Passenger Trains > #6 Most recent 30 day average arrival delay CHI: 4 hrs, 20 mins

I see #6 has arrived OT in Chicago exactly once in the past 30 days. The average delay was 4 hrs, 20 mins. Anyone tracking the cause(s) of the delay. Weather? Mechanical issues? Freight dispatching interference in violation of Federal law? Combination of things?

John Webb
Trinidad, CA

No doubt, private cars.
Tony

Good one Tony!  They have to blame somebody.  Pathetic performance by all involved. 

My 2 recent trips on # 6 we were 6 hours late on one and 9 hours late on the other. I now leave a blank day the day after I'm supposed to get into Chicago. Live & learn.

   Ross Rowland 

Pathetic is too kind a word.

The freight railroads are murdering the reliability of LD passenger trains as a serious form of transportation.

In my view,. Anderson and the freight railroads have a joint goal of eliminating LD passenger trains--and lateness like this will help them achieve their goal.

Weather is a major cause of delays now. On Donner Pass there is a lot of snow. Hard to overcome Mother Nature. The railroad is open. Highway 80 not open all the time. Snow means delays.

Posted from Android

Stash

Winnemuca is telling us this train was extreemly late 29 days in the last 30. --- it has not snowed for 30 days.

And those of us who follow the OT performance of these trains know--they are often terribly late even in the sunny summer.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/17/19 18:57 by ronald321.

Winnemucca Wrote:
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> Freight dispatching interference in violation of Federal law?

Which "Federal Law" are you refering to?

ronald321 Wrote:
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> The freight railroads are murdering the reliability of LD passenger trains as a serious form of transportation.

Agree they are no longer a serious form of transportation.  It's not that the railroads deliberately set out to sabotage the on-time operation of any particular train, it's that they are no longer committed to reliable operation, especially in bad weather.  The goals are low-cost and litigation-free, which means not operating in risky conditions (too cold, too windy, too much rain, too hot, too much snow, etc.).  This affects all trains, their own as well as those using trackage rights.

It seems train delay report fatigue has set in, even on Trainorders.com, and we just don't want to hear about it any more.  Whether it's a conspiracy that would satisfy both Amtrak and the freights or not, I think a good case could be made for giving up on the operation of passenger trains on the North American rail network - it just isn't set up to deliver the reliability required any longer, especially in the wintertime.

Lawyers rule the country.

jcaestecker Wrote:
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> Lawyers rule the country.


That is literally true.

From the Congressional Research Service: Membership of the 115th Congress: A Profile - Updated December 20, 2018
"According to the CQ Guide to the New Congress, in the 115th Congress, law predominates as the declared profession of Senators, followed by public service/politics, then business; for Representatives, business is first, followed by public service/politics*, then law.
https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R44762.pdf

 

Engine issues have been a problem. Weather also. PTC across Iowa has also been mentioned. Once one of the LD trains becomes late...forget about it. They lose there slot and it's all downhill from there. Its pathetic but numerabl factors are behind this and I really wonder if anyone in management is even concerned.

Posted from Android

Weather has been a huge issue lately across the country. Add power failures where a freight unit must be located and lead. That leads into HOS. Then there is PTC which isn't too perfect yet.

Chalk up trespasser strikes which cost hours. Vehicles on the track, often intentionally. Unruly pax or medical issues. Freight train breakdowns. Plus MOW work windows.

Just had falling trees that annulled 11 and 14 north of Dunsmuir. Fell between freight cars and impossible to reach by vehicle account closed roads.

Then there is Donner. Well documented here by BoilingMan.



ronald321 Wrote:
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> Stash
>
> Winnemuca is telling us this train was extreemly
> late 29 days in the last 30. --- it has not snowed
> for 30 days.
>
> And those of us who follow the OT performance of
> these trains know--they are often terribly late
> even in the sunny summer.

Posted from Android

Lots of promise with the Green New Deal proposed by Alexandria what-her-name-Cortez.  Highspeed rail connecting all parts of the nation.  That should eliminate all of Amtrak's problems.  Amtrak would probably have its own rails.

John

HSR from Chicago to Emeryville or SF would probably be a 1 day trip?



wa4umr Wrote:
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> Lots of promise with the Green New Deal proposed
> by Alexandria what-her-name-Cortez.  Highspeed
> rail connecting all parts of the nation.  That
> should eliminate all of Amtrak's problems. 
> Amtrak would probably have its own rails.
>
> John

Posted from Android

Don't confuse them with facts.

stash Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Weather has been a huge issue lately across the
> country. Add power failures where a freight unit
> must be located and lead. That leads into HOS.
> Then there is PTC which isn't too perfect yet.
>
> Chalk up trespasser strikes which cost hours.
> Vehicles on the track, often intentionally. Unruly
> pax or medical issues. Freight train breakdowns.
> Plus MOW work windows.
>
> Just had falling trees that annulled 11 and 14
> north of Dunsmuir. Fell between freight cars and
> impossible to reach by vehicle account closed
> roads.
>
> Then there is Donner. Well documented here by
> BoilingMan.
>
>
>
> ronald321 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Stash
> >
> > Winnemuca is telling us this train was
> extreemly
> > late 29 days in the last 30. --- it has not
> snowed
> > for 30 days.
> >
> > And those of us who follow the OT performance
> of
> > these trains know--they are often terribly late
> > even in the sunny summer.
>
> Posted from Android

I'm attempting to find out how I can reserve a business class seat on the first high speed train to run from SanFransico to Hawaii. Should be about a 6 hour trip at TGV speed??  

   Can't wait. Ross Rowland

Gotta take care of the cow-thing, first.

SP4360

I'm afraid even Anderson wouldn't agree with you in your desire to justify all delays on the weather.

Amtrak has more "facts" on chronic lateness than you ever dreamed of. -and in their monthly reports have blamed the freight railroads directly--not an isolated weather condition,

There is a good reason why roads like CN and NS get an "F" - and it isn't due to occasional snow storms,



 

The Amtrak delay report card reads like a piece of NARP propaganda. I take very little of what was in there seriously. 

In my experience on Amtrak, they report every little hiccup as a freight delay.  I recall a conductor charging 3 minutes of delay for Amtrak using a mainline crossover, and 15 minutes of delay for “signal issues” when it took them twice as long to board passengers in Kansas City as it should have. 

If the freight railroads are purposely harming Amtrak, why has only one enforcement action taken place?  Again, the law states preferential treatment, not absolute priority. If the scheduled trains are running 6 hours late, and Amtrak is 4 hours later, Amtrak is getting preferential treatment. This points to no actual violation of federal law, which was alleged here.