Lake Shore, Star, and Meteor Schedule Changes

With the Mail gone, who knows next up the Boston Lake Shore will have "specially designed ten wheel Coaches' operating over a new accelerated route".

Translation: a bus on the Mass Pike

Here is the way it will work in ALB if memory serves me correctly. Once 448/48 arrives in ALB on track #2 the inbound crew will take of the power and bring it to the shop for that nites train. The outbound ALB/NYP crew will add a dual mode for the trip down the river to NYP. The AM yard crew will cut any M&E from the rear. The stub train will be on track one and receive the transfers and swing over to the main for the trip to BOS.

In the evening when the 449 stub train arrives in ALB on the main track passengers will transfer over to 49 on track two. The inbound crew from NYP will cut the dual mode and the outbound crew will add the engines from that mornings 448/48 to there train. The PM yard crew will add any M&E to the rear.

I'm pretty optimistic about the Boston section being converted to a stub.

If the only thing that will need to happen in ALB is an engine change (no more M&E switching and no more train splitting/combining), I think the layovers could be shortened by quite a bit. Right now, they range from 30 minutes (for eastbound passengers heading to Boston) to 1 hour 45 minutes (for westbound passengers coming from NYP).

hsr_fan wrote:

updrumcorpsguy wrote:...and to make the most of its rapidly shrinking pool of equipment.

Why is it rapidly shrinking? Over the last several years, with the loss of the Heritage fleet and inadequate numbers of replacement cars, sure. But at this point, the fleet should be expanding if anything, given the wreck repair program.

The loss of a sleeper and the need to transfer trains at Albany, while not ideal, is not the end of the world.

It is a downgrade in the level of service, no question. And what about people who not only desire first class accomodations but also are traveling with luggage? Not only do they have to sit in coach for several hours and then switch trains, but they have to transfer all their luggage one more time, making it that much more of a pain in the you know what.

First of all, the BOS-ALB-BOS stub train will be a reality, and it's part of the "winter equipment utilization plan". There is no nefarious plot to detstroy LDT service one snip at a time. Mr. Gunn and his planners are trying to design an operation that can be delivered reliably throughout the winter season with minimal risk of annullments, last-minute car blankings and substantial delays cascading across days or even weeks of a train's frequency.

Secondly, as a nod to the loss of true first class amenities between BOS and ALB, the stub train will offer Business class seating (first time ever on this route)! The sleeper coming off the Three Rivers will be added to the NY section of the Lake Shore to help ensure space availability for the New England passengers who might wish to use such service once they transfer.

BOS-CHI-BOS through-car service (complete with sleeper) is currently expected to resume with the spring/summer timetable, and stub-train operation return again for the fall/winter of 2005.

Lastly, the OTP of the Florida trains is expected to remain dubious throughout the coming winter as CSX wobbles along to recover itself along this route after all the hurricanes and floods have passed. If it's any consolation, your overnight trip from NYP to the Carolinas probably will not deposit you at your station in the pre-dawn hours anyway. So take comfort in the expectation that you will gain an extra hour or two to use the sleeper berth or get breakfast -- all at no additional cost to you!

"First of all, the BOS-ALB-BOS stub train will be a reality, and it's part of the "winter equipment utilization plan". There is no nefarious plot to detstroy LDT service one snip at a time. Mr. Gunn and his planners are trying to design an operation that can be delivered reliably throughout the winter season with minimal risk of annullments, last-minute car blankings and substantial delays cascading across days or even weeks of a train's frequency. "

If this is the case, I don't think it is being executed properly. First off, the Silver Meteor's drastic upcoming schedule change will cancel out the possibility of using same day run-through equipment from the Crescent or Lake Shore, as was often done last year and still continues today. Where is the extra equipment coming from to help compensate this - if the Three Rivers sleepers are going to the Lake Shore. If that's true, then one would expect four sleepers on the Lake Shore - one transferred from the Three Rivers and one transferred from the Boston section of the Lake Shore and the typical winter two sleepers on the NY section. But I bet the Lake Shore, at best will only see 2 sleepers on average for the winter and we will still see the Viewliner shortages. I am horrified over the Meteor's schedule change. I think this is a big mistake - mostly from a equipment utilization standpoint (let alone missed connections with the Cardinal, Vermonter, Lake Shore Limited, Three Rivers, and probably some others I can't think of). In the old days, the NY inbound Meteor arriving at 9:30 a.m. became the same day's Meteor NY outbound at 7 p.m. New Meteor schedule will not provide for this. And good luck on the petition that is being circulated to keep the sleepers on the Three Rivers at least until March - no way with these chaotic winter changes at Amtrak. Signing off as a frustrated Amtrak rider.....


PS - Been riding the Northeast Corridor regularly this past week. Chroncially late trains - no wonder Amtrak is losing it's competetive edge here to the airlines......

If it's any consolation, your overnight trip from NYP to the Carolinas probably will not deposit you at your station in the pre-dawn hours anyway.

I think Amtrak's forthcoming scheduling change to the Meteor is just one more outragious example of a long list of events making up Amtrak's decade of decline.

No longer will Amtrak offer connecting service to Florida for its markets located between Erie and Utica. (Just one more service downgrade for the Lake Shore Limited.) And no longer will Amtrak offer an after-the-close-of-business-departure from NYP or PHL to points down the eastern seaboard. After-the-close-of-business depatures from New York City have long been a fundamental component of long-distance passenger railroading in the Northeast.

I guess one way to look at it is that Amtrak continues to prove that it has yet to reach rock bottom. With each new decision, Amtrak demonstrates that there is further to go. It is still possible for things to get worse.

Let us not forget that one of the Hudson tubes will be closed from Friday afternoon through early Monday morning for most of the fall and winter. This is being done to facilitate the required repairs and safety improvements. That has played a huge role in shaping Amtrak's fall/winter timetable, particuarly where the LDT trains are concerned.

Why did they change the Meteor Sch. So Drasticaly.

AmtrakFan

Probably to obtain more favorable arrival times in South Florida, albeit at the expense of markets such as NY-Charleston.

a 9PM arrival in Miami gives few options other than get to your hotel and go to bed. The Star used to offer an earlier arrival, but with its reroute via Tampa, its arrival will have to made later than previously.

Hopefully, Mr Baker will respond, and of course, I should rightly defer to him.

I never took the Silver Meteor to Florida since if delayed, I didn't want to have my father in law come to West palm Beach station relatively late if it were delayed a couple or three hours. (not unusual). So I took generally the Silver Palm when that has sleepers or the Silver Star. Coming back to Newark Penn, I took the Meteor. With the earlier departure I'll take the Meteor south as well. I suspect that Amtrak may in part want to avoid very late at night arrivals in South Florida when the trains are significantly delayed enroute. My guess, anyway.

If they are going to turn it into a stub train, they should add coaches, like 4 coach, cafe, biz. Seems to be a good consist. Everyone that gets a sleeper would be in biz free of charge, and others would have to pay the extra fee. THey need more cars for this train after they eliminated #145 and #449 had to pick up the slack.

cbaker wrote:Let us not forget that one of the Hudson tubes will be closed from Friday afternoon through early Monday morning for most of the fall and winter. This is being done to facilitate the required repairs and safety improvements. That has played a huge role in shaping Amtrak's fall/winter timetable, particuarly where the LDT trains are concerned.

What? They have been doing overnight work on the Hudson tubes - shutting one down etc. for a while now. If I recall correctly I believe, it's been like a 11 pm to 4 a.m. shutdown deal. Now they are going to start doing this in the afternoon hours - can't wait to see this happen. Less we forget the evening outbound rush hour from NYC. And the Meteor would have been heading in the right direction with the evening rush hour trains - out of the city. Aside from the Palmetto (which arrives after the peak evening rush hour and Three Rivers) - what other long distance train arrives into NYC after 4 p.m. - as per the timetable? Not seeing the logic. I can't imagine that the Meteor's schedule was changed due to the Hudson River tunnel work. The arrival times of the southbound Meteor I can understand. But to me there are a lot of negatives to the Metoer's schedule change:

1. Equipment utlization (as mentioned before, the inbound Meteor would become the same day outbound Meteor or be cycled through the same day Lake Shore Limited). With the schedule changes above, you further eliminate "robbing Peter to pay Paul" - which Amtrak has been using quite often these days.

2. Loss of same day connection to Florida - Vermonter, Empire Service, Lake Shore Limited, Cardinal, Three Rivers etc. etc. If people need to get to Florida earlier - then wouldn't the Silver Star meet there needs, especially since it is now serving what stations are left to serve in Florida....

3. Unfriendly passenger arrival/departure times in South/North Carolina - based on the timetable that is.

4. No late night train between NYC and Richmond.

5. Silver Star and Silver Meteor depart NYC within 4 hours of each other - rather than more spaced time of 6-7 hours (same frequency - but compressed).

Very disappointed with no long distance train passing or originating through/from NYC that departs after 4 p.m. I was not happy when the Lake Shore Limited moved to 2:50 p.m. either - liked it better at the old schedule of 4:35 p.m. - or later as in the early years. I think Amtrak could drive the overnight travel market from NYP better than what it does.

With the Three Rivers moving to a 1:45 departure with the upcoming schedule change (I think), this means there will be two trains departing from NYC to Chicago within almost an hour of each other. Yes, there's more to the end points, I know. However, the Three Rivers still carried a lot of passengers who began/ended there trip in these two cities of Chicago and New York City. Will such passengers take the Three Rivers now knowing (1) they can have a full diner on the Lake Shore (2) no sleeper service on the Three Rivers (3) departure time of both trains with an hour of each other. When it comes in March, Amtrak will now be able to say "patronage has declined, and we are following through with discontinuance of the Three Rivers (ala Pennsylvanian) to Chicago." And after March 15, 2005 - the Pittsburgh layover in the wee hours of the morning as connecting passengers from the eastbound Three Rivers wait for the eastbound Capitol Limited.