Sorry that the Cardinal can't be of any help to you. I guess the promises from NS last week about improving performance on their Cleveland-Chicago route was just so much hot air.I guess that is typical of executives and politicians….. just tell them what they want to hear.
Capitol Limited & Lake Shore Limited Delays Summer/Fall 2014
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According to statusmaps.net 49/LSL(10/12) did lose time between Erie,PA and Cleveland due to the collision. It was 53 minutes late depart ERI and 4 hours, 6 minutes late departing CLE. But it arrived in CHI 10 hours,25 minutes late. That means that AFTER the collision just outside of Erie,PA this train lost ANOTHER 6 hours,19 minutes getting from CLE to CHI. That sure as heck sounds like a delay on tracks owned by NS to me.
Playing Devil's Advocate here (and I'm not even meeting him in the Club Acela!), there's nothing saying that the train would have dropped six hours had it not dropped the first three out of Erie due to the collision. Out-of-slot cascades are never pretty, and I've seen some real doozies over the years. I'll hit NS for trains that are close to on time on their way into the delay zone, but I feel compelled to give them at least some benefit of the doubt when the train is already super-late coming into the zone.
Actually, considering the amount of time lost between SOB and CHI (nearly four hours), it looks to me like the crew went illegal. If the last crew change was at Cleveland (I can't recall if the crews change at Cleveland or Toledo off the top of my head), they probably got shoved into a siding by dispatch somewhere outside of CHI when it became clear the crew was going to expire.
Edit: Just remembered that 2010 in CHI would be 2110 in CLE. That means this is almost definitely a crew issue IMHO...that train probably should not have left SOB with the old crew. It is very likely that they expired halfway between SOB and CHI.
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thetourman
Train Attendant
My brother is on today's Lake Shore Limited. 49(10/14) He just texted me at 14:32 hours and they are sitting in the Gary area.
The train arrived in Toledo only 37 minutes late but left about 1 hour and 49 minutes late and the next stop in Bryan (about 55 miles away) it was 2 hours and 57 minutes late. This may have been because of single track situation somewhere between Toledo and Bryan.
They are still losing time.
They are estimating arriving over four hours late.
The train arrived in Toledo only 37 minutes late but left about 1 hour and 49 minutes late and the next stop in Bryan (about 55 miles away) it was 2 hours and 57 minutes late. This may have been because of single track situation somewhere between Toledo and Bryan.
They are still losing time.
They are estimating arriving over four hours late.
Well, another interesting day for the westbound CL and LSL. They both got to Toledo less than an hour late and then got jammed up between TOL and CHI with #49 taking the bigger hit. So the NS meltdown shifted back to west of Toledo. Too bad because 10/14 was a good day for the western LD trains arriving at CHI except for the TE which got delayed in thr STL-SPI work zone.
CL #29(10/13) arrived at TOL 46 minutes late (!), departed SOB 3 hours and 20 minutes late, arrived CHI at 12:20 PM 3 hours and 35 minutes late.
LSL #49(10/13) arrived at TOL 34 minutes late (!!), stopped at TOL for over an hour and a half, maybe crew rest problems?, departed TOL 1 hour and 49 minutes late, arrived CHI at 2 PM 4 hours and 15 minutes late.
If both trains got in soon enough, hopefully they can both depart eastward on time tonight, stopping the delay death spiral which affected LSL #48(10/13) which departed CHI 4 hours and 50 minutes late at 2:20 AM CT (that must have been fun :blink: ).
CL #29(10/13) arrived at TOL 46 minutes late (!), departed SOB 3 hours and 20 minutes late, arrived CHI at 12:20 PM 3 hours and 35 minutes late.
LSL #49(10/13) arrived at TOL 34 minutes late (!!), stopped at TOL for over an hour and a half, maybe crew rest problems?, departed TOL 1 hour and 49 minutes late, arrived CHI at 2 PM 4 hours and 15 minutes late.
