Memorial Day non-black-out, and BBY QuikTrak questions

[wayman]

One way or another, I'll be in Brattleboro (Marlboro, really) by Friday evening. I have the option of going up Thursday and staying in Boston for a night; I may have the option of going up Thursday and staying in Brattleboro for a night too.

I'd initially dismissed the idea of going to Brattleboro via Acela-to-Boston because I was certain Memorial Day Weekend would be a blackout period for First Class Upgrade coupons. But I just actually looked at the back of a coupon for the first time this year, and ...

... it's not?!?!?! :blink: :blink:

Dates surrounding Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, and Presidents Day 2011 are all that are listed. Has Memorial Day weekend always been upgradeable? Or are there far fewer blackout dates this year? Or am I missing some other fine print in which Memorial Day weekend is actually blacked out after all?

Followup question: OTP of Acela into Boston. Is it highly unusual for Acela to be more than 20 minutes late into BOS these days? :unsure: :unsure:

The Acela I'd take is the one that arrives at BOS at 11:37am. The LSL departs BOS at 11:55am. This is ridiculously tight, obviously, but

1) I'll ticket to BOS so if the Acela is more than 20 minutes late, I can just ride to the bumper and be on the Red Line to Somerville where I'd stay for the night if need be (easy for me to schedule on short notice).

2) So long as the Acela is anywhere from on-time to 20 minutes late, I can hop off at BBY (scheduled 11:32am, so 20 minutes late would be 11:52am) and catch the LSL there (on-time departure from BBY would be 12:00pm). With on-time trains, or even a 10-minute-late Acela, this is a 20-30 minute transfer which is certainly no problem. With a 20-minute-late Acela, it becomes an 8 minute transfer ... which might be a problem. So I'm trying to calculate just how late Acela could be running where I've still got a shot if I get off at BBY to print my tickets and make the LSL.

The one thing I don't know about this plan is, how convenient are the QuikTrak machines at BBY? If I wait to print the LSL/Vermonter reservation until BBY, where do I have to run to print them and how much time will that take? h34r: h34r:

 

[the_traveler]

AE is usually on time - or very near on time! And they add padding between PVD and RTE to ensure on time.

The QT at BBY (I believe there are 2) are very convenient and close. When you get off on Track 2 you go up the stairs to the station lobby. At the far end of the ticket windows (under 100 feet) is the QT. After you print the tickets, your outbound train will be down the stairs on track 1 or 3 (also about 100 feet). There are no gate agents, so you can go to the platform early!

 

[Acela150]

I can give you some experience of that padding. When taking 162 last December the train arrived 10 minutes Early! I'd say it takes 15 minutes at most. The latest I was on Acela was 15 minutes and that's because They were operating 1 track between Harold and Just East of Hell Gate by Oak Point Yard. But Acela is mostly on-time. It's the regional's that have a tendency to fall behind. Especially RVR an NPN trains.

Steve

 

[Rafi]

Will, I will throw a word of caution. I took a mini trip this past April between BAL-BOS-CHI-BAL via the Lake Shore and Cardinal, and while I initially planned to go with the Acela to make the connection, I deemed it too much of a risk. At the time, there was Metro North trackwork that was habitually stabbing that Acela's OTP into BOS on the order of 25-30 minutes each day. I couldn't risk missing the LSL, so I flew into Boston instead and took the Silver Line into town (actually met up with Anthony, too, and he walked me out to meet the LSL). It's a good thing I went that route, because that day the Acela did, in fact, miss the LSL at both BOS and BBY. I would have been up a creek.

I believe that trackwork has ended or moved, but I'm still seeing delays on the Amtrak Delays site, between 8 and 16 minutes. Technically, you'd be fine (at least at BBY). But you have to ask yourself--is it worth pacing the Acela's aisle between Providence and BBY hoping and praying you make it? I decided it wasn't, but again, the delays were worse then.

Rafi

 

[jis]

I believe single tracking is still in effect between Gate and Shell as they replace catenary equipment on one track there.

 

[wayman]

I believe that trackwork has ended or moved, but I'm still seeing delays on the Amtrak Delays site, between 8 and 16 minutes. Technically, you'd be fine (at least at BBY). But you have to ask yourself--is it worth pacing the Acela's aisle between Providence and BBY hoping and praying you make it? I decided it wasn't, but again, the delays were worse then.

Good to know; thanks. Though ... given my goal is Brattleboro, I have another convoluted possibility.

