Chicago Tribune: Passengers suffering from Amtrak's winter woes

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Passengers suffering from Amtrak's winter woes
Officials divided over extent of problems with trains serving Illinois

Jon Hilkevitch | Getting Around
February 2, 2009


Perhaps nobody is more eager for winter to end than the people running Amtrak—and their passengers in the Midwest.

Railroads used to be a reliable alternative to roads and runways during harsh weather.

But many Amtrak customers who bought tickets recently from Chicago to cities Downstate or in Michigan, Wisconsin and Missouri have been seriously delayed or worse.

It's not uncommon for Amtrak to put passengers on buses instead of trains. The railroad logs each bus run as if it were a completed train trip, which masks Amtrak's performance woes.

Amtrak reports that its "failure to operate" record in Illinois was about 1 percent, or roughly 20 canceled trains, from Nov. 1 through early January.

Illinois officials disagree. In December alone, 43 Amtrak trips on state-supported routes were canceled or late by 15 minutes or more, officials said. Eleven trains were late by more than two hours. ........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/autocorner/chi-getting-around-02feb02,0,5830725.column