Amtrak Timetables

[AmtrakBlue]

I can understand that printed timetables may not be cost-effective for Amtrak. But I think the absence of PDF timetables on Amtrak's website may contribute to a lot of confusion for potential customers. As it is, the only way to see if you get from Point A to Point B conveniently is to start a speculative ticket purchase. Many potential riders who are only casually interested may not be ready to take that step.

You can print out schedules from their website. And by having it done this way you’ll know the times are up-to-date.

 

[AmtrakBlue]

I just checked the Schedule tab and looked up the Southwest Chief. I found 2 trains per direction: 3/1003 and 4/1004. What are the 1003 and 1004 trains? They had different departure and arrival times from each other. For example, train 3 departs Los Angeles at 2:25 pm whereas it's 2:50 pm for train 1003.

Trains that begin with 10 followed by the regular number are trains that will arrive at a station the same day as the previous train. Arrow, Amtraks system, cannot handle two #3’s arriving at XYZ station on the same date.

 

[Amtrak25]

You can print out schedules from their website. And by having it done this way you’ll know the times are up-to-date.

What they call a timetable is not a timetable. It is origin-destination throughout the day, requiring a tap to Details drop-down to get intermedate stops for each train individually, a sloppy mess and not printable on one piece of paper. It does not contain the information that pdf's once had. It does not show connections.

The times on a pdf can be mainained up to date because every commuter railroad manages to do it. LIRR changes their schedules every 2 months, with far more editions for weekday or weekend engineering-driven changes, and are far more complicated than anything Amtrak has. This is what one of them looks like: https://new.mta.info/document/85026

This is about Amtrak being cheap and lazy.

 

[jis]

In my thinking technically there is no show stopper in generating upto date PDF each day and automatically posting them on the website. It should not take more than one competent knowledgeable person to do so once the basic workflow is set up. It is mostly a management decision to not do so possibly based on lack of understanding of customer needs and technical feasibility. Afterall, why would the gold plated consultant want to lose their source of income?

 

[cirdan]

Another case for timetables is where commuter lines (or other things that aren't trains) run in parallel or overlap with Amtrak services. You would want to know who reaches your destination or transfer point first or the fastest. Think of something like Keystone/Pennsylvanian service vs SEPTA for going between points in PA along the Keystone line and Philadelphia.

I guess that use case is technically not in Amtrak's interests...

I guess this is the sort of thing that Google Maps is good at . Maybe there is even an eclectic bus service that just happens to fill a gap between two trains but whose timetable you would never ever think of checking. But Google will fill you in on the details.

Not sure what TRE Texas Eagle means.

 

[cirdan]

In my thinking technically there is no show stopper in generating upto date PDF each day and automatically posting them on the website. It should not take more than one competent knowledgeable person to do so once the basic workflow is set up. It is mostly a management decision to not do so possibly based on lack of understanding of customer needs and technical feasibility. Afterall, why would the gold plated consultant want to lose their source of income?

you could even automate that.

 

[zephyr17]

you could even automate that.

Scheduling routine jobs to run automatically has been the standard since the 1960s. There is no "even" about it, it's SOP.

 

[AmtrakBlue]

What they call a timetable is not a timetable. It is origin-destination throughout the day, requiring a tap to Details drop-down to get intermedate stops for each train individually, a sloppy mess and not printable on one piece of paper. It does not contain the information that pdf's once had. It does not show connections.

The times on a pdf can be mainained up to date because every commuter railroad manages to do it. LIRR changes their schedules every 2 months, with far more editions for weekday or weekend engineering-driven changes, and are far more complicated than anything Amtrak has. This is what one of them looks like: https://new.mta.info/document/85026

This is about Amtrak being cheap and lazy.

Huh, apparently you haven't tried looking and printing by route. It's not perfect but it's better than what you've described.

 

[Amtrak25]

It should not require hunting, discovering, taking screen prints and pasting to Word, or some other method, or take a training course. When I see Schedule, I want to see a PDF timetable, period.

Your attachment is for a route for one train a day. Try that for the NEC or Empire Corridor.

Amtrak is a railroad, not a software educational firm.

 

[zephyr17]

Amtrak is a railroad, not a software educational firm.

You'd sincerely hope not, given just how badly Amtrak does with software.

 

[daybeers]

Huh, apparently you haven't tried looking and printing by route. It's not perfect but it's better than what you've described.

There is still lots of information missing, like local transit and airport connections as well as Thruway schedules. I don't trust Amtrak to keep the Thruway connections on the system map up to date, and as far as I know the only other way to find them is by trial and error through the reservation system or schedule system. Even then, one still must know which stations/stops they serve. Burlington, VT is especially confusing: Ethan Allen Express leaves "Burlington, VT - Union Station" downtown, the Vermonter leaves "Essex Junction, VT -Amtrak Station" 10 miles away, and Trailways buses leave from "Burlington, VT - Downtown Transit Center".

The timetables also described more complex situations, like where trains are split/combined and how that affects dining service, as well as the confusingly complicated different types of bicycle service.

