All EB trains Disrupted Today?

Shop deals on ebay
shop deals on amazon
Advertise with us
Amtrak Unlimited Discussion Forum

Help Support Amtrak Unlimited Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Status
Not open for further replies.
What a disaster. At least they're trying to keep "corridor" service between Chicago and minneapolis open.
 
Currently sitting in the Metropolitan Lounge at Chicago. The CZ eastbound is over 12hrs late and the westbound, my train, which was due to leave 30 minutes ago has not boarded, 'delayed' is flashing on the screen and there is no indication when we may be leaving... :(
 
This is probably the first time in ages the corridor passengers from the twin cities will get an on-time departure...
 
GlobalistPotato said:
Just why has the Empire Builder been getting so much bad luck this winter?
Click to expand...
Been a lot of derail on this tracks, bomb threat, and we been getting hit this winter with snow as well. :-( I hope this don't leave a lot of sour taste in some of the people who were on the the late/stopped train...???
 
A lot of people are gonna have to relize that as bad as the EB has been performing lately, it'd be just as worse if they decided to drive from the PacNW to the Midwest on I-90. At least they have some route choice, but still.
 
I only hope that the problems with the EB resolve with the coming of the warmer weather.

I have a trip planned to MSP in early April, at this point I am starting to watch the progress of the EB, and if things don;t start getting better soon, I will have to plan an extra day in CHI for transfers.

Has the OTP this winter been that much worse than in the past or is this an annual happening?

Diana
 
The Empire Builder always has problems in the winter, but with a strong La Nina, the Great Plains have had a particularly snowy winter. Add to that some bad luck (seemingly more frequent freight derailments, for instance), and you have the present situation. Most of the issues of lateness really haven't been Amtrak's fault. For instance, I haven't heard of any P42 locomotives having brake problems in cold weather this winter. In past winters locomotive brake problems have made the Empire Builder 12-16 hours late.

You probably won't have to worry about snow problems in the beginning of April. The delays then will more likely be because of spring flooding.
 
No kidding about the snowy winter. We're not even into March yet, and we already have the 9th snowiest winter on record and less than 24 inches to the record. We usually get a couple storms in March, so I'm thinking this will go down in the books as the snowiest winter in Minneapolis - St. Paul. And our storms usually come to us from the west or southwest, so the Empire Builder has been getting slammed in the Great Plains area.

I know several people who are tired of the snow and want it to go away. It will in a couple months. Fortunately, my trip on the EB isn't until mid June, so I'm thinking the flood season will be over by then as well.

Have a great day,

TC
 
You would think that when there are EB service disruptions two days in a row both directions Amtrak would be able to post a service alert on its website.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
LOL talk about patience! I guess it's one of those problems that will just go away if you wait.
biggrin.gif


The delays and other problems with the EB should make many Minnesotans consider supporting a corridor train between the Twin Cities and CHI. Hey, with a corridor train, you can make it stop in Duluth too!

That is one of the advantages of highways and corridor trains: If Montana gets snowed out, it really doesn't matter for travelers who's vehicle (either car or train) starts in MN instead of where the delays are.
 
Hmmmm, would Minnesota be willing to support a corridor train that goes non-stop through wisconsin until Milwaukee? This avoids the need for wisconsin's cooperation since it really won't serve Wisconsin.
 
bretton88 said:
Hmmmm, would Minnesota be willing to support a corridor train that goes non-stop through wisconsin until Milwaukee? This avoids the need for wisconsin's cooperation since it really won't serve Wisconsin.
Click to expand...
I would imagine such a service would probably be worse off for having skipped the various WI stops, whether or not WI contributed to its operating costs. Maybe not all of the current Empire Builder stops in WI, but some of them would likely bring in more revenue to such a service than would be lost by the increase in travel time. So, even if WI decided to be a free-loader and not contribute to operating costs, MN (& IL or whatever entities covered the operating costs) would be better off not skipping the WI stops. (This was one of the many things that former Secy. of Transportation Norm Mineta did not quite understand.)
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Given the depths of our budget problems, I doubt that Minnesota would be willing to fund any train. I'd dearly love a Twin Cities-Chicago train, because then I wouldn't have to fly to Chicago in the winter. And no, it doesn't have to be modern or high-speed. If it went as fast as the Hiawathas and Zephyrs and 400s did in the 30s, that would be fine.
 
I have a ticket for the EB from end to end during the second week of May. My plan (or hope) is that the winter snows will be off of the tracks but the beauty of the snow will still be on the mountains and the spring flood will no longer be threatening the bridges but the streams will be running fast. Shouldn't be any droughts... shouldn't be any dust storms... and hopefully the man made delays will be kept to a minimum!! Time is not a great concern so it will be tough to dampen my spirits for the awesome trip.
 
anir dendroica said:
Looks like #7(27) and #8(28) terminated in MSP and Whitefish (or maybe Spokane) - they are now in Service Disruption status. Blizzard forecast to continue through tomorrow, so could see more cancellations.

Notice from BNSF (with impressive snowdrift pictures):

http://domino.bnsf.com/website/updates.nsf/updates-service-industrial/5ADD348874F7196F86257845005B929C?Open

Does anyone know what happened to #7(25) that stopped at Havre two days ago? Did it ever make it through?

Mark
Click to expand...
Passengers were bused to Whitefish to meet up with train 8(25), which turned back. It left WFH @ 1935 MT, 22hr 19m late. Passengers from #8(25)were bused to Havre, MT. Train 7(25) turned back and departed HAV 1956MT, 30hr 24m late.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Latest posts

Back
Top