Amtrak has updated its list of weather-related train cancellations for service to western New York, as well as the long-distance Empire Builder. As of 3:35 p.m. CST, these are the planned cancellations and other service change for Thursday, Dec. 29:
— In New York, the Maple Leaf is canceled in both directions between Rochester and Toronto. Empire Service train No. 280 is canceled between Niagara Falls and Albany; Empire Service train No. 281 is canceled between Syracuse and Albany; Empire Service train No. 283 is canceled between Syracuse and Niagara Falls, and Empire Service train No. 284 is canceled between Niagara Falls and Syracuse.
— For the Empire Builder, the train will not operate between Minneapolis-St. Paul and Seattle/Portland on Dec. 29, while the Dec. 29 departures from Seattle/Portland to Chicago are canceled in full.
No cancellations of Chicago-based regional trains are currently planned for Thursday. Five such trains — two Wolverines and one trip each for the Lincoln Service, Blue Water, and Illinois Zephyr — were cancelled today (Wednesday, Dec. 28).
The list of train cancellations has been subject to frequent updates. Watch Amtrak’s website or the Amtrak Alerts Twitter feed for additional information.
So it appears the Emp Bldr is not running its full distance today either. What seems to be the problem? No explanation, cancelling ticketed psgrs day by day? There’s no severe cold or snow along its route, is all the EB’s equipment in a bad state of repair? OR Is this a new tactic of the NEC fanatical Amt mgmt..”lets stop running it & see if anybody notices? Time for the Congressional members along this route to start making some noise! Trouble is most of the Board are a bunch of sheep who seem to just go along with whatever the Amtrak President/CEO & his cohorts tell them.
Absent from this list the LAKESHORE–which is probably genuinely unable to operate and is the CAP back? But even if the details were on an earlier release that should be updated here.
The stub BUILDER to St. Paul on December 29 presumable somehow gets its cars back to Chicago–but when/how?
This is a typically confusing mess of an Amtrak release.