Anyone know why 704(10) and 718(10) were cancelled south of HNF?

[roadman3313]

Heard this from a friend of mine that trains 704 and 718 were showing as cancelled south of Hanford, CA and replaced with Thruway buses (5804 and 5818) on Sunday the 10th. Does anyone know if this is correct and a potential reason for this? I'm assuming track-work as it is scheduled as cancelled in Arrow through this Thursday and starting again this Sunday.

There are no changes to the morning departures so I assume the trainsets get to Bakersfield somehow to leave on trains 701 and 713 in the morning (Train 716 still runs to BFD and could leave as Train 711 in the morning).

Didn't see a Service Alert regarding this so I was more just curious on if there was any notification besides for if you notice when you reserve. No updates on the Twitter feed but Sunday's generally are slow in terms of that.

 

[CHamilton]

I wonder if it's related to the trackwork mentioned here, even though the specific trains and dates you ask about are not in the alert.

 

[chakk]

I believe the cancellations south of Hanford were due to a collision between a freight train and a truck at a grade crossing in that area, which produced multi-hour delays for several of the San Joaquins over the weekend.

 

[roadman3313]

Amtrak finally posted a notice about the reason... as suspected... BNSF Trackwork...

"San Joaquin Trains 704, 716 and 718 and Thruway Buses Schedule Changes
Effective on Select March and April DatesTrack work being performed by BNSF Railway will affect San Joaquin Trains 704, 716 and 718, as follows:

Trains 704 and 718

• March 17 - March 21 (Sunday - Thursday)
• March 24 - March 28 (Sunday - Thursday)
• March 31 - April 4 (Sunday - Thursday)

On the dates shown above, Trains 704 and 718 will terminate at Hanford, where passengers will be provided bus service to Corcoran, Wasco and Bakersfield. Buses will operate according to the respective train schedules.

Train 716 and Thruway Buses Depart Earlier

• March 18 - March 21 (Monday - Thursday)
• March 24 - March 28 (Sunday - Thursday)

On the dates shown above, Train 716 and Thruway buses connecting with Train 716 will depart 25 minutes earlier. The most up-to-date arrival and departure times are available on Amtrak.com, our free mobile apps and by calling 1-800-USA-RAIL (1-800-872-7245).

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

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

PSN 0313-42"

Hopefully those traking train 716 pay attention to the notification and not just the schedule as the train will operate 25 minutes ahead of schedule through the entire route!