estimated departure

[boyce]

I am scheduled to board the Sunset Limited at 6:AM on Nov. 23. As of 10:00 AM today Amtrak is estimating the departure time from San Antonio to be 7:34AM. Should I still be at the station for the scheduled departure of 6:00?

Can the train make up that lost time. If it does make up that time will I miss it because I believed Amtrak's website and took my time?

What is Amtrak's policy?

 

[Amfleet]

Unless you get a call from Amtrak saying that you don't need to be at the station for a 6:00am departure then I would be there at 5:30am. A reccomended half-hour prior to departure. Always better to be safe than sorry and yes, trains can suprise you and make up lost time.

 

[boyce]

I got this email from Amtrak regarding my estimated vs. scheduled departure question.

"You can wait until 1 hour prior the estimated arrival time, however, trains can make up some time, so we do advise you to check back periodically to how the train is running. "

 

[Amfleet]

This is my adivce, if at 5:00am the Sunset Limited is scheduled to arrive into San Antonio an hour or two late, still get to the station between 5:30-6:00am as time can stil be made up. If the train is running 2+ hours late, just be at the station an hour before the estimated arrival time (like Amtrak suggested). I think this is why Amtrak always shows trains making up time on there status page. If they make the estimated departure times a little earlier than expected then passengers will be more likely not to miss their train.

 

[Bill Haithcoat]

Amfleet, I agree so much with what you said, better than I could say it. Airlines and trains all through the years have estimated arrival to be as quick as possible, not because they were dishonest, but because they do not want to leave people behind.

A train might be marked up 45 minutes late and arrive 1 hr. late. Everybody standing around thnks "They were lying to us " but actually, in many cases, the train COULD have made up enough time to be only 45 minutes late (though it did not) so they put that figure up so as not to leave people behind, a "safety net" so to speak.

Having said all that, yes, do be early. I remember a recent trip the arriving train made up much more time than I would have expected. Wisely, I went down the station quite early. I could easily have been left behind had I not done so.

 

[Save Our Trains Michigan]

I delayed #2 at Lafayette LA for 15 min i hate when this happens

 

[jccollins]

Amtrak will provide you with the earliest time the train can possibly reach the station you will be boarding at when you request the train status information. So, if it is scheduled for 5:00am and the status info estimates it to arrive at 9:00am, keep checking back until about an hour before this time. If you call at 8:00am and it is still estimated to arrive at 9:00am, you should be down at the station at least 1/2 hour before this time.