The schedules from the website also don't have an effective date, so you never know when a schedule you might have is incorrect. This also makes it much more difficult to find schedule changes because Amtrak often doesn't put out out a service alert or press release for those anymore.

 

[Amtrak25]

Take a look at the Lake Shore Ltd when faking a reservation to find out the schedule and dining amenities. There is absolutely nothing saying there is no cafe car (meaning no food service) at all for coach passengers between New York and Albany, actually Schenectady, right through a meal period in each direction, just that cafe exists, and not even take out beverages and snack from the diner, which they did prior to Anderson's destruction. His AeroMexico hire Roger Harris, who is now Amtrak President, of course does nothing to reverse that.

Only a railfan knows there is such a thing as a Boston section, which has the cafe car.

As I have said - lazy and cheap.

 

[Literalman]

When VRE tickets were accepted on some Amtrak trains, VRE did include those Amtrak trains in its own timetables. And the Virginia Assn. of Railway Patrons used to compile schedules showing all the trains in Virginia (I used to do the compiling).

 

[joelkfla]

I guess this is the sort of thing that Google Maps is good at . Maybe there is even an eclectic bus service that just happens to fill a gap between two trains but whose timetable you would never ever think of checking. But Google will fill you in on the details.

Not sure what TRE Texas Eagle means.

View attachment 37887

TRE is Trinity Railway Express, the commuter line between Dallas & Ft. Worth. The slash means you can ride either TRE or the Eagle. Note that it says service is every 60 minutes, which certainly does not apply to the Eagle.

 

[toddinde]

The lack of timetables is just stupid. Apparently, it was a Richard Anderson cost cutting move. They eliminated the position of the person that used to do them. RPA has them on their website. That’s a tremendous public service. I’m sure that a national timetable, with lots of advertising, or for purchase, will come back. Print has a place, even in the digital age.

 

[toddinde]

Of all the questionable Amtrak decisions, in the past, I think that the most idiotic one has been Amtrak's inability to understand the value of timetables. I still have a 2015 hard copy of national Amtrak timetables and it has sort of become a bible. Of course, not up to date, but it still gives me some idea of Amtrak station stops with time information.

https://is.gd/Wg11c4

The biggest beef I have with Amtrak has been their failure to understand their market. An airline guy is incapable of grasping why a timetable is important. Same with not understanding why it’s important to have lounge space on a train. The new Venture cafes have no seating and feequently, in the cafes they have, the crew is sprawled out on multiple tables. I believe Amtrak has some better personnel now that are improving the experience. I think a National Timetable would be a money maker, not only in the way it encourages ridership by showing clearly what’s available, but through advertising. The other thing that needs to come back is Amtrak Package Express. It literally had no cost since baggage service is offered anyway. Getting rid of that was really dumb. Hopefully, Amtrak has turned the corner on stupid decisions.

 

[Amtrak25]

You should double check RPA's anyway. I have found a few small errors or omissions, perhaps some out of date infor and it is a tedious volunteer job by a human.

They eliminated that person's position with an untargeted, free-for-all buy-out that David Gunn and others warned against because Anderson wanted institutional knowledge flushed out of that autocrat's empire for any back-talk, but have also since hired 500 management poistions. What do all these people do ?

Amtrak Express could justify a Boston - Chicago baggage car and also separate the sleeper from the locomotives. There's plenty of universities along the route with students with trunks of luggage and care packages from mom. There are no plans to bring Amtrak Express back. It was "temporarily" suspended on Sep 30, 2020 for tri-weekly service, but Congress and The Board have given Amtrak a pass on that revenue generator.

 

[MccfamschoolMom]

The other thing that needs to come back is Amtrak Package Express.

When my daughter finished grad school at the end of 2018 (and spent most of 2019 job-hunting), I watched some YouTube videos in which people used Amtrak Package Express for long-distance moves. They'd be moving from & to cities with checked baggage service (or at least close enough to get a ride to/from the station), travelled as passengers with the essentials (personal items/carry-ons/checked baggage), and shipped the rest via Amtrak Package Express (probably renting a small U-Haul to pick up stuff at the station and transport it to the new home). Doubtless these were only apartment-size moves, and the individuals were OK with buying replacements for any extra-large items after the move.

 

[JamesWhitcombRiley]

I agree half the value in the older timetables were the notes. Do LD trains still do discharge-only and boarding-only stops on the NEC?

 

[cirdan]

TRE is Trinity Railway Express, the commuter line between Dallas & Ft. Worth. The slash means you can ride either TRE or the Eagle. Note that it says service is every 60 minutes, which certainly does not apply to the Eagle.

I do realise what TRE is. I was just bemused by Google not being able to work out whether this particular train is the Texas Eagle or the TRE.

 

[railiner]

I do realise what TRE is. I was just bemused by Google not being able to work out whether this particular train is the Texas Eagle or the TRE.

I’m puzzled why Google would suggest the possibility of using TRE as an alternative to connect to an Amtrak train serving the same points. I could see it as useful to a local intermediate stop not served by Amtrak.

Would they do that in other corridors where Amtrak parallels commuter trains?