If both trains got in soon enough, hopefully they can both depart eastward on time tonight, stopping the delay death spiral which affected LSL #48(10/13) which departed CHI 4 hours and 50 minutes late at 2:20 AM CT (that must have been fun :blink: ).
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Norfolk Southern posted a new service status update on October 13. Some good news with regards to prospects for the LSL and CL time-keeping to get better. Eventually. Selected excerpts (boldface mine):
Ok, so more than 80% of track work has been completed. So when does it get completed for the season? Is October 30 the date?
Barciur
OBS Chief
That would be nice since I'm travelling on the 29 on October 31 
Over on trainorders.com I found this reply from NS to the STB regarding their inquiry about poor OTP for Amtrak over NS tracks. I won't bore you with the details since it mostly states the same info about hiring new employees,completion of Englewood Flyover and also mentions attempts to re-route some traffic away from the affected area. Here is the condensed version of their conclusion paragraph to that reply to the STB. " NS recognizes Amtrak OTP on several of its routes traveling between Toledo and Chicago has been reduced recently. Since NS is pursuing many remedial measures that have different timeframes we can not point to any single date when service will return to normal levels. Expected improvements will be gradual over the coming months and will be subject to other factors including weather and independent operations over the Chicago gateway". Sure sounds to me like they are leaving themselves an escape route if/when this mess blows up again.
neroden
Engineer
Still looks like going through Michigan would be faster. But I don't know how much of the mess is in the Porter-Chicago area.
Barciur
OBS Chief
We been quick to moan so give credit where it's due. 30 has made it to Chicago with a 1 hour delay while 48 has made it to Cleveland with a 2 hour delay. Really not bad!
They made it to Cleveland. Not to Chicago yet and they're over an hour overdue into WTI.
Edit: In the meantime, 48 is offering a fine morning departure from Cleveland. Let's just not take that deep breath until the train gets into the station...
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#48(10/14) departed CLE 3 hours and 6 minutes late. I checked a couple of times and it was sitting just west of CLE not moving for some time. With the NS meltdown, have to wait until the train clears the NS segment entirely. Now the LSL has to get through CSX in upper state NY. And not have someone drive through the grade crossing in front of it.
#30(10/14) made it to PGH about 75 minutes late, so it may get to WAS only an hour or 2 late.
jis
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STB is now getting on Norfolk Southern's case....
http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2014/10/feds_ask_norfolk_southern_to_e.html
They could apparently going to go after NS on the failure to do 80% OTP over two quarters, which they can without waiting for any court ruling on anything (although Gene Poon does not think they will, but then he seems to be always a freight railroad apologist and generally anti-Amtrak in his leanings)
http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2014/10/feds_ask_norfolk_southern_to_e.html
They could apparently going to go after NS on the failure to do 80% OTP over two quarters, which they can without waiting for any court ruling on anything (although Gene Poon does not think they will, but then he seems to be always a freight railroad apologist and generally anti-Amtrak in his leanings)
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Link to the reply letter from NS to the Chairmain of the STB (6 page scanned PDF). States that installing signal upgrades for PTC (Positive Train Control) is a large component of the track work being done, which because of the looming legislative deadline, the freight (and commuter) railroads are scrambling to meet. Fair amount of background and status info in the letter for those interested.
Saw a report in the Washington Post that weather models are predicting the return of the polar vortex this winter, although not as long or severe as last winter. Still, better hurry up with the track projects!
Saw a report in the Washington Post that weather models are predicting the return of the polar vortex this winter, although not as long or severe as last winter. Still, better hurry up with the track projects!
keelhauled
OBS Chief
In a truly shocking turn of events, the 10/14 CL #29 arrived Chicago just an hour and a half late today, actually making up time between South Bend and Chicago, while the 10/14 LSL #49 is following right on its heels and may make it into Chicago less than an hour late. Meanwhile, the 10/14 #30 is just an hour and a half late in West Virginia. #48 was the only train of the 14th to be delayed by several hours, and was down a little over three hours at Erie. Still much better than the previous day's train, which limped into New York six and a half hours late.
