Amtrak trains delayed by bitter cold, snowstorms

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A muted version of a winter storm that has killed more than a dozen people across the eastern half of the country plodded across the Northeast on Thursday, trapping airliners in snow or mud and frustrating travelers still trying to return home after Christmas.

This survey, conducted by officebroker.com, which contradicts many New Years resolutions by staff to claw back a better live/work balance, found that the average office worker spent an additional 38 minutes at work each day during the winter months. This equates to more than three hours a week or an additional day and a half per month. Main reasons cited by respondents for working longer hours were to stay out of the cold, avoid troublesome rush hour traffic and ensure all work was completed prior to the Christmas break.

NEW ORLEANS — Freezing rain and sleet made for a sloppy Christmas morning trek in parts of the nation’s midsection on Tuesday, while residents along the Gulf Coast braced for thunderstorms, high winds and tornadoes. Icy roads already were blamed for a 21-vehicle pileup in Oklahoma, where authorities warned would-be travellers to stay home. Fog blanketed highways, including arteries in the Atlanta area where motorists slowed as a precaution. In New Mexico, drivers across the eastern plains had to fight through snow, ice and low visibility.

TAKO, Sask. _ A Via Rail train with 154 passengers was moving again Friday after being delayed for more than a day in western Saskatchewan due to a severe spring snowstorm. The train had to stop Thursday morning near the tiny community of Tako, 190 kilometres west of Saskatoon, because of heavy snow and high winds that put all rail traffic on the Prairies behind schedule. CN Rail spokesman Warren Chandler said there were delays on the entire main line between Winnipeg and Edmonton.

UK launch customer Thomson Airway

One of the most common savings goals we hear from our readers is travel. We tend to think that we need to save up thousands of dollars in order to justify taking those vacation days and heading out of town. But we might not need quite as much as we think.

Over the last 15 years, Amtrak ridership has grown 55 percent, outpacing population growth by a factor of three. It’s the fastest growing means of domestic transport, and shows no signs of slowing down. So why do its routes continue to lose so much money?