Don't expect trains 1&2 to be on time

shop deals on amazon
Advertise with us
Shop deals on ebay
Amtrak Unlimited Discussion Forum

Help Support Amtrak Unlimited Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Status
Not open for further replies.
Based upon Amtrak's standards any train traveling over 300 miles is not considered late at its endpoint station if it arrives within 30 minutes of its scheduled arrival time.

Under 300 miles, I think that they only allow 15 minutes.

PRR60 may actually know better than I and correct me, as he's tracked and analyzed this issue. But I think that this is what he discovered while analyzing the Acela OTP.

As for how late, beyond that 30 minute window, Amtrak does not say. However in Amtrak's world where most LD trains were lucky if they achived a 50% OTA, the Builder's 81% is nonetheless impressive. Especially when compared to the Sunset Limited's OTA for April, it was 0%. :eek:
 
This infomation is off a Yahoo group.

OS Houston TX Amtrak #2 5/11/2004

#2 ar Houston 11:15 PM (12'30" late).

#2 dp Houston 11:40 PM (12'45" late).

(#2 was stopped 4'34" at Rosenberg; sidings all full;

couldn't move toward Houston; no place to go.)

5 Engine (cab leads)

838 Engine (cab leads)

1221 Baggage

39013 Transition sleeper

32074 Sleeper

32093 Sleeper

38046 Diner

33043 Lounge

34139 Coach

34035 Coach.

#2 just passed my house in Cade La at 0745 this just makes me mad at UP the Government needs to step in. :angry:
 
Why doesn't Amtrak post the delay sheets for P001 and P002 on their website, with a verbose explanation of what they mean, so that the freight company's dirty laundry would be in public view? The public can then actually look and see what the freight lines are doing to their (public's) traveling schedule? And maybe post the appropriate telephone and email addresses to send complaints and comments to at the freight companies AND congress......

My Wife and I have Florida railpasses and have taken lots of trips on 91/92/97/98, as far as CHS (railsale) on 97/98 and (railsale) NOL on 001/002. With the rail passes in Florida, at least, we can decide to go just when the Amtrak train tracker shows the trains reasonably on time that day. We pity the poor ticketed traveler that is stuck with whatever the train is at on the day of their ticket. We have gotten into WPK on P002 at about 4 in the morning (just once so far). All the other trips on 001/002 have been reasonably on time, but again we usually check in advance and only go when we know it's not running too late that day. I just checked and P002 left NOL about 14 hours late, got into PNS about 11 hours late. Will check in the morning to see if and when it got into WPK and ORL) We live between SFD and WPK, we usually use WPK station.
 
Joe Lewis said:
Why doesn't Amtrak post the delay sheets for P001 and P002 on their website, with a verbose explanation of what they mean, so that the freight company's dirty laundry would be in public view? The public can then actually look and see what the freight lines are doing to their (public's) traveling schedule? And maybe post the appropriate telephone and email addresses to send complaints and comments to at the freight companies AND congress...... My Wife and I have Florida railpasses and have taken lots of trips on 91/92/97/98, as far as CHS (railsale) on 97/98 and (railsale) NOL on 001/002. With the rail passes in Florida, at least, we can decide to go just when the Amtrak train tracker shows the trains reasonably on time that day. We pity the poor ticketed traveler that is stuck with whatever the train is at on the day of their ticket. We have gotten into WPK on P002 at about 4 in the morning (just once so far). All the other trips on 001/002 have been reasonably on time, but again we usually check in advance and only go when we know it's not running too late that day. I just checked and P002 left NOL about 14 hours late, got into PNS about 11 hours late. Will check in the morning to see if and when it got into WPK and ORL) We live between SFD and WPK, we usually use WPK station.
Click to expand...
Joe, you've probably seen me out there before then, since I do many trips between SoFla and the Orlando area (especially to WPK since I have family there). At any rate, Amtrak does keep track of delays for each train on delay reports, and they don't post them online for a couple of reasons. First, it usually takes the Data Processors a couple of days to get the info that the Conductor writes out into the computer. Secondly, someone in the Web design department would have to take all that data for EVERY train and put into Java/HTML/whatever the heck they use for the website and then post it. It would also require a lot of disk space for the website to post all that info for all the trains up on the net. Besides which, it would take 3-4 days before the info got online, and Amtrak also deletes the info on the website for trains older than 7 days in history to save disk space.
 
BNSF_1088 said:
This infomation is off a Yahoo group.
OS Houston TX Amtrak #2 5/11/2004

#2 ar Houston 11:15 PM (12'30" late).

#2 dp Houston 11:40 PM (12'45" late).

(#2 was stopped 4'34" at Rosenberg; sidings all full;

couldn't move toward Houston; no place to go.)

5 Engine (cab leads)

838 Engine (cab leads)

1221 Baggage

39013 Transition sleeper

32074 Sleeper

32093 Sleeper

38046 Diner

33043 Lounge

34139 Coach

34035 Coach.

#2 just passed my house in Cade La at 0745 this just makes me mad at UP the Government needs to step in. :angry:
Click to expand...
Arr nol at 1240pm on wendesday only 16 hours 10 mins late.
 
Only 7 hours and 50 minutes of delays to go until he's on time a day late. :lol: At least it'll get Sanford at a reasonable hour, forget about going to Orlando.
 
