CHICAGO — With temperatures expected to bottom out at minus-23 degrees and wind chills in the minus-50 degree range into today (Thursday, Jan. 31), Amtrak has cancelled all Midwest corridor services in and out of Chicago until Friday, Feb. 1. The company will, however, originate all overnight trains serving Chicago beginning Thursday except the Lake Shore Limited, which will resume Friday. The tri-weekly Cardinal will leave New York as scheduled on Friday (it will not depart from the Windy City until the equipment turns on Saturday)
Initially, Amtrak had announced it would continue to run all long-distance trains and maintain a reduced schedule Tuesday through Thursday on Midwest routes between Chicago and St. Louis; Milwaukee; Indianapolis; Carbondale, Ill.; Quincy, Ill.; and three Michigan end points [see “Weather prompts significant operating changes from Chicago hub,” Trains News Wire, Jan. 27, 2019.] But when the severity of the cold became apparent late Monday, the company cancelled Tuesday’s Empire Builder, all long-distance trains serving Chicago on Wednesday, and all Midwest Corridor service both Wednesday and Thursday.
Amtrak’s wholesale cancellation of all Chicago-area trains was unprecedented, as were Chicago temperatures that set low temperature and wind chill records.
Long-distance trains already en route to Chicago were allowed to continue to their destination, but trains departing from West Coast and East Coast terminals for Chicago on Wednesday were also cancelled entirely, rather than short-turned to serve travelers at intermediate stops on unaffected portions of the routes. For example, a Southwest Chief trainset could have operated from Los Angeles to Albuquerque, N.M., on Wednesday and returned to Los Angeles on Friday morning instead of being sidelined.
Cross country trains from the west arriving into Chicago Tuesday and Wednesday ranged from being on time to up to 4 1/2 hours late (for Tuesday’s California Zephyr). Wednesday’s inbound Capitol Limited and Lake Shore Limited from the east both arrived more than 7 hours late.
Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari tells Trains News Wire, “Our decisions also took into account host railroad operating conditions, such as fleeting of trains that wouldn’t allow passing or overtakes, far away from Chicago.”
The lone exception to Friday’s scheduled restoration of corridor service is the morning inbound Saluki, train 390 from Carbondale, which won’t operate because of lack of equipment there, but passengers who get up early will be able to take the City of New Orleans.
The freight RR I worked for ran shorter trains in cold weather to reduce air problems.,
A couple things are apparent. One is that Amtrak somehow believes that all of their passengers travel from end point to end point. Folks out there in flyover country don’t count. Two, an industry that once was able to function in any weather condition (washouts and hurricanes excepted) no longer can.
This is what happens when you have airline people running a passenger rail operation and probably believe in global warming. I can tell you as an field employee with Amtrak, we operated every train we could with some of the coldest snowiest weather in the 70’s that the Chicago area ever experienced. I can understand cancellations maybe of the Empire Builder perhaps, but all trains out of Chicago? Brutal conditions for sure. However, stunning and disgraceful operation of a supposed transportation system. You wonder why most people drive!?
Funny how both BNSF and CP were interviewed this week by a newspaper in Minot, ND and vividly discussed how they made adjustments in such weather, but continued to operate their freights.
Given the rampage against long distance trains by Anderson/Gardner, and the 3 unqualified nominees to Amtrak’s Board of Directors, could this reaction of shutting down the system west of the Potomac be a stealth move to prove trains are no longer the all weather mode they once were? If so, and given no intent for ordering new equipment for the long distance sector, is this another incremental step by Amtrak to kill the long distance trains..?
Can someone explain to me how Canada and Russia run trains in cold weather and we cannot. I worked freights in extremely cold weather and all we had were speed restrictions and shorter trains. Never heard of passenger trains cancelled because of cold weather. Last I checked Amtrak is not running 120 car passenger trains. If you co pump up 12 or 20 car trains with air then you need more than new engines you need a whole new system.
Just a bunch of wimps .