Sights We Won’t See in the Midwest This Year

Amtrak ran an extra section of its Wolverine Service over three days during the Thanksgiving 2017 travel period.

It was able to use equipment that would otherwise be laying over in Chicago before its next assignment to hit the road and add capacity during a busy holiday travel period.

But these extra sections of Midwest Corridor trains won’t be running this year due to shortages of equipment and operating personnel. As it is suspensions on three Midwest Corridors will result in less capacity than normal and there are few if any additional cars that Amtrak can add to trains that are running as scheduled.

The train shown above, operating as No. 356, is shown crossing the Huron River in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in Barton Park. P42DC No. 33 is trailing in this image. The train will turn back to Chicago in Ann Arbor thus there is a locomotive on each end.

No Extra Amtrak Service to Michigan for Thanksgiving

Think Thanksgiving and images of turkey, dressing and pumpkin pie come to mind along with football games on TV and extra Amtrak trains to Michigan.

Well, you can scratch the latter from this year’s list of Thanksgiving traditions.

Amtrak will not be operating extra service to Michigan this year as it has in recent years.

The carrier said this week that rather than operate additional trains on its Pere Marquette (Chicago-Grand Rapids) and Wolverine Service (Chicago-Detroit) routes, it will instead assign additional coaches to existing trains.

Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari told Trains magazine that Amtrak made the decision to scrap the extra trains after reviewing ridership data from last year that found travel demand is spread out more evenly across more days than it has been previously.

The passenger carrier also decided to drop additional holiday service to Michigan because of poor on-time performance on host railroad Norfolk Southern in Chicago and northwest Indiana.

NS freight train interference accounted for 58 percent of the 20,143 delay minutes incurred by Amtrak trains traveling on the NS Chicago Line between Chicago and Porter, Indiana, where the routes to Michigan peel off.

About a quarter of the delays have been incurred by Wolverine Service No. 352, which departs Chicago at 1:20 p.m.

“If we try to put additional trains on those tracks and delays occur, this could have a cascading effect delaying outbound trains because inbound equipment didn’t arrive on time,” Magliari said.

So Amtrak will add an additional coach to all Wolverine Service trains operating between Nov. 27 and Dec. 1.

Other trains operating before and after that time period will also gain additional coaches.

Amtrak plans to add a coach to two Lincoln Service between Chicago and St. Louis round-trips, the Chicago-Carbondale, Illinois, Illini, and all Chicago-Quincy, Illinois, trains.

Extra trains will operate between Chicago and Quincy, and Chicago and Normal-Bloomington, Illinois, on Nov. 27 and Dec. 1.

But falling by the wayside are the additional Chicago-Holland, Michigan, and Chicago-Ann Arbor, Michigan, Thanksgiving holiday trains.

Extra Midwest Trains Set for Thanksgiving Travel

Amtrak will operate additional trains in the Midwest between Nov. 20-25 to accommodate an expected surge of Thanksgiving holiday travelers.

Other Midwest corridor trains are expected to operate with increased capacity.

During the holiday travel period, reservations will be required for travel aboard the Chicago-Milwaukee Hiawatha Service trains.

Holders of monthly or 10-ride tickets are exempt from the reservations requirement, but seating is not guarantee.

On the Wolverine Service corridor, additional trains will operate on Nov. 21, 24 and 25 between Chicago and Ann Arbor, Michigan, with intermediate stops in the Michigan cities of New Buffalo, Niles, Kalamazoo, Battle Creek and Jackson.

Extra No. 356 will depart Chicago at 9 a.m. and is scheduled to arrive in Ann Arbor at 2:25 p.m. It will depart Ann Arbor at 4:28 p.m. and is scheduled to arrive in Chicago at 8:04 p.m.

On the Pere Marquette route, extra No. 372 is scheduled to depart Chicago at 10 a.m. and arrive in Holland, Michigan, at 2:11 p.m. with intermediate stops in St. Joseph and Bangor, Michigan.

No. 373 is scheduled to depart Holland at 3:10 p.m. and arrive in Chicago at 5:27 p.m. These trains will operate on Nov. 21 and 25.

An extra section of the Carl Sandburg will operate between Chicago and Quincy, Illinois, on Nov. 21 and 25.

No. 385 is scheduled to depart Chicago at 11:30 a.m. and make all scheduled intermediate stops en route to Quincy, where it is set to arrive at 3:53 p.m.