Yesterday's #2 departure from LA hasn't arrived at Tucson yet, it was scheduled at 8:00 am. :unsure:

At least the passengers have got the newly renovated '40's depot to wait in. :)

The Sunset Limited is getting to be like a broken clock, if it stays put it'll be on time three times a week. :rolleyes:
 
Well, I am booked on the Crescent/Sunset Limited from Tuscaloosa, AL to Los Angeles...Leaving Thurs, May 27 on the Crescent and arriving in LA (hopefully, from all this posting!) on Sun, 30th... Apparently the #1 westbound is not as late as the #2 eastbound. That's fine with me... if it were to run ontime, I'll have to wait at least 1.5 hours to pick up my rental car.

What concerns me is the return trip. We are due in at 8:30 pm on Friday night and have to catch the Crescent the next morning at 7:30 am to come home.

I have sleepers both ways on the Sunset Limited, and I have booked a motel room in NOL for the trip home. I don't mind eating that cost (if I see that I am going to be way late, I'll call and cancel that room ahead of time). I'll have a place to sleep, one way or the other.

Question is, what happens if the #2 runs over 11 hours late and I miss my connection to the Crescent?

James McKenzie
 
Well here's the question, is it all booked as one reservation in the Amtrak system? If it's all on one reservation number than they are will get you back to Tuscaloosa one way or another by either, holding the Crescent (if it gets close bteween 2's arrival and 20's departure), putting you on a bus/van in NOL to catch up to the Crescent, flying you back to Tuscaloosa, or having you stay another day in New Orleans all expenses paid for by Amtrak.
 
Good news! It is booked as one reservation, both ways.

I knew that, but just wanted to make sure. I would just opt to stay a night in New Orleans....I love that town.

Go back on Sunday morning.

I hope they give me that choice.

Tideman

James McKenzie
 
:D

Allow me to add that I don't mind being late coming home....it just means more time on the train!

I'll give 'em 6 to 7 hours on the way out...just don't want the kids to miss the Dodgers/Diamondbacks game that Sunday night....

Thanks for all the info. I am gonna keep tracking everything during the next week and a half. I have traveled a good bit on trains during my lifetime (my dad worked for the L&N for years...rode the last run of the Hummingbird the day and night before Amtrak took over).

This is both my sons first trip on an overnight train. My wife's parents are going as well...we have 3 standard bedrooms from NOL to LAX and return.

I am just going to kick back and enjoy. And take lots of movies and pictures with my new digital camcorder. So I'll have some evidence to post to the net when I get back.

Tideman

James McKenzie
 
Flying them into TCL is probably not an option as they would have to go to BHM and come back down. I think the last commercial flight from TCL was almost 10 years ago. Does 19/20 still pass Bear's Tower? Enjoy the trip sounds like an enjoyable one.

Roll Tide B)
 
Yes....the mainline for the Crescent runs right behind Coleman Coliseum, the Track Stadium and the Football Practice Fields....Bear's tower is still there, and can be seen from the train.

You can also see Bryant-Denny Stadium....it has sure changed over the years....seats 88,000 now with the 2 upper decks and they are getting ready to close in the North End Zone and bring it up to about 94,000.

And the airport, although very nice, and can handle the big charter jets the football team uses, has not had a commercial flight since 1995.

I figure, since the Crescent is daily, and I am just going reserved coach from NOL to TCL, they would probably just put us up for one night and send us on our way.

But it will all work out.

Tideman

James McKenzie

ROLL TIDE ROLL!!! (we are at all the home games)

:D
 
I saw that.... for me, getting put up in a hotel for a Saturday night in New Orleans won't be all that bad.. :D

Thank the creator for those guaranteed reservations.

But I have a question...why does the #2 seem to run a LOT later than the #1? #1 seems to average 2 to 5 hours late, while all bets are off on #2.

Tideman

James McKenzie
 
Tideman said:
I saw that.... for me, getting put up in a hotel for a Saturday night in New Orleans won't be all that bad.. :D
Thank the creator for those guaranteed reservations.

But I have a question...why does the #2 seem to run a LOT later than the #1? #1 seems to average 2 to 5 hours late, while all bets are off on #2.

Tideman

James McKenzie
Click to expand...
UP is having a melt down between NOL and LA and Amtrak is getting stuck in sidings and on the main for hours at a time not moving.The reason #1 is ok up to NOL it doesn"t get into that traffic until it hits the UP at Iowa Jct which is about 200 miles west of NOL. :)
 
Any ideas on how long it will take for them to fix this problem? Sounds like they need to hire some train crews.

Tideman

James McKenzie
 
Crap, and I'm taking the Sunset, next week from LA to Houston. Hopefully I'll get there in the daylight.
 
Tideman,

I was an undergrad when they were enclosing the West side of Bryant-Denny stadium, the first season they used it was my senior year. I lived IIRC 4 or 5 blocks from the stadium a block and a half past JD's. I wondered if the Crescent's routing was the same as I used to do some railfanning in the parking lot of the shopping center where Comcast is located, as well as from the parking lot between Coleman Coliseum and the Law School with a friend who at the time was a doctoral candidate.

Roll Tide Roll :)
 
What day are you going out Saxman66?

I am leaving on May 28, Friday, from NOL.

Tideman

James McKenzie
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Latest posts

Back
Top