Lake Shore Limited schedule change

[Trogdor]

The Metropolitan Lounge currently closes after the last long-distance train leaves (around 8 pm). I don't know what time it opens in the morning, but it's probably not before the first inbound LD train is due in.

It certainly isn't open the entire time the station is open, though I've never seen any official hours posted for it.

 

[frychikn]

So what time does the train get into New York now?

 

[AlanB]

So what time does the train get into New York now?

6:45 PM

 

[rmgreenesq]

Well, the CLE and ERI departures are more reasonable as a result:
7:00am from Cleveland and 8:29am from Erie.

This may be the reasoning behind the schedule change. That and it takes the two Amtrak trains that service Indiana and Ohio and spreads them out a little more. The Lakeshore and the Capitol Ltd. used to run through these parts of the country roughly an hour apart.

Rick

 

[racer1735]

I was in CUS in late Feb. when the eastbound Cardinal was delayed nearly six hours. Amtrak kept the Metropolitan Lounge open until our train had boarded. In fact, one of the Customer Service reps rounded up all the kids that were riding coach on the train and took them into the lounge so they could have a soft drink. I thought that was a very nice gesture. The kids all had big smiles when they came back into the 'regular' departure lounge.

 

[gaspeamtrak]

I just read the NARP news and they are saying sleeping car passengers will be able to board at 8:00pm and have a welcome aboard reception in lieu of a "full dinner"in the diner??? Any idea what this means???

Coach passengers will be able to board at 9:00pm and the lounge car will stay open till midnight.

This sounds really cool being able to board your sleeper and get settled in and possibly be a sleep before you leave!!! Love the new arrival time for Buffalo!!!

 

[redsandal]

I just read the NARP news and they are saying sleeping car passengers will be able to board at 8:00pm and have a welcome aboard reception in lieu of a "full dinner"in the diner??? Any idea what this means???Coach passengers will be able to board at 9:00pm and the lounge car will stay open till midnight.

This sounds really cool being able to board your sleeper and get settled in and possibly be a sleep before you leave!!! Love the new arrival time for Buffalo!!!

Yeah, can't disagree w/ you on the arrival time for BUF...7am is pretty tough! After this trip, maybe I can be a little more conscious when I arrive! :blink:

 

[AlanB]

Well, the CLE and ERI departures are more reasonable as a result:

7:00am from Cleveland and 8:29am from Erie.

This may be the reasoning behind the schedule change. That and it takes the two Amtrak trains that service Indiana and Ohio and spreads them out a little more. The Lakeshore and the Capitol Ltd. used to run through these parts of the country roughly an hour apart.

Rick

While spacing the trains apart might have something to do with the change, I would think that improving the calling times in CLE and ERI have nothing to do with the change. If changing those times was important to Amtrak, then they also would have changed things for the westbound LSL.

I suspect that it has more to do with keeping the train from arriving into Penn during rush hour, assuming that it's on time; perhaps improving connections from the west for late running trains; and perhaps allowing for more cleaning and turning time.

There is also one other possibility, that being a rumor being circulated around that the LSL might be rerouted to serve Michigan, much like was done last month during the NS meltdown on the normal route. For a few days in a row, Amtrak combined the Capitol and the LSL and sent them via the normal line in Michigan to Pontiac, although they turned off that line at Dearborn and then ran south to Toledo. At Toledo the trains were seperated and continued as normal. The westbounds followed the same routine also.

 

[AlanB]

I just read the NARP news and they are saying sleeping car passengers will be able to board at 8:00pm and have a welcome aboard reception in lieu of a "full dinner"in the diner??? Any idea what this means???Coach passengers will be able to board at 9:00pm and the lounge car will stay open till midnight.

My guess is that it will be some sort of lite snacks in the dining car, perhaps served family style. On the other hand I'm not sure that anyone, but a railfan, is going to enjoy just sitting around on a train that's not moving for two hours.

 

[rtabern]

The Metropolitan Lounge currently closes after the last long-distance train leaves (around 8 pm). I don't know what time it opens in the morning, but it's probably not before the first inbound LD train is due in.
It certainly isn't open the entire time the station is open, though I've never seen any official hours posted for it.

It opens at 8am and closes at 8pm normally (after 59 leaves)

 

[Railbender]

Well, the CLE and ERI departures are more reasonable as a result:
7:00am from Cleveland and 8:29am from Erie.

This means I can actually again consider flying to Cleveland and coming back on the train! The Capitol's last schedule change took it from the barely bearable 12:30 to the less than likeable 2:00am!

This could mean a whole new era in eastbound train travel for Erie, PA...my hometown! We are such a middle-of-the-night stop (east and westbound) that many never consider the train as an option. Can't make any connections heading southbound on Silver Service or can you? I have missed that connection for the past couple of years.

 

[x-press]

I wish they would do this with the Capitol (instead or in addition to). With Superliners, it has the capacity to take a lot of missed connections . . . maybe even offer some sleepers to missed sleeper connections.

My parents are banking on a ~2:30 connection from the Chief to the Cardinal. Trying to persuade them that this was not wise, and risked riding back in coach on a later train (or worse) was like talking to a couple of bricks. I wish there was a better "backup plan" for them.

 

[had8ley]

The 4 hour layover is bad enough, but it's going to stretch till 10??!!

I see this as just another excuse to get pizza in Chicago.

Sounds like a BIGGER excuse for Amtrak not to have to serve dinner leaving Chicago. Who knows~ they might not even board the serving crew until the wee hours down the road.

 

[AlanB]

Sounds like a BIGGER excuse for Amtrak not to have to serve dinner leaving Chicago. Who knows~ they might not even board the serving crew until the wee hours down the road.

