Passenger Trains > Chicago Delays

341 - 1 hour late leaving Chicago due to mechanical issues. Charger on either end and left Chicago with two dinette/table cars, two horizons and one Amfleet II.

364 - 2 hours and 3 mins late out of CHI, mechanical issues. 

393 - 2 hours and 14 mins late out of CHI, mechanical issues. 

30 - 1:54 late out of Chicago, no reason given on twitter. 3 hours 20 minutes late. 23:00 and still in Chesterton. 

59 - 40 mins late out of Chicago, mechanical issues. 

48 - Hasn't left Chicago as of 23:00. "mechanical issues and late arrival of inbound equipment" (despite 49 only being 1 hour down arriving into CHI). 

 

Some things never change

Posted from iPhone

30 currently 4h 43m late ... still hasn't arrived Elkhart. The live cam has shown people's luggage waiting on the platform for a couple of hours.
48 currently 2h 21m late - every few minutes both trains get later.

Yes, the last two days have been horrible weather. 100 degrees Tues, 95 on Weds. A severe thunderstorm on Monday night causing power outages that still exist in northern Indiana. Not a good night.

Cluster...

Posted from Android

And despite Amtrak #30 departing Chicago almost 2 hours late, Amtrak Alert from around 0200 blames "Norfolk Southern freight interference" for additional delays reaching Elkhart:
UPDATE: Capitol Limited Train 30 which departed Chicago (CHI) on 6/15 is currently operating approx 5 hr late west of Elkhart (EKH) due to additional Norfolk Southern freight interference east of Chicago (CHI).

I guess Amtrak's thinks even though it missed #30's operating window across Indiana on NS by a country mile, #30 is entitled to unemcumbered transit on a double track line that can see 100 daily trains. And ironically, the STB is telling NS and all the class 1s to speed up their freight service!

justalurker66 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> 30 currently 4h 43m late ... still hasn't arrived
> Elkhart. The live cam has shown people's luggage
> waiting on the platform for a couple of hours.
> 48 currently 2h 21m late - every few minutes both
> trains get later.
>
> Yes, the last two days have been horrible weather.
> 100 degrees Tues, 95 on Weds. A severe
> thunderstorm on Monday night causing power outages
> that still exist in northern Indiana. Not a good
> night.

Basically you just summed up that trains just don’t work very well. I’m sure I could’ve driven my car on any of those routes, and gotten there in a timely fashion with virtually no problems other than maybe a traffic jam for a bit. 95° heat doesn’t make my car unable to operate above 50 miles an hour. The airport can still function when it’s 95° outside as well, but Amtrak can’t. Do high-speed trains have to shut down in other countries when it is 95°? The totally rebuilt ‘high speed’ Joliet to St. Louis line had a 50 mph speed limit slapped on the whole thing yesterday due to heat. Sad.

Posted from iPhone



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 06/16/22 06:03 by alan2955.

JPB Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> And despite Amtrak #30 departing Chicago almost 2
> hours late, Amtrak Alert from around 0200 blames
> "Norfolk Southern freight interference" for
> additional delays reaching Elkhart:
> UPDATE: Capitol Limited Train 30 which departed
> Chicago (CHI) on 6/15 is currently operating
> approx 5 hr late west of Elkhart (EKH) due to
> additional Norfolk Southern freight interference
> east of Chicago (CHI).
>
> I guess Amtrak's thinks even though it missed
> #30's operating window across Indiana on NS by a
> country mile, #30 is entitled to unemcumbered
> transit on a double track line that can see 100
> daily trains. And ironically, the STB is telling
> NS and all the class 1s to speed up their freight
> service!

Stop apologizing for Norfolk Southern which has become nothing but a big joke. If their trains were moving Amtrak wouldn’t take a three hour hit from Chicago to Elkhart following them. I talked to a trainmaster last weekend and he said he can’t believe what a meltdown the entire company is in. Basically they can’t hire anybody because they want to pay half what Walmart pays a truck driver.

