Texas Eagle - Cardinal Connection

[dart330]

Looking to start booking our summer trip to NYC next year and will be taking the TE and then the Cardinal. When looking at the booking options, you can connect in Chicago by train or switch to a bus in Bloomington-Normal, IL for a 3.5 hour ride to Indianapolis, IN and catch the Cardinal there at midnight.

Obviously the train connection is preferred, but is the TE so unreliable that the bus connection is needed? I would hate to miss that connection to the Cardinal and overnight in coach on the LSL.

 

[Rafi]

Not to worry. If you book the train-to-train connection and the Eagle is running too late to make the connection in Chicago for some reason, Amtrak will make arrangements to bus you, regardless, and the conductor will let you know.

Rafi

 

[Bob Dylan]

Rafi already nailed it but not to worry, the Eagle Generally makes it into CHI to make connections much more frequently than the Western trains! YMMV, but I wouldnt worry, volunterring for a bustitution isnt the way to go (the cornfields of Illinois and Indiana aren't the Rockies! :lol: ), as Rafi said Amttrak will take care of you! ^_^

 

[dart330]

That sounds pretty good, have yet to miss a connection so I want to be well prepared for when it finally happens. How far out from Bloomington-Normal should you expect to be notified they are going to bus you?

 

[DAWall]

I've made this connection several times with the TE/Cardinal or Hoosier State. And most of the time they

do make the connetion ok. The one time they didn't, they pulled us off in St Louis and Bused us to

Indianapolis to make the connection.

I was only go as far as Indianapolis anyway. We actually made it back several hours earlier then what it would have

been if we had used the train. That was good for me, but the other folks had a several hour wait in front

of them for the Cardinal.