Amtrak Auto Train Discussion

A couple of thoughts re AutoTrain:

If the S-Line route is reinstated according to current plans, would AutoTrain switch to it or remain on the current route and fueling point? If so, with a presumed increase in train speed, aside from a faster run and reduction in crew hours, what would the likely change Amtrak would seek to make - later departure, earlier arrival, or some of each?

The Auto Train always took the A line, even when the S line was complete north of Raleigh. The S line between Petersburg and Florence is slightly longer and, I understand, hillier than the A line.

Amtrak will likely keep the Auto Train on the A line since the limits on its MAS are the auto racks, and the speed improvements will all be on a (at first) single track line north of Raleigh. Raleigh is ~156 miles on the S line from Richmond, and assuming the auto racks force the MAS of 70 MPH, any potential time savings are going to be at best 24 minutes (if the Auto Train was authorized 110 MPH between Richmond and Raleigh for the full 156 miles, the savings would be just over an hour) and I don't think the extra costs of operating at that speed would be worth it.

Makes sense, thanks @RandallW. I didn’t consider the autorack MAS.

There have been occasions when Auto Train did use the "S" line for whatever reason. However, crew qualifications become a real problem. Engineers operating the train must be qualified for operating the train with freight train braking. So, a pilot has to accompany unless the engineer happens to have qualified on the "S" line.

Possibly there has been an earlier submission of this video, but from what I viewed of it, it certainly appears "reasonable":

https://youtu.be/C16UYeOj62E?si=kGkOyPkYpt9qRiny

But, after twenty four "voyages" - including the rather short lived private sector varietal - I simply became convinced that the only market Auto Train can reasonably serve is East of Syracuse and Harrisburg and South of Boston, anything beyond, such as myself in Chicago, has what economists call "diminishing returns". In my case, use of such results 400 miles of driving saved as well as one hotel night - and no time whatever.

The price of a ride has simply "exploded"; if Amtrak can command over $1K for a "voyage", hey, go for it. But for me, considering the meager savings set forth, my last journey was #52(the day Kobe Bryant was killed), or Jan 26, 2020.

Little-known success: Axios

Little-known rail success: Riders flock to Amtrak's long-distance Auto Train
...By the numbers: Auto Train ridership has outpaced pre-pandemic levels — part of an overall boom for Amtrak ridership in recent years, the transit company said in a statement.

In fiscal year 2019, Auto Train transported around 236,000 passengers, and by fiscal year 2022, that had increased to around 279,000.
...