Stoopid Amtrak

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gsabc · #1 Post by **gsabc** » Tue Jun 03, 2008 5:20 pm

The 90-year-old Thames River Bridge between Groton and New London CT is being repaired. Amtrak's Northeast Corridor train between Boston and NYC/Newark and points south crosses the bridge. The bridge will be closed for three days for the repairs, and all Amtrak traffic is cancelled for that period. Those three days include my audit/audition dates.

It figures. Would have saved a ton of money over airfare, not to mention the decreased hassles over security and parking.

sunflower · #2 Post by **sunflower** » Tue Jun 03, 2008 8:06 pm

NO?!? Seriously...well it just gives you more stories to tell at the audition!

How about Metro north, is that still running? Not as comfy but you can take Amtrak into New Haven (I think) and then connect to Metro North, if it's running and still get into the city? A bit of a pain but then you'll still save money...

Metro North is how we get into the city all the time, unless we drive. I took the train for my audition but drove for my tapings.

christie1111 · #3 Post by **christie1111** » Tue Jun 03, 2008 8:22 pm

Well, the Metro North option won't help. It stops at the Old Saybrook station. And anyway, the bridge should totally kill train traffic in the area.

Did you look at routing through Springfield instead? That may be the preferred alternate for all of the Amtrak traffic.

Snaxx · #4 Post by **Snaxx** » Tue Jun 03, 2008 8:23 pm

gsabc is from Boston (or close to there). The closure stops Amtrak trains going from Boston to New Haven, so he would have to drive all the way to New Haven or another Metro-North station (that he could find overnight parking) to go Metro-North.

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sunflower · #5 Post by **sunflower** » Tue Jun 03, 2008 8:28 pm

christie1111 wrote:Well, the Metro North option won't help. It stops at teh Old Sybrook station.

That's why I suggested Amtrak from Boston to New Haven, then connect to Metro North into the city.

I'm not sure how on top of service alerts they are, but as of right now, Metro North doesn't have any closures reported on those dates.

sunflower · #6 Post by **sunflower** » Tue Jun 03, 2008 8:31 pm

And the real thing I meant to say in my last post...

They have the Acela train that runs into New Haven, I thought that ran differently from normal Amtrak? Or am I way off base on that?

christie1111 · #7 Post by **christie1111** » Tue Jun 03, 2008 8:33 pm

sunflower wrote:
christie1111 wrote:Well, the Metro North option won't help. It stops at teh Old Sybrook station.
That's why I suggested Amtrak from Boston to New Haven, then connect to Metro North into the city.

I'm not sure how on top of service alerts they are, but as of right now, Metro North doesn't have any closures reported on those dates.

But to go from Boston to New Haven the normal way is to go over that bridge. It is the NorthEast Corridor of Amtrak. That is why I suggested going through Springfield.

Snaxx · #8 Post by **Snaxx** » Tue Jun 03, 2008 8:37 pm

sunflower wrote:And the real thing I meant to say in my last post...

They have the Acela train that runs into New Haven, I thought that ran differently from normal Amtrak? Or am I way off base on that?

The Acela train is operated by Amtrak and runs on the same tracks as normal Amtrak. Amtrak has another route that goes from New Haven to Springfield, then on to Boston, but that route is very slow and not electrified; IIRC taking 5-6 hours NY to Boston. Amtrak also may not have enough spare diesel engines to run a significant number of trains on that route.

Here is a link to a Hartford Courant op-ed. Apparently this has been planned for nearly two years and for some reason Amtrak was unable to schedule it outside of peak summer travel season.

http://www.on-track-on-line.com/forums/ ... opic=22916

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sunflower · #9 Post by **sunflower** » Tue Jun 03, 2008 8:56 pm

Maybe you should just drive! It's really not that far...as long as you're not driving in peak rush hour. Although by the time you pay for parking in the city, you might as well buy a plane ticket!

christie1111 · #10 Post by **christie1111** » Tue Jun 03, 2008 9:01 pm

sunflower wrote:Maybe you should just drive! It's really not that far...as long as you're not driving in peak rush hour. Although by the time you pay for parking in the city, you might as well buy a plane ticket!

Driving to Springfield or Old Saybrook are definitly options to be considered.

Gsabc, don't you love how we all throw our 2 cents in?

But of course, if you didn't, you wouldn't post things like this.

marrymeflyfree · #11 Post by **marrymeflyfree** » Tue Jun 03, 2008 9:08 pm

I have heard about some bus service from Chinatown Boston to Chinatown NYC that is ridiculously cheap. I wonder if it is google-able.....

Woo hoo! Found it. $15.00 each way.

http://www.fungwahbus.com/

sunflower · #12 Post by **sunflower** » Tue Jun 03, 2008 9:09 pm

marrymeflyfree wrote:I have heard about some bus service from Chinatown Boston to Chinatown NYC that is ridiculously cheap. I wonder if it is google-able.....

Woo hoo! Found it. $15.00 each way.

http://www.fungwahbus.com/

Hold on to your hat if you take that! The drivers are maniacs, we always see them on the road around here, since we're right in the middle of the two. Crazy, crazy drivers!!!

MarleysGh0st · #13 Post by **MarleysGh0st** » Wed Jun 04, 2008 6:13 am

sunflower wrote:
marrymeflyfree wrote:I have heard about some bus service from Chinatown Boston to Chinatown NYC that is ridiculously cheap. I wonder if it is google-able.....

