SLC-FTW

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BuffaloBoy

BuffaloBoy

Service Attendant
Joined
Apr 23, 2015
Messages
191
Location
SLC
I wanted to book slc-ftw in August but found that I could not, amsnag also says you cannot get there from here. I also tried the whole month of April and no joy. I tried august from slc-gbb and gbb-ftw and had no problem. Has Amtrak stopped booking slc-ftw as a guaranteed connection? I could call an agent, I suppose, but was hoping someone in the know could help me avoid that!
 
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I think because the SWC from SLC arrives in CHI 2 hours after the TE departs for FTW and requires an overnight stay in CHI, you'll just have to book multi-city. That was easy to do before Amtrak came up with their new and improved reservation system. The current system shows a muti-city option, but I can't get it to lead anywhere except the "Problem Finding Service: We cannot find train service matching your request; please try alternate stations. Learn more about routes, stations and where we can take you in the 'Destinations' section. [Error ID: 108A]" malarkey.

Unless somebody else knows the secret to booking multi-city online, it looks like a call to an agent is in the cards for you.
 
You just need to select the dates for each segment in the multi-segment to reflect that one night in Chicago, and it works just fine, bringing up the expected itinerary.

If you are leaving SLC on date x then set the date out of Chicago to date x+2.
 
What a dummy! I failed to notice the " -> One Way ▼" drop down menu box just to the left of the space for the first station!!
 
Solution: Take the Zephyr #5 from SLC to Galesburg(GBB), transfer to the AmVan Shuttle from GBB to Springfield( part of your ticket by Rez), then #21 Texas Eagle to FTW. ( guaranteed connections)

I have done this several times from both the Zephyr and Chief. The Vans are driven by friendly semi-retired folks, and while the scenery via Peoria is miles and miles of fields full of Wind Generators, the trip is easy.Try to sit in the front with the driver, it can get full and the luggage can pile up in the back. ( first come/ first served)
 
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niemi24s said:
I think because the SWC from SLC arrives in CHI 2 hours after the TE departs for FTW and requires an overnight stay in CHI, you'll just have to book multi-city. That was easy to do before Amtrak came up with their new and improved reservation system. The current system shows a muti-city option, but I can't get it to lead anywhere except the "Problem Finding Service: We cannot find train service matching your request; please try alternate stations. Learn more about routes, stations and where we can take you in the 'Destinations' section. [Error ID: 108A]" malarkey.

Unless somebody else knows the secret to booking multi-city online, it looks like a call to an agent is in the cards for you.
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I have booked SLC-FTW several times in the past without booking multi-city. It was simply SLC-GBB then Ambus to SPI and catch the 21 to FTW exactly as Bob Dylan wrote. I booked it simply SLC-FTW and got that routing with guaranteed connections. I will call an agent and find out why I can't book it that way anymore. I don't think I like the idea of doing the multi-city thing without the guarantee.
 
It appears to be a bug in the system. You get the GBB - SPI Thruway for all locations between SPI and STL, but not south of it. Of course you also get Lincoln Service connection for everything upto STL too, but the Thruway bus a is a tad cheaper.
 
The CZ arrives GBB at 11:41A, the Amtrak Bus service to connect with the TE in Bloomington-Normal (NOT SPI) leaves at 1:35 which is 1 hour 54 minutes between arrival and departure. Now if you put in SLC to SPI Amtrak puts you on the 2:15 bus to SPI which arrives SPI at 4:30 PM and the TE departs 5:14. It must be Amtrak wants a 2 hour plus buffer for the transfer to the TE.
 
Well, Amtrak says it has to be a minimum of 60 minutes in most cases to guarantee a connection, so that Springfield connection would not be legal. However the one to Bloomington-Normal looks legal to me on both the Galesburg (GBB) and Bloomington-Normal (BNL) sides at least for a 6-(4)21 connection (did not look a schedules going the other way).
 
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BuffaloBoy said:
I don't think I like the idea of doing the multi-city thing without the guarantee.
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The key to guaranteed connections is connections that are part of the same reservation.

