CHICAGO — Although the majority of Amtrak’s regional and Northeast Corridor service has been operating close to schedules despite recent torrid temperatures, June has been a rough month so far for several inter-regional trains.
The Southwest Chief has been particularly hard hit, with a freight derailment west of Ft. Madison, Iowa, returning westbound passengers “to their point of origin” on June 3. Both No. 3 and the westbound California Zephyr cooled their heels for 5 hours after a BNSF Railway freight broadsided a stalled truck just east of the LaGrange Road station on June 13. Then locomotive failures significantly delayed Los Angeles-bound trains on June 15 and 16, with the latter running as much as 13 hours late to the West Coast.
If adverse conditions occur en route on a long-distance train, passengers have been stranded in the past, but this was not the case over the weekend A bus bridge was established Saturday for the 173 (rail) miles between Albuquerque and Gallup, N.M., to accommodate a scheduled grade crossing project near Albuquerque by commuter operator New Mexico Rail Runner and the New Mexico Department of Transportation. While the eastbound Chief was running four hours late today (Sunday, June 22), the westbound train arrived in Los Angeles slightly over an hour behind schedule.
Floridian woes
As previously reported, the Chicago-Miami Floridian encounters a daily obstacle course getting over the road [see “The challenges and opportunities …,” News Wire, May 20, 2025]. The train has had a more difficult time keeping its schedule lately. Daytime heat restrictions on CSX rails are a nagging culprit; Amtrak has attempted to manage customer expectations with an online explanation of speed reductions in hot weather.
Arriving in Chicago on time or nearly so only twice (on June 1 and 8), the Floridian has been at least two and a half hours late on 16 of 22 June days. Amtrak’s shop forces managed to get the eastbound train out of town on time on what is supposed to be a 10-hour, same-day turn 18 times (including three holds for connections) to date.
There have been no on-time Miami arrivals so far this month, with delays ranging from 36 minutes to 8 hours. Both southbound Floridians en route today were running more than 6 hours late, after tardy Chicago departures caused by arrivals of more than nine and five hours late, plus freight interference issues.
Clean trains? Not yet
Rail Passenger Association CEO Jim Mathews reported on his blog this week that the train wash at the Amtrak’s Chicago coach yard is now operational, and a News Wire visit on Saturday revealed that the previously sealed entrance was open. Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari, however, reports that the washer is undergoing testing and certification and not yet operational.
— Updated June 23 at 1:57 p.m. to correct status of Chicago train washer.
Apparently, Amtrak tried to do the contractor employees with squeegees and buckets thing. They had them in Denver but when the union found out they said, “no way”. So that was the end of that idea.
Clean trains are simply not a priority for Amtrak. If they wanted to do it, they could. The excuses offered for poor service, if any are offered at all, seldom have the ring of truth.
Realizing the challenges of prioritizing mechanical issues over washing, I would second Chris’s comment that there is no excuse. Get the buckets and brushes !!!!! It’s such an embarrassment for a company that floods social media with wonderful travel scenarios featuring sparkling cars and transparent windows. Amtrak wants to project an image of being a successful well-managed enterprise and then can’t deliver on something as critical and easy to accomplish as clean windows. (I have already been researching a telescoping window brush to pack for my next trip.)
Roger, a few weeks ago my wife boarded a train in Altoona for Philadelphia. I walked the looking for her through the windows as the train was ready to depart. As is usual the windows and entire train was horribly dirty. I had the same thought you had that if/when I ride Amtrak again I’ll bring an extension brush and some window cleaner. But I’m sure the employees wouldn’t appreciate that.
There may be a Hobson’s choice about running a train thru the washer. If a car(s) need mechanical work does the time required to run the train set take away mechanical work tome? So, additional delays due to mechanical or just a dirty outside?
What is needed is a standard time that it takes Amtrak to go thru the washer at each washer location and the max time as well. CHI’s layout would seem to be the longest but that may be incorrect.
Most wash racks are located at terminals where time was once allowed for washing and maintenance before the return trip. Also there was a time not to many years ago that extra cars were stationed at major terminals to replace bad order cars. I also remember when the longer distance trains had their windows cleaned mid route with brushes and hoses. This was all part of taking pride in running the trains and making sure the passengers had the best experience possible and boosting employee morale.
I’m sure there may be a lot of things that Amtrak has little or no control over in its operations such as host railroads, weather, etc. But there is absolutely NO excuse for trains being filthy to the point that you can barely see out the windows. Dirty nasty equipment in any industry, especially public transportation, is totally unacceptable. If the washers are broken then hire a contractor to manually wash the trains like they once did. Soap buckets, long handled brushes and water hoses. Low tech but gets the job done.