Passenger Trains > Amtrak Schedule Changes?

Did Amtrak revise some schedules to coincide with change to DST, or are these just temporary changes due to DST? Looks like # 4 runs an hour later. Thanks for your help.

What are you looking at? The new timetable schedule is identical to the previous timetable for #4, except adjusting for times in Arizona which are one hour earlier during daylight saving time.

I just saw the timetable and it's still 6:10 out of LA for no. 4!

Railroads have been changing timetables when DST comes and when it goes for a very long time...

Bill Deaver
Tehachapi, CA

Those with sufficiently long whiskers may remember when railroads disregarded Daylight Time, running on Standard Time year-round and not reissuing public timetables twice a year.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/11/18 20:45 by GenePoon.

Danny,

Arizona us now on the same time as California.


Chris

21(10) arrived in Taylor Texas at 5:15, an hour and 18 minutes before its scheduled departure time of 6:33 pm.

Not sure if they changed today's departure time due to reroute of daylight savings time but the dispatcher was not amused. She had Amtrak do their station work and then stage the train on the MOPAC/MKT connecting track to get some northbound traffic moving on the Austin Sub.

Published pax LDT schedules are as much an anachronism as pax LDTs considering LDT OT performance.

Interesting that you should mention this. I checked against Dixieland software's times for a couple of trains - the Lake Shore, #48 and 49. For the trains that were active at the shift - ie those that departed on the 10th and arrived on the 11th, the times that were after midnight were adjusted by an hour as well. For trains departing on the 11th, the schedule was returned to the original schedule, as DST does not have any overall changes in run time.

For example - #49 is scheduled to leave NYP at 3:40 PM, and arrive in CHI at 9:45 AM the following day. On the 3/10 departure date, the arrival time was adjusted to be 10:45. On 3/11, the departure time is again 3:40 PM, but arrival is back to 9:45 AM. This makes logical sense because scheduled run time obviously does not change. Intermediate stops were also adjusted when arrival time was after 2:00 AM on Sunday. Similar adjustments were made to the schedule for the eastbound run, #48.

Whether CSX can meet the schedules is a different story. But we've been through that before.

I would expect other schedules have been similarly adjusted, but have not looked at them. The SW chief and it's stops in Arizona may be of note, since AZ does not observe DST (except for the Indian Reservations). Someone on here mentioned a while back that Amtrak considers Flagstaff to go on DST anyway, but I don't know if that is really the case.

Is that what you were asking about?

JWL

#21 arrival at Taylor early could be because of it using a detour route, bypassing Dallas-Ft Worth. That detour has ended as of today.
Back to normal for both train 21-22.

There were a number of new timetables with a 3/11 date. The revisions seem to be very minor on the routes I know and checked. One reason for a change this time of year has to be attributable to track repair season getting into full swing. Can't forget the NEC adjustments as well as LD adjustments due to the coming 'summer of hell' at Penn Station.

Likely for the first time since the 19th century, there will be no direct train between Manhattan and Chicago, not that the Cardinal was really a practical substitute for the Lake Shore Ltd.

If Amtrak were smart and pro-active, which of course they aren't, they would sell MTA Metrocards pre-loaded with $5.50, waive the $1 new card fee (which Amtrak can eat) at all upstate train stations, especially Albany, to expedite the GCT-NYP transfer once in NYC, either by subway or the M4 & Q32 bus off of 5th or Madison Avenues. Upstate tourists who want to head to NYPS need not fumble, figure out, and waste transfer time with Metrocard vending machines, or jingling for exact fare in quarters (dollar bills are not accepted on MTA buses).

During the last few years of Amtrak operations to GCT until 1991, Amtrak would charter a Metro Apple Express company bus, a GMC S8H-53 series Fishbowl Suburban, for GCT - NYPS service.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/12/18 10:05 by joemvcnj.

Or they could simply run a transfer shuttle like they used to back in the days. I remember using it to connect to the Lake Shore Limited departing NYG, coming in on an Amtrak service from Metropark to NYP.

Amtrak used to Change the Schedules or at least updated or revised the Schedules.

Around the time of Daylight Time. Changing to and from Daylight Saving.

I dont know If they still do it now.

Jerry Martin
Los Angeles, CA
Central Coast Railroad Festival