How early will Amtrak trains leave?

I was on 22 (Texas Eagle) coming into Chicago yesterday and we pulled into Joliet about 20 minutes early.

The train stuck around a bit, but still left well before its scheduled time. I imaging part of the logic it that Joliet is almost the end of the line, but how early will they leave? How do they decide when to leave early vs waiting until the scheduled time?

If there is no one on the manifest, and the Train Dispatcher (think it's CN) overrides Timetable Authority, then "they gone".

If Joliet for #22 is a "drop stop" (who knows with no printed timetables anymore), then that's an automatic "we're gone".

Rules be rules and timetables be timetables not suggestions. Two ways your out of Dodge early YOU ask for permission to leave said stop and permission is granted by the dispatcher/RTC or if it is a discharge only. Never in my 25 plus years in T&E have I been asked by a dispatcher/RTC to leave a stop early. To give them a "good move" aka just keep it under 10mph over. Make unscheduled stops for employees. Have asked permission for such, granted and denied. But once again never asked to leave early.

Joliet is a discharge only station northbound.

Thanks

I read in a recent trip report that Auto-Train left Sanford 15 minutes early that day, but all the autos and people were on board, so why wait? However, AT is a special case, and the dispatcher still has the final word.


I can''t think of any other case when a train taking on passengers would ever be permitted to leave before its scheduled time.

Different RR dispatchers CSX at Lorton & Keolis, then Amtrak, and then CSX at Sandford.

Not AMTRAK, but NJ Transit North Jersey Coast trains FROM NY have public timetable note L: Trains may leave ahead of schedule. Typically the rush hour trains, some have that note at the third stop out on NYP! Note applies to both weekday and weekend trains.
Not sure if that note appears on other NJT lines timetables.

That's quite usual on commuter lines on outbound trains at points en route to destination (often shown as d stops in public and employee tts), but it has to be in the timetables. At Harrisburg the PRR showed trains arriving and leaving at the same time, despite the the engine change; the ett showed the actual times, usually a good 8 minutes apart, with a footnote that the train may leave at scheduled arrival time when station work is completed. The arr/lv time in the public tt was the ett arrival time. (You never know when those extra minutes may come in handy.) But it has to be in the timetable.

Years ago, when the Friday night NYP-ALB train was carded at 2:20, I recall one trip where we came into Poughkeepsie 10 minutes early. That was the last stop where they boarded passengers. So we waited 10 minutes.
All other stops north of that were discharge only, so stops were very brief.
For the record, we ended up getting into Albany in 2:10. (so imagine if Poughkeepsie had been discharge only...)

A historical note regarding Mr. ex-Con's report, likely the most famous difference between the depart time shown within the ptt and ett was the Century.

At GCT, ptt showed 6P; ett 601P.

Reason: to give stragglers who got past the Track 34 gate by 6P sufficient time to board. Suffice to say even 60 years ago, there were those who (ask them) who were "too important to abide by schedules set by someone else". They were probably giving dictation to their Assistant to be concerned with departure times.

But wait, "on The Century", there was a land line phone in the Obs which was available right up to departure with the line being unplugged as the train departed. Go to the New York Telephone Company's Manhattan phone book, look under New York Central and along with every General Office's number was an entry for "Twentieth Century Limited Observation Car" from one hour before until departure (don't ask me what it was beyond a MUrray Hill exchange).

Greg Moore wrote: ↑Wed May 22, 2024 9:08 pm Years ago, when the Friday night NYP-ALB train was carded at 2:20, I recall one trip where we came into Poughkeepsie 10 minutes early. That was the last stop where they boarded passengers. So we waited 10 minutes.
All other stops north of that were discharge only, so stops were very brief.
For the record, we ended up getting into Albany in 2:10. (so imagine if Poughkeepsie had been discharge only...)

Made a trip over the weekend and we sat in CRT and POU waiting on time. The 2:10 trip is a thing of the past the best I've done with deadhead equipment is 2:05. MNRR has dropped the speeds on the north of CRT 5 to 10 mph. With PTC can't cheat like some of those old timers I worked with did.

NY&LB wrote:Not AMTRAK, but NJ Transit North Jersey Coast trains FROM NY have public timetable note L: Trains may leave ahead of schedule. Typically the rush hour trains, some have that note at the third stop out on NYP! Note applies to both weekday and weekend trains.
Not sure if that note appears on other NJT lines timetables.

NEC has "L" trains as well.

Railjunkie wrote: ↑Mon May 20, 2024 10:00 am Rules be rules and timetables be timetables not suggestions. Two ways your out of Dodge early YOU ask for permission to leave said stop and permission is granted by the dispatcher/RTC or if it is a discharge only. Never in my 25 plus years in T&E have I been asked by a dispatcher/RTC to leave a stop early. To give them a "good move" aka just keep it under 10mph over. Make unscheduled stops for employees. Have asked permission for such, granted and denied. But once again never asked to leave early.

Here on the NEC, specifically at Metropark for Amtrak trains heading east, the dispatcher will give "Rule 92" permission (NORAC) since they (might) only have Newark Airport, Newark Penn and NY Penn as the last stops before termination or crew change. I believe these trains are the ones that would be marked "Discharge only" at Newark Penn and NY Penn.

I'm a bit puzzled by that; the dispatcher shouldn't be doing that unless it's in the timetable, and if it's in the timetable the dispatcher's permission shouldn't be needed. (Of course I haven't looked up Rule 92.)
Maybe just an extra precaution?

As to Mr. Norman's post above, I believe the extra minute was standard practice for all departures from GCT on both roads (including suburban trains on the LL? I never checked).

Railjunkie wrote: ↑Thu May 23, 2024 9:25 am

Greg Moore wrote: ↑Wed May 22, 2024 9:08 pm Years ago, when the Friday night NYP-ALB train was carded at 2:20, I recall one trip where we came into Poughkeepsie 10 minutes early. That was the last stop where they boarded passengers. So we waited 10 minutes.
All other stops north of that were discharge only, so stops were very brief.
For the record, we ended up getting into Albany in 2:10. (so imagine if Poughkeepsie had been discharge only...)

Made a trip over the weekend and we sat in CRT and POU waiting on time. The 2:10 trip is a thing of the past the best I've done with deadhead equipment is 2:05. MNRR has dropped the speeds on the north of CRT 5 to 10 mph. With PTC can't cheat like some of those old timers I worked with did.

That's a shame that the 2:10 is a thing of the past.
Not only would a faster train be nicer, honestly, I think if the under 2:00 hour mark were achieved, it would break a certain psychological barrier and attract more customers.