Weather woes Jan 21 -- Jan 31

[henry6]

Broken wires, delayed trains causing congestion, cold weather recovery, etc. on the commuters put Amtrak trains off schedule and not making connections or terminals for turnarounds.

[blue streak 1]

For whatever reasons the following RT for NYP cancelled.

1. WASH  3 Acelas, 1 regional.  Many trains almost sold out

2.  Albany  all operating but almost all BC sold out

3.  BOS  2 Acelas 1 regional cancelled.  most FC Acelas  BC regionals sold out

[blue streak 1]

For Wednesday nothing yet for CHI.

1.  WASH - NYP  2 Acela cancellations with several sell outs and business class sold out.

2.  NYP - BOS  3 Acela cancellations and many close to sell outs in one or more ticket classes .

Now Chi all trains will work Wednesday.

[blue streak 1]

More problems  3,4,5,6 all detouring here is link

 

Amtrak Chicago Area Update

Service Maintained on Most Routes

Jan. 27, 2014 12:30 p.m. CT

Amtrak will operate modified schedules for Chicago Hub Services on Tuesday, Jan. 28, following conversations with freight railroads that host Amtrak trains to and from Chicago and in consultation with state transportation departments that sponsor the services.
These cancelations are designed to maintain service on most routes while reducing exposure of Amtrak passengers, crews and rail equipment to extreme weather conditions.
Passengers are urged to heed the warnings of local officials to use caution making their way to and from stations and to expect delays in bitter cold, gusty winds and blowing snow. A range of tools – including Amtrak.com, smartphone apps and calls to 800-USA-RAIL – are available to assist in travel planning and to provide train status information.
The following Amtrak Chicago Hub Services will not be available on Tuesday, Jan. 28:

• Lincoln Service Trains 300, 301, 306 & 307 are canceled.

(Trains 302, 303, 304 & 305 and Trains 21/321 & 22/322 will maintain service on the Chicago-St. Louis corridor)

• Hiawatha Service Trains 329, 332, 333, 336, 337 & 340 are canceled.

(Trains 330, 331, 334, 335, 338, 339, 341 & 342 will maintain service on the Chicago-Milwaukee corridor)

• Wolverine Service Trains 350 & 355 are canceled.

(Trains 351, 352, 353 & 354 will maintain service on the Chicago-Ann Arbor-Detroit/Pontiac corridor)

• Illinois Zephyr & Carl Sandburg Trains 380 & 381 are canceled.

(Amtrak is awaiting word from BNSF Railway Co. regarding service by Trains 382 & 383 on the Chicago-Galesburg-Quincy corridor on Tuesday, Jan. 28. The route was closed by BNSF late Sunday night, leading Trains 380, 381, 382 & 383 to be canceled on Monday, Jan. 27, and Amtrak Trains 3, 4, 5, & 6 to detour between Chicago and Galesburg.)

• Saluki & Illini Trains 390 & 391 are canceled.

(Trains 392 & 393 and Trains 58 & 59 will maintain service on the Chicago-Champaign-Carbondale corridor)
No changes are planned at this time for other Chicago Hub Services, including Michigan routes to and from Grand Rapids/Holland and Port Huron/East Lansing, Missouri service between Kansas City and St. Louis and Indiana service to and from Indianapolis.

[schlimm]

Galesburg is on both the old Q line and ATSF.

[bartman-tn]

It is getting worse.  Amtrak is stating that no trains are operating Galesburg to Chicago, thus #380 and #381 didn't run.  The Zephyr and Chief are shown as detouring - must be on the ATSF.

[blue streak 1]

Amtrak is cutting Chicago hub operations Monday.  Could it be that they are anticipating delays that will eat up crews ?

 

Amtrak Chicago Hub Service Modified on Monday, Jan. 27

Service maintained on all routes, some frequency reductions due to extreme weather conditions

Jan. 25, 2014 5:00 p.m. CT

Following conversations with freight railroads that host Amtrak trains to and from Chicago and in consultation with state transportation departments that sponsor the services, Amtrak will operate modified schedules for Chicago Hub Services on Monday, Jan. 27.
These cancelations are being announced on a precautionary basis and are designed to maintain service on all routes while reducing exposure of Amtrak passengers, crews and rail equipment to extreme weather conditions now forecast.
Passengers are urged to use caution making their way to and from stations and to expect delays in bitter cold, gusty winds and blowing snow.
The following Amtrak Chicago Hub Services will not be available on Monday, Jan. 27: • Lincoln Service Trains 300, 301, 306 & 307 are canceled. (Trains 302, 303, 304 & 305 and Trains 21/321 & 22/322 will maintain service on the Chicago-St. Louis corridor) • Hiawatha Service Trains 329, 332, 333, 336, 337 & 340 are canceled. (Trains 330, 331, 334, 335, 338, 339, 341 & 342 will maintain service on the Chicago-Milwaukee corridor) • Wolverine Service Trains 350 & 355 are canceled. (Trains 351, 352, 353 & 354 will maintain service on the Chicago-Ann Arbor-Detroit/Pontiac corridor) • Illinois Zephyr & Carl Sandburg Trains 382 & 383 are canceled. (Trains 380 & 381 will maintain service on the Chicago-Macomb-Quincy corridor) • Saluki & Illini Trains 392 & 393 are canceled. (Trains 390 & 391 and Trains 58 & 59 will maintain service on the Chicago-Champaign-Carbondale corridor)
No changes are planned at this time for other Chicago Hub Services, including Michigan routes to and from Grand Rapids/Holland and Port Huron/East Lansing, Missouri service between Kansas City and St. Louis and Indiana service to and from Indianapolis.
This Service Alert will be updated by 4:00 p.m. CT on Monday, Jan. 27, with cancelations for Tuesday, Jan. 28.

