Sunset Limited #2 problem along the line?

[Amtrak Cajun]

Hey everyone,

I am tracking #2 via my app on my phone. I notice that its scheduled to be almost 4 hours late into Lafayette here today. Anyone have any ideas as to what is going on?

The train was only 22 minutes late into San Antonio, so whatever happened, happened between San Antonio and Houston. It really got to Houston almost 5 hours late, so its making up some time between Houston and Lafayette.

If anyone has any info, feel free to post.

Thanks

Anthony

 

[Amtrak George]

A posting on trainorders.com says broken rail and stalled freight train.

Amtrak.com says left Lake Charles 5 hours 24 minutes late at 853 p.m. and expected into NOLA at 2:00 a.m.

 

[Amtrak Cajun]

Thanks for the update good sir. I appreciate the info.

Yeah, Its going to arrive here in LFT at 10:15pm.

I hope the passengers and crew have a safe trip into NOL.

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

That freight train could have been in worse condition. I'm glad it's only five hours late, a broken rail accident could have delayed the SL much more!

 

[Amtrak Cajun]

Yeah, but its getting later by the minute, I just checked its bound to be here at 11:28pm. This is going to be a long night for the passengers and crew.

So that makes it 6 hours and 16 minutes late.

 

[mfastx]

Imagine how much better Amtrak would be if they owned and controlled their own tracks. Night and day.

 

[Amtrak Cajun]

What really matters most is that the train did make it safely to New Orleans, albeit at 2:45am!

 

[Ryan]

Looks like 1 got out on time this morning, so either they turned the train in 6 hours or there was an extra set sitting there...

 

[Amtrak George]

What really matters most is that the train did make it safely to New Orleans, albeit at 2:45am!

absolutely!

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

Imagine how much better Amtrak would be if they owned and controlled their own tracks. Night and day.

Broken rails would still happen and there would still be train congestion through freight.

 

[George Harris]

Imagine how much better Amtrak would be if they owned and controlled their own tracks. Night and day.

Imagine how much it would cost to run passenger trains if they had to bear the entire cost of operating the lines on which they operated.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

Imagine how much better Amtrak would be if they owned and controlled their own tracks. Night and day.

Imagine how much it would cost to run passenger trains if they had to bear the entire cost of operating the lines on which they operated.

If Amtrak owned the major rail routes and leased them to the freight companies then speeds and scheduling would be up to Amtrak while most of the tonnage and upkeep costs would be handled by the leasing agreements.

 

[mfastx]

Broken rails would still happen and there would still be train congestion through freight.

Train congestion? Not if Amtrak operated the lines and gave priority. Broken rails? Rarley might happen but a large amount of heavier freight trains certainly makes this a more common occurance.

Imagine how much it would cost to run passenger trains if they had to bear the entire cost of operating the lines on which they operated.

It'd cost a hell of a lot, but they'd also generate more revenue through increased ridership and # of trains. Obviously Amtrak needs more funding for this type of stuff, and I advocate for it.

 

[NativeSon5859]

Looks like 1 got out on time this morning, so either they turned the train in 6 hours or there was an extra set sitting there...

Extra set. I saw it leave @ 0900 and the set that arrived at 0245 was still sitting in the station.

 

[Amtrak Cajun]

Well, train #2 for today was only 30 or so minutes late into LFT compared to Sunday's train, so evidently the rail issue is ok.

There are usually 2 spare sets or so ready to go if need be in NOL.

The set that arrived late on Sunday will possibly be tomorrow's #1.

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

Broken rails would still happen and there would still be train congestion through freight.

Train congestion? Not if Amtrak operated the lines and gave priority. Broken rails? Rarley might happen but a large amount of heavier freight trains certainly makes this a more common occurance.

Imagine how much it would cost to run passenger trains if they had to bear the entire cost of operating the lines on which they operated.

It'd cost a hell of a lot, but they'd also generate more revenue through increased ridership and # of trains. Obviously Amtrak needs more funding for this type of stuff, and I advocate for it.

Trains would still be congested, even with priority dispatching for pax trains. Most freight trains are too long and too slow to avoid congestion. Broken rails happen all the time with high or low temperatures.

 

[VentureForth]

Broken rails would still happen and there would still be train congestion through freight.

