Is The Eclipse A Missed Opportunity For Amtrak?

[fairviewroad]

It will be interesting to see how filled the southbound early morning Cascades out of Portland will be.

Looks like the 0600 train on Aug. 21 is sold out, which is highly unusual (if not unprecedented) for the early morning Cascades out of Portland. The Thruway bus that follows at 0700 is also sold out.

Also, the morning northbound train out of Eugene is sold-out as far as Salem.

After the eclipse, there are two n/b Thruway buses SLM-PDX that are sold out in the afternoon, plus the afternoon Cascades train. All coach seats on the n/b afternoon CS are sold out, too. Southbound, nothing (as of now) is sold out.

So Amtrak, at least in Oregon, is definitely getting a bit of a ridership bump out of the eclipse. But it's very tightly focused around the eclipse itself. Most everything that's not already sold out is still within the low-bucket fare.

 

[PaTrainFan]

I believe that is a time lapse of a solar eclipse.

 

[texline]

Alaska Airlines has a big advertisement now for the event in the Sonoma County media. I might call just to see what the price of the package includes.

 

[Anthony V]

Looks like Amtrak is now looking to capitalize on the eclipse in Illinois.

https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/illinois/articles/2017-06-27/amtrak-offers-discount-for-travel-to-view-solar-eclipse

 

[C855B]

Looks like Amtrak is now looking to capitalize on the eclipse in Illinois.

https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/illinois/articles/2017-06-27/amtrak-offers-discount-for-travel-to-view-solar-eclipse

And equally relevant:

This route is on the most notoriously passenger-hostile of all the railroads in the US. I won't give you the full list of the deliberate sabotage CN has committed to Amtrak's scheduling on this route, but asking for a temporary schedule change is probably impossible.

If this were on a route owned by another railroad, I'd say it was worth trying.

Exactly right. If people in CHI (or via CHI) think they're going to hop on #391 for a quickie day trip to CDL for the eclipse, they have some bad news coming. 391 is scheduled into CDL at 12:45pm, which should be just in time for the 1:20pm totality. Not going to happen. 391 has been at least an hour late, every day, for the past two years or more. Even on full-shutdown holidays like Christmas and Thanksgiving, they are an hour late. Like neroden said, CN works very hard to convince the state and the ridership that passenger trains are a waste of time. If UP wasn't equally hostile, I'd personally be pushing for moving the Illinois service to the ex-C&EI.

Anyway, now that marketing has jumped on board, I think this eclipse thing is going to turn into a PR nightmare for Amtrak.

Ignore most of my rant (CN is still evil, however). :blush:

 

[PRR 60]

#391 is scheduled into Carbondale at 1:45pm - 20 minutes after totality ends.

 

[C855B]

Thank you. I'm an idiot, evidently. I checked the sched on the fridge and, yeah, 1:45 it is. Was I looking at DQN? OK, so Amtrak is NOT going to be overpromising what it couldn't deliver anyways.

It still says 12:16 for CEN, and you can count on it being here 1:10 or later. Haven't looked at CDL performance. Given that the 1:45 is super-padded - #59 is 0:56 CEN-CDL versus 1:29 for #391, I wonder if the sched splits the difference considering the light freight interference between these two stations.

So... never mind! If you want to take the train and don't have lodging booked yet... probably best to make other plans. Area hotels have been booked for months.

 

[fairviewroad]

FWIW, experiencing the eclipse while you're on the train might not be an entirely bad thing, either. Certainly a unique way to experience it. (Obviously it would come with some drawbacks, too.) I suspect #391 might offer the best chance of being in the path of totality that day? I haven't cross-examined every last schedule nationwide to figure that out.

 

[Thirdrail7]

It will be interesting to see how filled the southbound early morning Cascades out of Portland will be.

Looks like the 0600 train on Aug. 21 is sold out, which is highly unusual (if not unprecedented) for the early morning Cascades out of Portland. The Thruway bus that follows at 0700 is also sold out.

Also, the morning northbound train out of Eugene is sold-out as far as Salem.

After the eclipse, there are two n/b Thruway buses SLM-PDX that are sold out in the afternoon, plus the afternoon Cascades train. All coach seats on the n/b afternoon CS are sold out, too. Southbound, nothing (as of now) is sold out.

So Amtrak, at least in Oregon, is definitely getting a bit of a ridership bump out of the eclipse. But it's very tightly focused around the eclipse itself. Most everything that's not already sold out is still within the low-bucket fare.

An extra train is now available to help out.

 

[CHamilton]

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1405293772880124&id=103851009691080

Aorta - Association of Oregon Rail and Transit Advocates

On eclipse day, Amtrak will run an extra (Train 1013) PDX-SLM (fairgrounds) leaving PDX 5:00a, using equipment deadheaded EUG-PDX the night before (that otherwise would be the 8/21 500 EUG-SLM), with bus substitute EUG-ALY-SLM on the regular 500 schedule. The 1013 trainset will then go north from SLM on the 500 schedule.

Extra Train 1012 will go from SLM (fairgrounds) at 1:00p to PDX. Equipment from Train 501 will deadhead to SLM, be used as the special 1012 and then continue as the regular PDX-SEA Train 516. This is from ODOT.

Aug. 21 eclipse specials 1012 and 1013 will stop at Salem's Oregon State Fairgrounds. Code: OSF.

 

[skyguy]

Has there been a posting/forum, etc. regarding this eclipse and Amtrak. There are two lines (that I know of) that cross the track of totality (Coast Starlight and City of New Orleans). Are any of those planning to intercept the eclipse. Are there any specialty trains going.

I've made my plans but would like to know just for sake of interest.