Ironically, the much hyped reliability of the Cardinal seems to have failed it today, as #50 of 10/14 is about three hours late in West Virginia.
Ironically, the much hyped reliability of the Cardinal seems to have failed it today, as #50 of 10/14 is about three hours late in West Virginia.
The #50(10/14) Cardinal was 3 hours late getting to Indianapolis, so something happened there. AS for "much hyped reliability", not so much as "hyping" it, but amazement that the Cardinal, routinely one of the least reliable LD trains for on-time performance, has been doing 1) much better than the CL and LSL; 2) has seen real improvements in OTP.
The westbound #29 and #49 did have a good run in that they got in well before lunch time, which is a big improvement over the past few weeks. However, the #350 (10/15) Wolverine departed CHI on time at 7:20 AM and was 1 hour and 43 minutes late getting to New Buffalo MI, so the Chicago to Porter corridor still has delays.
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jis
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What is overall amazing is CSX is no longer doing much worse than the others and often is doing quite well at least on the Atlantic Coast Line, and now apparently even on the Cardinal Line. Now if they could only get their act together on the Water Level Route!
neroden
Engineer
FWIW, I genuinely believe that NS is trying to fix its mess as quickly as possible, and that they really do want to run Amtrak on time. NS dug itself into a giant hole due to gross failure to plan for expansion of demand. This is a really bad management error and it's something they're going to need to try to recover from ASAP, but it sounds to me like they are waking up to their mistake and trying to correct it.
This is the same error which put BNSF in a giant hole. And of course it's the same error UP made back in the 1990s before *its* meltdown. But when the meltdown is on the Chicago to Cleveland corridor, it's more important nationally. UP or BNSF can fall apart with only "local" impacts, but Chicago to Cleveland is *the* bridge line for all traffic; just as this is the link between East and West on Amtrak and so affects all of Amtrak, it's also the primary link between east and west on the freight lines. So the STB is getting involved, as it should, and thank goodness they are.
CSX is making the same mistake; its CEO has firmly buried his head in the sand, and keeps saying things like "you don't build a church for Easter Sunday", despite demand being way up all the time, year round, year after year. Luckily (?) for CSX, it has been attracting less business than UP, BNSF or NS, so it hasn't melted down lately, but it could do so any time with that management attitude.
Of the Class Is, the only one which seems (to me) to be specifically hostile to passenger trains right now (rather than simply generally failing to have enough capacity to handle demand) is CP, run by the infamous E Hunter Harrison (formerly at CN). And sure enough, once Harrison took over, CP has rocketed into the lead for high "delay minutes per passenger mile" most months. Meanwhile, once Harrison left CN, CN started slowly getting better relative to the other Class Is (so perhaps Mongeau doesn't have the same knee-jerk hatred of passenger trains).
If Amtrak is looking ahead at the next few years, this raises issues for the Adirondack, Ethan Allen Express, and Empire Builder (and the Hiawatha, potentially, but the CP segment on the Hiawatha seems to be low-traffic enough that it runs reliably).
This is the same error which put BNSF in a giant hole. And of course it's the same error UP made back in the 1990s before *its* meltdown. But when the meltdown is on the Chicago to Cleveland corridor, it's more important nationally. UP or BNSF can fall apart with only "local" impacts, but Chicago to Cleveland is *the* bridge line for all traffic; just as this is the link between East and West on Amtrak and so affects all of Amtrak, it's also the primary link between east and west on the freight lines. So the STB is getting involved, as it should, and thank goodness they are.
CSX is making the same mistake; its CEO has firmly buried his head in the sand, and keeps saying things like "you don't build a church for Easter Sunday", despite demand being way up all the time, year round, year after year. Luckily (?) for CSX, it has been attracting less business than UP, BNSF or NS, so it hasn't melted down lately, but it could do so any time with that management attitude.
