WASHINGTON — Amtrak has issued an advisory that a period of extreme winter weather could bring delays or cancellations across its network.
A major storm that could leave a path of snow and ice from Kansas to the East Coast is expected to arrive today (Friday, Jan. 3), the Washington Post reports. Winter storm warnings, watches, or advisories extend from Nebraska to West Virginia, and significant snowfall is possible in Virginia, Maryland, Washington, D.C., Delaware and New Jersey. The National Weather Service predicts heavy lake-effect snow will be likely downwind from the Upper Great Lakes, as well as from Lakes Erie and Ontario through Sunday.
Amtrak’s advisory, issued at noon Thursday, says the company is “closely monitoring weather conditions across the country” and that it will directly communicate with customers impacted by weather issues. As of 7:30 a.m. CT, the Amtrak Alerts and Northeast Corridor Alerts feeds on X.com do not list any specific weather-related service changes for today.
The coming storm marks the beginning of what is expected to be a prolonged period of extreme cold. Accuweather.com is predicting that much of the nation is facing waves of persistent Arctic are that could persist through mid-January, with subzero temperatures at times reaching from the Canadian border as far south as Memphis, Tenn., through Jan. 12.
Spent many days in CHI during late 1960s, During a very cold station visit a Santa Fe train was delayed. Found out that yard crew had to switch out cars that were frozen, When train finally appeared it seemed to have excess number of locos in front. ( 5 or 6 seem to remember). The rear car I now realize had the steam connection partially open Probably to allow steam to pass thru all the cars to prevent a freeze up. The extra locos may have been on the train to provide the extra needed steam?
Now we know Amtrak does not have a spare cars inventory that Santa Fe had in my example. These cancellations may be to provide some spare capacity for operating trains to have a normal make up? Another reason of course is to prevent a breakdown at a location that is not accessible due to the winter weather. Highway departments are getting cautious and closing highways as well cutting off a potential rescue of a train’ passengers. As well the RRs Amtrak operates over have reduced their winter weather ability to clear tracks. The Donner route is an exception to that.
In the steam-heat era, the northern railroads operated extra steam-generator cars on the rear of long trains. Or they separated combined trains into shorter trains easier to heat — e.g. CB&Q Twin Cities-Chicago combined “Twin Zephyr-Empire Builder-North Coast Limited.”
Steam heat is getting a bad rap here. Maintain the appliances, including the gaskets between the inter-car connectors, and it works fine, even on long trains. The mid-seventies is a poor time frame to complain about it. I’ve been on CN trains at 40 below, and no steam problems. Worked pretty well for almost a hundred years. I’ve been on numerous Amtrak electric-heated trains over the years, with some real horror stories. Just sayin’.
Before Amtrak, RR passenger service was regulated and if it was schedulled, it was required to be operated. There were also mail contracts where the Post Office wanted (and got) their money back if the mail were delayed. So the RR did what it could to get the train through.
As per a number of the insightful & entertaining comments above, yes, what has happened to our transportation system, namely passenger trains, such that they cannot seem to operate in cold/extreme cold weather anymore ?
As noted, it’s not as if the Amtrak LD trains are using steam heat anymore, isn’t the HEP (electrically powered) equipment supposed to be more reliable/durable in cold weather?
And yes, it’s not as if extremely cold winters are something new in the past few years ….? And whatever happened to “Global Warming” if we’re experiencing so many more extreme cold weather in the winters in the northern hemisphere …?
(Sorry, couldn’t resist a little bit of “snark” on the environmental front ….)
Same experience as Charles on the eastbound Lakeshore out of Chicago a few days after Christmas 1976. Left Chicago late as Amtrak Carmen tried to unthaw the last sleeper, which mom and baby sister were riding in. Stopped again on the mainline in Gary IN for at least an hour while Amtrak or Conrail Carmen climbed under the train with torches to unthaw the steam lines again. It was below zero when we left Chicago and got colder. Three E8’s up front, just too cold to get the steam all the way to the rear of the train, but the trains still ran and everyone bundled up and we made it home. Today no more steam lines to freeze, and probably no trains in sub-zero weather for whatever reasons.
Well, Steven, we shared that freezing Lakeshore Limited experience, ey? As I recall, my coach from that disastrous ride was ex-NYC.
The news soon enough got better. Early in the HEP era, 1980 I think, I rode the Lakeshore from Springfield (Massachusetts) to Toledo. It was an HEP conversion of a coach from a premium western railroad, UPRR if I remember correctly. At the time I thought of it as the most comfortable and delightful of all train rides.
I believe I had one more R/T on the Lakeshore after that, around 1981. Since then if I recall, all my many trips back home to Massachusetts have been by air or highway.
In territory where Amtrak runs one or two train pairs a day, it doesn’t have equipment or manpower in between terminals.
I remember one winter around 1974 or 1975. The steam lines on the Lakeshore froze leaving Boston. Penn Central employees across Upstate New York tried their best to thaw the pipes (while we passengers bundled up with garments from our luggage). Only a few years into Amtrak, Penn Central employees knew how to service passenger equipment, or tried to.
Steam lines are long gone from passenger trains, but in the winter, just about anything can happen. I don’t know the answer, I can only ask. Would today’s CSX employees help out Amtrak en route, as things stand now.
In my younger days, one of the reasons for taking the train was because it was likely to be still operating when the roads were closed and the airports shut down. Today, the freight railroads don’t usually have the manpower necessary for Amtrak to operate in severe snow over their territory and Amtrak isn’t going to pay them for it. But Amtrak’s operations in the NE corridor are mainly on its own tracks so it shouldn’t be so affected there–unless Amtrak doesn’t want to spend the money needed to handle weather related causes of delay or cancellation. Amtrak equipment shortages probably play a significant role in its decisions. But that’s a management problem that’s solvable. In summary, if Amtrak can’t seem to get its act together, then other solutions are required.
Personally, I’ve wondered if the solution in the NE corridor would be to have some successful foreign carrier come in and be its contract operator. The current private Japanese RR’s come to mind. Maybe have them handle the needed renovations and construction in return for them not having to pay any taxes on their earnings until they have recovered all their capital expenses from their operating revenues.
There’s a supply chain issue with obtaining the amount of locomotive deicer needed to keep trains moving.
Amtrak do not drop the ball, keep workers and customers informed at all timesthat is why you have customer service reps info truthful at all times, because weather happens,
So why should I bother with Amtrak at all. Sounds like I’ll have a much better chance with airlines. This is ridiculous!!!! Why should we even bother having a passenger RR. Better get this lame entity in gear NARP!!!! I’m almost ready to suggest to the Trumpers that most of Amtrak can go away.
Do what you have to do Amtrak if the weather interferes with your operations shut it down.
Idiots
We are surrounded by Idiots
Yes, it gets cold in the winter
Has done so for 4.6 billion years (and counting)
For cripes sake, Jesus save us
Running like an airline means cancelling service when there is a cloud in the sky.