Rail congestion gives Houston headaches

[Save Our Trains Michigan]

UTU News]UTU News

 

[Guest]

What? It will make the Sunset on time for once? Thats the only way to affect the OTP

 

[Save Our Trains Michigan]

When i mean affect OTP i mean it will be delayed by hours.

 

[battalion51]

Nothing new there.

 

[AmtrakWPK]

The only things that would be newsworthy would be if Sunset was either ON TIME or weeks late. Hours and days late we've already had lots of.

Maybe they could load the cars on a ship at LA and run that through the Panama Canal, then up to NOL by boat. Maybe that would be quicker than running through UP territory. At least the pax wouldn't miss the boat this time :lol:

 

[Save Our Trains Michigan]

Nothing new there.

we got a break for about a month where it was only running between 1-6 hrs late and today god have mercy Arriving Lafayette, LA (LFT)

Service Station Scheduled Actual/(Estimated) Status

Arrival Departure Arrival Departure

2 Sunset Limited Lafayette, LA

(LFT)

4:03 pm

22-OCT-04 (1:13 am)

estimated Estimated arrival: 9 hours and 10 minutes late.

As of the last report at 8:50 pm at Houston, TX (HOS), it was running 9 hours and 55 minutes late.

 

[WICT106]

Estimated arrival: 9 hours and 10 minutes late.
As of the last report at 8:50 pm at Houston, TX (HOS), it was running 9 hours and 55 minutes late.

Good Lord. 10 hours late! :blink: Is Amtrak still sending out notices to passengers of that train regarding the severe levels of congestion along the Sunset Route?

I certainly hope so.

 

[jccollins]

And to think I jumped the gun last month when it was running fairly decent and booked a LAX-MRC roundtrip on this pig for Thanksgiving. I should have known better. Hopefully it will leave LAX close to on time and arrive within 6-7 hours of the scheduled morning arrival (that's all I ask!) so I don't miss Thanksgiving dinner. On the return, maybe Amtrak will reaccomodate me through Flagstaff on the Chief if it is running late enough... I doubt they would give me a sleeper like I paid for on the Sunset though. Well, this will be the first Amtrak trip I am NOT looking forward to.

 

[Save Our Trains Michigan]

Estimated arrival: 9 hours and 10 minutes late.
As of the last report at 8:50 pm at Houston, TX (HOS), it was running 9 hours and 55 minutes late.

Good Lord. 10 hours late! :blink: Is Amtrak still sending out notices to passengers of that train regarding the severe levels of congestion along the Sunset Route?

I certainly hope so.

This delay at Houston was caused by a BNSF Derailment on the UP Lafayette Sub Amtrak had to detour on the Beumont Sub had to wait for a pilot.It was like 12 hrs late into NOL LA arr Lafayette at 0605 on 10-23-2004

 

[smoker]

The additional 2 hours were spent a few miles outside of Lafayette La. The train stopped at about 4 am. After sitting for an hour, passengers started wondering what was wrong. Passengers in coach started going through the train looking for an attendant. After finding NONE, they went into the sleeping compartments until they woke up the COOK! He informed them that he did not know what was going on. Passengers were getting very irritated. :angry: I was scared they were going to mutiny! :unsure: Since I was getting off at Lafayette, I just wanted the train to start rolling. About 1 1/2 hours after stopping, it started to roll again. A few minutes later the conductor came down and explained that he had just been "vanned" in from New Orleans and walked 1/2 mile to reach the train as a crew shift was needed. h34r: Well we got to Lafayette and got off the train after travelling for 54 hours. Another passenger got off of the train even though it wasn't his stop. He said he had "train rage" Anyway, all's well that ends well.

 

[battalion51]

The reason why announcements weren't made were because of the time of night, no announcements can be made after 10 or before 6 or 7. Granted an attendant should've been somewhere in the Coaches or Lounge, but that's Amtrak.

 

[jccollins]

After finding NONE, they went into the sleeping compartments until they woke up the COOK!

:lol: :blink: !

In all seriousness, you would think the conductor would remain in an accessible location during the night in case there are any problems on board. At least during the day one can alert the lounge attendant or dining car staff if there is a serious problem and they will make an announcement to locate the conductor.

 

[smoker]

I wondered if the first crew got off of the train before the new crew got on the train. It doesn't seem like that would be right. Maybe there is a place in front of the train where they all congregated. Read my trip report and remember, I toned it down.

 

[Save Our Trains Michigan]

I wondered if the first crew got off of the train before the new crew got on the train. It doesn't seem like that would be right. Maybe there is a place in front of the train where they all congregated. Read my trip report and remember, I toned it down.

i will do some checking into this.

 

[smoker]

I remember the new conductor said the cook told him "to get down there." referring to our coach car because people were upset. I don't know what the time span was between waking up the cook and the cook talking to the conductor, or the time span between the conductor hearing this and coming to see the people in the coach car. But there was a long time span between the cook being woke up and the conductor showing up.

