So far we have:
98 1/7/2016
97 1/10/2016
The other set is probably a week later, but I can't confirm that yet.
jb
98 1/7/2016
97 1/10/2016
The other set is probably a week later, but I can't confirm that yet.
jb
It's not just equipment. There is also cost to the safety patrol association, availability and positioning extra crews (T&E and OBS), and getting an extra train over a railroad that already has trouble handling regularly scheduled passenger trains.This is just such a mickey-mouse thing to do. Hopefully one of these days Amtrak will have enough equipment to run proper extra sections.
Because this is a special train, Amtrak didn't define times at every station. That's why so many of them are missing.JB guess some intermediate stations were not reported since 98 did not have to stop ? When posted 98 north of BAL suspect IT did not note a motor change and has now corrected it ?
How hard is it for you to implement the many schedule changes that become effective Jan 11 ? Also a question is for trains that originate on the 10th or earlier do they continue on the old schedule or the 11th schedule ? Do know that on time changes they go o the new schedules.
The scheduled times for every station were indeed adjusted to match the special schedule for the safety patrol special. However, the system will not automatically capture arrival and departure times unless the train actually stops. Even then, the train has to stop within a defined geo-fence at the station to be properly captured. It works probably 99.9% of the time. On one particularly late/wacky night, I stopped the train quite far down from the normal position. There were two passengers off in the coaches and instead of having them walk down the platform in the middle of the night, I just brought them right up to the station building at the far end of the platform. That was apparently outside the fence as the times did not automatically report.Because this is a special train, Amtrak didn't define times at every station. That's why so many of them are missing.JB guess some intermediate stations were not reported since 98 did not have to stop ? When posted 98 north of BAL suspect IT did not note a motor change and has now corrected it ?
How hard is it for you to implement the many schedule changes that become effective Jan 11 ? Also a question is for trains that originate on the 10th or earlier do they continue on the old schedule or the 11th schedule ? Do know that on time changes they go o the new schedules.
Carry more weight in the long run? Let's see... The safety patrol association has been running these trains for a looooong time. Since the 1956, according to the news article.Why Amtrak has to kowtow to a group of Cub Scouts or whatever these are and end up upsetting legitimate passengers who in the long run carry more weight and value is beyond me. As others have posted, I would be most upset if my already booked reservations were suddenly scuppered for this lame excursion.
Until Amtrak can get enough equipment to build an extra section let that group take the bus!
I was one of those passengers who originally booked the Meteor on 1/14. When I realized, a couple of months ago, that my reservation would be canceled because of the annual safety patrol train, I changed the date of my reservation. I am also one of those people whose first train trip (in the 60's) was a school trip from South Florida to Washington DC. It was not a safety patrol train, but it was our 8th grade spring break trip. I can honestly say that the trip made a lasting impression on me.As far as a "lame excursion", I bet the fifth graders are ecstatic about the trip and have a fantastic time. Don't we need young people to grow up with an appreciation for train travel? Or would you rather have a bunch of fifth graders have a great time on a bus and grow up voting for more highway funding in 10-15 years?
At the end of the day, Amtrak makes a lot more money off these "cub scouts" than running a normal train on off-peak travel days.
Finally someone speaks some senseI'm not attacking Safety Patrol, but what makes me upset is when Amtrak allows people to book these dates, knowing in advance they'd be cancelled, like my Texas Eagle. The track work they were doing was scheduled months before I booked for the dates I was travelling (unbeknownst to me, because I didn't check), and yet Amtrak allowed me to book it, Then cancelled it a week in advance.
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