[blue streak 1]

blue streak 1

PNWRMNM

According to the article, the problem was failure of power supply to the computer that controls the signals, that is to the Dispatcher's computer.

I am confident that all of the larger private railroads have backup power to their dispatching offices, centralized or not.

Mac

Now we have most of the rest of the story.  Taking one power supply out of service during rush hour is very short sighted.

On my airline the IT people had slim to none of any common sense.  They want to do it and no thought to consequences.  Years ago they took out a primary system on a week day at 0700 AM. You guessed it.  back up system failed and nothing moved for several hours.  United airlines has had several computer problems traced to IT persons in the past couple years. 

 

Why the MNRR switch was not planned on a Saturday night at 1130 PM we will never know.  If it was contract IT personnel they may have wanted to get to the next job. ?  Good IT persons are hard to find and they get good pay but common sense ? ? ?

 

Although we do not have all the details ---  unless the power supply had failed no replacement should have been attempted.  They may have been given approval by a MNRR supervisor to start and if so  --  there is the door.

 

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2014/01/24/cause-of-computer-glitch-that-suspended-metro-north-lines-remains-unclear/

SAT

Now even more of the story a disconnected wire  ------- 

http://www.mta.info/mnr/html/mnr01_23_2014_shutdown.htm

Wonder why backup power supply had not been tested previously ?

 

[blue streak 1]

Amtrak has not released a bulletin for Saturday but   found  4 Regionals cancelled NYP - WAS  with another 1 Acela cancelled.  One NYP _-- BOS regional cancelled.

Is this due to shortage of crews, Maintenance personnel, track men,  or others ? ?

[blue streak 1]

PNWRMNM

According to the article, the problem was failure of power supply to the computer that controls the signals, that is to the Dispatcher's computer.

I am confident that all of the larger private railroads have backup power to their dispatching offices, centralized or not.

Mac

Now we have most of the rest of the story.  Taking one power supply out of service during rush hour is very short sighted.

On my airline the IT people had slim to none of any common sense.  They want to do it and no thought to consequences.  Years ago they took out a primary system on a week day at 0700 AM. You guessed it.  back up system failed and nothing moved for several hours.  United airlines has had several computer problems traced to IT persons in the past couple years. 

 

Why the MNRR switch was not planned on a Saturday night at 1130 PM we will never know.  If it was contract IT personnel they may have wanted to get to the next job. ?  Good IT persons are hard to find and they get good pay but common sense ? ? ?

 

Although we do not have all the details ---  unless the power supply had failed no replacement should have been attempted.  They may have been given approval by a MNRR supervisor to start and if so  --  there is the door.

 

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2014/01/24/cause-of-computer-glitch-that-suspended-metro-north-lines-remains-unclear/

[PNWRMNM]

According to the article, the problem was failure of power supply to the computer that controls the signals, that is to the Dispatcher's computer.

I am confident that all of the larger private railroads have backup power to their dispatching offices, centralized or not.

Mac

[blue streak 1]

Although not Amtrak's fault another delay on MNRR due to computer outage.  No explanation yet but MNRR's computer down for 2 hours stopping all traffic on MNRR.

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2014/01/23/metro-north-service-suspended-on-hudson-harlem-and-new-haven-lines/

It appears that the  extended cold is taking a toll and finding all the weak spots of RRs this winter. 

I hope that all RRs take a look at this centralization and provide proper back ups.  CSX moving mch of its dispatching out of JAX is a positive example.  Oltmann indicates that much of NS' dispatching can be switched to another region in case of failure ?

[blue streak 1]

Continuing cancellations

Amtrak Continues Service Restoration on Northeast Corridor

Additional Acela Express Service Planned

January 23, 2014 4:05pm ET

Because of the extreme cold affecting the Northeast, Amtrak Acela Express, Northeast Regional and Keystone Service (New York – Harrisburg, Pa.) will operate on modified schedules Friday. Passengers should expect reduced frequencies and plan for the possibility of delays.
Passengers holding reservations that require modification are being accommodated on other trains and proactively notified by Amtrak Customer Service. A range of tools – including Amtrak.com, smartphone apps and 1-800-USA-RAIL – are available to assist in travel planning.
Other corridor services, including the Empire Service (New York – Albany), Amtrak Downeaster (Brunswick, Maine – Boston) and the Springfield Shuttle (New Haven, Ct. – Springfield, Mass.), are expected to operate on normal schedules.

