Passenger Trains > Amtrak Marc on Chicago Thanksgiving

https://www.fox32chicago.com/video/1554470

The "extra trains" for Thanksgiving seem to be the second Chicago - St. Paul train
and the "new" Florida train.  Nice try.

Here is a little history lesson for Marc
https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?11,3590050,4421275#msg-4421275

 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/27/24 16:04 by Englewood.

Many years ago, Metra leased equipment to get them through this weekend, but told them to return the equipment for AM rush Monday and clean. Amtrak did neither, and was never done again.

Why hasn't Magliar been replaced by AI ?

Posted from Android

Amtrak used to run Holiday Specials between New York and Washington,
using leased NJ Transit MU equipment.  Not anymore.

Gardner is interested in cost-cutting -- not in increasing cost by leasing equipment.
You only lease equipment if you want to handle more holiday riders and increase revenue.

 

ronald321 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Amtrak used to run Holiday Specials between New
> York and Washington,
> using leased NJ Transit MU equipment.  Not
> anymore.
>

What does that have to Chicago?   

ronald321 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Amtrak used to run Holiday Specials between New
> York and Washington,
> using leased NJ Transit MU equipment.  Not
> anymore.
>
> Gardner is interested in cost-cutting -- not in
> increasing cost by leasing equipment.
> You only lease equipment if you want to handle
> more holiday riders and increase revenue.

And this is the exact reason that Gardner and the rest of his people need to go NOW.  Surely, there has to be someone in this country of ours who has enough common sense along with business sense to be able to run Amtrak properly with the idea of growing business and pleasing customers.  This is not rocket science.
John in White Marsh, Maryland

We have the same three people here saying the exact same thing again and again and again and nothing ever changes.
Seems that the people who can change things (congress) either don't share your opinions or just don't care, you make the call.
 

I'd say some don't care and the NEC delegation has swallowed all of Gardner's snow jobs from the various hearings. Looking at just the Amtrak portion they experience, everything is fine.

7 of the Republican NYS delegation, lead by Stefanik, protested the Empire service frequency cuts and got 2 of 3 cut trains added back at least until March.

Posted from Android

I'm old enough to remember when the Chicago to Quincy trains ran with seven or eight cars at minimum over Thanksgiving.

I do know one year the Illini ran with eleven and one of those was the Great Dome.

Posted from Android

The longest Illinois Zephyr I was on was one Sunday after Thanksgiving back in the mid 1980s. Two F40s pulling 14 Amfleet cars. It was a rolling party, as it was packed with students returning to all of the online campuses. Doubtful we'll ever see trains be as useful again. Amtrak under its current "leadership" is just a rudderless ship.