Holiday Delays For Trains, Planes, Buses
Nearly 64 million Americans are traveling this Christmas holiday period, and althought that number is actually down more than 2 percent from last year, winter weather has made it a tough few days for those taking to the roads, rails and skies.
Those troubles continued mount in the Midwest Tuesday night thanks to a new round of snow and freezing rain, reports CBS News correspondent Cynthia Bowers. That storm system is heading to the East -- and causing problems all along the way.
Winter storms have dropped record amounts of snow on both coasts, as high winds and bitter cold temperatures grip the Northern tier of the nation. At least 11 deaths are blamed on the weather.
In Eustis, Maine, nearly three-and-a-half feet of snow fell. In the Pacific Northwest, Portland, Oregon (which rarely gets a significant snowstorm) got a White Christmas - about a foot's worth.
All that white has some people seeing red.
At airports, many stranded travelers spent hours in long lines trying to get rebooked during one of the busiest travel times of the year. Hundreds of flights to and from Portland, Seattle and Vancouver were canceled over the weekend, causing a ripple effect for travelers across the nation.
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, the Pacific Northwest's largest, had been jammed with thousands of stranded travelers Sunday night and Monday morning. But most air service was restored Monday, and the number of people sleeping in the terminal early Tuesday was down to "a hundred, if that," said Perry Cooper, an airport spokesman.
Los Angeles International Airport reported scattered delays Tuesday morning, including several flights to Seattle that were delayed.
Even trains and buses are shut down.
Greyhound buses began leaving Seattle at midday Tuesday after service was halted over the weekend, stranding some passengers at the station and at homeless shelters.
Those hitting the roads may be getting the worst of it, Bowers reports, because in the midst of this recession many cities and states say they can't afford to clean up after Mother Nature.
The blanket of snow that hit Louisiana Dec. 11 set one community back $1 million. Friday's snowfall in Connecticut cost that state $3 million.
Every inch or two of snowfall that hits Chicago takes a $500,000 bite out of the budget. Last year that added up to $27 million.
Freezing rain was making driving hazardous Tuesday across parts of the nation's midsection, including Kansas, Illinois, Wisconsin, Kentucky and Arkansas.
Chicago Hit Hardest
The Chicago Department of Aviation says more than 400 flights have been canceled at O'Hare International Airport. And delays at the nation's second busiest airport are up to 90 minutes.
Across the city at Midway Airport, there are only a few cancellations. But flights are delayed more than 90 minutes.
Officials estimated earlier this week that the day before Christmas Eve should bring 54,000 passengers to Midway.
Sunday is expected to be the heaviest travel day at O'Hare when more than 200,000 passengers should pass through
Troubles For Amtrak, Too
On one of the biggest travel days of the year, hundreds of Amtrak passengers bound for holiday destinations hunkered down in waiting rooms - some for nearly 24 hours - as snowstorms and Arctic cold delayed their trains and disrupted other Christmas traffic.
Don and Barbara Seifert of Prophetstown, Ill., spent a sleepless, frustration-filled night at Chicago's Union Station with hundreds of angry customers.After waiting 12 hours for their New York-bound train to depart, their breath visible in the frigid indoor air, the Seiferts finally abandoned plans to visit their son and his family for the holidays.
"It's spoiled our Christmas, sure," 73-year-old Don Seifert said Tuesday before he and his wife headed back to their western Illinois home.
Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari said crews in some cities headed out with picks and shovels to clear snow-packed track switches; elsewhere, trains were held back to give lavatory pipes time to thaw.
Each train delay caused a ripple effect, with other trains and their crews at other points having to wait or readjust, he added.
"A combination of all those things is what presented this situation - about which we're very regretful," Magliari said.
Around 600 passengers in Chicago waited for up to 22 hours before finally boarding their delayed trains - the Lake Shore Limited, which was bound for New York, and the Seattle- and Portland, Ore.-bound Empire Builder.
Amtrak says several trains scheduled to leave Chicago on Tuesday were canceled. Passengers on shorter-distance trains were put on buses instead.
Many passengers weren't happy with how Amtrak dealt with the delays.
Sydney Cochran was heading to Rochester, N.Y., to visit family and complained that Amtrak didn't offer blankets, pillows or food overnight. She added that no one provided clear answers about when the train might leave, if at all.
"I'm furious," the 68-year-old said.
Barbara Gruenbacher of Manhattan, Kan., said she, her husband and four kids shivered through the night despite wrapping themselves in blankets as they slept in the station.
"The lack of heat is what put people over the edge," said Gruenbacher, who was also heading to New York to visit family.
Magliari said Amtrak wanted to hear from any disgruntled passengers.
"We want to document what occurred here to develop a better response next time," he said.
Coping With Travel Headaches
On CBS' The Early Show, travel journalist Valarie D'Elia said that in addition to getting to airports early, fliers should boot up their PDA to access flight status alerts. "Check the Web site because they will tell you how long the waits are in line, going through security lines also."
If your flight is canceled or delayed, D'Elia said, "You want to have a backup plan. While everybody else is going to the gate after you're told whether you're delayed or canceled, you're going to be waiting there to talk to a reservationist, but while you're there put that cell phone up to your ear and call directly to your airline.
"Also, know in advance what other airlines are going to where you are going, and maybe what other airports. Also maybe you have to take a shuttle bus from airport A to airport B, so you have to do your research in advance."