Posted from iPhone

Maybe Amtrak should move maintenance to Seattle.  We're still basically in winter out here, admittedly with warmer temperatures.  Today's high is supposed to be about 63 with still more rain coming in.  And in actually snowed in one of our higher Cascade Mountain passes earlier this week!

alan2955 Wrote:
----------------------------------------------------
>
> Stop apologizing for Norfolk Southern which has
> become nothing but a big joke. If their trains
> were moving Amtrak wouldn’t take a three hour
> hit from Chicago to Elkhart following them. I
> talked to a trainmaster last weekend and he said
> he can’t believe what a meltdown the entire
> company is in. Basically they can’t hire anybody
> because they want to pay half what Walmart pays a
> truck driver.
>
> Posted from iPhone

I wasn’t apologizing for NS with its well known difficulties keeping its own traffic moving. But I do think Amtrak, which is clearly not blameless in this instance of poor service delivery, could be a little less hostile to the host railroad. Just my opinion…

JPB Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> alan2955 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> --
> >
> > Stop apologizing for Norfolk Southern which has
> > become nothing but a big joke. If their trains
> > were moving Amtrak wouldn’t take a three hour
> > hit from Chicago to Elkhart following them. I
> > talked to a trainmaster last weekend and he
> said
> > he can’t believe what a meltdown the entire
> > company is in. Basically they can’t hire
> anybody
> > because they want to pay half what Walmart pays
> a
> > truck driver.
> >
> > Posted from iPhone
>
> I wasn’t apologizing for NS with its well known
> difficulties keeping its own traffic moving. But I
> do think Amtrak, which is clearly not blameless in
> this instance of poor service delivery, could be a
> little less hostile to the host railroad. Just my
> opinion…

We can agree on that point as well! Both parties are running piss poor operations.

alan2955 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> justalurker66 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> Basically you just summed up that trains just
> don’t work very well. I’m sure I could’ve
> driven my car on any of those routes, and gotten
> there in a timely fashion with virtually no
> problems other than maybe a traffic jam for a bit.
> 95° heat doesn’t make my car unable to operate
> above 50 miles an hour. The airport can still
> function when it’s 95° outside as well, but
> Amtrak can’t. Do high-speed trains have to shut
> down in other countries when it is 95°? The
> totally rebuilt ‘high speed’ Joliet to St.
> Louis line had a 50 mph speed limit slapped on the
> whole thing yesterday due to heat. Sad.
>

Yes, true enough, but highways have been known to "explode" in hot sunny weather. Maybe it has to be more like 110° or more for that to happen. Same thing applies to problems for airplanes taking off when it's very hot, like 115° or so. In some parts of the US such temperaturea are becoming more and more common.

alan2955 Wrote:
>The airport can still
> function when it’s 95° outside as well, but
> Amtrak can’t.

Sure, however aircraft start running the risk of weight restritctions due to heat.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2017/07/03/rising-temperatures-could-bump-you-from-your-flight-thanks-climate-change/


>Do high-speed trains have to shut
> down in other countries when it is 95°? The
> totally rebuilt ‘high speed’ Joliet to St.
> Louis line had a 50 mph speed limit slapped on the
> whole thing yesterday due to heat. Sad.

I am not sure how putting a slow order out is "shutting it down", however the TGV runs at slower speeds when temps go up.

https://www.rfi.fr/en/environment/20190726-french-railroad-tracks-can-t-keep-extreme-heat

=19pxAs temperatures have soared in France so have the length of some train trips. Trains have been slowed or cancelled because tracks can buckle in extreme heat.

Daughter is on 307 right now, 90 minutes late out of chicago.  She says 2 of the 4 coaches are not open due to no AC and the cafe car is closed so train is packed.   Bunch of brand new seimans coaches sitting in the yard  gathering dust.

305 also left 90 minutes late today.

Blue Water (364) left almost 5 hours late today.



 

kbmiflyer Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Daughter is on 307 right now, 90 minutes late out
> of chicago.  She says 2 of the 4 coaches are not
> open due to no AC and the cafe car is closed so
> train is packed.   Bunch of brand new seimans
> coaches sitting in the yard  gathering dust.
>
> 305 also left 90 minutes late today.
>
> Blue Water (364) left almost 5 hours late today.
>
And Amtrak management says corridors are their future. Any state that gives these clowns a dime is a fool. The incompetence is mindnumbing.
>
>
>  

Posted from iPhone

alan2955 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> And Amtrak management says corridors are their
> future. Any state that gives these clowns a dime
> is a fool. The incompetence is mindnumbing.
>
> Posted from iPhone

My opinion as well.  I would go on to further state that anyone buying a ticket on a train that goes into or out of Chicago is making a choice that I would not.  

-John

"Amtrak - Your Fair Weather Friend"

Should that replace the current vision statement which is:

"Amtrak - When you need to get there in the worst possible way"

The last 3 posts hit the nail on the head, sad how today's Amtrak is compared to just a few years ago (before Airline Boy that is!)

Posted from Android



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/02/22 21:11 by ProAmtrak.