by world traveler
I was doing a search on average speeds on the regional rails after learning that the MARC train hits 125mph.
Not only are SEPTA trains slow, they are costing the transit authority a lot of money:
The Cost of Schedule Padding — $2 Million a Year or More
Each minute added to every train's schedule costs SEPTA from $387,000 to $1.9 million per year. The direct labor cost for a crew of two is $98.10 per hour, and multiplied by the extra hours where the crew sits in the station waiting for the scheduled departure time, it comes out to over $387,000 per year for each minute. Considering that 3 minutes could easily be eliminated from the time it takes trains to go through the Center City Commuter Tunnel, the savings would be at least $1 million in direct labor costs alone.
The Bucks County TMA calculates that the total operating cost of a train is $250 per vehicle revenue hour (in its Quakertown-Stony Creek study). SEPTA's actual fully allocated cost per vehicle revenue hour ranges from $280 to $435, according to their Annual Service Plan. Assuming a minimum of two cars per train, that is a minimum of $500 per hour, and nearly $2 million per year for each minute of schedule padding. However, the fully allocated costs includes some fixed costs that cannot be reduced by having the trains run shorter schedules.
Every minute that a SEPTA train is not carrying passengers to their final destination is an expense to SEPTA. The extra five minutes of padding built into the schedule of every train costs SEPTA from $2 to 10 million per year.
Block scheduling and padding, a waste of time and money. Speed up those trains!
Not only are SEPTA trains slow, they are costing the transit authority a lot of money:
The Cost of Schedule Padding — $2 Million a Year or More
Each minute added to every train's schedule costs SEPTA from $387,000 to $1.9 million per year. The direct labor cost for a crew of two is $98.10 per hour, and multiplied by the extra hours where the crew sits in the station waiting for the scheduled departure time, it comes out to over $387,000 per year for each minute. Considering that 3 minutes could easily be eliminated from the time it takes trains to go through the Center City Commuter Tunnel, the savings would be at least $1 million in direct labor costs alone.
The Bucks County TMA calculates that the total operating cost of a train is $250 per vehicle revenue hour (in its Quakertown-Stony Creek study). SEPTA's actual fully allocated cost per vehicle revenue hour ranges from $280 to $435, according to their Annual Service Plan. Assuming a minimum of two cars per train, that is a minimum of $500 per hour, and nearly $2 million per year for each minute of schedule padding. However, the fully allocated costs includes some fixed costs that cannot be reduced by having the trains run shorter schedules.
Every minute that a SEPTA train is not carrying passengers to their final destination is an expense to SEPTA. The extra five minutes of padding built into the schedule of every train costs SEPTA from $2 to 10 million per year.
Block scheduling and padding, a waste of time and money. Speed up those trains!