Surfliner Goes FUBAR

[spokker]

A trip between San Diego and Los Angeles went FUBAR last week. Passengers were stuck on the train for eight hours while several trains headed in the same direction passed them.

laist.com/2009/10/26/amtrak_leaves_passengers_stranded_o.php

After 30 minutes stopped on the tracks, passengers were notified of the train's "problems" and most remained calm despite being provided little or no further information. At 2p.m, 45 minutes after the train was scheduled to arrive in LA, passengers were told they were still stuck but that a new train was coming.

That train blew right by Train 571 on the northbound tracks just as four others would (and another two heading south) over the course of the afternoon and evening.

Okay, it's one thing to be an hour or two late because of mechanical problems. That's bad enough, but it's not the end of the world. But eight hours? While being told that a new train was coming? While seeing those trains fly by in the same direction? Where was the rescue train? Where was the bus bridge?

As a Surfliner 10-trip passholder, I must say that this is despicable service. This incident needs to be reviewed so that proper steps can be taken to prevent it in the future. In any case, Amtrak just lost a train full of riders. Getting them back will be an insurmountable task.

[spokker]

Update: Got this from Amtrak Unlimited.

Here is some information from another web site:

Surfliner 571 had something dragging, they stopped at Doheny after spotting smoke coming from one of the rear cars... Track inspector reported evidence of dragging equipment for upwards of five miles. The train was on single track and couldn't be moved until it was inspected by Metrolink. Surfliner 577, Metrolink 657, Surfliner 583, and Surfliner 785 plus Metrolink 858 and 860 were trapped south with Surfliners 578, 580 and 582 stuck on the north side. They combined 571 and 577 once they got permission to move, Surfliners 583 and 784 made the Metrolink Stops and 784 was delayed waiting to head south.

This from a trustworthy source. Since it was stated to be on a single track section, other trains passing in the same direction is simply not possible. How much else in the article is overdramatized whining?

Maybe it's not as cut and dry as LAist suggested.

[bobdavis]

Maybe this is the voice of nostalgia, but when Santa Fe was running the San Diegans, they probably would have handled this situation more expeditiously.

[pithecanthropus]

It's been a long time since I've ridden the Surfliner, but IIRC they usually run pretty close to capacity, don't they? I doubt it's as if they could have put the stranded passengers on one of the later ones--though I'm sure they could have done something.

[metrocenter]

It is never ok to hold people on a train or plane against their will for eight hours. Even if they have no shuttle bus or contingency plan, they should at least open the doors (when it is safe, of course) and help people off the trains.

IIRC a law was passed prohibiting this kind of treatment on airplanes. This should be done for trains as well.

[rubbertoe]

All,
Yesterday I was trying to plan a day trip down to San Diego, for either today (probably not a good idea) or Monday since I have both days off. I went to Amtrak.com to check train status. When I entered LAX and SAN to check arriving and departing status it gave me the following message for all trains:

Information Unavailable: Sorry, due to a service disruption, we are unable to provide estimated departure and arrival times. For additional assistance, please contact us at 1-800-USA-RAIL (1-800-872-7245)

I know that LAUS has that information available cause they routinely display it on their info board, Metrolink trains too. Is this normal for Amtrak to not show train status on their site. It's down today too BTW. Is there any other source for Surfliner train status?

RT

[tonyw79sfv]

Their Twitter account: twitter.com/pacsurfliners

There was a service disruption to both Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner and Metrolink's OC and IEOC lines due to the weather we had last week. Metrolink's tweet vaguely says service is restored in OC, but Amtrak's tweet didn't mention that service was restored between OC and SD, just that train 592 will terminate at Oceanside.

UPDATE: Looks like there are track closures in San Diego. There are service disruptions to NCTD's Coaster due to soil erosion in Sorrento Valley as referenced in this tweet. So this would also affect the Surfliner; also, the farthest south the Surfliner goes to is Solana Beach.

Dec 24, 2010 7:48:41 GMT -8 rubbertoe said:

All,
Yesterday I was trying to plan a day trip down to San Diego, for either today (probably not a good idea) or Monday since I have both days off. I went to Amtrak.com to check train status. When I entered LAX and SAN to check arriving and departing status it gave me the following message for all trains:

Information Unavailable: Sorry, due to a service disruption, we are unable to provide estimated departure and arrival times. For additional assistance, please contact us at 1-800-USA-RAIL (1-800-872-7245)

I know that LAUS has that information available cause they routinely display it on their info board, Metrolink trains too. Is this normal for Amtrak to not show train status on their site. It's down today too BTW. Is there any other source for Surfliner train status?

RT

[Justin Walker]

All rail service between Los Angeles and San Diego seems to be back to normal.

KUSI San Diego has some good footage of the the damage the storm did and of the repair efforts.