NYP - WASH  5 regionals cancelled, 8 Acelas cancelled & 1 Acela sold out 

NYP  --  BOS 5 Acelas cancelled & 1 Acela sold out

No cancellations  shown in and out of CHI

 

It may be that the NEC regionals are running longer trains but fewer trains.  Anyone know if any of the regionals have 2 motors for extra reliability ?

[blue streak 1]

MNRR had 2 wire down incidents Wednesday here is one with a 2 hour delay in the cold.

http://norwalk.dailyvoice.com/news/metro-north-sends-rescue-train-passengers-stranded-Westport

 

[rcdrye]

56 is the Vermonter, which gets a diesel on each end at New Haven to handle the switchback at Palmer (in summer it sometimes has an ex-metroliner cab car instead of a second P42).  I looked in on it later and found that it took some more delay south of Springfield, but picked some time back up and passed White River Jct. VT about an hour late.

[blue streak 1]

 

 

Amtrak to Operate Modified Schedule on Thursday, Jan. 23 on Northeast Corridor and Keystone Lines

Extreme Cold Weather Continues to Impact Region

Jan 22, 2014 4:00 pm ET

With extreme weather conditions continuing to impact the Northeast, Amtrak will operate a modified schedule on the Northeast Corridor between Washington and Boston, the Keystone Service (New York-Harrisburg, Pa.) on Thursday, Jan. 23, 2014.
Acela Express and Northeast Regional service will operate between Boston and Washington, with reduced frequencies. The Keystone line, between New York and Harrisburg, will also operate with reduced frequencies.
Other corridor services, including the Amtrak Downeaster (Brunswick, Maine – Boston) and the Springfield Shuttle (New Haven, Ct. – Springfield, Mass.) and Amtrak's Empire Line (New York City- Albany) are expected to operate a normal schedule.

[daveklepper]

Or is it the Vermonter?

[daveklepper]

Is 56 a Washignton - Springfield train?   If it goes to Boston, it would not have an engine change.

[rcdrye]

Quick midday peek at Amtrak's "Track a train" map shows trains with delays from 15 mins to 2 hours.  Considering nothing's flying an buses are also grounded that seems pretty good.  Example train 56 left DC at about 8:10 this moring is currently running 53 minutes late.  Seems reasonable to expect a longer-than-normal engine change at New Haven.

[blue streak 1]

rcdrye

Amtrak's schedule reduction is just as much about expected reduced demand as about service protection.

NBC Nightly News in their report on grounded aircraft in the Northeast noted that Amtrak trains were running (for the most part) on time.

As tight as congress has made Amtrak's finances it appears to be prudent to reduce # of trips so not to run almost empty trains.  +  fewer trips by MARC , NJ Transit, MNRR, MBTA & Amtrak allows for straight lining the train's routes to reduce significantly the number of cross overs at CPs 

[rcdrye]

Amtrak's schedule reduction is just as much about expected reduced demand as about service protection.

NBC Nightly News in their report on grounded aircraft in the Northeast noted that Amtrak trains were running (for the most part) on time.

[blue streak 1]

Amtrak is reducing all service on NEC including Albany and Harrisburg.

Reduced schedule to minimize impact on travelers

January 21, 2014 3:45pm ET

With extreme weather conditions impacting the Northeast, Amtrak will operate a modified schedule on the Northeast Corridor between Washington and Boston, the Keystone Service (New York-Harrisburg, Pa.) and the Empire Line between New York City and Albany on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2014.
Acela Express and Northeast Regional service will operate between Boston and Washington, though passengers should expect reduced frequencies. Service will also operate on the Empire Line between New York City and Albany and on the Keystone line between New York and Harrisburg, with reduced frequencies.
Passengers holding reservations that require modification are being accommodated on other trains and proactively notified by Amtrak Customer Service. A range of tools – including Amtrak.com, smartphone apps and 1-800-USA-RAIL – are available to assist in travel planning.
Other corridor services, including the Amtrak Downeaster (Brunswick, Maine – Boston) and the Springfield Shuttle (New Haven, Ct. – Springfield, Mass.), are expected to operate a normal schedule. Passengers who have paid but choose not to travel due to this service disruption can receive a refund or a voucher for future travel. Some reservations booked online can be modified or canceled on Amtrak.com or by using the free Amtrak mobile app.

To be notified of major service disruptions resulting in delays of 60 minutes or more to multiple trains on the Northeast Corridor, follow @AmtrakNEC on Twitter.

[blue streak 1]

Marc Penn line "S" schedule and no other service.   Will post more links on the later

http://mta.maryland.gov/advisories/marc-penn-line-s-schedule-no-service-brunswick-or-camden-lines

VRE  "S" schedule

http://vre.org/ 

Septa up to 60 minutes delays

 http://www.septa.org/realtime/status/system-status.shtml

NJ Transit

http://www.njtransit.com/sa/sa_servlet.srv?hdnPageAction=TravelAlertsTo

LIRR

http://new.mta.info/lirr

MNRR

http://new.mta.info/mnr

 SLE   ---  no report

MBTA  --  pick your poison on any routehttp://www.mbta.com/rider_tools/transit_updates/

http://www.mbta.com/rider_tools/transit_updates/