 

[daybeers]

The meaning of that Google Maps itinerary is that a TRE train departs at 1:32 PM with the Texas Eagle departing at 2:18 PM. It's a way to show another option in between TRE's hourly headways without taking up another slot on the screen so there's more room to show other options, like the Greyhound buses it lists.

Yes, if one searches for Trenton, NJ to NYC, Google will give you options for both NJ Transit and Amtrak. The algorithm gives you the itineraries it thinks are best according to the filters and preferences you give it.

The ability to display these itineraries is powered by GTFS, or Google Transit Feed Specification, a worldwide standard format for public transit schedule, stop location, fare, operator, and real-time information.

It's very useful for planning trips locally, regionally, or for a cursory search, but I always check with individual operators for the most up-to-date information. It is the responsibility of each operator to provide Google with correct data, and some are better at this than others, especially involving temporary schedule changes, detours, etc.

 

[JuniusLivonius]

I agree half the value in the older timetables were the notes. Do LD trains still do discharge-only and boarding-only stops on the NEC?

For discharge-only I assume that's closely connected to "Rule 92" authorization. The crew can request to leave early (or the dispatcher can preemptively tell the crew) as long as the dispatcher approves and they have all travelers on the manifest. It can happen anywhere from New Brunswick to Newark, but it might be the case that only Newark Airport and Newark Penn can actually be discharge-only.

The meaning of that Google Maps itinerary is that a TRE train departs at 1:32 PM with the Texas Eagle departing at 2:18 PM. It's a way to show another option in between TRE's hourly headways without taking up another slot on the screen so there's more room to show other options, like the Greyhound buses it lists.

Yes, if one searches for Trenton, NJ to NYC, Google will give you options for both NJ Transit and Amtrak. The algorithm gives you the itineraries it thinks are best according to the filters and preferences you give it.

The ability to display these itineraries is powered by GTFS, or Google Transit Feed Specification, a worldwide standard format for public transit schedule, stop location, fare, operator, and real-time information.

It's very useful for planning trips locally, regionally, or for a cursory search, but I always check with individual operators for the most up-to-date information. It is the responsibility of each operator to provide Google with correct data, and some are better at this than others, especially involving temporary schedule changes, detours, etc.

You just had to pick Trenton which also abbreviates to TRE, didn't you?

 

[joelkfla]

I do realise what TRE is. I was just bemused by Google not being able to work out whether this particular train is the Texas Eagle or the TRE.

I can see where it might confuse some, but Google is just informing the reader that there are multiple options. IIRC, if you click on details, it will say who operates this particular schedule.

 

[JamesWhitcombRiley]

D is discharge only, R is receive only, on RPA's timetables, which do have notes. They look like Amtrak's old timetables. But there are errors. The RPA volunteers can't be expected to make new PDF's every time schedules are slightly adjusted. The complex NEC situation though leads to outright mistakes, such as omitting all of #66 on weekends this go round, and missing some D and R on the combined NEC schedule. Compare their individual LD schedules that ride the NEC. And some of those have D/R errors too I think. I wonder if RPA's volunteers use Github or the like to collaborate. In those systems, used for software development as well as general structured documentation, anyone can submit a correction, and then administrators decide whether to accept it.

Amtrak doesn't have real-time station boards online. But some commuter lines have them on the web, with Amtrak trains included. Don't know about mobile apps.

• NJT Departure Vision. Probably the best known. Shows NJT, Amtrak, MNR West, no LIRR. Choose any station, including PHL and NYP. Handy when in the Moynihan food court. Drop-down lists show previous station departures, and upcoming stations. Shows Discharge only in the list. Has errors when Amtrak trains are canceled.
• VRE Train Status. Shows VRE, Amtrak, no MARC. Choose any station, including WAS. Works on weekends, unlike VRE itself. No drop downs for further information. Has errors when Amtrak trains are canceled.
• Other local sites? California?
• Transitdocs. Great map with real time information, history, and other features. Canceled trains are absent without leave.
• Dixieland. Also excellent. Has real time simulated Solari boards for stations as well as maps.
• Amtrak Track-a-train, another real time map, with somewhat less information than Transitdocs. Now branded as part of the Amtrak/Google partnership. It's used a Google base map since it started, in September 2013, based on looking at the Wayback Machine. A blog post "Track Your Train with Google Maps" may have first appeared in May 2020.
• Amtrak Schedules page. Definitive for cancellations, which are show as canceled, but does not show real time information. And the drop downs are just general information.

Some stations really go the extra mile with information. I'd guess the NC stations do, though the NC by Rail website for real time information requires you to know the train number. Culpeper is the most informative station I've seen in Virginia, because they have printed schedules for Washington area transit. They print out some of them using the printer in the office. It's owned by the Town of Culpeper, and staffed by the town or volunteers. By contrast, Ashland, for all its picturesqueness, and proximity to a model train store, and nearby outdoor dining by the tracks, is closed when most trains arrive.


It says "Amtrak Travel Agent." From "Booklet_Travel by Train_1970s.pdf," Amtrak History Archives, https://history.amtrak.com/archives/
The archives are offline now, and the history page has been redesigned. The Wayback machine shows the archives were fine three days ago.