RAILforum: August Amtrak Intercity on-time statistics

This is topic August Amtrak Intercity on-time statistics in forum Amtrak at RAILforum.

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Posted by DC2001 (Member # 542) on :

Amtrak Intercity's on-time performance for August 2001:

Carolina Service 52.4%
Silver Service 28.5%
Atlantic Coast Total 38.1%

Auto Train 67.7%
Capitol Limited 45.2%
Cardinal 48.1%
Ky Cardinal 77.0%
Lake Shore Ltd. 38.7%
Pennsylvanian 80.6%
Three Rivers 54.8%
Eastern Bus. Group total 55.3%

City Of New Orleans 40.3%
Crescent 72.1%
Gulf Coast Business Group total 56.1%

Hiawatha 97.5%
Illinois/Missouri 43.1%
Michigan Corridors 38.7%
Lake Country Limited 100.0%
MidWest Corridor total 62.1%

Heartland Flyer 13.8%
Sunset East 39.1%
Sunset West 14.8%
Texas Eagle 0.0%
Southwest Service total 12.5%

California Zephyr 12.9%
Empire Builder 73.4%
Southwest Chief 30.6%
Western Service total 47.6%

Intercity Grand Total: 52.3%

(copied from Yahoo Groups)

Posted by Eric (Member # 674) on :

The SW Chief, to me, seemed to be doing a lot better (westbound at least). From what I've seen in Flagstaff, it has been between 5" early and 45" late, with a few exceptions. Arriving in LA has been between 55" early and ~1'45" late. I believe that the train is being detoured, which keeps delays to a minimum.
I didn't see the Starlight on the list above, although I consider it an Intercity train. Is it doing better on avoiding delays?

I wish the L. C. Limited being 100% on-time was a big deal. How much longer will it be around? Is it on-time because of short station stops, no freight traffic, or a combination of these?
The Texas Eagle, Zephyr, Sunset, and a few others need some attention. UP has had a few derailments, which hasn't helped the Zephyr, and the Sunset has some backups due to congested freight and hot rails in the summer.
Once these kinks are worked out, everything might run a little smoother.
Just my two cents.

[This message has been edited by Eric (edited 09-07-2001).]

Posted by Konstantin (Member # 18) on :

Thank you for posting this. I think it is is very interesting.

Do you know how this is calculated? Does this only count the final destination, or every stop in between?

------------------
Elias Valley Railroad (N-scale)
www.geocities.com/evrr

Posted by Jim (Member # 65) on :

These percentages don't tell the whole story - it's as important to know what the average number of minutes late each train is. Amtrak needs to measure not just whether a train is late, but also how late when it is. (A train that's 30 min late isn't the same to the passengers as one that's six hours late.) Improvement needs to be made in both areas.

Posted by Kent Loudon (Member # 902) on :

Eric Wrote:
>>I wish the L. C. Limited being 100% on-time was a big deal. How much longer will it be around?<<

According to Amtrak's timetable, it will be discontinued effective Sept 23rd. It appears that the "freight" traffic is was supposed to handle failed to materialize.

>>Is it on-time because of short station stops, no freight traffic, or a combination of these?<<

Yes, plus no passengers!

Posted by DC2001 (Member # 542) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Eric:
[B]I didn't see the Starlight on the list above, although I consider it an Intercity train. Is it doing better on avoiding delays?
I wish the L. C. Limited being 100% on-time was a big deal. How much longer will it be around? Is it on-time because of short station stops, no freight traffic, or a combination of these?
[B]

The Coast Starlight does not appear on this list because technically it is an Amtrak West train - not an Intercity train. Also according to the original source, these figures were for only two trips of the Lake Country Limited.

quote:
Originally posted by Konstantin:
[B]Do you know how this is calculated? Does this only count the final destination, or every stop in between?[B]

The percentages are for only the final destination, and that is after allowing for recovery time built into the schedule and on-time arrival tolerances (up to thirty minutes).

quote:
Originally posted by Jim:
[B]These percentages don't tell the whole story - it's as important to know what the average number of minutes late each train is. Amtrak needs to measure not just whether a train is late, but also how late when it is. (A train that's 30 min late isn't the same to the passengers as one that's six hours late.) Improvement needs to be made in both areas[B]

I agree. I would love to see a number of the total minutes a train was late for a given month. Also, what about all the intermediate stops with very late trains? The Sunset Limited has over three hours of dwell time in New Orleans, so it could leave on time after being hours late at previous stops. Still, given schedule padding and those arrival tolerances, these percentages probably indicate trains at least one hour late.

[This message has been edited by DC2001 (edited 09-09-2001).]