 

[battalion51]

It's possible that the Conductor(s) were up on the head end talking with the Dispatcher about what needed to be done and their location. Back in July we had a crew die on the road and their was a lot of back and forth conversation between the Conductors, Engineer, Dispatcher, and Relief Crew on the radio. They might have found it easier just to be on the Head End to coordinate the entire swap over.

 

[AmtrakWPK]

Maybe so, but you don't do that without making sure that at least SOMEBODY of onboard service personnel knows what's happening and is back where the pax are to let them know that they're not on a ghost train with no crew in the middle of the night parked out in the middle of nowhere. That's where the ball was dropped pretty seriously. There's really no excuse for that. Is that a train with just the conductor, no AC? Somebody that knew the train's status should have been accessible to the pax. Can you imagine the news story if a pax had been able to contact a tv station by cellphone to say that they were on an Amtrak train with no crew, stuck in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night, they had searched the train and there was no crew? Phew! I know they have to stop the train when they hit the time limit, but what is their continuing responsiblity to the pax in that situation? If somebody has a heart attack are they just off duty, so it's too bad? Who takes responsibility for the train when they go on the law?

 

[jccollins]

Who? The poor cook who got woke up at 3 in the morning, of course! :lol:

 

[GG-1]

Aloha

Being in a union and as rep. I understand work limits both for safty and health reasons.

What I don't understand is management allowing an entire crew hit these limit's at the same. The liability issue alone should cause some rotation of crew.

I was on a train reciently when a passenger started to panic while sitting over 3 hours. The Assistant conductor had called the train police because he was afraid of this passenger. The head conductor with the police conclude the panic was caused by still air being cooped up and left alone, the scared passenger was 81 years old.

Lastly why in the world would passengers disturbe the cook? You would think they would value their breakfast.

 

[Trogdor]

Lastly why in the world would passengers disturbe the cook? You would think they would value their breakfast.

Maybe because that was the first employee they could find. Nothing bugs me more than a crew that makes itself inaccessible to passengers.

The second biggest pet peeve of mine on Amtrak is not being informed of the delays that occur during daytime hours. I understand not announcing the reason for a delay when its 3:35 in the morning, but if it's mid afternoon and the train hasn't moved for 45 minutes, there's no excuse for the crew not coming on the PA for just one minute to explain why the train is stopped.

 

[AmtrakWPK]

Why not put a chalkboard, or some other easily read and easily crew-changed message media in the lounge car where train status messages could be written, with a crew requirement that when an unusual situation exists (like what we're talking about here) a descriptive message detailing what's happening is REQUIRED to be written there whenever crew would not otherwise be available to answer pax questions re the train? And maybe with it, the location and name of the "duty" crew member, i.e., if there IS a serious problem with a pax, like a medical emergency or whatever, where can someone go to report it and get immediate assistance? An estimate of arrival time at the next station might also be a reasonable thing to post there. It seems to me that this should all come under the heading of "Well, DUH!!"

 

[retired store manager]

This looks like a textbook case of company mismangement. Where are the management people who call the shots, and make the necessary decisions on board? In most of my train travels, there never seems to be any management people on the train. It seems as if they are in their offices and nowhere near the railroad. I have seen managers around some areas especially around large stations or stations which must contain a crew change point such as Chicago or New York City. I have heard of situations when Amtrak decided to cut payroll and help has been trimmed in half as well. But there must not be a shortage of managers. These managers should be placed where they are needed the most. In other words it seems management isn't required to work the front lines when it comes to out on board trains.

I have read remarks from fellow travelers, and a few I believe to be employees, and at least one who has indicated he is in management here in these forums. In regard to the one who is in managment, by what I read in his remarks he must have a lot of brains, and obviously has the knowledge to act accordingly. But what about the managment structure as a whole? I doubt that they all act as that particular manager who writes here in these forums does.

Overall, in my traveling observations of Amtrak, I find serious issues with its management structure as a whole. Now I am only a retired grocery store manager, and that is a far cry difference from a railroad. And I have only observed what I could from the front lines in my travels. But "management" itself is a profession! And even with the many different styles of management there is or should be at least one common goal. And that is efficient operation of the organization in the name of profit (or in the railroad's case the least amount of loss; I am aware of passenger rail's situation here)! Maybe this David Gunn I read about is doing just that. But I see a long ways to go. There are way too many situations which arise in management to list here, but there are the proper ways to handle them!

I guess for what my opinion is worth, I see this corporation which was formed over thirty years ago; I was only a teenager then, but I knew it was created as a bailout to the freight railroads. But it seems over the years, that Amtrak is more so a company created for "job opportunities" (in other words "management opportunities"), instead of operating efficient passenger rail as the primary focus! It doesn't take rocket science to see the majority of the problems associated with a "top heavy" corporation! Amtrak displays them very well! In my opinion, where there is government involved, politics are sure to follow along! Bottom line, however, something needs to be done about Amtrak's management as a whole. Performance is one of the results of a company's management! I don't envy the task this David Gunn has before him!

