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TS Lee: Heavy rain affects Amtrak Keystones & SEPTA Thorndale line


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#11 Sloan

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Posted 11 September 2011 - 07:04 AM

Frustrated Amtrak travelers left high & dry



http://www.pennlive....avelers_le.html

It astonishes me that Amtrak is either unwilling or incapable of providing bus bridges in the event of weather-related emergencies. East—west highways were clear by the evening of 9-9-11. That gave Amtrak and area bus operators plenty of time to round up drivers to shuttle passengers to stations along the line.

Amtrak owes its customers public transit; not an expensive car rental or staying put.

Sloan

#12 jacorbett70

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Posted 11 September 2011 - 09:55 AM

(above article) However, tickets were sold out today, and the next tickets weren’t available until Monday morning, according to Amtrak’s website.


Since Keystone service west of Philadelphia is unreserved, a true "sold out" condition is impossible.

Below is the reason they are "sold out." Trains are not running west of Lancaster for another day.

No Amtrak rains are running today from Lancaster west to Harrisburg due to the after-effects of Tropical Storm Lee. Also canceled is Sunday's Pennsylvanian (Trains 43 & 44) from Pittsburgh to New York City, via Harrisburg and Philadelphia.

Announcement has not yet been made regarding service Monday.


http://www.pennlive....om_lancast.html

#13 KevinKorell

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Posted 11 September 2011 - 01:20 PM

It astonishes me that Amtrak is either unwilling or incapable of providing bus bridges in the event of weather-related emergencies. East—west highways were clear by the evening of 9-9-11. That gave Amtrak and area bus operators plenty of time to round up drivers to shuttle passengers to stations along the line.

Amtrak owes its customers public transit; not an expensive car rental or staying put.

Sloan, be glad they are at least running to Lancaster. There is a mentality within Amtrak that would just cancel the entire route until it could be run in full.

But I agree, there should be some sort of alternate service as long as it's possible. At very least, and especially on a weekend, they could have teamed with CAT of Harrisburg and RRTA of Lancaster and put together some type of bus bridge between the two stops.

Perhaps even the Pennsylvanian could have continued as far as Lewistown, with a bus bridge to Lancaster and Keystone equipment substituting on the eastern rail segment. I don't know whether the flooding issues were in Harrisburg proper, or the area near the Rockville Bridge where the tracks are close to and cross the Susquehanna River.

And also from the above cited article:

There was no list of hotels at the train station and no one with useful information.

Um, you just didn't look in the right places! :D


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#14 KevinKorell

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Posted 11 September 2011 - 10:23 PM

Keystone Service Resumes Full Schedule on Monday, September 12



September 11, 2011
4:00 p.m. EDT

Keystone Service (New York – Harrisburg, Pa.) and Pennsylvanian (New York – Pittsburgh) trains will operate as scheduled on Monday, September 12, following severe flooding in Harrisburg, Pa.

Passengers should expect delays of 15 – 20 minutes in the Harrisburg, Pa. area.

Amtrak thanks passengers for their patience as we worked to restore service.

Passengers who have paid for travel on canceled trains can always contact Amtrak to receive refunds without fee or penalty or can rebook for future travel. If tickets have not yet been printed, the refund/rebook can be done on http://www.Amtrak.com/ or the free Amtrak iPhone "app."

Amtrak regrets any inconvenience. This information is correct as of the above time and date. Information is subject to change as conditions warrant. Passengers are encouraged to call 800-USA-RAIL or visit http://www.Amtrak.com/alerts for Service Alerts and Passenger Notices. Schedule information and train status updates are available at the http://www.Amtrak.com/ home page.



Kevin Korell


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