Coast Starlight 14 delay into PDX 6/30-7/6

[D.P. Roberts]

Amtrak just sent me new tickets, no information as to why. 14, which is normally due into Portland at 3:32 pm, now shows as 5:32 pm. We're getting on in Sacramento, which still shows a departure time of 11:59 pm, so the CS is going to lose 2 hours between those stations now.

I assume this is track work of some kind, but as of right now I don't see a service disruption listed anywhere.

I don't mind two more hours on the train, but it makes me really, really, really, really, really, really glad that we didn't try to make a same-day connection to 28! I assume that people trying to make that connection will now be bustituted somewhere along the line.

EDIT: I see that a MOD has edited the title of my post to add an estimated date. After poking around on the Amtrak site, the delay is currently in effect from 6/30 to 7/6. I don't know if/where they've added the padding into the schedule other than PDX.

 

[Railroad Bill]

Yes, in the past any CS14 passengers making a connection to 28 would be bused from Klamath Falls to Pasco. Not sure if that still is true?

 

[jdawg]

I got the same email today ... called Amtrak and they didn't have a clue as to the cause of the revised schedule.

Looking up every city pair going northbound, it looks like the train is going to sit in Klamath Falls for two hours and ten minutes, arriving 8:07 am, departing 10:17 am with every subsequent stop northbound being two hours later.

Anybody know why the train would be holding in Klamath Falls for so long?

 

[Tony in Ann Arbor]

A few years ago we were bused from Klamath Falls to Portland to make the connection to 28. Although I would much rather have been on the train, the bus did travel through some very nice scenery.

 

[bmjhagen9426]

I got the same email today ... called Amtrak and they didn't have a clue as to the cause of the revised schedule.

Looking up every city pair going northbound, it looks like the train is going to sit in Klamath Falls for two hours and ten minutes, arriving 8:07 am, departing 10:17 am with every subsequent stop northbound being two hours later.

Anybody know why the train would be holding in Klamath Falls for so long?

I suspect track work. In the Fall of 2014, CS11 lost two hours south of Klamath Falls due to track work. At least it is better than being put on the Ambus (unless you know that your train will be too late for you to change trains), which is what they usually do when there is a track work between Portland and Eugene (I never had been bustituted for this reason, though, since I usually travel in the high-demand season and such trackwork happened usually during the low-demand season). If it's trackwork, it will be a bit out of normal, since 6/30 to 7/6 is considered a high season (think July 4th).

 

[peetah]

I haven't gotten an email yet for my trip in mid-July, and I have the Coast Starlight 14 to Empire Builder 28 connection in PDX - but poking on the Amtrak site the delay seems to extend all the way to July 22nd.

This will be a curious one to see how Amtrak handles it as its a pre-devaluation AGR resevation, 1 Zone DEN-GPK for a family bedroom (with 1 adult 1 infant). But post-devaluation to add another adult to my room I purchased in cash a seperate "open-ticket" that is linked to my AGR reservation.

If you try to book the route now DEN-GPK with my dates, it forces a 23hr stop-over in PDX. Curious if they'll try bussing the original connection, or force the overnight.

To add even more intrigue, my original AGR reservation can't be found on Amtrak.com - and the "open-ticket" reservation shows "null" as the train #, and a duration of 552hrs and 22min. This is going to be interesting I have a feeling...

 

[bmjhagen9426]

I haven't gotten an email yet for my trip in mid-July, and I have the Coast Starlight 14 to Empire Builder 28 connection in PDX - but poking on the Amtrak site the delay seems to extend all the way to July 22nd.

This will be a curious one to see how Amtrak handles it as its a pre-devaluation AGR resevation, 1 Zone DEN-GPK for a family bedroom (with 1 adult 1 infant). But post-devaluation to add another adult to my room I purchased in cash a seperate "open-ticket" that is linked to my AGR reservation.

If you try to book the route now DEN-GPK with my dates, it forces a 23hr stop-over in PDX. Curious if they'll try bussing the original connection, or force the overnight.

To add even more intrigue, my original AGR reservation can't be found on Amtrak.com - and the "open-ticket" reservation shows "null" as the train #, and a duration of 552hrs and 22min. This is going to be interesting I have a feeling...

I hope it ends before December, as I plan to travel from Klamath Falls to Chicago via Portland on December. If it does really extend long enough as to affect my December trip, I hope that I will get overnighted at Portland (Ambus ride is less fun than being on the train, unless you are riding the Ambus connection to an unserved location, such as the Ambus ride from SF to East Bay). I will definitely call Amtrak tomorrow night for such inquries, and as well as a possible overnight PDX layover.