MODERATOR NOTE: This new thread was merged with the previous thread about the eclipse

 

[calwatch]

There's the Nerd Train which is using the River Runner to Jefferson City for its eclipse journey - one of the forum members sent me the invite to the closed Facebook group but I had already made plans for Oregon, including rental car (although I could drive the distance from Southern California if I had to). The morning train from St. Louis to Jefferson City, three and a half weeks to the eclipse, is still available, as is the morning train from Kansas City, although weather is iffier in the Midwest and it is easier to drive south from St. Louis or north from Kansas City to see the eclipse. (I have a hotel reservation at the Kansas City Airport Holiday Inn for eclipse day, which is within totality, but am giving it up to stay in the Portland metro unless bad weather is predicted in Oregon.) The Cascades Solar Eclipse Special sold out within 48 hours according to Train Orders.

 

[KmH]

The Southwest Chief and California Zephyr cross the path of totality too.

https://www.greatamericaneclipse.com/nebraska/

https://www.greatamericaneclipse.com/missouri/

The trick, regardless your mode of travel, is anticipating cloud cover along the path of totality the day of the eclipse.

I'm not deciding where to go to view totality until the late afternoon the day before the eclipse.

 

[chakk]

Folks on either train will cross the path of totality many hours distant from the shadow -- unless they are running megahours late.

 

[John Bobinyec]

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1405293772880124&id=103851009691080

Aorta - Association of Oregon Rail and Transit Advocates

On eclipse day, Amtrak will run an extra (Train 1013) PDX-SLM (fairgrounds) leaving PDX 5:00a, using equipment deadheaded EUG-PDX the night before (that otherwise would be the 8/21 500 EUG-SLM), with bus substitute EUG-ALY-SLM on the regular 500 schedule. The 1013 trainset will then go north from SLM on the 500 schedule.

Extra Train 1012 will go from SLM (fairgrounds) at 1:00p to PDX. Equipment from Train 501 will deadhead to SLM, be used as the special 1012 and then continue as the regular PDX-SEA Train 516. This is from ODOT.

Aug. 21 eclipse specials 1012 and 1013 will stop at Salem's Oregon State Fairgrounds. Code: OSF.

Anybody know what the mileage is between PDX and OSF? I need it for the maps.

Thanks,

jb

 

[Train2104]

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1405293772880124&id=103851009691080

Aorta - Association of Oregon Rail and Transit Advocates

On eclipse day, Amtrak will run an extra (Train 1013) PDX-SLM (fairgrounds) leaving PDX 5:00a, using equipment deadheaded EUG-PDX the night before (that otherwise would be the 8/21 500 EUG-SLM), with bus substitute EUG-ALY-SLM on the regular 500 schedule. The 1013 trainset will then go north from SLM on the 500 schedule.

Extra Train 1012 will go from SLM (fairgrounds) at 1:00p to PDX. Equipment from Train 501 will deadhead to SLM, be used as the special 1012 and then continue as the regular PDX-SEA Train 516. This is from ODOT.

Aug. 21 eclipse specials 1012 and 1013 will stop at Salem's Oregon State Fairgrounds. Code: OSF.

Anybody know what the mileage is between PDX and OSF? I need it for the maps.
Thanks,

jb

Measuring with Google Maps yields 2 miles OSF-SLM, and that's the value I'm putting in my table

 

[John Bobinyec]

Is OSF south of SLM?

JB

 

[calwatch]

North. https://www.google.com/maps/place/Oregon+State+Fair+%26+Exposition+Center/@44.9454211,-123.0311295,14z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x54bffef7c2f4fe4f:0xc3221db497b88670!8m2!3d44.9579759!4d-123.0093714

 

[AmtrakBlue]

https://media.amtrak.com/2017/08/take-amtrak-carbondale-total-solar-eclipse-experience-without-expensive-lodging-driving/

I saw where this train sold out within 2 hours, I think.

And in other news, they've added capacity today between St. Louis and Jefferson City on Aug. 21.

 

[KmH]

According to this article Amtrak says it sold out within 24 hours:

http://trn.trains.com/news/news-wire/2017/08/07-special-report-amtrak-announces-eclipse-express-special-to-carbondale-ill

 

[OlympianHiawatha]

I was surprised to see as of a few minutes ago the morning River Runner from STL to JEF still has mid-bucket seats available! A lot of activities are planned in Jefferson City and it will be interesting to see how many folks spill off that train.

 

[fairviewroad]

According to this article Amtrak says it sold out within 24 hours:

http://trn.trains.com/news/news-wire/2017/08/07-special-report-amtrak-announces-eclipse-express-special-to-carbondale-ill

All aboard the SOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLL Train.

heh heh

 

[NorthShore]

Yep, I thought about buying a ticket CHI-CDL over the weekend. Returned to it today, with the intention to book, and all seats were gone.

 

[brianpmcdonnell17]

Yep, I thought about buying a ticket CHI-CDL over the weekend. Returned to it today, with the intention to book, and all seats were gone.

The odds are that someone will cancel so if you check frequently enough a seat may come available.
Edit: I just checked and one or more seats are actually available in both directions.

 

[NorthShore]

Yep, I thought about buying a ticket CHI-CDL over the weekend. Returned to it today, with the intention to book, and all seats were gone.

The odds are that someone will cancel so if you check frequently enough a seat may come available.
Edit: I just checked and one or more seats are actually available in both directions.

True. It might well be worth it to continue checking. I'm wondering if some just bought tickets with the hope of reselling at a profit, somehow, or reserving the option.

Alas, I'm not sure how much I really want to start the journey at three in the morning, anyway. But, considering the unique opportunity....

Still, Adler Planetarium is going to have a grand event associated (even though it will not be total in Chicago.) And Tom Skilling is going to cover it live on WGN.