VIA on time performance

[capltd29]

How can one compare VIA's on time performance to that of Amtrak?

Is it better than or worse than Amtrak?

CAn you check it on VIA's Website?

 

[GG-1]

Aloha

Boy I am going to bet that the first Canadian that reads your post will shoot you.

It's been a long time, 1976, since I road a train in Canada from Toronto to Montreal (or the other way) and the train was impecable and smooth riding. A very plesant trip.

I was hoping to use VIA sleeper to go to the NMRA convention but coudn't afford it so I hope to include a trans-Canadian trip some time. The next trip is to New Orleans via Coast Starlight, California Zephyr, and City of New Orleans starting tuesday 9/14 ariving Sat. Night 9/18, I hope?

 

[sutton8596]

i rode the canadian (I'm American) last summer, Toronto to Vancouver, and it was the finest train ride I'd ever had, including the many in Europe and on Amtrak. Great scenery, first class service (I had a berth, so meals were free), ON TIME. Three days and nights of good train ridin'.

I highly recommend the Canadian. I'd now like to do the train from Winnipeg up to Churchill on Hudson's Bay. Polar bears in October.

 

[Amtrak Watcher]

My recent expereince (many times in 2004) shows VIA to be on time much more often than Amtrak. The trains are also very clean compared to Amtrak coaches and sleepers.

 

[railman]

Not to knock VIA Rail service in any way, but I would conjecture that VIA Rail's trains are more consistently on-time for two primary reasons:

- friendlier freight railroads that host the passenger trains, and

- vastly lower frequency and number of trains to worry about.

Remember, VIA has only one tri-weekly transcon (TWO-VAc) whereas Amtrak has three dailies (CHI-West Coast) AND two tri-weekly trains (CHI-SAS-LAX and ORL-LAX).

 

[Save Our Trains Michigan]

Not to knock VIA Rail service in any way, but I would conjecture that VIA Rail's trains are more consistently on-time for two primary reasons:
- friendlier freight railroads that host the passenger trains, and

- vastly lower frequency and number of trains to worry about.

Remember, VIA has only one tri-weekly transcon (TWO-VAc) whereas Amtrak has three dailies (CHI-West Coast) AND two tri-weekly trains (CHI-SAS-LAX and ORL-LAX).

VIA Rail delays are just as bad as Amtrak's.

 

[Trogdor]

Remember, VIA has only one tri-weekly transcon (TWO-VAc) whereas Amtrak has three dailies (CHI-West Coast) AND two tri-weekly trains (CHI-SAS-LAX and ORL-LAX).

You can't really count CHI-SAS-LAX and ORL-LAX as two trains.

The Texas Eagle, CHI-SAS, runs more-or-less independently of the ORL (occasionally)-LAX Sunset. The eastbound Sunset almost never makes the connection to the Eagle, and, depending on how late the Sunset is, passengers are either bustituted to catch up, or (possibly) put up in San Antonio until the next day.

Amtrak will no longer allow the Eagle to leave late because the Sunset is running late.

 

[mickey34jb]

How late have the trains been? Frequency? Length? I'm thinking of using amtrak from Ohio to Orlando,FL. to board a cruise ship. The train is scheduled to arrive in Orlando at 11:42 am and ship departs at 5pm. Should I worry?

 

Thanks in advance

MJB

 

[Trogdor]

How late have the trains been? Frequency? Length? I'm thinking of using amtrak from Ohio to Orlando,FL. to board a cruise ship. The train is scheduled to arrive in Orlando at 11:42 am and ship departs at 5pm. Should I worry? 

Thanks in advance

MJB

It really depends on when you're planning to travel. The train you're talking about, the Silver Star, used to have pretty good OTP. Lately, it hasn't done as well, though it's not as bad as the Sunset (nothing is).

 

You can check train status on Amtrak.com to see how well that train is doing, up to about 5 days in the past.

 

In that time, the Silver Star arrived less than 2 hours late most of the time, but once arrived at 6 PM.

 

Remember that, these past few weeks, hurricanes have really screwed up that line.

 

[gswager]

I've heard that there'll be one less train to Florida, so be sure to double check on the timetable and stops. I don't know when the new timetable will be released.

 

[Guest_mickey34jb]

Thanks rmadison and gswager....I'm looking to travel in March so I can check that train