No. 384 is scheduled to depart Quincy at 1 p.m. and arrive in Chicago at 5:22 p.m.

On the Chicago-St. Louis corridor, extra Lincoln Service trains will operate between Chicago and Normal, Illinois, on Nov. 21 and 25.

Extra No. 309 is scheduled to depart Chicago at 10:30 a.m. and make all scheduled intermediate stops en route to Normal-Bloomington, where it is set to arrive at 12:58 p.m.

No. 308 is set to depart Normal at 1:15 p.m. and arrive in Chicago at 3:41 p.m.

Amtrak Adding Extra Trains for Thanksgiving

Amtrak will add eight extra trains in Illinois and 10 in Michigan to handle Thanksgiving travelers.

In a news release, the carrier said it will operate every available passenger car during the holiday period.

On the route between Chicago and St. Louis, train No. 300 from St. Louis will operate 35 minutes earlier than scheduled.

Lincoln Service extra No. 309 will depart Chicago at 10:30 a.m. and make all scheduled intermediate stops en route to Normal, Illinois, where it will arrive at 12:58 p.m.

No. 308 will depart Normal at 1:15 p.m. and make all scheduled stops en route to Chicago, arriving at 3:41 p.m. These schedules are in effect on Nov. 22 and 26.

On the Chicago-Quincy, Illinois, route, Illinois Zephyr No. 383 will operate 31 minutes later than scheduled.

Carl Sandburg extra No. 385 will depart Chicago at 11:30 a.m. and arrive Quincy at 3:53 p.m., making all scheduled intermediate stops.

Extra No. 384 will depart Quincy at 1 p.m. and arrive in Chicago at 5:23 p.m. after making all scheduled intermediate stops.

These schedules are in effect on Nov. 22 and 26.

On the Wolverine Service route, Extra No. 356 will depart Chicago on Nov. 22, 25 and 26 at 9:30 a.m., stopping in Michigan at New Buffalo, Niles, Kalamazoo, Battle Creek, Jackson before arriving in Ann Arbor at 3:10 p.m.

Extra No. 359 will depart Ann Arbor on the same dates at 4:05 p.m. and make the same stops, en route to Chicago, arriving at 7:46 p.m.

On the Pere Marquette route, extra No. 372 will leave Chicago at 10 a.m. and make all stops en route to Holland, arriving at 2:11 p.m. It will depart Holland at 3:10 p.m. and make all scheduled stop en route to a 5:27 p.m. arrival in Chicago.

These schedules are in effect on Nov. 22 and 26.

Reservations will be required between Nov. 21 and 27 for travel aboard the Chicago-Milwaukee Hiawatha Service.

Amtrak said that in 2016 it carried 760,755 passengers throughout its national network during the Thanksgiving travel period and it expects similar patronage this year.

It plans to assign every available passenger car to its trains during the holiday travel period.

Trackwork Done on Wolverine Service Route

Completion of track work has restored full Wolverine Service to the Chicago-Detroit (Pontiac) line.

Amtrak and the Michigan Department of Transportation sponsored the project, which included improvement of the signal system, replacing 26,000 ties, repairing or installing 15 track switches, realigning or modifying 29 railroad curves, repairing 23 crossings and improving road profiles at crossings.

Most of the work took place in Calhoun and Jackson counties.

The work was undertaken as part of Michigan’s Accelerated Rail Program which is seeking to improve service reliability, provide for a smoother ride and expand the top speed on the line to 110 mph.

Amtrak operates three daily roundtrips on the route, but has reduced the frequency of service during the construction season.

The passenger carrier also plans to operate 10 extra trains in Michigan during the Thanksgiving holiday.

The service curtailment had an adverse effect on ridership and revenue. Ridership during fiscal year 2016 was 411,625 on the Chicago-Detroit line, a decrease of 11.6 percent. Revenue was $17.8 million, down 6.4 percent from the 2015 fiscal year.

On-time performance improved to 65 percent compared with 39 percent in the previous year.

Extra Trains Set for Thanksgiving Travel Period

Amtrak said it will offer extra trains between Chicago and points in Illinois and Michigan during the Thanksgiving holiday travel period.

In Illinois, the additional trains will operate between Chicago and Bloomington-Normal, and Chicago and Quincy. All of these trains will operate on Wednesday, Nov. Nov. 23, and Sunday, Nov. 27.