The Amtrak.com website is apparantly not in a top condition, that's why I think you are seeing gibberish on your reservation. Guess Amtrak should have thought twice before laying off the IT guys. Bad IT utilization => Opening a Can of Worms

P.S. What station is GPK?

 

[D.P. Roberts]

I don't know if this is IT-related or not, but my recording from "Julie" basically said I was no longer on train 14, but on train 0014. I assume that might be a way of "hiding" train 14's schedule somewhere in a computer system & replacing it with 0014 for the duration of the delays. Perhaps some of you who are having problems finding your reservations can try 0014 & see if that helps.

As to the GPK station, that's East Glacier Park. It's adjacent to the Glacier Park Lodge, so the view from the station looks like this:

 

[fairviewroad]

I got the same email today ... called Amtrak and they didn't have a clue as to the cause of the revised schedule.

Looking up every city pair going northbound, it looks like the train is going to sit in Klamath Falls for two hours and ten minutes, arriving 8:07 am, departing 10:17 am with every subsequent stop northbound being two hours later.

Anybody know why the train would be holding in Klamath Falls for so long?

I suspect track work. In the Fall of 2014, CS11 lost two hours south of Klamath Falls due to track work. At least it is better than being put on the Ambus (unless you know that your train will be too late for you to change trains), which is what they usually do when there is a track work between Portland and Eugene (I never had been bustituted for this reason, though, since I usually travel in the high-demand season and such trackwork happened usually during the low-demand season). If it's trackwork, it will be a bit out of normal, since 6/30 to 7/6 is considered a high season (think July 4th).

High season for passenger trains may not equal high season for freights. It's possible (just a guess) that freight traffic diminishes slightly over the July 4th long holiday weekend. And since the freight company owns the tracks, they get to call the shots.

 

[peetah]

Curiously Union Pacific announced they're going to replace bolts along the Empire Builder used track in Oregon in August

http://www.omaha.com/money/railroads/union-pacific-blamed-for-fiery-oil-train-derailment-says-it/article_8cd5cc24-c58d-555f-ba2c-bea5351b9074.html

I wonder if that will add a shift in the Empire Builder 28's times to let Coast Starlight 14 "catch-up" Or is that just wishful thinking.

 

[fairviewroad]

Curiously Union Pacific announced they're going to replace bolts along the Empire Builder used track in Oregon in August

http://www.omaha.com/money/railroads/union-pacific-blamed-for-fiery-oil-train-derailment-says-it/article_8cd5cc24-c58d-555f-ba2c-bea5351b9074.html

I wonder if that will add a shift in the Empire Builder 28's times to let Coast Starlight 14 "catch-up" Or is that just wishful thinking.

The EB doesn't use those tracks. It travels through the Columbia Gorge on BNSF tracks on the Washington side of the river.

 

[CHamilton]

From a railroader on the Facebook Coast Starlight group:

tie replacement project on Pengra Pass. It's interesting that I work on the train and you're hearing about the schedule change before us.

 

[CHamilton]

More information. I understand that Amtrak had to make arrangements on short notice after UP had to change their construction dates, originally scheduled for the fall.

June 24, 2016

On the dates below, from 0500-1400, the Union Pacific Railroad will be replacing ties along a 33-mile (53 km) stretch of the railroad between Chemult and Eugene, Oregon.

•July 1-7, 2016
•July 16-23, 2016
•August 1-5, 2016
On those dates the northbound Coast Starlight (train 14), which originated in Los Angeles the previous day, will hold at Klamath Falls and depart two hours later at 10:17 am, then operate two hours later at all stops through arrival Seattle.

Connections to the Empire Builder, train 28
Train 14 will arrive in Portland, Oregon after train 28 has left.

