Passenger Trains > High profile charter group on 13+ hour late Zephyr

Amtrak 5(14), California Zephyr, now 14 hours late, has a high-profile charter group aboard: 

https://trainjam.com/ 

2019 Trainjam Time Table

March 13, TBD Pre-Jam Festivities
March 14, 10am Check-In opens at Chicago Union Station
March 14, 12pm Kickoff at Chicago Union Station
March 14, 2pm Train Leaves Chicago/Jam Kicks Off
March 15, 4pm Half-way!
March 16, 4pm Jam Wraps Up*

 *DON'T THINK SO!!!!!



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/15/19 18:47 by GenePoon.

More time to be that much more creative.

Look for Emeryville arrival in the wee hours of Sunday morning.

Those hot showers are really gonna be welcome. by the time they roll into Emeryville!! I've read Horror stories about Americans flying overseas with a plane full of many odorus passengers.

Just a little "weather thing" going on in the plains and the Rockies...
They should be happy they actually got through.

This is the third or fourth year that this particular group has sold out the entire California Zephyr on this date, along with an extra sleeper.  It has been a very successful operation in past years thanks to several very influential but now retired Amtrak officals.  It remains to be seen whether the hostility and lack of understanding about group travel within the current Amtrak will preclude future trips.  I understand that at the request of the group, the train is making station stops only at crew change points and at specified stations where time was to be allowed for detraining, a few minutes exercise walking trainside, etc.  Many/most of these folks are the so-called Millennials, the people that Amtrak says have no interest in riding a "1960s model" passenger train.  It would seem that well done and properly marketed, and with good on-board service, this model of passenger train operation is not nearly as outdated as some in corporate would have us believe.

Fortunately the conference doesn't begin until the 18th --- so they have time to be late.  More time for coding on the train.

https://trainjam.com/diversity

"Train Jam’s diversity initiatives focus on giving developers from under-represented groups assistance to travel to Chicago, participate in Train Jam, attend GDC, and return home.The diversity initiatives are intended to assist:

• Developers from a country which is not considered to be a part of the United States of America, Canada, Western Europe, or Australia
• Developers who identify as a woman, gender fluid, non-binary, agender, non-cisgendered man or any other under-represented gender in the games industry
• Developers of color
• Developers with disabilities
• Developers from any other group that is under-represented in the industry"

On board pix & vids:     https://twitter.com/IndieTrainJam/with_replies