Chronic passenger train delays of eight to 12 hours between Toledo and Chicago have prompted Amtrak to begin busing passengers on that route.

Amtrak started busing customers on Sunday when the train was more than 10 hours late, said Amtrak spokesman Christina Leeds.

“We have an ongoing issue of on-time performance. It is severe in this area right now,” Ms. Leeds said.

She could not provide an estimate of how long Amtrak will need to use buses to supplement its passenger service. The company will continue to monitor the situation to determine how long the buses will be necessary, she said. All passengers with train tickets who will be affected by the change will receive notification from Amtrak, she said.

“It’s unacceptable for our passengers and employees and it impacts our business,” Ms Leeds said.

She said the passenger train delays are caused by congestion on the tracks Amtrak uses between New York and Toledo for the Lake Shore Limited and Washington, D.C. and Toledo for the Capitol Limited.

Amtrak does not own a sizable portion of the rail lines it uses to transport customers and does not control the dispatching and movement of the trains, she said

One of the biggest obstacles to Amtrak’s time-keeping across northern Indiana and northern Ohio has been tracks blocked by freight trains belonging to Norfolk Southern, which owns and operates the line Amtrak uses between Chicago and Cleveland.

“What we are doing is we continue to engage the host railroads to try to resolve this issue,” Ms. Leeds said.

Late trains are nothing new for Amtrak, particularly for the overnight, long-distance trains, the Lake Shore Limited and Capitol Limited. 

During the 12 months that ended in August, Capitol Limited trains arrived at their end stations in Chicago or Washington within 30 minutes of schedule only 22.5 percent of the time, while the Lake Shore reached Chicago or New York on time 30.8 percent of the time, according to Amtrak.

But August itself was significantly worse, and September data, when available, is unlikely to show improvement. In August, the best performer was the eastbound Lake Shore, which reached New York within 30 minutes of schedule 6.5 percent of the time — two trips. The westbound was late into Chicago every day of the month, and the Capitol Limited arrived on time once in each direction.

“If a passenger cancels due to busing, they will be refunded in full without fee. If anyone booked in a sleeper travels, they will be refunded a portion of the accommodation charge where they were bused, Ms Leeds said.

Contact Marlene Harris-Taylor at: mtaylor@theblade.com or 419-724-6091.

First Published October 7, 2014, 10:26 p.m.