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  • SELECTED ON-TIME PERFORMANCE 7/31 THROUGH 8/29

  • Discussion related to Amtrak also known as the National Railroad Passenger Corp.
Discussion related to Amtrak also known as the National Railroad Passenger Corp.

Moderators: GirlOnTheTrain, mtuandrew, Tadman

 #1518844  by shlustig
 
Results for this period are:

TOTAL TRAINS = 1203

ON TIME = 383 (32%)

LATE = 820 (68%)

AVERAGE DELAY = 58"

Of the late trains:
39% were 29" or less late;
26% were 30" to 59" late;
22% were 1' to 2' late;
12% were more than 2' late; and 1% had no arrival time shown.


BY ROUTE, WITH ON-TIME % AND AVERAGE DELAY:

CAPITOL LIMITED
#29 - 13% - 1' 08"
#30 - 4% - 1' 26"

CARDINAL (WAS)
#51 - 38% - 47"
#50 - 8% - 1' 20"

PENNSYLVANIAN
#43 - 7% - 37"
#42 - 13% - 27"

LAKE SHORE LIMITED
#49 - 20% - 1' 25"
#48 - 47% - 48"

LAKE SHORE LIMITED (BOSTON / ALBANY)
#449 - 53% - 55"
#448 - 10% - 1' 13"

CITY OF NEW ORLEANS
#59 - 92% - 10"
#58 - 67% - 1' 17"

CRESCENT (WAS)
#19 - 3% - 1' 50"
#20 - 7% - 1' 43"

DETROIT CORRIDOR
(W) - 11% - 40"
(E) - 2% - 41"

ST. LOUIS CORRIDOR
(W) - 53% - 31"
(E) - 58% - 1' 26"

BUFFALO CORRIDOR
(W) - 4% - 48"
(E) - 59% - 32"

KANSAS CITY CORRIDOR
(W) - 23% - 1' 15"
(E) - 23% - 1' 25"


Nearly a full complement of trains was reviewed in this period, the exceptions being caused by programmed trackwork, storm conditions / damage, and operational problems on several routes.

Services which showed improvement in both measured categories included the eastbound Lake Shore Limited, the westbound DET and STL Corridors, and both directions of the Cardinal and the BUF Corridor.

Of the 97 trains that were more than 2' late, the Capitol Limited accounted for 9 while the Crescent and the Lake Shore Limited each accounted for 20.

Services which contributed the most to the total delay minutes in this period were the Corridors which combined for 60% and the Lake Shore Limited and the Crescent which combined for 25%.

As poor as the performance of the long-haul services has been, the fact that some of the corridors are functioning at less than 10% OT is most disheartening to pro-passenger advocates. If the present top management is pinning hopes for success on the short corridor services, then a drastic and long-lasting improvement is needed. Unfortunately, we see no efforts in that direction, let alone any effort to correct the current causes of avoidable delays.
 #1519015  by shlustig
 
AJL asked off-line if various services have "always" been so poorly performing.

Looking at a report for January 2016, we see:

Capitol Limited in the 65% - 75% range; Crescent in the 40% - 55% range; DET Corridor in the 50% range both directions.

Makes you wonder what the heck has happened.
 #1519021  by mtuandrew
 
shlustig wrote: Tue Sep 03, 2019 12:07 pmMakes you wonder what the heck has happened.
Precision Scheduled Railroading perhaps? Not the concept necessarily, but the execution with crews dying on the road, power being too minimal to move the train, and overall speeds being lower. Positive Train Control has interfered as well.
 #1519023  by danib62
 
I scored some serious good luck because 30 was on time to WAS today and it was my first time riding it. 29 and 49 were all also on time or early today! Something must be in the water.
 #1519038  by WhartonAndNorthern
 
mtuandrew wrote: Tue Sep 03, 2019 12:40 pm
shlustig wrote: Tue Sep 03, 2019 12:07 pmMakes you wonder what the heck has happened.
Precision Scheduled Railroading perhaps? Not the concept necessarily, but the execution with crews dying on the road, power being too minimal to move the train, and overall speeds being lower. Positive Train Control has interfered as well.
Indeed! Also trains too long to fit in sidings requiring Amtrak to take the siding as well as crews recrewing at yards with not enough (or long enough) "recrew" tracks. I know CSX backs up at North Baltimore (ex-B&O) because of trains waiting to go into the yard. Fortunately or unfortunately, this line hasn't seen an Amtrak since the Three Rivers.
 #1519040  by rcthompson04
 
While the on-time numbers for the Pennsylvanian are not great, the average delay seems to be decreasing. I am curious what constitutes the average though because I have seen a few recently coming into Philadelphia from Pittsburgh 90 minutes late then other times it is on time! Being consistently 30 minutes late might be easily fixed with some scheduling changes, but being anywhere from 10 minutes early to 90 minutes late is a lot harder to deal with and have a measurable impact.
 #1519732  by shlustig
 
Adding additional time into the schedules really solves nothing as the tendency is for the host carriers and Amtrak to continue to arrive late. Some of the corridor schedules have 25" / 30" built in, and the OT performance remains abysmal. Some of the long-distance trains such as the City of New Orleans have 2'00" +/- built in as "recovery time".

Regarding the short corridors, in the summer of 2016 the STL route had a 55% OT score in each direction.

The continuing OT debacle is really a system management failure which shows no signs of being corrected.
 #1519996  by mtuandrew
 
daybeers wrote: Fri Sep 13, 2019 1:04 am What's the best way to get Amtrak to give a hoot about these abysmal numbers? I thought Anderson wanted to strengthen corridors. What's he doing now?
Sic your US Representative and your Governor on Amtrak and the FRA. Given proper political pressure, Amtrak will work on its own numbers, and the FRA will try to cajole the Class 1s.
 #1520318  by daybeers
 
mtuandrew wrote: Fri Sep 13, 2019 12:50 pm
daybeers wrote: Fri Sep 13, 2019 1:04 am What's the best way to get Amtrak to give a hoot about these abysmal numbers? I thought Anderson wanted to strengthen corridors. What's he doing now?
Sic your US Representative and your Governor on Amtrak and the FRA. Given proper political pressure, Amtrak will work on its own numbers, and the FRA will try to cajole the Class 1s.
The problem is I live in Connecticut, where Amtrak runs on tracks owned by them, Metro-North, or ConnDOT.
 #1520324  by mtuandrew
 
daybeers wrote: Mon Sep 16, 2019 11:24 pm
mtuandrew wrote: Fri Sep 13, 2019 12:50 pm
daybeers wrote: Fri Sep 13, 2019 1:04 am What's the best way to get Amtrak to give a hoot about these abysmal numbers? I thought Anderson wanted to strengthen corridors. What's he doing now?
Sic your US Representative and your Governor on Amtrak and the FRA. Given proper political pressure, Amtrak will work on its own numbers, and the FRA will try to cajole the Class 1s.
The problem is I live in Connecticut, where Amtrak runs on tracks owned by them, Metro-North, or ConnDOT.
Advice still holds, and doubly so since the governor actually administers ConnDOT. Also write your state senator and representative.