Amtrak delays

[Asher]

Ya know, I'm really starting to regret reporting that.
Anyway, if the SS left NYP 2 hours late and was only 3 hours late into MIA, I'd consider that a win.

It’s looking like if I have nothing to do and I love drama, catch a train.

 

[Joe from PA]

To be fair, the Silver Star actually reached Miami on time yesterday.

 

[Amtrak709]

To be fair, the Silver Star actually reached Miami on time yesterday.

The Star actually did what? -- on time. It's been a rough several months for the Star for on time performance. Hope it continues to improve. The Silvers (Star, Meteor, and once the Comet) have been my favorite trains for the last 60 years.

 

[trimetbusfan]

Recently saw this video detailing what happens if your train is delayed and you miss your connection...

 

[Shanson]

On a positive note, the Sunset/Eagle which departed LAX on 8/14 (30 minutes late due to the gentleman I mentioned above) reached SAS only 1 hr 20 minutes late, thanks to an additional delay due to a passenger medical emergency in Alpine.

This was just in time for the 422 cars to be attached to the Eagle so we did NOT have to ride the bus! Hooray!

 

[Bob Dylan]

On a positive note, the Sunset/Eagle which departed LAX on 8/14 (30 minutes late due to the gentleman I mentioned above) reached SAS only 1 hr 20 minutes late, thanks to an additional delay due to a passenger medical emergency in Alpine.

This was just in time for the 422 cars to be attached to the Eagle so we did NOT have to ride the bus! Hooray!

The reason the Medical Emergency was handled in Alpine is that they have the only Hospital between Van Horn and Del Rio, a distance of 300+ miles.

I was on the Sunset #1 one time when we stopped in Marfa( used to be a Stop for the Sunset) and Alpine EMTs met the Train @ a Crossing to handle a Medical Emergency and later we found out that the Person was DOA @ the Alpine Hospital.

 

[Shanson]

Car attendant Steve said he thought the patient survived.

 

[Bonser]

The eastbound Zephyr might actually be early into Chicago this afternoon! Presently, it's only 23 minutes late at Omaha making this a banner run so far. The last time it was early into Chicago was May 5th. Late every other day since - mostly by hours and lots of missed connections. Maybe today is the beginning of something better. Hope springs eternal.

 

[UserNameRequired]

We think we were 12 minutes early. We were even held back for several minutes for a Metra train and something else (couldn’t understand radio) in Chicago.

The eastbound Zephyr might actually be early into Chicago this afternoon! Presently, it's only 23 minutes late at Omaha making this a banner run so far. The last time it was early into Chicago was May 5th. Late every other day since - mostly by hours and lots of missed connections. Maybe today is the beginning of something better. Hope springs eternal.

 

[dlagrua]

Just a thought but if we combine inflation with a possible recession demands for goods may go down and freight traffic could decline. That in itself may free up some space on the rails for Amtrak to run closer to schedule. The SWC and EB routes are particularly crowded.

 

[Old MM]

I will absolutely take one of the Silvers to Miami in the future (or other coastal stop), regardless of the on time performance. If my other family members make good on their intentions of flying and meeting me there, that's fine too, the delays won't bother me as much if I don't feel responsible for other people enjoying the trip. I wonder if Amtrak might just incorporate more padding into the schedules so that people have a more realistic idea of the arrival times. It really affects your planning if you know to expect a 930-10 pm arrival instead of 6:30.

 

[west point]

Something crazy is going on with the Crescent. If 19 arrives ATL near on time then it does fairly well to NOL with exception usuaally 30 - 45 late at Meridian and Laurel. @0 is arriving at ATL usually on time with usual lates at TCL of 30 - 45 minutes late. This mostly for last 2 weeks. Of course the usual delays of vehicles or tresspassers will make them later. But a couple ties 20 still able to make up most time especially north bound from Gastonia - Danville.

 

[MccfamschoolMom]

The southbound Texas Eagle flew through Dwight, IL (about 20 miles NE of the station stop in Pontiac) at about 3:45PM today (roughly 1/2 hour later than its usual time) -- but it had 6 cars behind the engine in its consist today, instead of the 5 cars the engine has usually been pulling lately.

 

[MccfamschoolMom]

The northbound Texas Eagle just went past my office window at 2:53PM. I assume that's probably delayed, but don't have the timetable at hand to confirm by how much. (I know that in the past I've sometimes seen the northbound TE go by a good 2 hours earlier in the day.)

 

[PaTrainFan]

The northbound Texas Eagle just went past my office window at 2:53PM. I assume that's probably delayed, but don't have the timetable at hand to confirm by how much. (I know that in the past I've sometimes seen the northbound TE go by a good 2 hours earlier in the day.)

Timetable? You don't need no stinkin' timetable! You got Amtrak.com!

 

[MccfamschoolMom]

Timetable? You don't need no stinkin' timetable! You got Amtrak.com!

I'm old-school, and keep forgetting that!

 

[PaTrainFan]

I'm old-school, and keep forgetting that!

Don't let Amtrak pull that one. Even the "new schoolers" could find vaue in a printed timetable, if they were provided. Not that anyone is looking to rekindle (intended) that fire.

 

[AmtrakBlue]

Timetable? You don't need no stinkin' timetable! You got Amtrak.com!

Or use the tracker

https://asm.transitdocs.com/

 

[JoshP]

Not to mention that Silver Star 92 last night was over 8 hours late and is due into NYP at or about 3am. Silver Star has been coughing lot of late trains lately. To see that train status: Train 92 of 08/24/2022

 

[MccfamschoolMom]

Or use the tracker

https://asm.transitdocs.com/

By the time I saw this, the northbound TE had completed its run and wasn't showing up on that site. I have used the tracker in the past, though, when my kids have been taking the train to/from grad school, because the tracker usually had more detailed info about a train's progress than the Amtrak app on my phone (the only device I'd have with me at the station, waiting for my kids or my kids' trains).

 

[AmtrakBlue]

By the time I saw this, the northbound TE had completed its run and wasn't showing up on that site. I have used the tracker in the past, though, when my kids have been taking the train to/from grad school, because the tracker usually had more detailed info about a train's progress than the Amtrak app on my phone (the only device I'd have with me at the station, waiting for my kids or my kids' trains).

If you click on the clock on the menu bar you can get historical data including current day’s trains that have arrived at their final destinations

 

[joelkfla]

Not to mention that Silver Star 92 last night was over 8 hours late and is due into NYP at or about 3am. Silver Star has been coughing lot of late trains lately. To see that train status: Train 92 of 08/24/2022

That was somewhat of an anomaly.

Here's a distribution of 92's lateness of arrival in WAS since 7/1:

 

[daybeers]

I wonder if Amtrak might just incorporate more padding into the schedules so that people have a more realistic idea of the arrival times.

This had terrible consequences for the Crescent.

 

[Old MM]

This had terrible consequences for the Crescent.

What happened?

 

[trimetbusfan]

What happened?

The host railroad still decided to run the crecent late, even after working with Amtrak to create a new schedule that was supposed to cause less delay. There’s a whole thread on this subject somewhere.