HOLLAND, Mich. – See five million blooming tulips, not brake lights and toll booths, this May 4 and 11 when Amtrak and the Michigan Department of Transportation offer additional service between Chicago and Holland for the annual Tulip Time Festival.
These trains on the daily Pere Marquette route, sponsored by MDOT, will run on two Saturdays during the festival and enable same-day visits to what has been heralded as the nation’s “Best Flower Festival” and “America’s Best Small-Town Festival.” More than 1,000 customers rode Amtrak trains on this route during these weekends in 2018.
Train No. 374 will depart Chicago at 7:05 a.m.; Hammond-Whiting, Ind., at 7:29 a.m. (both times Central); St. Joseph at 10:01 a.m.; and Bangor at 10:37 a.m. Arrival at Holland is at 11:28 a.m. (all Michigan times Eastern). Train No. 375 departs Holland at 5:50 p.m., Bangor at 6:33 p.m., St. Joseph at 7:11 p.m., Hammond-Whiting at 7:51 p.m. It will arrive in Chicago at 8:24 p.m.
–From an Amtrak press release
So, they can do this, but last year they couldn’t do the trip in Pennsylvania with Bennett Levin’s equipment. Losing faith in Amtrak. Might as well use Busses, limos, and automobiles.
Re: DNC 2020. The Secret Service screwed up train service in Boston around the DNC approx 2004 by forbidding the use of North Station. They took the safest and most efficient transportation option and shut it down…
Should be just as feasible to add extra Hiawatha service for the July 2020 DNC convention in Milwaukee.
Maybe MDOT is picking up the tab… Anyway they run this schedule on Thanksgiving weekend, too.
Though I am no fan of Richardson, I can understand how difficult it must be to add service that is going to increase your red ink given that you are being judged by financial performance rather than less objective factors. State sponsorship is the only reasonable expectation for additional frequencies or new starts.
I wish these additions could be added to the permanent schedule
Too bad Amtrak can’t figure-out how to moves skiers from the bay-area to the Sierras and Truckee.
Charles, Amtrak has run late night trains from Milwaukee during Summerfest. Additional Hiawatha service during the day faces the problem of finding slots open in the Metra schedule.
Curtis, you’re right in theory, about extra trains for the DNC. I’m not sure what you have in mind for the schedule. I don’t watch the conventions (either party) but I’d posit a train would need to leave MKE around 11:00 PM (if not later) which means arrival at CHI 12:35 AM (if not later). Not sure if this would work.
Another example of Amtrak imposing its monopolist philosophy by declaring PVs, charters and specials persona non grata, unless conducted by Amtrak. This is in sync with Amtrak’s historical approach to new business that “if it is not Amtrak’s idea or Amtrak is not doing it, than it will not happen.”