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Every now and then I check the status of Amtrak trains running near my house. When checking the status of a train, it seems that if the train is running 15 minutes behind schedule leaving one station it may be running 25 minutes late by the time it reaches the station near my house. I thought there was make-up time built into their schedule? and does the freight railroads let the Amtrak trains have the right away? As I was tracking the trains status the trains arrival time keeps getting later and later.
Thanks.
Geoff Mayo Member # 153
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Late trains tend to get later. There is padding built into the schedule. However, that is not always enough.
I did hear a figure of 1 hour for Amtrak trains, but can't remember whether that was one railroad's policy or all railroads. If an Amtrak train is later than an hour, then it has lost its slot and becomes less of a priority than it was (in UP's case, less of a priority than it was *supposed* to have been). Somebody might be able to confirm/correct the figure of 1 hour.
Geoff M.
CG96 Member # 1408
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quote:Originally posted by ahrjmr: Do the freight railroads let the Amtrak trains have the right away?
It depends upon who the freight RR is. BNSF has made it a practice to give Amtrak some semblance of priority over their rails. UP, OTOH, is quite the opposite. Other Railroads (two recent examples would be NS & CSX) are for the most part indifferent or apathetic to wither or not Amtrak gets anywhere over their rails in a punctual fashion.
espeefoamer Member # 2815
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On UP,if Amtrak is 0.01 seconds late it loses its slot.(If it ever had one on UP). Let,s go back to the "good old days", when the anti-passenger Southern Pacific didn't treat Amtrak as badly as UP does today. ------------------ Trust Jesus,Ride Amtrak.
[This message has been edited by espeefoamer (edited 03-27-2004).]
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