posted
I'll be taking another extended train trip this summer and have been checking OTP for the trains I will be on for the last several weeks. Most of the trains I'll be on have consistently arrived at their destinations within 1-2 hours of schedule -- except for Train #1/21, the Texas Eagle/Sunset into L.A. It is CONSISTENTLY 5 or 6 hours late -- I know all about freight delays, and that they are usually the cause of tardy AMTRAK trains, since I am a "veteran" AMTRAK rider -- but why has #1/21 been consistently so much later than "average" for the other trains in the system? 2-3 hours late is no problem, and I expect that for most AMTRAK trains (except NE Corridor) --what is unusual about #1/21??????
[This message has been edited by RRRICH (edited 05-10-2002).]
[This message has been edited by RRRICH (edited 05-10-2002).]
Posts: 2428 | From: Grayling, MI | Registered: Mar 2002
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posted
1/21 is now 7 & 1/2 hours late. That would put it into LA at about 3 something o'clock. I just realized that that trainset is the one I'll be leaving on tonight. I'm leaving on 22/2 through to Chicago at 10:30 PM tonight. If 1/21 gets much later, it will delay the departure of 2/22 tonight. Oh well, it's not just a trip it's an adventure. Just like the Wild, Wild West. BTW, to answer your question, the UP negotiated the new contract with Amtrak putting more of the fees up front & less as incentive payments if the UP runs Amtrak on time. So, UP doesn't profit by running Amtrak on time. Todays late 1/21 was due in part by weather problems before the train even reached Texas. Severe weather brought tree limbs & other debris on the tracks that had to be cleared before the train could proceed.
posted
The Sunset is presently stuck in a domino effect situation. #2 has been so late (9 to 11 hours the past 2 eastbounds into FL) that # 1 thus has to leave late the next day to allow crew rest and time to clean and service the equipment in Sanford. #1 also has been losing time because #98 is usually a couple hours late because of trackwork in central FL and # 98 connects w/ #1. Thus it becomes an endless cycle as late into LA also mean a late departure. As I have noted, it lost 8 hours overnight in Arizona on my most recent trip (early this year).
What amazes me is that the Sunset was fairly punctual when it started service and made it to FL 2 hours quicker despite the longer route via Phoenix. The railroads, at least UP, have not kept up with modern times.
posted
As Mr. "Silver Star" has noted, Sunset's timekeeping has gotten even worse - lengthened schedule notwithstanding.
To add fuel to the fire, even when the UP was experiencing the post SP merger freight service "meltdown" (which I presume is now "non-issue" status), they still managed go get the "Sunset" and "eagle" over the road.
Who know what Mr."Reggierail" Atwell is in for on his trip that involves #2!
Posts: 9982 | From: Clarendon Hills, IL USA (BNSF Chicago Sub MP 18.71) | Registered: Apr 2002
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As of a few moments ago, Mr. Atwell's "Sunset" (422/10th) is reported 5'40" late.
It will be interesting to hear his "tales" on his return; hope his "connection" to New York will be on the "Water Level Route" and not some 6 miles above it.
Posts: 9982 | From: Clarendon Hills, IL USA (BNSF Chicago Sub MP 18.71) | Registered: Apr 2002
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The freight carriers have found a way to kill off the long distance trains that they have a particular objection to operating.. It may be time to give up and concede victory to the freight carriers in order to salvage some sort of contract concession to the services that remain.. I see the Sunset, Eagle, the Cardinal Services and the Coast Starlight as lost causes.. And maybe even the California Zephyr Service. Most of these are Union Pacific but CSX has their package too. I just think that the leverage Amtrak lost on long distance services through a poor contract negotiation in 1996 is proving to be insurmountable. More and more I have my suspicions that Amtrak did not intend to be operating long distance services at this late date when they negotiated that contract.
First of all, thanks for all your comments. I will actually be riding on Train #21 (or "#421" as the new timetable calls it) in the through sleeper CHI-SAS-LAX. I noticed #21 was 6 hours late into SAS today -- what typically happens if #21 does not make the connection to #1 in SAS -- what happens to the passengers in the through sleeper? I have not checked #21's OTP a lot lately -- how late has it typically been arriving in SAS?