If I make three separate reservations,

Acela PHL-BOS

LSL BOS-SPG

Vermonter SPG-BRA

which under ideal circumstances work just like that (but changing at BBY to gain an extra few minutes), then

If the Acela is late into BBY for some reason, losing time in Rhode Island, I can just ride to BOS and stay with a friend there, and get a ride to Brattleboro the next day with another friend; this actually would work pretty smoothly. (It's not like your case, where I'd be hosed for missing a train connection in Chicago, say.)

If the Acela loses time in Metro North territory, I could bail out at NHV (scheduled 9:30 am) -- as long as we're not more than 30 minutes late there, I'll have plenty of time to catch the 10:15 am Shuttle NHV-SPG. Then I can cancel the LSL reservation, and I'll be in SPG in plenty of time to pick up the Vermonter without having to cancel/rebook that reservation.

This is all so silly, I know. But ... triple AGR on Acela, plus a possible FC Upgrade ... it pays for itself, so it's worth trying to make it work!

 

[amamba]

They are definitely still doing that trackwork - I was delayed about 50 minutes on acela because of it on Friday, 5/7 and also delayed about 20 minutes heading north back to PVD on 5/9 because of that same issue.

However, I will add that we seemed to get delayed around mystic and new london. Isn't that north of New Haven? If that is the case, you won't be able to bail off the acela in New Haven. It wasn't RI that was the issue, though, it was definitely in CT.

 

[wayman]

However, I will add that we seemed to get delayed around mystic and new london. Isn't that north of New Haven? If that is the case, you won't be able to bail off the acela in New Haven. It wasn't RI that was the issue, though, it was definitely in CT.

Mystic/New London is beyond New Haven ... so I'll ask the conductor if the trackwork in that area is likely to produce delays, and if he/she thinks there's any chance I'll get off in New Haven before encountering those possible delays. Thanks for the tip!

I'm glad there are so many routes and trains in that part of the country -- having options is nice. If I get off in NHV anywhere from 9:30 to 10:00, I can catch a morning Shuttle to SPG and wait for the Vermonter there ... if I get to NHV after 10:00, I can still get off and just catch the Vermonter a few hours later and ride straight to BRA ... and no matter what, I'm scheduled to get to BRA at 5:10 pm. I've got "back up tickets" reserved for several contingencies, so unless Amtrak cancels some of them on me I know I'm ok as far as having available seats....

If I'm able to use my FC Upgrade coupon, I'll be sure to get my NYC-BOS meal early, in case I wind up detraining as early as NHV!

 

[NJCoastExp]

However, I will add that we seemed to get delayed around mystic and new london. Isn't that north of New Haven? If that is the case, you won't be able to bail off the acela in New Haven. It wasn't RI that was the issue, though, it was definitely in CT.

Mystic/New London is beyond New Haven ... so I'll ask the conductor if the trackwork in that area is likely to produce delays, and if he/she thinks there's any chance I'll get off in New Haven before encountering those possible delays. Thanks for the tip!

I'm glad there are so many routes and trains in that part of the country -- having options is nice. If I get off in NHV anywhere from 9:30 to 10:00, I can catch a morning Shuttle to SPG and wait for the Vermonter there ... if I get to NHV after 10:00, I can still get off and just catch the Vermonter a few hours later and ride straight to BRA ... and no matter what, I'm scheduled to get to BRA at 5:10 pm. I've got "back up tickets" reserved for several contingencies, so unless Amtrak cancels some of them on me I know I'm ok as far as having available seats....

If I'm able to use my FC Upgrade coupon, I'll be sure to get my NYC-BOS meal early, in case I wind up detraining as early as NHV!

I went on 2150 into BOS today. Train started late 25 out of NWK. Came into BOS as 449 was closing doors

 

[wayman]

I went on 2150 into BOS today. Train started late 25 out of NWK. Came into BOS as 449 was closing doors

If I'm reading that right, it means that between Newark and Boston you didn't encounter further delays and actually made up some of those 25 minutes? That's assuming 449 was leaving on-time at 11:55, and thus you arrived at 11:55 (only 18 minutes late from the scheduled 11:37).

 

[wayman]

2150 was a few minutes early into BBY.

So I've got half an hour to figure out which of the TWO Dunkin Donuts in BBY -- only 50 yards apart -- I should patronize! :huh:

I can't decide!!! :lol: :lol:

Traveler, if you were at Kingston, I waved for the roughly tenth of a second it took us to fly through