In other words, connections that are part of a multi-city booking that are all on one reservation, that meet Amtrak's guaranteed connection policy timewise, are still guaranteed.
 
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Last fall, if I recall, Amtrak stopped 'offering' a number of different routings from my 'home base' in Springfield, MA. In particular, in addition to various 49/449 options to CHI, the site previously offered 141/43/29 via NYP & PGH as well as 141/29 via WAS. The advantage to both those now 'missing' routings is that they were usually $100 or more cheaper for a roomette than the direct Lakeshore Ltd route. Amsnag doesn't offer the extra routings, either.

Fortunately, I can still book whatever routing I choose, but I have to use Amsnag on a segment by segment basis and then decide which way to go for the least money. SLC-FTW is likely another of those 'reduced number of offerings' on the Amtrak website. It's a great way to drive away potential passengers, if you ask me.

Fortunately, using 'multi-city' still works, but it may balk at trying to book 'too tight' connections. It did that to me a couple years ago, so I booked the 2nd leg as a separate reservation and barely made the connection.
 
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Thank you, KmH, that was news to me, about the guarantee on a multi-city ticket that's one reservation - and it's *very* good news!
 
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Lonestar648 said:
If the reservation system doesn't show the desired path as possible then there is no guarantee even if you could book it using multi city.
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Oh I can book it as multi city, but I'm still leery about the guarantee. I guess I will stop being lazy and call the agent and put an end to the mystery!
 
I wouldn't take the word of a single agent as policy either.
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FWIW, when I called, I was told that it didn't matter that my two trips were on separate reservations. Conventional wisdom used to be that you could call and have the two reservations linked.

The best part is, that whatever the policy says doesn't guarantee what would happen if you ended up in a misconnect situation. Best thing you can do is monitor the situation and be proactive if it looks like you're going to misconnect.
 
Thanks for everybody's input! Agent says she can book my trip exactly like I have done it before! Why the website won't let you do it will probably remain a mystery until it isn't. Agent did comment that it would take some finagling but she did it but doesn't know why I couldn't do it online. For the record it is slc-gbb-spi-ftw, one reservation and most definitely not multi-city. I suspect jis is absolutely right that it is a glitch in the system.
 
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BuffaloBoy said:
Thanks for everybody's input! Agent says she can book my trip exactly like I have done it before! Why the website won't let you do it will probably remain a mystery until it isn't. Agent did comment that it would take some finagling but she did it but doesn't know why I couldn't do it online. For the record it is slc-gbb-spi-ftw, one reservation and most definitely not multi-city. I suspect jis is absolutely right that it is a glitch in the system.
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Well, if it “took some finagling” then that is likely the agent equivalent of a multi-city booking.
 
We all know that whether you can get there from here without using multicity has no basis is logic. Some incredibly obscure connections that wouldn't even appeal to a die hard rail fan do appear. On the other hand, some very obvious don't.

Recently the connection from the east bound CZ to westbound SWC at Galesburg has disappeared, even though the scheduled layover is over 5 hours. But the opposite does, even though the layover is only 4:30.
 
Is there anything in that 8 year old thread that contradicts what I’ve said?

Incidentally, that was the thread that prompted me to call and try to link my two reservations for my honeymoon that was 2 weeks away (note to self, 8 year wedding anniversary coming soon) and was told that it wasn’t necessary.

At the end of the day, it still boils down to “we don’t really know the policy” and “the policy matters far less than what is actually executed, which can vary widely”.
 
Trogdor said:
BuffaloBoy said:
Thanks for everybody's input! Agent says she can book my trip exactly like I have done it before! Why the website won't let you do it will probably remain a mystery until it isn't. Agent did comment that it would take some finagling but she did it but doesn't know why I couldn't do it online. For the record it is slc-gbb-spi-ftw, one reservation and most definitely not multi-city. I suspect jis is absolutely right that it is a glitch in the system.
Click to expand...
Well, if it “took some finagling” then that is likely the agent equivalent of a multi-city booking.
Click to expand...
 
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