Thanks again!
Posts: 2428 | From: Grayling, MI | Registered: Mar 2002
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posted
I traveled with Reggie from LAX to SAS and in the bus to Austin. Reggie should have caught up to the Eagle in Dallas. (No, it wasn't held in SAS, waiting on the Sunset)
We were all allowed to go to the train in LAX at 10:30 pm (scheduled departure time = 10:30 pm....). When we arrived at "Gate 12", there was no train. No Amtrak employee knew when the train would arrive into the station, just that it would be soon.... It showed up around 10:55 pm on track 11, and we left at 11:14 pm.
We arrived at 11:48 AM in San Antonio, due to UP's poor dispatching skills, which caused our crew to go dead just south of SAS. It was an entertaining trip........ I thought I had acquired food poisoning from the Starlight, but my doctor stated that he thought it was a virus, based on the symptoms and the staggered aquisition of the crew members and my traveling companions with this nasty little virus.
Our car attendant was very good. All of the insides of the windows were clean, he had coffee and water the entire trip (that I was a witness to), beds were made up within minutes of buzzing, and the restrooms were always clean. Unfortunately, I saw a lot of the various restrooms!
Besides that, we got snowed in up in East Galcier Park. That part of our vacation was a blast!
Posts: 1418 | From: Houston, Republic of Texas | Registered: Jan 2001
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posted
Train #2 (10) is over 13 hours late now as it crosses Northern Florida. #1 (14) will no doubt be very late leaving Orlando as the crew will have arrived in Sanford just about 5 hours before scheduled departure and will need time to rest plus equipment must be serviced whenever the AutoTrain folks get through with their train.
The Sunset started off with such great promise and even the erratic SP could get it over the road in a semi-decent shape. UP is either totally inept or is indeed trying to kill the train.
I disagree re: giving up. If Amtrak were to kill all trains that run on the UP, there would be no western service except the SW Chief. Soon other railroads would follow suit and try to kill them off.
There should be a Congressional investigation into this. It amazes me that the railroads are actually far less efficient than they were several years ago with all the advances in technology that have occurred. Amtrak is in such bad shape that they just throw up their hands when a train is super late and they give up and bus people when there is a line blockage (forget reroutes). It seems there should be a demand for action...but there won't as Amtrak can't even advance its own case for more equipment, etc. Above all, though, we must not give up!
posted
Oh well "Mr. Star", at least to the folks whom think the glass is "half full" and to whom "E" on the auto's gas gauge means "Enough" will say that they got up to "four nights aboard the train for the price of three".
Posts: 9982 | From: Clarendon Hills, IL USA (BNSF Chicago Sub MP 18.71) | Registered: Apr 2002
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posted
Good point, Gil. As we like to say along the Sunset route: "There's no extra charge for the extra time on the train." #2 (10) finally arrived Sanford at about 9:30am. It was over 14 hours late across North Florida.
Posts: 52 | Registered: Apr 2002
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posted
I was thinking this same thought for the Southwest Chief. On the way out to the west, this train is always late (3-7 hours), but on the east bound trip, it is usually within an hour or two. Isn't that wierd? Can't blame headwinds for this.
I have only checked the past five days, so I am hoping that the 7+ hour delay on the Chicago to LA route was a quirky thing.
I catch a train from LA to San Diego, but someone said that they run every hour, so the Southwest Chief being delayed should be no problem.
Well, this will be an adventure. I hope they feed you if the train is late. Three hungry kids will not be a pretty sight to see.
posted
You are right -- there are many Pacific Surfliner trains (formerly known as "San Diegans" between L.A. and San Diego each day, the latest one leaving L.A. at 10:10 PM. If #3 is even 7 hrs late, you should have no problem getting to San Diego -- I believe all the Pacific Surfliners have unreserved seating, so it should be no problem changing your ticket if you have a ticket marked for a specific train.
Posts: 2428 | From: Grayling, MI | Registered: Mar 2002
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