John-MCPO-USN
Train Attendant
- Joined
- Apr 6, 2011
- Messages
- 75
I have a trip on #5 on 20Sep2011......hopefully everything will have cleared up by then.....(maybe)......
Checked the website and that seems to be the fact. The first #5 available out of Chicago is the first week of Oct. It read's SOLD OUT up till that week.Wait...no 5's out of Chicago for all of September? Yikes!
That is too bad. Maybe you get from/to DEN and LAJ by :help: bus :help: and catch 3 & 4 to salvage your trip?Amtrak just called....strange, they called to say no service from Reno to Chicago on the 8th of Sept....Thats the last part of our trip. Nothing about the first part from Chicago to Reno on the 4th. I called Amtrak CS and ask what the deal was. I was told the #6 was only running to Denver east bound and there would be no west bound #5 untill NEXT month out of Chicago. She used the flooding as an excuse.
At least I got the call a couple days ahead of time rather then the day before.
Nice that they post it on Facebook. However, it should be posted on the website first. Amtrak should understand this. That was the point of linking the Amtrak and AGR websites. What, folks are supposed to surf the web to get thier answers about what Amtrak is up to? :excl: But, OTOH, that is how I found AU! :giggle:Posted on Facebook:
SOME AMTRAK CALIFORNIA ZEPHYR SERVICE TO RESUME
by Amtrak on Thursday, September 1, 2011 at 1:55pmTrains 5 & 6 to operate between California and Colorado this weekend
CHICAGO – Daily service by the Amtrak California Zephyr between San Francisco Bay Area and Denver will resume this weekend, effective with the departure of eastbound Train 6 from Emeryville, Calif., on Sept. 3, and the westbound Train 5 from Denver on Sept. 4.
Direct train service between Denver and Chicago will continue to be suspended between Fort Morgan, Colo., and Burlington, Iowa, until a date to be announced later this month. The BNSF Railway Co. continues to make repairs to massive flood damage near Omaha that had led to a detour route resulting in lengthy delays to Amtrak service across Nebraska and Iowa.
Amtrak service for the full California Zephyr route has been suspended since Aug. 26, when a portion of a construction crane at a grain elevator obstructed the BNSF Railway Co., tracks and caused an Amtrak train to become disabled near Benkelman, Neb. That suspension allowed Amtrak to deploy equipment and crews to resume this limited California Zephyr service.
Amtrak regrets any inconvenience. Passengers who have paid for travel on canceled trains can contact Amtrak to receive refunds without fee or penalty or can rebook for future travel. If tickets have not yet printed, the refund/rebook can be done on Amtrak.com or the free Amtrak iPhone “app."
SOME AMTRAK CALIFORNIA ZEPHYR SERVICE TO RESUME
by Amtrak on Thursday, September 1, 2011 at 3:55pm
Trains 5 & 6 to operate between California and Colorado this weekend
CHICAGO – Daily service by the Amtrak California Zephyr between San Francisco Bay Area and Denver will resume this weekend, effective with the departure of eastbound Train 6 from Emeryville, Calif., on Sept. 3, and the westbound Train 5 from Denver on Sept. 4.
Direct train service between Denver and Chicago will continue to be suspended between Fort Morgan, Colo., and Burlington, Iowa, until a date to be announced later this month. The BNSF Railway Co. continues to make repairs to massive flood damage near Omaha that had led to a detour route resulting in lengthy delays to Amtrak service across Nebraska and Iowa.
Amtrak service for the full California Zephyr route has been suspended since Aug. 26, when a portion of a construction crane at a grain elevator obstructed the BNSF Railway Co., tracks and caused an Amtrak train to become disabled near Benkelman, Neb. That suspension allowed Amtrak to deploy equipment and crews to resume this limited California Zephyr service.
Amtrak regrets any inconvenience.
They cannot be serious. CHI-DEN is the most popular section of that route, they have to add extra cars just between those two stations to satisfy demand in peak season. And they want to DROP daily service? What the hell are these people smoking?! :help:Just got off the phone with a colleague who hinted that Amtrak is rapidly revisiting the concept of permanently running the CZ only as far east as DEN, and either bus-bridging to the SWC to get to CHI, or bringing back the Denver Zephyr from days of old to cover DEN to CHI. DZ would not be daily. Apparently, this has been looked at many times over the years, but the concept grew legs again this week.
