Since 3x weekly began, have any connections been missed in Chicago?

[Ferroequinologist]

I'm on 29. It left DC 90 minutes late. What happened? I always worry about missing a connection,even though I have a nice buffer. On 27 later today. This is the beginning of a circle trip on 29,27,11,422 and 48. If I missed my Portland connection it would be 48 hours until the next Starlight. I'm taking 14 to Martinez and a San Jouquin to LA. That 9PM arrival in LA on 11 is too close for comfort to connect to 422.

It's just after 10AM. We left South Bend a few minutes ago.

What's hygiene like on the trains? Do crew wear gloves and change them? How clean are bathrooms?

 

[Sidney]

The crew wear masks. The food servers wear gloves. Restrooms,at least in the sleepers are immaculate. Not sure how often they are cleaned.

 

[Willbridge]

I meant 11,not 14 to Martinez

It's easy to put those in the wrong order, even for those of us who grew up with it. Just try to remember that Oakland Pier, which no longer exists, is SP MP0.0 and that trains headed toward it are westbound/odd numbers. But wait! When Train 11 starts out in Seattle it's eastbound to Auburn and then westbound to Oakland. Then it's eastbound to LAX. The only real solution is to go to the Pacific Parlor Car and have a beverage!

Oh, wait...

 

[jebr]

They can only hold one for as long as the host RR allows it ... that may not fit with the timing of other Amtrak connections.

As far as I'm aware, Amtrak can delay a train indefinitely - the host RR likely just wouldn't be penalized for delays as the train entered their system late. Mechanical issues can and do happen, and I'm not aware of any instance where Amtrak was refused passage on a host railroad due to the delay, even at an origin station. Many trains also pass over multiple host railroads, and while I don't know the specifics of the agreements, Amtrak can certainly enter onto another host railroad's territory even when the train is late due to delays on the previous host railroads.

The main reasons Amtrak had started to take a position to not hold trains in Chicago was because they wanted to reduce delays overall (ideally if the train is on time leaving the origin station, the host railroads will get it across at the scheduled times.) There could also be concerns about missed connections downline, although now with the three-a-week schedule I'd hope that Amtrak would be more concerned about getting passengers through Chicago (and not having passengers stuck in Chicago for two to three nights) than missing connections in other places (which generally have daily or better service, so a missed connection there isn't as bad.)

 

[Ferroequinologist]

As far as I'm aware, Amtrak can delay a train indefinitely - the host RR likely just wouldn't be penalized for delays as the train entered their system late. Mechanical issues can and do happen, and I'm not aware of any instance where Amtrak was refused passage on a host railroad due to the delay, even at an origin station. Many trains also pass over multiple host railroads, and while I don't know the specifics of the agreements, Amtrak can certainly enter onto another host railroad's territory even when the train is late due to delays on the previous host railroads.

The main reasons Amtrak had started to take a position to not hold trains in Chicago was because they wanted to reduce delays overall (ideally if the train is on time leaving the origin station, the host railroads will get it across at the scheduled times.) There could also be concerns about missed connections downline, although now with the three-a-week schedule I'd hope that Amtrak would be more concerned about getting passengers through Chicago (and not having passengers stuck in Chicago for two to three nights) than missing connections in other places (which generally have daily or better service, so a missed connection there isn't as bad.)

I wonder if Amtrak has actually put anyone up - at Amtrak expense - in a Chicago hotel for two or three nights.

 

[20th Century Rider]

What's hygiene like on the trains? Do crew wear gloves and change them? How clean are bathrooms?

What Amtrak promises about hygiene on the trains... and what actually is... depends on the crew. During this pandemic time that is very concerning. To me... listening to what Amtrak has to say is not as meaningful as the reviews and shared experiences of travelers... because those accounts are the results of what is being promised. Not always bad, and not always good.

Is it safe to travel by train during a pandemic? Doctors and cleaning experts weigh in, plus details on new protocols from Amtrak.

To find out if train travel is safe right now, we talked to experts and an Amtrak representative to find out risks to know when boarding during COVID.

www.businessinsider.com

Help! I’d Like to Ride the Train. Is it Safe?

Our columnist finds that rail companies, both regional systems and Amtrak, are undertaking major coronavirus efforts. But they can’t thoroughly disinfect every seat in every train at every station.

www.nytimes.com

Amtrak: Delivering a New Standard of Travel - Amtrak Media

WASHINGTON - Amtrak is leading the way by setting a new standard of travel with enhanced safety and cleaning measures. In an effort to simplify and safeguard the travel experience, several cleaning, contact-free and convenience measures have been implemented into every part of the customer...

media.amtrak.com

 

[tricia]

I wonder if Amtrak has actually put anyone up - at Amtrak expense - in a Chicago hotel for two or three nights.

This ^
Coming back to the subject of this thread: Have any connections been missed in Chicago since LD trains went to 3/week, and if so, how has Amtrak handled that?

 

[Michigan Mom]

With reduced service frequency in Michigan I am also curious how the connections to LD trains are preserved when the only train that runs from Detroit to Chicago is cancelled. Eastbound, it's the early train, and Westbound, it's the midday run, so maybe the timing makes it easier to arrange bus transportation or whatnot. I'm even more intrigued because when I wake up in the middle of the night with anxiety and insomnia ( a new thing for 2020), in order to get back to sleep I like to peruse the Amtrak delay alerts and system map showing where all the trains are. Maybe it's happening more often, or maybe I'm just noticing it more, there seem to be cancellations for mechanical reasons even more than freight train interference. With fewer trains operating shouldn't there be less equipment problems?

Edit: reverse the East and West times. Apologies. DET-CHI is the early morning train.

 

[20th Century Rider]

All these problems seem to in part be coming from 'covid paralysis' as maintenance and other work is not getting done, or done as well. I personally am coping with all this by simply not traveling. Any non essential discretionary travel brings infection risk. So, my coping is just to wait until we are through this covid nightmare.

 

[bms]

I'm on 29. It left DC 90 minutes late. What happened? I always worry about missing a connection,even though I have a nice buffer. On 27 later today. This is the beginning of a circle trip on 29,27,11,422 and 48. If I missed my Portland connection it would be 48 hours until the next Starlight. I'm taking 14 to Martinez and a San Jouquin to LA. That 9PM arrival in LA on 11 is too close for comfort to connect to 422.

It's just after 10AM. We left South Bend a few minutes ago.

Just catching up, I guess you were on the same late 29 as I was! From what was announced, they had some problem with air lines and had to fix it. Idk why a bad ordered engine stops them for 90 minutes when they have running locos in the Yard, but that's on them. We ended up passing a stopped train 49, I wonder if they made their connections.