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?
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. That may be; a News Wire visit on Saturday revealed that the previously-sealed entrance looked open for business and most of the state-supported regional trains appeared fairly clean. But the departing Illini, Texas Eagle and Empire Builder were among the trains leaving the Windy City unwashed.