Of the Class Is, the only one which seems (to me) to be specifically hostile to passenger trains right now (rather than simply generally failing to have enough capacity to handle demand) is CP, run by the infamous E Hunter Harrison (formerly at CN). And sure enough, once Harrison took over, CP has rocketed into the lead for high "delay minutes per passenger mile" most months. Meanwhile, once Harrison left CN, CN started slowly getting better relative to the other Class Is (so perhaps Mongeau doesn't have the same knee-jerk hatred of passenger trains).
If Amtrak is looking ahead at the next few years, this raises issues for the Adirondack, Ethan Allen Express, and Empire Builder (and the Hiawatha, potentially, but the CP segment on the Hiawatha seems to be low-traffic enough that it runs reliably).
jis
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Fortunately CP is looking to sell the old D&H and a lead contender to buy it from CP is NS, the last I heard. So NS will most likely own the CP line at least from Rouses Point, if not somewhere closer to Montreal down to Wilkes Barre via Schenectady, Binghamton, Scranton, if that comes to pass. Which will probably bee good for the Adirondack and Ethan Allen.
No one needs to hype the OTP of the Cardinal. Although the eastbound Cardinal( #50) has struggled somewhat with it's OTO the westbound Cardinal(#51) has not. According to data from status maps.net archives here is the OTP of #51/Cardinal for the mont of September and October so far:
10/12 3 minutes early 9/28 22 minutes early 9/14 41 minutes late
10/10 8 minutes late 9/26 2 minutes early 9/12 on time
10/8 1 hour,7 minutes late 9/24 40 minutes late 9/10 22 minutes early
10/5 10 minutes early 9/21 35 minutes early 9/7 15 minutes early
10/3 12 minutes early 9/19 1 minutes early 9/5 52 minutes late
10/1 15 minutes early 9/17 6 minutes early 9/3 on time
That is a total of 18 trips during which 51/Cardinal arrived CHI either ON TIME or EARLY 13 times out of 18 trips! Only once was it over an hour late(10/8 -1 hour,7 minutes) That is an OTP of 72.2% for this route. If I am traveling from NYP or WAS or points in between and need to get to CHI for LD West Coast connections then the 51/Cardinal is the train I would take( provided that you have the travel flexibility to fit it's 3/day/week schedule into your itinerary). I think that the OTP of Westbound 51/Cardinal speaks for itself without any hype from me or anyone else.
neroden
Engineer
neroden
Engineer
That 3/week situation is a curse. I really wish Amtrak could change that sooner rather than later, but I don't see how.
jis
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Oh well.... I of course fail to understand why CP wants to hold onto the north of Schenectady part. They no longer exercise any of their trackage rights except on the portion that plan to sell to NS. So just keeping that part makes little sense. But c'est la vie.
acelafan
Conductor
I find these statistics very interesting. Here is some info about the severity of delays for arriving LD trains into Chicago since January 1 of this year. The epic delays (like more than 8 hours) still go to the Builder but it has been better in recent weeks...although winter is a-coming....
Trains Arriving into Chicago Jan 1 through Oct 14 2014
No Name # Arr 2+ Hrs 4+ Hrs 6+ Hrs 8+ Hrs 12+ Hrs
4 SW Chief 287 52 14 8 6 2
6 CA Zephyr 287 153 79 35 17 8
8 Empire Builder 285 227 145 73 36 13
22 Texas Eagle 287 92 27 7 2 0
29 Capital 287 109 42 10 3 0
49 Lake Shore 286 178 71 19 7 0
51 Cardinal 123 13 4 0 0 0
58 City N.O. 286 14 3 1 1 0
(The formatting kept messing me up - sorry for multiple edits.)
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We left CHI on time (30/15) and here we sit an hour later in South Chicago.
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