Meanwhile, Chicago has had a stretch of winter more suitable for hibernating bears (fittingly, do hibernating bears suck?) and the trains actually scheduled are actually not running.
Amtrak continues to assess efforts to operate in subzero Midwest temperatures and make cancellation decisions less than 24 hours before departures.Tuesday's cancellation report was no more encouraging.
In a remarkably candid email addressed [Monday] morning to “Supporter of Passenger Rail” and obtained by Trains News Wire, Amtrak’s veteran Chicago-based government affairs director, Derrick James, outlined the latest cancellations through Wednesday.
He explains, “Amtrak leadership will continue to marshal its workforce in shops and maintenance facilities to get equipment that has failed because of extreme temperatures back in service as quick as possible. The extended brutal dip in temperatures will, frankly, make that challenging in the coming days.”
James adds, “Our priority will remain keeping customers safe, so in some instances not dispatching trains into conditions that jeopardize our passengers and crews is the wisest course.”
Empire Builder departures are now cancelled in both directions through Wednesday, Jan. 17, over the train’s entire route, leaving 37 communities it exclusively serves without a train in at least one direction since Wednesday, Jan. 10.
None of the westbound long-distance trains — the Builder, Southwest Chief, Texas Eagle, or California Zephyr — departed Chicago today. The City of New Orleans is only operating as far as Carbondale, Ill., but there is no advisory that mentions it isn’t running to or from New Orleans. The northbound City was terminated at the unscheduled stop of Gilman, Ill., yesterday, according to an Amtrak Alerts notice, though it was shown as more than 9 hours late into Kankakee, Ill., further north.
With daytime Midwest temperatures expected to push above zero beginning Wednesday, Amtrak today (Tuesday, Jan. 16) began resuming departures on some long-distance routes west of Chicago, although trains serving western New York and the Pacific Northwest were cancelled today and Wednesday, Jan. 17.A switch failure in the north throat of Union Station didn't help matters much on Tuesday, either. Today, one rake was shuttling between Milwaukee and Chicago, protecting half the Hiawatha departures.
A cancellation advisory posted this afternoon indicated alternate bus transportation would be arranged for some Chicago-Pontiac, Mich., and Chicago-St. Louis trains today and Wednesday. Presumably this would accommodate passengers who were already ticketed.
Among the Midwest routes where buses won’t substitute Tuesday and Wednesday are seven Chicago-Milwaukee departures each day and one Chicago-Quincy, Ill., round trip.
The Empire Builder is now canceled in both directions through Friday, Jan. 19, which means it will not have operated over even a portion of its route for 9 days.
The Maple Leaf to and from Toronto, all Empire Service trains operating west of Albany-Rensselaer, and the Chicago-New York/Boston Lake Shore Limited were canceled Wednesday as frigid temperatures moved east.
Another winter storm that began pounding the Pacific Northwest forced cancellation today and Wednesday of all Amtrak Cascades south of Portland, Ore., and north of Seattle, as well as several round trips between those two cities. The southbound Coast Starlight was expected to make its first trip in a week from Seattle to Los Angeles on Wednesday.
Back in Chicago, virtually all scheduled Amtrak trains wound up departing late this afternoon and evening, or passengers were being told to expect delays.
Why is it when the supposedly rail-friendly Democrats are in charge, surface transportation takes on a failing Soviet Union or third world vibe? Those substitute buses on Interstate 55 or 94? Good luck with that, the semi drivers found it rough going. In Chicago, it's a toss-up whether O'Hare or Amtrak cancelled a larger share of their arrivals and departures earlier this week.
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