Passenger Trains > More on Amtrak's boarding policy

Vox reports on Amtrak's inability to establish and enforce boarding rules.


https://www.vox.com/2018/12/4/18123624/amtrak-boarding-rules-union-station-dc

Posted from Android

Story dated 12/4/18, and discussed extensively here. It's written in the typical Vox house style that's inspired a new word, "Voxsplaining."

Trains, unlike airplanes, have many doors that passengers can use to get on and off. Gee, who knew...

Paul Wilson
Arlington, VA



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/09/19 07:36 by Dcmcrider.

LIRR can load 1,200 people on a 10 - 12 car train after it comes in from the yard, be off to Queens in 5 minutes, and they do it every 2 minutes during the PM peak. It can be done  If someone gets on the wrong train, they get off at the next stop and take the next train back. Next time, they'll be more careful. For Amtrak in New York, that would be New Rochelle, Yonkers, or Newark. I don't see the issue.

At DC last April , they did not check e-tickets, nor did they at GCT last July. So that is no longer an excuse. 
We also know the Amtrak OIG office is now a proxy for top management's wishes. 

joemvcnj Wrote:
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> We also know the Amtrak OIG office is now a proxy
> for top management's wishes. 

The Inspector General has been that, ever since Joe Boardman with the cooperation of the Board, ran off the last truly independent IG.  

The IG needs to be sufficiently indepndent to take on upper management if need be, not just be their tool to get rid of people not currently "in favor" in addition to chasing down and purging more lowly miscreants.

OIG now seems to be a means of carrying out political grudges on people and bypass Performance Management process.

As for the Boarding Policy, it does not matter to this management. The only thing that matter is cost cutting and discouraging LD ridership with lousy food service, dirty windows, poor OTP, and playing stealth games with the yield management on the reservation system (i.e. train 21, vs, 321 and 421 for Lincoln corridor travel).

GenePoon Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> joemvcnj Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > We also know the Amtrak OIG office is now a
> proxy
> > for top management's wishes. 
>
> The Inspector General has been that, ever since
> Joe Boardman with the cooperation of the Board,
> ran off the last truly independent IG.  
>
> The IG needs to be sufficiently indepndent to take
> on upper management if need be, not just be their
> tool to get rid of people not currently "in favor"
> in addition to chasing down and purging more lowly
> miscreants.

In many other governent agencies / departments / bureaux etc the IG office is fearless.  The EPA IG recently ran the tab on Scott Pruitt, the interior department IG on Ryan Zinke doing some smelly deals with the "people's land", etc.  the DOD IG is always busting people for ripping off the military, the VA's guy got Shulkin, etc.

 

So European trains don't need to be re-stocked on the platforms? 

andersonb109 Wrote:
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> So European trains don't need to be re-stocked on
> the platforms? 

In some stations, like Milan, there is a service lane between the tracks. Workers board from that side as passengers depart from the other side of the train.

Posted from Android

andersonb109 Wrote:
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> So European trains don't need to be re-stocked on
> the platforms? 

Like this?

This was a 10 minute stop in Frankfurt. Passengers off, passengers on, trash off, restock, change ends, go.

TAW

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From my observations on the western trains I use frequently ( 3/4, 5/6) with rare exceptions the boarding drill is a sad joke. It takes FAR longer that it should at every station and its especially noticeable at the smaller stops. 12-15 minutes to unload 12 and board 6 people for instance. On my most recent trip on # 6 I calculated that we lost a minimum of 50 minutes between Omaha and Chicago on account of this unprofessional performance. It's always the same. If I were in a position of authority the second thing I'd do ( right after putting the car washer machines back in service) is reinstitute the on board train manager program and make prompt, efficient boarding mandatory, with monetary penalties to the crew for unwarranted dwell times. A lot of the problem is the practice of checking tickets/assigning seats on the platform vs. getting them aboard and doing that while under way. 

  The man who taught me to run locomotives said it well....you lose time in seconds that become minutes that become hours. So true. Now if Amtrak ever gets to really caring about operating on time maybe this will change.

  Then I woke up and smelled the coffee. Sad but true, Ross Rowland

Lackawanna484 Wrote:

> In many other governent agencies / departments bureaux etc the IG office is fearless.  The EPA
> IG recently ran the tab on Scott Pruitt, the interior department IG on Ryan Zinke doing some
> smelly deals with the "people's land", etc.  the DOD IG is always busting people for ripping off
> the military, the VA's guy got Shulkin, etc.

Amtrak's current IG is a lapdog, not a watchdog.....
His motto could be" First, make no waves!"