In Michigan, extra trains will operate between Chicago and Ann Arbor on Nov. 23, 26 and 27. Extra trains will also operate between Chicago and Holland on Nov. 23 and 27.

Train No. 309 will depart Chicago at 10:30 a.m. and arrive in Bloomington-Normal at 12:58 p.m., making all intermediate stops served by Lincoln Service trains.

No. 308 will depart Bloomington-Normal at 1:15 p.m. and is scheduled to arrive in Chicago at 3:39 p.m.

Train No. 385 will depart Chicago at 11:30 a.m. and arrive in Quincy at 3:53 p.m.

No. 384 will depart Quincy at 1 p.m. and arrive in Chicago at 5:23 p.m. The Chicago-Quincy trains will operate as Carl Sandburg Extra service.

Some regularly scheduled trains will have altered schedules during the holiday period. Lincoln Service train 301 will depart Chicago at 7:30 a.m., a half-hour later than normal, on Nov. 23 and 27.

Lincoln Service train 300 will depart St. Louis on Nov. 23 and 27 at 4 a.m., a half-hour earlier than normal.

Illinois Zephyr No. 383 will depart Chicago on Nov. 23 and 27 at 6:15 p.m., which is 20 minutes later than normal.

In Michigan, the Wolverine Service Extra trains will depart Chicago at 9:30 a.m. and arrive in Ann Arbor at 3:10 p.m., operating as No. 356. Intermediate stops will be made at New Buffalo, Niles, Kalamazoo, Battle Creek and Jackson.

No. 359 will depart Ann Arbor at 4:05 p.m. and arrive in Chicago at 7:47 p.m., making the same intermediate stops as No. 356.

There will no change in schedules for other Wolverine Service trains between Chicago and Detroit (Pontiac).

The Pere Marquette Extra will depart Chicago at 10 a.m., operating as No. 372, and arrive in Holland at 2:11 p.m. It will make all intermediate stops also served by the regular Pere Marquette. No. 373 will depart Holland at 3:10 p.m. and arrive in Chicago at 5:27 p.m.

There will be no change in the schedule of the daily Pere Marquette.

Amtrak said that during the holiday travel period it will operate every available passenger car in its fleet.

Amtrak Adds Michigan Thanksgiving Trains

In cooperation with the Michigan Department of Transportation, Amtrak is adding additional trains on two of its three Michigan corridors.

Wolverine Extra No. 356 will depart Chicago at 9:30 a.m. and make intermediate stops in Michigan at New Buffalo, Niles, Kalamazoo, Battle Creek and Jackson before arriving in Ann Arbor at 3:14 p.m.

The equipment will turn and become Wolverine Extra No. 359 at 4:05 p.m. to Chicago with the same intermediate stops as No. 356. No. 359 is scheduled to arrive in Chicago at 7:50 p.m.

Nos. 356 and 359 will operate on Nov. 25, 28 and 29.

An extra section of the Pere Marquette will operate on Nov. 25 and 29 between Chicago and Holland, Michigan.

No. 372 will depart Chicago at 10 a.m. and make intermediate stops in St. Joseph and Bangor before arriving in Holland at 2:11 p.m.

The equipment will turn and depart Holland at 3:10 p.m., making the same intermediate stops before arriving back in Chicago at 5:27 p.m.

Amtrak is encouraging passengers to plan for Thanksgiving travel and book their reservations now in order to obtain the best availability and pricing.

The travel days that are most likely to sell out are the Tuesday and Wednesday before Thanksgiving and the Sunday after the holiday.

Other than on Thanksgiving Day, morning trains typically have more available seats than those in the afternoon and evening.

Amtrak Adds Wolverine Service, Adjust Schedules of All Michigan Routes for the Summer

Amtrak has added service to the Wolverine route between Chicago and Detroit (Pontiac) for the summer while making adjustments to the route’s schedules.

The new schedules went into effect on April 20 and will extend through Oct. 30. The additional service is a Sunday-only train from Chicago to Pontiac and a Monday-only train from Dearborn to Chicago.

Here is a summary of the schedule changes:

Eastbound

No. 350 now departs Chicago 10 minutes earlier at 7:10 a.m. daily, but is still scheduled to arrive in Pontiac at 3:03 p.m.

