CHICAGO — More evidence of the toll Amtrak’s aging locomotive and passenger car fleet is taking on operations was provided in recent days when long-distance and regional trains were canceled or suffered hours-long delays, most shortly after leaving Chicago.
The common thread? Problems with electrical head-end power.
On Monday, both the westbound California Zephyr and Southwest Chief didn’t make it through the first night of their trips. Their eastbound counterparts, set to utilize the same scarce equipment, have already been canceled: Wednesday’s Chief from Los Angeles and Thursday’s Zephyr from Emeryville, Calif.
One of the first trains to be affected was Monday’s westbound Borealis, which departed Chicago for St. Paul, Minn., at 1:56 p.m. — two hours, 46 minutes late — following “equipment adjustments at the maintenance facility,” according to an Amtrak advisory to passengers.
The day’s westbound California Zephyr made it as far as Ottumwa, Iowa, after experiencing recurring problems with one of the train’s passenger cars. Amtrak reports indicate a lengthy delay at Burlington, Iowa, due to “equipment adjustments,” but the train stopped again west of Ottumwa, after departing there at 1:21 a.m., when the train was almost six and a half hours late. As of 3:31 a.m. it was canceled for the rest of its journey to Emeryville.
The same day’s Southwest Chief departed on time behind the Zephyr but didn’t make it to Naperville, Ill., until almost two hours later after undergoing a “locomotive assessment.” West of Fort Madison, Iowa, the train stopped another three hours, “due to a mechanical assessment and an adjustment to the train’s consist, then advanced to the next stop, LaPlata, Mo., “to be further evaluated.” That’s where the train was canceled.
Amtrak says head-end power issues were responsible in both cases. Substitute transportation was arranged for Zephyr passengers from Ottumwa back to Chicago, while those on the Chief were taken to Kansas City, where substitute transportation was provided back to Chicago. Both trains were then deadheaded to Chicago.
Passengers will be provided full refunds and other compensation, in addition to housing and meals, along with the company’s apologies, according to an Amtrak spokesman. The railroad is analyzing the cause of the problems.
About the time those issues were unfolding in Iowa and Missouri, Amtrak’s eastbound Floridian made an unscheduled stop at the Hammond-Whiting, Ind., station. The train was shown departing Chicago one minute late at 6:41 p.m. but nearly three hours later had traveled only 16 miles.
First reported as a locomotive “mechanical assessment” at 9:19 p.m., the cause of the delay was soon attributed to “readjusting a coach car to the end of the train.” However, that maneuver took another three hours. Following a mandatory operating crew change, the train reached its first scheduled stop, South Bend, Ind., at 3:36 a.m., some six hours, 27 minutes late.
The Floridian’s delay follows a similar electrical problem that occurred when the westbound Cardinal departing New York on Friday suffered an apparent short in head-end power cables west of Hinton, W.Va., on Friday evening, Dec. 5. The train limped into Charleston, W.Va., an hour late, but the problem couldn’t be fixed.
Passengers were bused overnight from there to all intermediate stops and the equipment deadheaded to Chicago.
— To report news or errors, contact trainsnewswire@firecrown.com.
Amtrak gets its wording from 1984. Assessment is the new word for failure.
Here we go again. You know, it’s not yet winter. This is still, technically, autumn. Here in the Great Lakes, we have had some cold and some snow, but nothing really to complain about.
When I was at DEN Denver International Airport last Friday, I looked at the monitor. Zero cancelled flights, a few flights down by some number of minutes here or there. When winter does come, quite possibly DEN will turn into a hot mess in the cold weather. Has happened before, will happen again. But Amtrak already has taken a dive and it’s only December 9th.