Missing Connections

[denmarks]

I noticed that the CZ was 5 hours and 8 minutes late into Chicago on 11/13. The CONO left on time. Next June I'm taking a trip on the CZ and CONO. There is about a 4.5 hour wait between trains. If I had gone on 11/13 I would have missed my connection. I've been randonly checking arrival times in Chicago of the CZ and it is usually within 1/2 hour of schedule.

Every time I take a trip either by plane or train my biggest worry is missing connections. My stress builds up as the trip nears it's end, ruining the trip for me. Do other people have this same fear? What are the odds of missing connections. I know that Amtrak will take care of reconnecting me but I hate the trouble of running to the airport and catching up with the train.

Any comments would be appreciated. :unsure:

 

[AlanB]

I don't have any real stats on just how often a connection is missed. By and large though Amtrak does make most of the connections. The ones broken the most, are those with only a 1 or 2 hour wait. Usually the 3 & 4 hours layovers fare better.

I wouldn't worrry too much though, as Amtrak will take care of everything. If you think that you'll worry too much however, then you could always consider arriving into Chicago a day early. Then spend the night in Chicago and leave the next day. That will guarentee your connection.

One final thought, since you are connecting from the CZ to the CONO. If you are running so late that you'd miss the Chicago connection, Amtrak will most likely take you off of the CZ at Galesburg and bus you to Champaign-Urbana to meet up with the CONO there. This gives them a 10 hour window to still make the conection.

 

[Guest]

Is this bus connection between Galesburg and Champaign/Urbana a regularly scheduled thing or just "on call" if people need that connection? If it's the latter, would they do it for one person?

 

[battalion51]

It's an on call thing, where it is done when necesssary, if I remember correctly. Amtrak is obligated to get you to New Orleans some way some how. Like Alan suggested though, if you are that nervous consider a night in Chicago, that's not a bad place to overnight. :lol:

 

[AlanB]

There is indeed a regularly scheduled bus from Galesburg, in fact there are two buses each day.

The Zephyr is due to arrive into Galesburg at 12:06 PM, the first bus leaves Galesburg at 2:20 PM although if the CZ arrives in time for you to catch this bus, then you should also be able to make the actual connection at Chicago.

However the safety hatch is the bus at 5:25 PM. This bus would allow you to be five hours late on the CZ and still connect with the CONO at Champaign/Urbana. It's also possible that Amtrak would hold this bus for perhaps as long as 30 minutes, if the Zephyr was that close to making the connection.

That Thruway bus is #8892 and can be found on page 81 of the timetable.

Now if all else fails and you are even later than that, then if you were the only person connecting, then no Amtrak would probably not run a connection for you. They'll just send you to Chicago and put you on the next day's train most likely.

If however there are 3 or more people connecting, then there is a real possibility that Amtrak might run a special van or bus. Of course if the CZ hasn't reached Galesburg by 8:00 PM, then it will be too late for any connection via bus/van.