Makes me wonder if the 30-day halt in DEN-CHI service is being carefully viewed as a viability test.
Having just read your posts in this thread: http://discuss.amtraktrains.com/index.php?/topic/42275-5-6-service-disruption/ I can understand why you - and your wife - are upset. The information you got from 1-800-USARAIL sure seems like deliberate misinformation when what people are posting online BEFORE you called contradicts what you were told. It may be S.O.P. in today's world for companies to pull these kind of stunts, but it does leave a bad taste in one's mouth when it appears you can see right through them. Disruptions and cancellations would be a less bitter pill to swallow if one was not left feeling lied to. Maybe Julie's last name is Information, and she is single? :giggle:Amtrak just called....strange, they called to say no service from Reno to Chicago on the 8th of Sept....Thats the last part of our trip. Nothing about the first part from Chicago to Reno on the 4th. I called Amtrak CS and ask what the deal was. I was told the #6 was only running to Denver east bound and there would be no west bound #5 untill NEXT month out of Chicago. She used the flooding as an excuse.
At least I got the call a couple days ahead of time rather then the day before.
IS that a LIMITED SUNSET or not?Where is the end to the bad news about the CZ?
Just got off the phone with a colleague who hinted that Amtrak is rapidly revisiting the concept of permanently running the CZ only as far east as DEN, and either bus-bridging to the SWC to get to CHI, or bringing back the Denver Zephyr from days of old to cover DEN to CHI. DZ would not be daily. Apparently, this has been looked at many times over the years, but the concept grew legs again this week.
Makes me wonder if the 30-day halt in DEN-CHI service is being carefully viewed as a viability test.
Now what is going on between Chicago and Burlington? Perhaps we need to start a rumor that Amtrak is trying to reacquire all the original Burlington "Silver" equipment and bring us a 1950s Zephyr with 5 BIG DOMES! :lol:Posted on Facebook:
SOME AMTRAK CALIFORNIA ZEPHYR SERVICE TO RESUME
by Amtrak on Thursday, September 1, 2011 at 1:55pmTrains 5 & 6 to operate between California and Colorado this weekend
Direct train service between Denver and Chicago will continue to be suspended between Fort Morgan, Colo., and Burlington, Iowa, until a date to be announced later this month.
I find this hard to believe. The Chicago-Denver section is the heaviest used portion of the route. Breaking the route in two would seem to be self defeating. and running the Chi end of the train less than daily? The Zephyr's current problems are caused by an act of nature, not some inherent problem with the route.Where is the end to the bad news about the CZ?
Just got off the phone with a colleague who hinted that Amtrak is rapidly revisiting the concept of permanently running the CZ only as far east as DEN, and either bus-bridging to the SWC to get to CHI, or bringing back the Denver Zephyr from days of old to cover DEN to CHI. DZ would not be daily. Apparently, this has been looked at many times over the years, but the concept grew legs again this week.
Makes me wonder if the 30-day halt in DEN-CHI service is being carefully viewed as a viability test.
Not a lot of domestic flying fans on here John! First choice would be to check on rebboking the SWC CHI-LAX/CS LAX-SEA. Second would be to "fly"( a four letter word here!) Chicago-Denver, ride the Zephyr to SAC, the best scenery is between Denver and Sacramento!!! I wouldnt drive that trip, but it would beat Cancelling the rest of a "Dream Trip"! Check it out on Amsnag or Amtrak.com and try to rebbok the CHI-LAX-SEA portion!Well----when I made my Train Odyssey plans way back in March, I would have NEVER guessed that #5 would be cancelled for an entire month (late---yes, but cancelled---no). There is just no planning for that.
So, now my entire trip is in jeopardy (JAX-DC #98, DC-CHI #51, then the cancelled CHI-SAC #5, SAC-SEA #14, 2 days in SEA, then SEA-CHI #8, CHI-DC #30 and finally DC-JAX #97-----used RAIL PASS and Sleepers on all legs).
What to do?? Rent a car and drive from CHI to SAC? Try the SWC to LA, then attempt to re-book my sleeper on #14 from LA vice SAC? Fly from CHI-DEN (I hate flying)? Or, just get all my money back, re-group....and try again (last resort).
I am a huge AMTRAK fan----and understand the unforseen situation----but, I've been looking forward to this adventure----well before I booked it in March.
John
Enter your email address to join: