SELECTED ON-TIME PERFORMANCE 8/27/20 THROUGH 9/25/20

Results for this period are:

TOTAL TRAINS = 838

ON TIME = 449 (54%)

LATE = 389 (46%)

AVERAGE DELAY = 39"

Of the late trains:
54% were 29" or less late;
23% were 30" to 59" late;
16% were 1' to 2' late;
6% were more than 2' late; and
<1% had no arrival time shown.

NOTE: As previously stated, no "grace" period is allowed; OT is OT and LATE IS LATE!

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

CAPITOL LIMITED
#29 - 27% - 1' 01"
#30 - 30% - 1' 16"

CARDINAL (WAS)
#51 - 38% - 19"
#50 - 54% - 54"

PENNSYLVANIAN
#43 - 27% - 33"
#42 - 67% - 20"

LAKE SHORE LIMITED
#49 - 43% - 38"
#48 - 67% - 24"

LAKE SHORE LIMITED (BOSTON /ALBANY
#449 - 70% - 20"
#448 - 30% - 45"

CITY OF NEW ORLEANS
#59 - 100% - N/A
#58 - 88% - 33"

CRESCENT (WAS)
#19 - 13% - 42"
#20 - 75% - 42"

DETROIT CORRIDOR
(W) - 76% - 7"
(E) - 80% - 42"

ST. LOUIS CORRIDOR
(W) - 79% - 26"
(E) - 60% - 42"

BUFFALO CORRIDOR
(W) - 8% - 43"
(E) - 66% - 16"

KANSAS CITY CORRIDOR
(W) - 43% - 41"
(E) - 40% - 39"

The following service showed improvement in both measured categories:
Westbound Cardinal, DET Corridor, STL Corridor;
Northbound Crescent; and
Both Directions of the Lake Shore Limited (Boston Section) and the City of New Orleans.

Tracking delay causes of the surveyed services as much as possible revealed the following:
61 due to Amtrak mechanical problems;
141 due to host railroad operational problems;
18 due to 3rd party interference / emergency responses;
9 due to weather-related problems; and
10 due to Amtrak holds for equipment and / or crew.

Unfortunately, the Amtrak delay sites frequently state that a train is running X minutes late at X location, but do not give a cause for the delay.

Given that the tri-weekly idiocy is supposed to start in a few days, the next period of review should be very interesting.

In response to an off-line query:

The delay tally is only for services included in the review, not for all delays posted by Amtrak on the Twitter sites.

And yes, it is not uncommon for a train to have multiple causes of delay such as an equipment failure and then 3rd party interference or freight train congestion.

Unfortunately, the Twitter sites do not report all of the causes for delays. A recent example o the STL Corridor gave no reason for a 50" delay between JOL and CHI.