No. 352, the former mid-day train to Pontiac will now operate on Sundays only, departing Chicago at 12:45 p.m. and arriving in Pontiac at 7:42 p.m. This train will stop only at Kalamazoo, Battle Creek, Ann Arbor, Dearborn, Detroit, Royal Oak and Troy.

No. 358 will assume the role previously served by No. 352. It will depart Chicago at 3:10 p.m. daily and arrive in Pontiac at 10:44 p.m.

No. 354 will continue to depart Chicago at 6 p.m. daily, but is now scheduled to arrive in Pontiac at 1:29 a.m., 10 minutes later than the previous schedule. It will not operate east of Detroit on Sundays.

Westbound

No. 351 will now depart Pontiac at 5 a.m. daily, which is 45 minutes earlier than the previous schedule. It is scheduled to reach Chicago at 10:12 a.m.

No. 353 will depart Pontiac at 10:35 a.m. on Sunday only and is scheduled to arrive in Chicago at 4:08 p.m.

No. 359 will depart Pontiac at 2:30 p.m. daily except Sunday and arrive in Chicago at 8:03 p.m.

No. 355 will depart Pontiac at 5:35 p.m. daily, which is five minutes earlier than its previous schedule. It is scheduled to arrive in Chicago at 11:02 p.m.

No. 349 will depart Dearborn on Mondays only at 3:38 a.m. and arrive in Chicago at 7:59 a.m.

Blue Water

The schedule of eastbound train No. 364 from Chicago to Port Huron remains unchanged, but westbound No. 365 will now depart Port Huron 40 minutes earlier at 5:40 a.m. The scheduled arrival time in Chicago is now 11:05 a.m.

Pere Marquette

Effective May 4, westbound No. 371 will begin departing Grand Rapids at 6 a.m. and is scheduled to arrive in Chicago at 9:11 a.m. Eastbound No. 370 will depart Chicago at 6:30 p.m. and arrive in Grand Rapids at 11:39 p.m.

Extra Wolverines Being Added for Holiday Travel

Amtrak will operate an extra section of the Wolverine Service between Chicago and Ann Arbor, Mich., on select days during the December and January holiday season.

Eastbound Wolverine extra No. 356 will depart Chicago Union Station at 9:20 a.m. on Dec. 26, 27, 28, 31, and on Jan. 3 and 4. It will make intermediate station stops at New Buffalo, Niles, Kalamazoo, Battle Creek and Jackson, Mich., before arriving in Ann Arbor at 3 p.m.

Westbound Wolverine extra No. 359 will depart Ann Arbor at 4:05 p.m. and operate on the same days and make the same intermediate stops as No. 356 before arriving in Chicago at 7:45 p.m.

Neither train will operate Dec. 29-30 or Jan. 1-2. The three regularly scheduled Wolverine Service roundtrips between Chicago and Detroit (Pontiac) will operate daily as scheduled during this period.

In a news release, Amtrak said the success of its extra trains during the Thanksgiving travel period, which carried more than 35,000 passengers, prompted the added trains in December and January.

Amtrak to Operate 18 Extra Michigan Trains

Amtrak will add 18 extra trains to its Michigan service to handle demand during the Thanksgiving holiday travel period.

The extra sections of the Wolverine Service [Chicago-Detroit (Pontiac)] and Pere Marquette [Chicago-Grand Rapids] will operate between Nov. 26 and Dec. 1.

Wolverine extra Nos. 354 and 357 will operate between Chicago and Kalamazoo, Mich., while Nos. 356 and 359 will operate between Chicago and Ann Arbor.

Two extra sections of the Pere Marquette will operate on Nov. 26 and Nov. 30 between Chicago and Holland. Schedules of the daily Pere Marquette have also been adjusted during the Thanksgiving travel period.

The daily schedules of the Wolverines and the Chicago-Port Huron Blue Water will remain unchanged during the travel period.

Amtrak said in a news release that to accommodate the expected surge of holiday riders nationally it will operate every available passenger car in its fleet and is scheduling extra trains and adding capacity on several routes.

The busiest travel days are the Tuesday and Wednesday before Thanksgiving and the Sunday after the holiday. Schedules for the extra Michigan trains can be seen at:

Click to access Amtrak-Chicago-Michigan-Thanksgiving-ATK-14-098,0.pdf