Adding Padding?

[NY Penn]

Looking at Status Maps and the delay tracker, it appears that #68 is an hour late or more into SAR 95% of the time.

This is, quite obviously, a schedule defect. (The fact that there is an hour of padding from SAR to ALB is no solution. A better way would be to spread the padding over the rest of the route.)

Anyone know why this hasn't been fixed yet? Anyone know of a way (besides writing to Amtrak [like that will help

]) to get this fixed?

 

[had8ley]

Looking at Status Maps and the delay tracker, it appears that #68 is an hour late or more into SAR 95% of the time.

This is, quite obviously, a schedule defect. (The fact that there is an hour of padding from SAR to ALB is no solution. A better way would be to spread the padding over the rest of the route.)

Anyone know why this hasn't been fixed yet? Anyone know of a way (besides writing to Amtrak [like that will help

]) to get this fixed?

Maybe an engine change at Albany ???

 

[NY Penn]

Looking at Status Maps and the delay tracker, it appears that #68 is an hour late or more into SAR 95% of the time.

This is, quite obviously, a schedule defect. (The fact that there is an hour of padding from SAR to ALB is no solution. A better way would be to spread the padding over the rest of the route.)

Anyone know why this hasn't been fixed yet? Anyone know of a way (besides writing to Amtrak [like that will help

]) to get this fixed?

Maybe an engine change at Albany ???

There is one, but I mean time between stations.

EDIT: #68 is southbound, BTW.

 

[saxman]

But then when you are ontime, the train has to sit at each station for an extended period of time. Probably not good PR for the passengers who might complain that each stop is way too long. Why can't we just leave. Plus if it's on a busy freight line, I'm sure the host RR would rather have the passenger train continuing to move and then have a larger wait at a station (such as ALB) where it out of the way.

That said though, if the train does become consistant on it's lateness, I'm sure the schedulers will look at tweaking the schedule a bit.

 

[AlanB]

Looking at Status Maps and the delay tracker, it appears that #68 is an hour late or more into SAR 95% of the time.

This is, quite obviously, a schedule defect. (The fact that there is an hour of padding from SAR to ALB is no solution. A better way would be to spread the padding over the rest of the route.)

Is it just late into SAR? Or is it late at all the other stops before SAR too? If the later, then I'd say that the problem is that the US Border Patrol is taking too long to clear the train for entry. If the former, then it could be a scheduling/mileage problem.

Anyone know why this hasn't been fixed yet? Anyone know of a way (besides writing to Amtrak [like that will help

]) to get this fixed?

Again, if it is a problem, then the why would be that Amtrak was probably unaware of the issue. As for the latter, you've already taken care of it.

 

[NY Penn]

Looking at Status Maps and the delay tracker, it appears that #68 is an hour late or more into SAR 95% of the time.

This is, quite obviously, a schedule defect. (The fact that there is an hour of padding from SAR to ALB is no solution. A better way would be to spread the padding over the rest of the route.)

Is it just late into SAR? Or is it late at all the other stops before SAR too? If the later, then I'd say that the problem is that the US Border Patrol is taking too long to clear the train for entry. If the former, then it could be a scheduling/mileage problem.

Anyone know why this hasn't been fixed yet? Anyone know of a way (besides writing to Amtrak [like that will help

]) to get this fixed?

Again, if it is a problem, then the why would be that Amtrak was probably unaware of the issue. As for the latter, you've already taken care of it.

Here's a standard Status Map arrival chart:

STN...SCHED..REAL.....LATENESS

MTR * *930A * 930A Departed: on time.*

SLQ * *945A * 945A Departed: on time.*

RSP * *1205P 1235P Departed: 30 minutes late.*

PLB * * 1235P * 117P Departed: 42 minutes late.*

WSP * *140P * 224P Departed: 44 minutes late.*

POH * *209P * 307P Departed: 58 minutes late.*

FTC * * 233P * 329P Departed: 56 minutes late.*

WHL * * 305P * 403P Departed: 58 minutes late.*

FED * * 330P * 441P Departed: 1 hour and 11 minutes late.*

SAR * * 353P * 506P Departed: 1 hour and 13 minutes late.*

SDY * *450P * 535P Departed: 45 minutes late.*

ALB * *600P * 616P Departed: 16 minutes late.*

HUD * * 625P * 642P Departed: 17 minutes late.*

RHI * * 651P * 707P Departed: 16 minutes late.*

POU * *705P * 723P Departed: 18 minutes late.*

CRT * *745P * 806P Departed: 21 minutes late.*

YNY * *804P * 828P Departed: 24 minutes late.*

NYP * *840P * 900P * Arrived: 20 minutes late.

So the train usually gets held up at the border (1 hour is too short a time) and then gradually loses time at every stop.

 

[AlanB]

All that makes it sound like the problem isn't so much the schedule, but delays due to customs and delays due to CP.

If they were basicly on time to up until the stop before Saratoga, then suddenly late, I would be thinking a scheduling problem.