Amtrak long term service cancellations and restorations (2023 Q3)

[pennyk]

From July 1, 2023 forward, please post comments discussing Amtrak long term service cancellations and restorations here. For previous posts regarding Amtrak long term service cancellations and restorations, please refer to this thread, which is currently locked:

Amtrak long term service cancellations and restorations (2022-2023)

“We wanted to let you know that train #7, the Empire Builder, from Chicago, Illinois on Friday, December 31st, has been CANCELLED due to a service disruption. Unfortunately, we don't have other transportation available” There goes my snowy train ride across the cold dark northern plains! I did...

www.amtraktrains.com

Thank you for your cooperation and participation.

 

[demonizedwater]

Looks like Boston->NYC service is getting a bit better after September. 65/67 are being run again, but leaving Boston around 8 pm vs 9:30pm as they did before they got cancelled due to Penn Access. The weird thing is that it holds for 3.5 hr upon arrival in NYC, instead of continuing to DC sooner. Arrives 11:55pm, leaves 3:20am. Why not move the schedule up, since there's already a 4:20am NYC->DC train?

66 will be running NYC to Boston as well starting that date, but as a 5:30am train.

 

[demonizedwater]

Fortunately, NYS and its governor have far more reasonable attitude towards public transit than MS, AL, and FL (plus the Adirondack is state-funded), so there will be more pressure to restore it than there was for the Sunset East.

 

[lordsigma]

New York may be willing, but Quebec and the Canadian Federal government are at least as disinterested in the Adirondack as Mississippi, Alabama and Florida were in the Sunset.

Yep they’re happy to have the service all day long provided someone else is footing the bill. Like Florida officials submitted an interest to corridor ID recently in trying to reopen NOL - ORL but only as part of the long distance study and federally funded - they don’t want to spend state funds. I’m sure it’s the same as Quebec. They’d love to see it all day long so long as they don’t have to pay.

 

[demonizedwater]

Big difference between a 30 mile stretch between Rouse's and Candiac (if they decide to run into Lucien l'Allier) and a 600 mile stretch from New Orleans to Orlando. But yes, austerity is a sickness that most of North America is afflicted by.

 

[zephyr17]

Big difference between a 30 mile stretch between Rouse's and Candiac (if they decide to run into Lucien l'Allier) and a 600 mile stretch from New Orleans to Orlando. But yes, austerity is a sickness that most of North America is afflicted by.

Any service is only as strong as the weakest link. A 30 mile problem that is necessary is as effective stopping a service as a 600 mile one if no entity is willing or able to step up and solve it.

The Sunset East at least had the advantage of being in the US and subject to US regulations as regards Amtrak access.

 

[AmtrakMaineiac]

austerity is a sickness that most of North America is afflicted by

Austerity only when it comes to rail projects; highway and air seem to have no problems getting funding

 

[jis]

MODERATOR'S NOTE: A number of posts on the cancellation of Adirondack have been moved to the pre-existing thread dedicated to that subject. Please discuss Adirondack in that thread:

Adirondack cancellations? June 2023 onwards

Through Sep 10 to Montreal. Through Jul 23 to Saratoga Springs No one who has been following this should be surprised. I made alternative arrangements on Adirondack Trailways for north of Albany last week for late July as well as moved my initial hotel stay to be closer to the bus terminal than...

www.amtraktrains.com

Thank you for you understanding, cooperation and participation.

 

[Bonser]

Looks like Boston->NYC service is getting a bit better after September. 65/67 are being run again, but leaving Boston around 8 pm vs 9:30pm as they did before they got cancelled due to Penn Access. The weird thing is that it holds for 3.5 hr upon arrival in NYC, instead of continuing to DC sooner. Arrives 11:55pm, leaves 3:20am. Why not move the schedule up, since there's already a 4:20am NYC->DC train?

66 will be running NYC to Boston as well starting that date, but as a 5:30am train.

Is there any scuttlebut about returning the sleeper and baggage cars to the old Night Owl?

 

[lordsigma]

Is there any scuttlebut about returning the sleeper and baggage cars to the old Night Owl?

I doubt it will happen until at least they resume service to Boston. One other issue now is that this train no longer has a dedicated set of equipment - it shares equipment with a couple other regional routes that go to and from Newport News and Roanoke. So you’d either have to equip each of those train sets with a sleeper and baggage (which wouldn’t be an efficient use of the equipment) and deadhead them on the regionals that wouldn’t use them or set those cars out at Washington with the engine change. With them eventually moving to semi permanently coupled trainsets having the sleeper also probably isn’t really feasible in the future. The trainsets used for it are going from Boston to Newport News, Newport News back to New York, New York to Roanoke, Roanoke to Boston. They’re using the standard four coaches plus business/cafe consist that’s on many state supported corridor services.

 

[west point]

Is there any scuttlebut about returning the sleeper and baggage cars to the old Night Owl?

Unfortunately believe that train left the station without any sleeper(s). Until Amtrak can get a lot more sleepers and realize that it should not be a problem attaching the sleeper(s) to motors when adding and removing motors at WASH is easy.

 

[Richabel949]

Does anyone know why after Covid is over Amtrak no longer has any rooms cars available from Boston going South?

 

[daybeers]

Running 65/66/67 with only four cars plus the split BC/cafe car is silly IMO. Are they also running the same consist on those Regionals it turns for?

Huge, huge disappointment to see the ridiculous padding in the schedule both ways in NYP. That will be hell for those traveling through due to the extremely bright lights on the NYP platforms.

 

[lordsigma]

Running 65/66/67 with only four cars plus the split BC/cafe car is silly IMO. Are they also running the same consist on those Regionals it turns for?

Huge, huge disappointment to see the ridiculous padding in the schedule both ways in NYP. That will be hell for those traveling through due to the extremely bright lights on the NYP platforms.

Yes. That’s pretty much the standard consist for day running state supported services in the east (either that or four coaches plus full business and full cafe.) And during the day these trains are making the run through Virginia. I suspect the consist is sufficient for zero dark thirty demand on the corridor.

 

[Just-Thinking-51]

Does anyone know why after Covid is over Amtrak no longer has any rooms cars available from Boston going South?

The Night Owl is not currently running due to bridge work. The whole split south of DC will be an additional problem.

 

[blueman271]

The Night Owl is not currently running due to bridge work. The whole split south of DC will be an additional problem.

The sleeper was removed from 65/66/67 well before they were suspended north of NYP, but I don’t know why.

 

[lordsigma]

The sleeper was removed from 65/66/67 well before they were suspended north of NYP, but I don’t know why.

Because when it returned it was part of an effort to add additional service to Virginia and as explained above it no longer runs as a dedicated consist from Boston - Newport News.