Passengers from Klamath Falls and south for train 28:

•Bus 3014 will depart Klamath Falls at 930a, arriving Pasco 530p, where they may wait for and transfer to train 28 which departs Pasco at 857p.
•This bus will operate on Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays only. On other days there is no connection. MAKE SURE PASSENGERS ON THE OTHER DAYS KNOW THIS.
•On the days when bus 3014 does operate:
•Passengers make a same-day connection to train 28.
•The bus will make a rest stop along the way where passengers may purchase food and drink.
•Checked baggage from Los Angeles through Klamath Falls on train 14, going to Pasco through Chicago on train 28: check it through. It will be transferred to and from bus 3014.
•Amtrak Express will not be carried on the bus. It will be carried to Portland where it will be held overnight and go out on the next day's train 28.
•On the days when bus 3014 does NOT operate:
•The contact centers will attempt to rebook as many of the affected passengers as possible for travel on days when the bus does operate.
•For those who travel on days the bus does not operate, they will remain overnight in Portland for the connection and make own arrangements for lodging (meaning: they pay for it).
•Checked baggage will be carried to Portland, held overnight, and put on the next day's train 28.
•Amtrak Express shipments will also be carried to Portland, held overnight, and sent out on train 28 the next day.
Passengers from Chemult for train 28 will need to make their own way to Eugene, then take earlier Amtrak Cascades train or bus service to Portland for the connection.

Passengers from Eugene, Albany, and Salem for train 28, take earlier Amtrak Cascades train or bus service to connect to train 28 in Portland.

Other bus connections
These buses operate later on the days when train 14 operates later.

Bus 6114 Redmond-Chemult

RDM dp 850a
BDR dp 915a
BND dp 930a
SUN dp 1005a
LPN dp 1030a
CMO ar 1110a

Bus 6214 Chemult-Redmond

CMO dp 1140a
LPN ar 1220p
SUN ar 1240p
BND ar 110p
BDR ar 125p
RDM ar 145p

Bus 8914 Seattle-Vancouver

SEA dp 1030p
SUY ar 1245a
RBC ar 115a
VAC ar 145

 

[the_traveler]

I find it very interesting that the bus connection only operates 3 days a week! Are they taking a page from the SL or Cardinal? :huh:

 

[fairviewroad]

Yeah, that 3x/week bus connection is a new one, AFAICT.

The comment about Chemult passengers is interesting, since the bus from Klamath Falls to Pasco will pass less than 500 feet from the Chemult Amtrak station. But no, it's apparently better to make those passengers find their own way 100 miles to Eugene. [That said, I'm guessing this impacts relatively few passengers...still, geez.]

Also interesting to me is that despite all the schedule padding that exists on the north end of 14 (and there is a LOT), they still operate it two hours late at every single stop all the way to Seattle. Would be frustrating to sit in PDX for an hour, which is very possible, when the train is already running two hours later than it was when you booked it. I wonder if that's a tacit admission that even after the work window, there will be delays through that area. Or maybe it's just easier to do it that way, rather than temporarily tighten the schedules for the convenience of the passengers.

 

[bmjhagen9426]

More information. I understand that Amtrak had to make arrangements on short notice after UP had to change their construction dates, originally scheduled for the fall.

June 24, 2016

On the dates below, from 0500-1400, the Union Pacific Railroad will be replacing ties along a 33-mile (53 km) stretch of the railroad between Chemult and Eugene, Oregon.

•July 1-7, 2016
•July 16-23, 2016
•August 1-5, 2016
On those dates the northbound Coast Starlight (train 14), which originated in Los Angeles the previous day, will hold at Klamath Falls and depart two hours later at 10:17 am, then operate two hours later at all stops through arrival Seattle.

Connections to the Empire Builder, train 28
Train 14 will arrive in Portland, Oregon after train 28 has left.

Passengers from Klamath Falls and south for train 28:

•Bus 3014 will depart Klamath Falls at 930a, arriving Pasco 530p, where they may wait for and transfer to train 28 which departs Pasco at 857p.
•This bus will operate on Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays only. On other days there is no connection. MAKE SURE PASSENGERS ON THE OTHER DAYS KNOW THIS.
•On the days when bus 3014 does operate:
•Passengers make a same-day connection to train 28.
•The bus will make a rest stop along the way where passengers may purchase food and drink.
•Checked baggage from Los Angeles through Klamath Falls on train 14, going to Pasco through Chicago on train 28: check it through. It will be transferred to and from bus 3014.
•Amtrak Express will not be carried on the bus. It will be carried to Portland where it will be held overnight and go out on the next day's train 28.
•On the days when bus 3014 does NOT operate:
•The contact centers will attempt to rebook as many of the affected passengers as possible for travel on days when the bus does operate.
•For those who travel on days the bus does not operate, they will remain overnight in Portland for the connection and make own arrangements for lodging (meaning: they pay for it).
•Checked baggage will be carried to Portland, held overnight, and put on the next day's train 28.
•Amtrak Express shipments will also be carried to Portland, held overnight, and sent out on train 28 the next day.
Passengers from Chemult for train 28 will need to make their own way to Eugene, then take earlier Amtrak Cascades train or bus service to Portland for the connection.

