It seems that Amtrak could use a switch engine to shuffle the cars around, so that the Southwest Chief would only have to stop for a short while to drop off one set of cars, then pick up another set. If Amtrak cannot use their own switch engine, why couldn’t they make a deal with one of the freight railroads in the area to rent one of their switch engines for a few hours each day.

If it is not feasible to regularly use a switch engine, then I have another idea. Heading eastbound, our train was five hours late and had been running about that late for most of the day. Amtrak had plenty of warning long before we got to Kansas City that we were late. It seems that when the Southwest Chief is running late, they could rent a switch engine for that train only. This would probably save the Southwest Chief at least an hour minimum.

I have read that, when the Southwest Chief is running a certain amount of time late, passengers connecting onto the Capitol Limited are taken off the train in Kansas City and flown on Southwest Airlines to Chicago to meet the Capitol Limited. This not only costs Amtrak money, but more importantly, creates a lot of angry customers. It seems to me that they could save some of this by renting a switch engine in Kansas City when the Southwest Chief is a predetermined amount of time late.

One thing that made me a little upset was that there was no announcement on the train at all to let us know what was happening. It was not until we asked Amtrak employees that we found out why we were there.

What are your opinions on this?