SLE 2:02 pm weekend train canceled - 2/7

I was at New Haven's union station on February 7th taking photos. I can inside the check the status of my return train home the 2:02 pm Shore Line East Departure. It showed that the train was canceled and we were going to be taking CT Transit home. So i went and asked the Amtrak information services why it was canceled and they claimed they had no equipment even though i could clearly see three train sets idling in the yard. I was so pissed off so we took a CT Transit bus with plastic seats all the way to Clinton stopping at every station on the way. i took and hour extra and made me very mad. Does anyone know why they claimed they has to equipment when they clearly did?

Trains idling in the yard might not be ready to be put into service. They could be taken out of service for routine inspections, repairs etc, not ready to go out. The last thing anyone wants to do is annul a train, if suitable equipment is available it would go out. Don't know what it is, but I'm sure it must be for a good reason.

You have good reason to be pissed off. They only run one train on the weekend, and they have 6 trainsets worth of gear, as four run on the weekdays, and they have two in reserve. I don't know why they can canceled that run, but that is totally unacceptable.

There are numerous cars and equipment out of service currently, and the railroad is doing it's best to get this equipment back in serive ASAP so don't count on your statistics BiggAW. Like RearOfSignal stated, the last thing the railroad wants to do is to cancel train service, so if they said there was no equipment, there was a damn good reason there was no equipment. One ride on a bus won't kill you.

They probably ought to just knock the weekend service off all together. If they could fit every passenger into just one bus
making all stops, they don't really need a train anyway.
I can see a couple of rush hour trains in the AM to New Haven and PM back to Old Saybrook but the rest of it could well be a
huge waste of money. I would rather see this operation cut than the Metro-North main line or branch services cut where
there is a genuine need for the trains.
Noel Weaver

Ya i tottally agree, but I just think that they should have refunded my money or something. Also I rode Shore Line East to new Haven that morning and it seemed they were running fine.

Thanks for this Info,

Chris

trainlvr7 wrote:Ya i tottally agree, but I just think that they should have refunded my money or something.

Why is that, Chris? They got you to your destination. Your ticket buys you transportation, only. The company is responsible to provide that transportation, be it by train, bus, or pack mule. It sounds like you were somewhat inconvenienced by the bus ride, but the alternative was no ride at all.

BiggAW wrote:You have good reason to be pissed off.

I disagree, Alex. Annoyed, maybe, but no reason to be "pissed off."

I don't know why they can canceled that run, but that is totally unacceptable.

So wait... you don't know why it happened, but to you, it's totally unacceptable! I think the above posters explained pretty well what could have happened, and provided what is probably the best answer. Maybe Alex and Chris need to get together and start a club or something.

-otto-

BiggAW wrote:You have good reason to be pissed off. They only run one train on the weekend, and they have 6 trainsets worth of gear, as four run on the weekdays, and they have two in reserve. I don't know why they can canceled that run, but that is totally unacceptable.

I wonder if the train in question was powered by the former Amtrak Genesis units or the GP40's. Granted, my SLE experiences are limited, but I've always had some issue when it was using a Genesis for power, including the engine stalling near Westbrook and the HEP constantly going out on 2 other trips. I think the CDOT Genesis engines are even shittier than their appearance.

While legally surely there is some clause on the ticket that says they may bustitute the ride, buying a ticket to SLE is a ticket to ride on the ex-VRE cars, NOT some awful disgusting bus (for those of us from New York, buses other than commuter rail connector buses in Connecticut are disgusting and to be avoided).

As for there being stuff out of service, that's a ridiculous excuse. They only use one train on the weekend, and there are four on the weekdays that leaves three extra trains on a weekend. Even on the weekdays, they have at least 8 locomotives and 33 cars for a service that needs 4 locomotives and 16 cars, and could survive on 4 locomotives and 12 cars.

The weekend service is useful to get to NYC and back. "2012" or whenever the state actually gets M-8s and some catenary for Guilford, they should add more runs (if the trackage rights allow it), as they could run just two cars and run them much more often, and much more cheaply on the weekends. It would be nice to have more schedule flexibility than ever two hours when figuring out when to head out of GCT. In fact, they could probably run most of the full-sized MNCR trains through to OSB on the weekends instead of dedicated SLE (when the M-8s come), since they are only every 30ish minutes. On the weekends (from a passenger perspective), the SLE is an extension of MNCR to GCT, while on the weekdays, it is mostly a service to New Haven.

The GP's aren't perfect. The day they opened Madison station, one crapped out in Westbook, had to be pushed by the next train. It was odd, having the power in the middle, with a loco on the front idling and running its HEP generator for the cars. I don't know how the Gennies are for reliability, but boy are they ugly!

The ticket you buy is for transportation, nothing else, the state can frovide any reasonable means to transport you to that designation.
It does not guarantee a train or what kind of train.

DutchRailnut wrote:The ticket you buy is for transportation, nothing else, the state can frovide any reasonable means to transport you to that designation.
It does not guarantee a train or what kind of train.

Dutch is right. You are only buying a ticket to ride. Theres no guaranteed connections, seats or enough cars etc etc etc. You are only guaranteed a ride. I know for awhile Septa had this listed on the railroad timetables.If your that disgusted, then call or write the railroad to get an explanation instead of coming on here crying. Stuff happens

BiggAW wrote:While legally surely there is some clause on the ticket that says they may bustitute the ride, buying a ticket to SLE is a ticket to ride on the ex-VRE cars, NOT some awful disgusting bus (for those of us from New York, buses other than commuter rail connector buses in Connecticut are disgusting and to be avoided).

Just stop. We just told you, your ticket entitles you to transportation, and nothing else. Getting you from Point A to Point B. Go take it up with the State of Connecticut and their lawyers if you don't believe us.