Can't be 8 hours late to Chicago next week. Hard to calm down..........
I ride Amtrak a lot.
If you *can't* be 8 hours - more or less - late anywhere, Amtrak is not the way to travel.
Realistically, for peace of mind, your choices are:
Take the train but leave a day early and stay in a hotel
Take the train as planned - you may or may not be late
Fly - you still risk cancellations and delays
Drive - traffic, weather, parking, and other drivers
In a few weeks, I have to be at O'Hare no later than 2 pm
My regional home train(a 3 hour ride) is supposed to arrive at CHI before 11 am leaving me ample time to jump on the blue line and get to the airport on time.
The problem is, I've arrived at CHI at 2 pm and later on that train 3 times - one time they held the Empire Builder for us.
I'm not even counting the 1 & 2 hour delays.
It really sucks when that happens when you were just going to spend the day.
I can't chance missing my international, once a day flight so I'm leaving a day early and staying overnight in Chicago.
I know what to expect when I take the train and being on time isn't on that list.