Passengers from Eugene, Albany, and Salem for train 28, take earlier Amtrak Cascades train or bus service to connect to train 28 in Portland.

Other bus connections
These buses operate later on the days when train 14 operates later.

Bus 6114 Redmond-Chemult

RDM dp 850a
BDR dp 915a
BND dp 930a
SUN dp 1005a
LPN dp 1030a
CMO ar 1110a

Bus 6214 Chemult-Redmond

CMO dp 1140a
LPN ar 1220p
SUN ar 1240p
BND ar 110p
BDR ar 125p
RDM ar 145p

Bus 8914 Seattle-Vancouver

SEA dp 1030p
SUY ar 1245a
RBC ar 115a
VAC ar 145

It looks like that it is a dreaded bustitution is a reality now. Glad my K.Falls->Portland->Chicago trip won't happen until December.

 

[Steve4031]

I have an Amtrak guest rewards ticket lax-pdx chi departing on 7/20. That's a Wednesday so it looks like we would spend the night in Portland.

 

[OBS]

Steve, you might want to be proactive and contact them right away since you are probably wanting sleeping car space. It may be difficult with day changes and accommodations, especially in July!

 

[Steve4031]

Will do. I'm thinking about my alternatives and will call today.

 

[Steve4031]

I got everything taken care of!! Mr. Hamilton, thank you for your detailed post of the service disruption advisory. After obsessing about this all day until my buddy Mike got off from work, I called Mike and we developed preferable alternatives.

I called Amtrak guest rewards and got somebody who really did not understand what I was trying to do. After I explained that we were traveling through Portland on Thursday, a day the was not operational, he read through the service advisory and told me we would be bussed. I told him thank you, and that I needed to think about what to do. I asked him to not touch the reservation. I was going to HUCA.

As I was preparing to redial Amtrak guest rewards Amtrak called from the 18008727245 number. This was Ashley, a very knowledgeable agent who was calling me to advise me about the track work and misconnect in Portland. I asked if she could help me with Mike's reservation too. She had both of our names on the list so she fixed both reservations.

The initial reservations had us departing Los Angeles on 14 on 7/20 connection to 28 on 7/21. Mike and I were leaving two days after the OTOL railfest because I had screwed up the dates in my mind when we called to book 20K point redemptions. I really wanted to leave on 7/19 but by the time I discovered my error the new program rules were in effect.

My first request with the agent was to follow the exact phrasing of the service advisory and try to be rebooked on 28 departing 7/22. There were no sleepers at all. I then asked if there were two roomettes on 14 departing LAX on 7/19. I figured with more sleeping cars we would have a better chance finding two roomettes on 14. The agent found two rooms across the hall from each other in the transition sleeper. We will now arrive in Portland on 7/20, spend the night in Portland at our own expense (Hilton points) and continue to Chicago on 28 on 7/21.

I asked to speak to Ashley's supervisor and praised her for her efficiency and professionalism. I was not even going to dare to think about two rooms in the same car much less across from each other. That was a great effort on her part.

 

[OBS]

Well done!

 

[CHamilton]

I got everything taken care of!! Mr. Hamilton, thank you for your detailed post of the service disruption advisory. After obsessing about this all day until my buddy Mike got off from work, I called Mike and we developed preferable alternatives.

I called Amtrak guest rewards and got somebody who really did not understand what I was trying to do. After I explained that we were traveling through Portland on Thursday, a day the was not operational, he read through the service advisory and told me we would be bussed. I told him thank you, and that I needed to think about what to do. I asked him to not touch the reservation. I was going to HUCA.

As I was preparing to redial Amtrak guest rewards Amtrak called from the 18008727245 number. This was Ashley, a very knowledgeable agent who was calling me to advise me about the track work and misconnect in Portland. I asked if she could help me with Mike's reservation too. She had both of our names on the list so she fixed both reservations.

Steve, I'm glad it worked out! Thanks to my friend E for sending me the advisory, and letting me post it.

 

[Thirdrail7]

I wonder why the bus only operates three days a week.

 

[CHamilton]

I wonder why the bus only operates three days a week.

I understand that because of the short notice, they were not able to obtain buses for each day.

 

[Bob Dylan]

Glad it worked out for y'all Steve, I've always received good service when I call AGR,CR or the Regular Amtrak Agents.

Good to see you let her Supervisor know you received above and beyond Service, they usually hear nothing but complaints.

Enjoy the trip and share it with us!