the journey and enjoy we did.

The service was great from start to finish .

The staff at Amtrak Union Station CHI were all very helpful from the ticket agent to the agent and baggage man in the Lounge .

The onboard service in our sleeper car was excellent and the food in the dinning car was very good. The steaks were great and so was the salmon

We met many interesting people at our meals in the dinning car and we had a great time.

The crew onboard keep us posted as to our delays and none that I know were Amtrak related. We were at times over 4.5 hrs behind schedule but arrived SEA only two hours late

Union Station SEA is a beautiful station .

We will be taking more trips on Amtrak in the future ...such a great way to travel.

Would be nice if they did sell some of the Amtrak merchandise onboard or at some of the larger stations... maybe they do and we just missed it. The online store shipping rate is very high .

What we learned .....Sit back and enjoy the ride
 
Dave Van said:
Sat 5 hours on the Cardinal #50 at 80th street in Chicago 10/19. We left Union exactly on time...I was excited to be on time. But feet from the staion we grind to a hault and sit in the dark without any real info other than 'something ahead is broke'. Very hard for me to believe there was no work around for our issue. We were almost 6 hours late by my stop WSS. Not a good day.
Click to expand...
The Cardinal takes a particularly problematic route out of Chicago. At 80th St, you're waiting to cross from a Norfolk Southern/Metra branch line across the Belt Railway of Chicago onto Union Pacific. This is a major chokepoint for all rail traffic in the entire United States -- there's a project to fix it ( http://www.75thcip.org/index.html ) but the project is not yet funded.

If there's problems with one switch there, there's really no way around it, unless you want to backtrack all the way to Union Station and then detour for many many miles, requiring permission from a minimum of three other railroads for a detour and probably taking longer than 5 hours just to get approval. This is unfortunate (and the 'detangling the routes' project can't happen soon enough) but the Amtrak crews probably did the best they could.
 
penfrydd said:
I don't believe the writer was asking for high-speed rail, but rather a simple, efficient, modern rail system. Unfortunately, America has such emphasis on a fast-paced life-style, that long-distance travel, if not by air, is ignored. Somehow, the general public believes that Amtrak is nothing more than another drain on the economy, yet believe that the airlines are the epitome of capitalism. They miss the whole point of living; to be able to step back now and then, and simply contemplate.
Click to expand...
The general public is not very happy at the airlines right now and most airlines are running at a loss. In fact, every major US airline has gone through bankruptcy since 9/11.

And yes, he is asking for high-speed rail: "I’m not anti-car, nor opposed to flying for that matter, but in a country of vast distances, choked roads and crowded skies a modern, high-speed, rail network should be part of the transport mix."

The EB is still my favourite train, but I'm in a bad geographical position to ride it. I could easily ride the CZ but I've ridden it so much that I'm tired of spending so much money to ride it again.

If Amtrak wants me to ride again, they better lower the fares. And I know they won't, because Amtrak has too much demand and too little capacity.
 
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Swadian Hardcore said:
penfrydd said:
I don't believe the writer was asking for high-speed rail, but rather a simple, efficient, modern rail system. Unfortunately, America has such emphasis on a fast-paced life-style, that long-distance travel, if not by air, is ignored. Somehow, the general public believes that Amtrak is nothing more than another drain on the economy, yet believe that the airlines are the epitome of capitalism. They miss the whole point of living; to be able to step back now and then, and simply contemplate.
Click to expand...
The general public is not very happy at the airlines right now and most airlines are running at a loss. In fact, every major US airline has gone through bankruptcy since 9/11.

And yes, he is asking for high-speed rail: "I’m not anti-car, nor opposed to flying for that matter, but in a country of vast distances, choked roads and crowded skies a modern, high-speed, rail network should be part of the transport mix."

The EB is still my favourite train, but I'm in a bad geographical position to ride it. I could easily ride the CZ but I've ridden it so much that I'm tired of spending so much money to ride it again.

If Amtrak wants me to ride again, they better lower the fares. And I know they won't, because Amtrak has too much demand and too little capacity.
Click to expand...
Southwest is certainly a "major US airline", and has never been through bankruptcy.
 
PRR 60 said:
Swadian Hardcore said:
penfrydd said:
I don't believe the writer was asking for high-speed rail, but rather a simple, efficient, modern rail system. Unfortunately, America has such emphasis on a fast-paced life-style, that long-distance travel, if not by air, is ignored. Somehow, the general public believes that Amtrak is nothing more than another drain on the economy, yet believe that the airlines are the epitome of capitalism. They miss the whole point of living; to be able to step back now and then, and simply contemplate.
Click to expand...
The general public is not very happy at the airlines right now and most airlines are running at a loss. In fact, every major US airline has gone through bankruptcy since 9/11.

And yes, he is asking for high-speed rail: "I’m not anti-car, nor opposed to flying for that matter, but in a country of vast distances, choked roads and crowded skies a modern, high-speed, rail network should be part of the transport mix."

The EB is still my favourite train, but I'm in a bad geographical position to ride it. I could easily ride the CZ but I've ridden it so much that I'm tired of spending so much money to ride it again.

If Amtrak wants me to ride again, they better lower the fares. And I know they won't, because Amtrak has too much demand and too little capacity.
Click to expand...
Southwest is certainly a "major US airline", and has never been through bankruptcy.
Click to expand...
OK, but everybody else has gone through bankruptcy. I don't really consider Southwest to be that major, they have a lot of planes but all of those are narrowbodies and they don't fly international. I guess they are "big" but not "major'.
 
Swadian Hardcore said:
If Amtrak wants me to ride again, they better lower the fares. And I know they won't, because Amtrak has too much demand and too little capacity.
Click to expand...
Amtrak, running close to capacity, should lower fares? Can you imagine the field day certain congressmen would have with that? Better start making the most of AGR if you want to ride.
 
SP&S said:
Swadian Hardcore said:
If Amtrak wants me to ride again, they better lower the fares. And I know they won't, because Amtrak has too much demand and too little capacity.
Click to expand...
Amtrak, running close to capacity, should lower fares? Can you imagine the field day certain congressmen would have with that? Better start making the most of AGR if you want to ride.
Click to expand...
Amtrak is running close to capacity because the TSA is running close to full 'tard. Give the blue-shirt donut eaters a crack at the Amtrak stations and watch the ridership plunge.
 
I'm only posting to tell those reading and lamenting that the EB is an awesome train.

I was on the EB in April CHI-PDX Cascades PDX-SEA EB SEA-CHI

We had no delays, wonderful service and OBS from beginning to end, great equipment, nice passengers, good food and more.

All of the stations are lovely even though there isn't a lounge in SEA - I didn't hang out in that station at all because I arrived in time to board.

Maybe I was just lucky but I plan on taking the EB again next year just not in the summer.
 
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