I think that unlikely for a few reasons. First, the crew can't be taken off the train early on the way to Chicago, since they are busy serving breakfast. So now you'd have to bus them to meet the train, an unaceptable expense. Second, they are still serving something out of Chicago, just not a full dinner. Third, it was Amtrak that made changes to the LSL, CONL, and now the Capitol to actually improve service in the dining car by seating passengers before the train even leaves the station.

My money's on the switch being made to move the arrival time at NYP out of the rush hour box, a request by NS to keep the two trains further apart, or in preperation for that rumored change that will reroute the train through Michigan.

 

[Superliner Diner]

a request by NS to keep the two trains further apart

Looks like the schedule for Empire Service #286 was swapped with that of the later LSL on the new schedule. I guess CSX did not want those trains on top of each other either.

 

[railfangns]

How many connections will be broken at NYP due to the lakeshore limiteds later arrival time in the

evening? Many i guess.I know you cant connect with the crescent but what about the Florida trains?

Or lets say i want to go to Washington DC i will probably get in around 11 pm or midnight on this

new schedule.

 

[Trogdor]

No connections will be broken, since the eastbound LSL already arrived too late to connect with anything except for trains to DC and Boston. Granted, you'll wind up getting to various points on the NEC later than you will now, but you can still make same-day connections.

The eastbound Lake Shore Limited doesn't connect with any Florida trains (or the Adirondack).

 

[Guest]

The Florida trains leave at 11 and 3.

Odds are more people are connecting to NYP from WAS than the opposite, as the LSL is slightly slower than the CL, and often more expensive for sleepers.

 

[Guest]

The Florida trains leave at 11 and 3.
Odds are more people are connecting to NYP from WAS than the opposite, as the LSL is slightly slower than the CL, and often more expensive for sleepers.

Sorry, I meant to say WAS to NYP

 

[The Metropolitan]

Well, the CLE and ERI departures are more reasonable as a result:
7:00am from Cleveland and 8:29am from Erie.

This means I can actually again consider flying to Cleveland and coming back on the train! The Capitol's last schedule change took it from the barely bearable 12:30 to the less than likeable 2:00am!

On second thought! :huh:

Looking about for a Baseball Excursion to take my friend on, the choices were:

Stay the night in Cleveland and take the LSL to the NEC to get back late at night the next day, or

Leave at the crappy calling hour of the Capitol Limited if I could find a reasonable roomette.

Turns out, the cost to ride just COACH from CLE to BAL is $243 for us aboard the LSL for 4/15. Having a severe streak of luck, I found that taking the CL in Roomette on this date was $227! Add in the hotel night saved by taking 30 and the included meals by going sleeper and it was a no brainer!

Guess I'll cope with the owl time for now, and work out a trip on the LSL some other time.

 

[rile42]

I am booked to ride the LSL from CLE to BOS on April 4th. Amtrak left a message on my phone yesterday announcing the changes. For people like me, it is a bad change. Living near Columbus, it is a 2 hour drive to CLE. So, for a 7:00 AM departure, I need to leave around 4:00 AM to get there a little early or spend the night up there, neither of which is as good as what I used to do.

Also, the late arrival at Boston is really not good. To arrive at my final destination, I usually take a commuter train from North Station to Rockport, Mass. Now, if the LSL is just 2 hours late, the connection is in jeopardy and I'm stuck at South Station. This might be very interesting.

 

[eliyahu]

My guess is that it will be some sort of lite snacks in the dining car, perhaps served family style. On the other hand I'm not sure that anyone, but a railfan, is going to enjoy just sitting around on a train that's not moving for two hours.

alan: one other class of passengers who might prefer the early boarding are families traveling in the sleeping cars. i know we would. anyone with toddlers would certainly prefer to get aboard, and get them in bed, as soon as possible.

i am actually fairly pleased about the changes, actually. the later departure in chicago means less worry about connections -- and if we board at 8PM, it's just the same to me as 7:55PM as before. i don't particularly care for the later arrival in NYC, but it just means a later dinner there than originally planned for us. and the 7AM departure from cleveland is a real boon as well. since i normally fly one way and take the train the other, this allows travel via amtrak from cleveland back to new york for the first time. it also would allow me to take coach (and save mightily) since it's just a daytrain in this direction.

by the way, the new timetable indicates that all passengers are welcome to board at 8PM. sleeping car passengers get the 'welcome aboard' reception which includes 'complimentary snacks and beverages' in the dining car; coach passengers get the privilege of purchasing same from the lounge car. the way this reads suggests no real dinner on-board, but until the changes take place, who knows. anyone planning an early-april trip on the LSL from CHI to points east?

-- eliyahu

austin, tx

 

[Railbender]

Eliyahu...here is the definitive answer regarding DINNER...from a new press release...dated yesterday...

http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServe...36&ssid=180

"Train 48, the eastbound Lake Shore Limited, will depart Chicago at 10 pm nightly, allowing it to accept more passengers arriving on other trains from the west and south, while providing a more attractive eastbound departure from Cleveland. At Chicago, Lake Shore Limited passengers can begin boarding two hours before departure and Sleeping Car customers will be offered a complimentary Welcome Aboard Reception in the Dining Car IN LIEU OF dinner."

 

[Bigval109]

If the CZ is really late will Amtrak put you on the Lakeshore to get you back to the east coast then on down to Was?

 

[AlanB]

If the CZ is really late will Amtrak put you on the Lakeshore to get you back to the east coast then on down to Was?

If the Lake Shore has room, then yes they will do just that, assuming that the CZ isn't so late such that it misses even the LSL.