Train congestion? Not if Amtrak operated the lines and gave priority. Broken rails? Rarley might happen but a large amount of heavier freight trains certainly makes this a more common occurance.

Imagine how much it would cost to run passenger trains if they had to bear the entire cost of operating the lines on which they operated.

It'd cost a hell of a lot, but they'd also generate more revenue through increased ridership and # of trains. Obviously Amtrak needs more funding for this type of stuff, and I advocate for it.

If that were truly the case, May 1, 1971 would have never happened.

 

[mfastx]

Trains would still be congested, even with priority dispatching for pax trains. Most freight trains are too long and too slow to avoid congestion. Broken rails happen all the time with high or low temperatures.

Temperatures? I said nothing about temperatures but okay. If Amtrak owned their own rails there wouldn't be freight trains on them.

If that were truly the case, May 1, 1971 would have never happened.

Jeez guys, c'mon. I said that comment in passing. Around the world there are many, many train lines that don't have the absurd delays Amtrak does. May 1, 1979 happened because there was no government subsidy for the rail lines, unlike other modes of transport.

 

[Amtrak Cajun]

Well, the rest of the world's trains have different rules and operating procedures. They may have a more streamlined way of dealing with things.

Also, other countries arent as big as we are, so of course going 3 days across the continent is going to cause some sort of delay at some point. Plus, we have way more freight than some other countries.

As far as for "absurd" delays, there are things out there that Amtrak cant control, regardless of how "absurd" they may seem.

I would say this is my two cents worth, but I think Im gonna charge tax and say this is my 8 cents worth, no refunds.

 

[AlanB]

Trains would still be congested, even with priority dispatching for pax trains. Most freight trains are too long and too slow to avoid congestion. Broken rails happen all the time with high or low temperatures.

Temperatures? I said nothing about temperatures but okay. If Amtrak owned their own rails there wouldn't be freight trains on them.

Not to pile on as it were; but Amtrak does own some of its own tracks, and freight trains use them everyday.

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

Trains would still be congested, even with priority dispatching for pax trains. Most freight trains are too long and too slow to avoid congestion. Broken rails happen all the time with high or low temperatures.

Temperatures? I said nothing about temperatures but okay. If Amtrak owned their own rails there wouldn't be freight trains on them.

If that were truly the case, May 1, 1971 would have never happened.

Jeez guys, c'mon. I said that comment in passing. Around the world there are many, many train lines that don't have the absurd delays Amtrak does. May 1, 1979 happened because there was no government subsidy for the rail lines, unlike other modes of transport.

Where do the freight trains go then? Does all the freight go onto the highways?

And it's not even 1979, it was 1971! Other countries similar to the US have delays too, like Canada, Australia, or Russia.

 

[Palmland]

Well, train #2 for today was only 30 or so minutes late into LFT compared to Sunday's train, so evidently the rail issue is ok.
There are usually 2 spare sets or so ready to go if need be in NOL.

The set that arrived late on Sunday will possibly be tomorrow's #1.

Two sets sitting at New Orleans? I thought Amtrak goes was going to improve equipment utilization by the rescheduling of the Sunset last year.

 

[Ryan]

We were discussing that in chat on Sunday - I heard last year that they hadn't been able to get rid of the extra set because NOL didn't have the manpower overnight to turn the trainset.

It appears that this issue may not have been solved, and despite the schedule change they're still using 4 sets instead of 3.

 

[mfastx]

Not to pile on as it were; but Amtrak does own some of its own tracks, and freight trains use them everyday.

That's right, and you won't see multiple hour delays on those routes.

Where do the freight trains go then? Does all the freight go onto the highways?
And it's not even 1979, it was 1971! Other countries similar to the US have delays too, like Canada, Australia, or Russia.

Obviously they would go on their own lines seperate from the passenger lines. And that's a typo.

Those countries you listed also have sub-par rail systems. I don't see what the point of refuting what I originally said is. If Amtrak had their own lines to themselves there wouldn't be delays like this. It's not a hard concept to wrap your head around. I simply made an observation, I have no agenda here and there's no deeper meaning to what I said. Delays like this don't happen in other countries where this is the case.

 

[Ryan]

Not to pile on as it were; but Amtrak does own some of its own tracks, and freight trains use them everyday.

That's right, and you won't see multiple hour delays on those routes.

You most assuredly will, the NEC melts down at least a few times a year.