Passenger Trains > More Coaststarlite delays

Well train 14 departe EUG only 2 hrs late today. But delayed for 51" at Halawell..just south of ALY for a UPRR freight that was disabled or for the usual switching. Train 11 departed ontime at PDX as of 430p still sitting at Clackamas waiting for a UPRR disabled frt. to move. As of this point the UPRR has no eta for repair and or movement. The meeting between ODOT, WASHDOT, AMTRAK, BN and the UPRR on Wednesday had no solutions for all of the delays..UPRR said they would try harder to get all of the AMTRAK trains on time, ODOT is thinking about changing schedules to assist the UPRR to keep the trains on-time.

I am the son of a lawyer and the father of a lawyer and the only way you will get UP's attention is to haul them into court where some sympathetic jury will really hurt them!! They are the most arrogant management I have ever heard of and yes I do own almost worthless UP stock. It has dropped almost 17% in recent months.

That was on the Wednesday / Thursday run for #11. Lets jump ahead to the Saturday / Sunday #11. As of this writing #11 is over 8 hours late into SJC. NOT only does UP have a lack of crews & engines, it appears to have an extreme lack of maintenance abilities. This would be for both rolling stock and road way.

I agree, that UP must be taken to court and made to pay for their arrogant attitude to ALL of their customers (shippers & Amtrak). It seems like UP is so arrogant that they feel they do not need the bonus that Amtrak will pay for 'on time arrival'. BNSF has learned how easy it is to get the money. In the mean time UP feels it would be better for them to hinder Amtrak at every turn to get the passenger trains off their rails.

What would be the operating effect if Amtrak removed all trains from UP tracks TODAY? The answer is that it would HURT Uniop Pacific, they would lose the Amtrak $$$$$$ paid to them. It would not do anything to imporve the UP operation for MONTHS to come because they do not have the power or crews needed to PROPERLY operate an effecient, financially thriving operation.

taken to court? for what? customers dont have to use them.....they can ship by wagon train!

For starters, with any shipment human or otherwise there is a contract!Amtrak just can't strand people anywhere, nor can freight be stranded just anywhere with no concern for the shipper and consignee.

I agree with stone23. Passengers on Amtrak trains are not lumps of coal or wooden boards. We are real people and should be treated with curtesy and respect. When U.P. delays Amtrak for hours it is akin to holding us as hostages, and this is illegal. But apparently the dispatchers don't consider this. If I had a buck for every minute of time that I was delayed on U.P., I'd be wealthy.Maybe if we all sued them, it would cost them plenty and that would get the top dogs at U.P. to get their thinking straight. In the Middle Ages such conduct would have been severely punished, possibly by public flogging. But in this age, I think hitting them in their wallet is the best way to go. Maybe they should be run out of town on a rail! (Just kidding.)

rpcn Wrote:
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> ODOT is thinking
> about changing schedules to assist the UPRR to
> keep the trains on-time.

What change???? They aready have changed....Let see....lets run Portland to Clacamas at this time...tie up for beans.....ok..ok...the next hour they run Clackamas to Hito......tie up for a coffee break...Now in the next hour let scoot over to Labish...Good place to tie up and run over to that mexican place...

Doesn't do any good to change a schedule if the RR is still plugged full of dead trains and no crews...

Maybe if they block the trains better so that fewre are stopping and setting out or picking up all day long, might just a get at least one over the road before the crew dies on the law.