Woo hoo! Found it. $15.00 each way.

http://www.fungwahbus.com/
Hold on to your hat if you take that! The drivers are maniacs, we always see them on the road around here, since we're right in the middle of the two. Crazy, crazy drivers!!!

But more good stories for your audition!

gsabc · #14 Post by **gsabc** » Wed Jun 04, 2008 6:35 am

MarleysGh0st wrote:
sunflower wrote:
marrymeflyfree wrote:I have heard about some bus service from Chinatown Boston to Chinatown NYC that is ridiculously cheap. I wonder if it is google-able.....

Woo hoo! Found it. $15.00 each way.

http://www.fungwahbus.com/
Hold on to your hat if you take that! The drivers are maniacs, we always see them on the road around here, since we're right in the middle of the two. Crazy, crazy drivers!!!
But more good stories for your audition!

They have also tipped over or otherwise caused accidents several times. The drivers don't often speak English. I don't know how to say "Jane, stop this crazy thing!" in Mandarin. No thanks.

I was just griping because normally, taking the Acela into NYC would have been an excellent option. Cab to the studio, audition, cab back to Grand Central and the train or just cab directly to Newark and the audit. Fares for business seating are $110 each way. Nice, leisurely and relatively inexpensive trip. Not to be. Airfare is going to be over $800 RT, even out of Manchester.

Whups, just remembered I need to get my bus tickets for Newark airport to NYC and back. Gotta do that now to save time later.

Bob Juch · #15 Post by **Bob Juch** » Wed Jun 04, 2008 7:24 am

gsabc wrote:
MarleysGh0st wrote:
sunflower wrote: Hold on to your hat if you take that! The drivers are maniacs, we always see them on the road around here, since we're right in the middle of the two. Crazy, crazy drivers!!!
But more good stories for your audition!
They have also tipped over or otherwise caused accidents several times. The drivers don't often speak English. I don't know how to say "Jane, stop this crazy thing!" in Mandarin. No thanks.

I was just griping because normally, taking the Acela into NYC would have been an excellent option. Cab to the studio, audition, cab back to Grand Central and the train or just cab directly to Newark and the audit. Fares for business seating are $110 each way. Nice, leisurely and relatively inexpensive trip. Not to be. Airfare is going to be over $800 RT, even out of Manchester.

Whups, just remembered I need to get my bus tickets for Newark airport to NYC and back. Gotta do that now to save time later.

WHAT?!

Airfare from BOS to JFK is $173 on JetBlue and Delta on the days I expect you'll be flying. You must have priced a full-fare, refundable, ticket.

ghostjmf · #16 Post by **ghostjmf** » Wed Jun 04, 2008 3:20 pm

I agree that Amtrak is the way more pleasant ride. However, Grey you-know-who still runs. So does the Feng Wha (or whatever) bus, but it also catches fire regularly, so you won't catch me on it.

I also found out 2 weekends ago that if you walk into Logan Airport & they feel like doing it, they'll knock $10.00/day off your rental, because as a walk-in they don't have to charge you all those airport taxes. Now, as a local-edition renter, from a convenient local pickup place, that $10.00/day somehow goes right back on, even though you're (a) a walk-in & (b) not renting at an airport. The only reason I didn't do local-edition renting is that none of them were open late enough for 7:00pm Sunday return; only the 24-hour airport was.

Snaxx · #17 Post by **Snaxx** » Sat Jun 14, 2008 9:20 am

Now we find out, at the last minute, that Amtrak will be operating all week after all! A little too late for gsabc though. Earlier this week, Amtrak had pushed back the work to mid-week.

source: Amtrak.com news releases

Thames River Bridge Outage Postponed

Normal Train Schedule to Resume Until Further Notice

NEW YORK - Amtrak has been notified by the contractor working on the Thames River Bridge in Connecticut that the installation of the new lift span has been further delayed due to complications encountered in the dismantling and removal of the bridge's counterweight.

As a result, the previously announced schedules to accommodate the change-out have been suspended.

Amtrak will restore regular train schedules for June 16 through 19 and will operate a normal schedule this weekend (June 14 and 15.)

Amtrak expects to receive more information from the contractor about the status of the project on Monday. At that point, Amtrak will provide more information about both the service schedules and expected project completion date.

Amtrak apologizes for any additional inconvenience resulting from the shift in plans.

gsabc · #18 Post by **gsabc** » Sat Jun 14, 2008 10:17 am

jacorbett70 wrote:Now we find out, at the last minute, that Amtrak will be operating all week after all! A little too late for gsabc though. Earlier this week, Amtrak had pushed back the work to mid-week.

source: Amtrak.com news releases

Thames River Bridge Outage Postponed

Normal Train Schedule to Resume Until Further Notice

NEW YORK - Amtrak has been notified by the contractor working on the Thames River Bridge in Connecticut that the installation of the new lift span has been further delayed due to complications encountered in the dismantling and removal of the bridge's counterweight.

As a result, the previously announced schedules to accommodate the change-out have been suspended.

Amtrak will restore regular train schedules for June 16 through 19 and will operate a normal schedule this weekend (June 14 and 15.)

Amtrak expects to receive more information from the contractor about the status of the project on Monday. At that point, Amtrak will provide more information about both the service schedules and expected project completion date.

Amtrak apologizes for any additional inconvenience resulting from the shift in plans.

It's okay. The return schedule is such that I would have had to stay over an extra day. They don't leave Newark/NYC late enough for me to get back the same day as the audit. Those trains will be nearly empty, though, since most everyone will have already made non-refundable alternate travel plans.