Passenger Trains > Empire Builder trains hit bumps

8 is not into MSP yet, and 7 shows not into Grand Forks yet. 7 and 27 not into their termianls yet.

The  NP and GN did a much better job to running their trains then AMTRAK.

Ed Burns

NPEDDIE Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> 8 is not into MSP yet, and 7 shows not into Grand
> Forks yet. 7 and 27 not into their termianls yet.
>
> The  NP and GN did a much better job to running
> their trains then AMTRAK.
>
> Ed Burns


Thank you for sharing your wisdom with us. It's a shame most of us weren't alive then so we can't reminisce about the good ol' days.

Looks like 7 is detouring between Fargo and Minot

Posted from Android

NPEDDIE Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> 8 is not into MSP yet, and 7 shows not into Grand
> Forks yet. 7 and 27 not into their termianls yet.
>
> The  NP and GN did a much better job to running
> their trains then AMTRAK.
>
> Ed Burns

We got whacked with a bit of snow yesterday.

Posted from Android

Blizzard warnings were up for North Dakota last night.

There's ALSO crew rest issues in Minot when the trains get late - let alone LATE turn of equipment out at the West coast cause Amtrak rail ops will not turn the train short at Spokane. Not sure how much snow the Cascades have this year - so not going there - but I do realize coordinating buses these days (regardless of snow) can be an issue. At the same token there IS a regular Thruway bus operation from Spokane to Seattle that's in place daily. Too bad that service couldn't be expanded on (like it used to be) to help out in situations like this. The Minot issues can only be fixed with ADDING employees to the extra board. At key links like this, Amtrak really needs to consider at least building the extra board......Something they CAN and should work on. Funding surely is not an issue. Human resources is another issue. 

jp1822 Wrote:
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> There's ALSO crew rest issues in Minot when the
> trains get late - let alone LATE turn of equipment
> out at the West coast cause Amtrak rail ops will
> not turn the train short at Spokane. Not sure how
> much snow the Cascades have this year - so not
> going there - but I do realize coordinating buses
> these days (regardless of snow) can be an issue.
> At the same token there IS a regular Thruway bus
> operation from Spokane to Seattle that's in place
> daily. Too bad that service couldn't be expanded
> on (like it used to be) to help out in situations
> like this. The Minot issues can only be fixed with
> ADDING employees to the extra board. At key links
> like this, Amtrak really needs to consider at
> least building the extra board......Something they
> CAN and should work on. Funding surely is not an
> issue. Human resources is another issue. 

Don't count on it with today's Amamanagment, they're still determined on dismantling the LD Network!

For 38 years I got paid to watch trains. Afternoons, I saw two westbound and one eastbound GN passenger trains and the NCL and eastbound Mainstreeter, all before the 1970 merger.

But it was not much fun walking tracks at 2AM in plus 80 nights or 20 below in the winter.

Railroad retirement is great!

Ed Burns

As of March 12, 2023, Amtrak's got a mess of late Empire Builders operating across the Hi-Line. This only gets worse in a domino effect, largely because Amtrak refuses to add personnel to the extra board at Minot and short turn trains at Spokane (when on-time turns can't be made at the western terminuses of Portland/Seattle).

The Minot extra board was cut around 2018, and what was common train ops of short turning at Spokane also ended around the same time. Pandemic and current labor shortages/logistics aside, I cannot remember the last time buses were even attempted to be called at Spokane, a place where the Empire Builder train sets could be terminated westbound to preserve an on-time eastbound run - THUS preventing the domino effect of late trains. Yes, logistics west of Spokane to Portland/Seattle would have to be arranged, but this was common and regular train ops a few years ago.

I'm a bit surprised that BNSF puts up with this current practice. Late trains are no convenience to ANYONE or ANYTHING. Moreover, Amtrak operates a Thruway bus leaving Spokane at 8:50 am to Seattle. That's under contract. An existing relationship exists with the bus company. All I am going to say is this - the bus company has means, but Amtrak has NOT been calling. NO EXCUSES. That's poor railroading and problem solving. 

The CA Zephyr has been cancelled for a round trip to try and get its schedule back on schedule, and the sooner they cancel an Empire Builder round trip, I hate to say, the quicker that mess gets cleaned up too. Passengers inconvenienced, absolutely. 

The entire Congressional delegation along the Empire Builder route needs to gang up on Amtrak - You either hire extra board crews at Minot now, or your entire NEC Business Unit subsidy will be a big fat $0 come Oct 1, courtesy of PRIIA-209. Gardner is clearly sulking he can't run the LD network tri-weekly. 

If you have better ways of wrestling Amtrak's devious behavior into the ground, let's hear it. 

Gardner wants to play games of pitting the NEC against the LD network, tells the NEC Democratic delegation "the LD trains are bleeding us dry", which he has been doing since he was just COO, now has much LD equipment (even brand new) in storage - then game on, take off the kid gloves, and bring it on. 

Those who say "why are you punishing the NEC ? " You didn't call it "punishment" in 2009 when it was applied to all the other corridors or try to get it repealed, or try to get it reduced to be 100 miles - because that is what Big Mama-Amtrak wanted. BOS-WAS is just 456 miles, way under 750. 


 



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 03/12/23 06:38 by joemvcnj.

Gardner always had my bad side since that crappy claim about the LD Network claim, if that was the case, how come the NEC still needs tons of money for upkeep and he probably still has the claim most think that the NEC is profitable! Go figure also why the 'expansion' plan they released 3 years ago didn't hold water either!

joemvcnj Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The entire Congressional delegation along the
> Empire Builder route needs to gang up on Amtrak -
> You either hire extra board crews at Minot now, or
> your entire NEC Business Unit subsidy will be a
> big fat $0 come Oct 1, courtesy of PRIIA-209.
> Gardner is clearly sulking he can't run the LD
> network tri-weekly. 

What good would it do to threaten to withhold funding in exchange for hiring extra board crews for a location that doesn't have any crew base?

ChicagoCoyote Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> joemvcnj Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > The entire Congressional delegation along the
> > Empire Builder route needs to gang up on Amtrak
> -
> > You either hire extra board crews at Minot now,
> or
> > your entire NEC Business Unit subsidy will be a
> > big fat $0 come Oct 1, courtesy of PRIIA-209.
> > Gardner is clearly sulking he can't run the LD
> > network tri-weekly. 
>
> What good would it do to threaten to withhold
> funding in exchange for hiring extra board crews
> for a location that doesn't have any crew base?

There were extra board crews until 2018 that caught the train, which did not have to lay around 5 or 6 hours, and only since then has it been a problem.