Passenger Trains > Who says late trains only get later?

This is a doozy. Not sure how to explain it. Maybe someone "in the know" can help us.

#6 (of the 26th) left Emeryville 3 hours and 53 minutes late yet arrived in Chicago 5 mins early!

Amtrak Status Maps shows #6 (3/26) as having no recorded times at all stops between (except Sacramento and Reno) Davis and Salt Lake City (it shows an OT departure from Reno and    OT from Sacramento).

How did it manage to make up almost 4 hours between Emeryville and Salt Lake City?? A Feather River detour? I doubt it tho. Is some of the data not being reported accurately?
Even more weird no Service Disruption was reported.

Can anyone offer an informed explanation?

 

John Webb
Trinidad, CA



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/28/15 16:21 by Winnemucca.

Was there a bus bridge between Reno and Salt Lake City?

yeah, I think the time was made up by highway

The train's on time, but it's yesterdays train.

There is a pad built into the schedule at several locations along the way.  I don't follow #5 & #6 very much but I do #11 & #14.  #14 can be 2 hours late at Dunsmuir and still make Seattle OT.  There is added time at K Falls, Portland, and Seattle.

Take a look at the #5 schedule and see how long it takes for Chicago to the first stop.  Then compare that distance and time for #6.  There are other places along the route the same way.  Probably add up to about 4 hours time built in.

I've had a couple of grins riding #3 that were a result of this padding.  (1)  This grouchy old guy was complaining all the way because we were 20 or 30 minutes late at each stop.  There is at least an hour pad between Fullerton and LA.  We left Fullerton maybe 30 minutes late and listened to the grouching about being late.  We got into LA 30 minutes early and now he was complaining about being EARLY!!!  (2) A very quiet woman on the trip got on her cell phone as we left Fullerton OT.  Called "somebody" that the train was OT and to pick her up at the scheduled time in LA.   We got into LA an hour early and she is standing there with a puzzled look and nobody to pick her up.

jb

I traveled north on no. 14 from Salinas to Seattle in April, 2010.  We departed Salinas a bit over three hours late and arrived Seattle approx. 43 minutes late.  Union Pacific pretty much gave us the railroad.

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Left ABQ three hours down on a few occasions, only to arrive in LA on time or half hour to hour late. I had to make a same day connection with Starlight on all occasions and I made it! One time though, I just did a cross platform change as they brought the Starlight into the LA Station early....