Passenger Trains > Chaos coming to 21-22 /421-422 The Texas Eagle

If I were a traveler, I would just drive or fly.

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Insiders and Trainorders followers have known about this upcoming "chaos" for a few weeks now.  But, this is the first official announcement I have seen published and in my opinion, with short notice.  I agree, it is a messy and complicated adjustment to through service.  It appears to me that the only benefit this adjustment brings is to the Union Pacific and not Amtrak or the traveling public.  I assume UPRR is paying for the bus charters so maybe they are feeling some pain too.  I am guessing that trains 1021 & 1022 will be coach only with a snack bar located somewhere.

What goodwill and trust Amtrak may have built up along this route in Texas is likely to evaporate after this long stretch of service interruptions.

Yes I saw the track closers on TO and changed my ticket to train 3.
Call Amtrak 3 times and they did not know anything with all trains showing sold out on work windows days.
Dennis

Posted from iPhone

At least they're doing busses, how many times since this crappy leadership showed up that they don't even do that in emergincies!

What maintenance is UP doing to warrant level of chaos for nearly three months?

I hope they're rebuilding that whole section of railroad with two main tracks for 110 mph operation.  Work situations that disrupt Amtrak to this degree simply need to be outlawed by Congress.  Fat chance, I know.

So if you are booked on train #21/22, you get the bus-bridge. But if you are booked on #421/422 (CHI-LAX), you are SOL....... OR, you can try and beat the system and book, as an example, a ticket on #422 from LAX to San Antonio and then switch to train #22 and "you'll get through" but with a bus-bridge, instead of no alternate transportation. Maybe.........

I cannot get used to this either.  It does seem excessive and unduly burdensome on Amtrak and the traveling public.  It is easy for me to lace together in my mind that Amtrak caved to this out of fear of more threats from UP for all the STB litigation concerning the Sunset.  I speculate that out of all of the options to mitigate against these service interruptions, Amtrak took the easy and cheap way out. It is really very easy to replace a train with a bus particularly if you have weeks in advance to plan for it.   

And Congress....What the Congress giveth, the Congress can taketh away.  

NPRocky Wrote:
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>  Work situations that disrupt Amtrak
> to this degree simply need to be outlawed by
> Congress.  Fat chance, I know.