Good luck to the front line employees (and the needed management), I am with you. I support Amtrak, and will accordingly at the polls! I just hope it is not too late to save it.

 

[Amtrak OBS Employee]

store manager, I can go along with you pretty much all the way, but I feel you should be aware of a few things. First off I left the retail grocery business myself, to come to Amtrak. It did promote a much better opportunity the working as a department manager in a local grocery store. I took a bit of a pay cut in order to do so, but the time I recieve in time off, and pure enjoyment of the job is far worth the pay cut. And now I am pretty close to where I was when I left my old job.

Secondly, in regard to some of our management, yes I am one of the first to blast mismangement! My supervisor "knows me" very well to say the least. However, I feel he/they overall respect me and my opinions, though I don't always agree or get what I am after! None-the-less, I do have to say I work with some pretty decent managers (that is when I come into contact with them)!

But you make a good point in regard to the management structure as a whole. I feel something needs to be done there as well. I do believe it is very top-heavy. I think David Gunn is doing the best he can with this company and its situation. I don't agree with everything or approve of a few situations. As I see company politics involved. I am sure there is plenty of governmental politics as well, but what I view is more within the company itself. In other words it seems what one manager wants, the other doesn't want and vice versa. Or one manager wants a particular deal to happen in this location, and the other wants it in their location. And somebody has to lose out. Sometimes it means the passengers when certain decisions are made. I may be wrong, but I just feel there is sometimes a little to much management haggling occuring.

I plan to vote accordingly, too. As this is my livelyhood, and I can't see myself going back into retail again. I would rather chose another career and do something different if I am unable to stay with Amtrak. They so far have been too good to me! LOL I work the FL trains, maybe I will bump into you sometime if you travel those particular trains. Be well.......

 

[Amtrak OBS Employee]

Why not put a chalkboard, or some other easily read and easily crew-changed message media in the lounge car where train status messages could be written, with a crew requirement that when an unusual situation exists (like what we're talking about here) a descriptive message detailing what's happening is REQUIRED to be written there whenever crew would not otherwise be available to answer pax questions re the train? And maybe with it, the location and name of the "duty" crew member, i.e., if there IS a serious problem with a pax, like a medical emergency or whatever, where can someone go to report it and get immediate assistance? An estimate of arrival time at the next station might also be a reasonable thing to post there. It seems to me that this should all come under the heading of "Well, DUH!!"

I hate to burst your bubble, bro. But half the time the passengers don't read the majority of the signs posted, anyway! Like "please help keep restroom clean," and "dining car this way, " etc. Here's the best one; when they get off the train at their destination they say to the coach attendant "Where's my bag?" Most of OBS and T&E folks are thinking "Well stupid, how did you check it in? Ya get it out the same way you put it in." We say "It will be up at baggage check/claim in a few minutes" We wanna say "The darned bag just doesn't appear out of the blue!"

The most of them don't even read the publication in full in their ticket jacket and on the schedule. The read what they wanna read and that's it! Sorry bro, signage and other lists will not help very much. There simply needs to be more help in the stations, on the trains, and managers available to handle problems OBS, T&E, and Station Services when they are not able to handle them. One point in having managers available on the front lines (as this dude named "retired store manager" in a sense posted in the other thread) is if the managers are handling a situation, then the OBS, T&E, etc can continue to handle their jobs with a little less distraction. Basically, passengers/general public need someone with an authority status to sorta keep them in check! That is the facts when it comes to dealing with the public! In other words, in nine times out of ten "it's all about me, " and noone else. Please take me by the hand! LOL :lol: "Well no one told me I couldn't bring ten bags!" YEAH THEY DID, it is listed in the publication with ticket jacket. The only cases I will accept are if the passenger got their ticket from a travel agency! Then I put the blame on the travel agent for not explaining Amtrak's policies! Hopefully you see my point! Nobody seems to wanna take the inititive to take care of themselves. The majority of passengers wnat someone else to do it for them. I am well aware improvements need to be made on our part (OBS and T&E), but lets put that one on management and let them make that decision. Hopefully it will mean a little more help where needed, but I doubt it. I have heard it all! Working with the public within any service oriented deal, this will always be the case! That is human nature in my opinion! Be well.....

 

[AmtrakWPK]

Ok, I think I see your point. You are saying that customer service for the traveling public, the passengers that paid for the tickets on your train, consists of a cattle prod in the rear because they are all stupid jerks. Being stuck on a train stopped for hours in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night with no staff that can be found except a sleeping cook is irrelevant.

I'm having difficulty with how the account of an almost unbelievable gaffe on the part of the staff on that train apparently lends itself to a long paragraph ranting about the general stupidity of passengers. If that basic attitude is shared by a majority of employees it is no wonder that a large percentage of travelogues include instances of unforgiveably lousy service by on board personnel. All of which tend to push Amtrak toward extinction. Unless that sort of attitude and behavior by employees is put on the skids there is NOTHING that the rest of us Amtrak railfans could possibly do to save the company.