They have in the past. The equipment available changes with each wreck. At times they even add a trainset to rotation to cover for heavy chronic delays on a route.
Expected state of Amtrak for the summer and fall travel season (2022)
- Thread starter Eric in East County
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If Amtrak wasn't selling tickets for days outside the present five-day operation, wouldn't that make people nervous that daily service wasn't going to return?!- Joined
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It's certainly possible - which dates of the week are your trains booked for?
MikefromCrete
Engineer
The problems won't be solved until Amtrak gets an entirely new board and Gardiner is booted from his job. I believe the appointments of all board members have expired. I would hope President Biden will soon appoint new members for the board, but there are a lot of other pressing matters for the president right now.
west point
Engineer
To clarify if other sleeper(S) had openings then the highest bucket fares would get those vacancies. Maybe to hide the deed the high bucket persons would get message changing sleeper number ?
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The new board will get seated - but Gardner isn't going anywhere. And even if he did - you're likely to get someone with a similar mindset whoever comes in next - IE the NEC is what it's all about which from a business perspective is an understandable view for the Amtrak CEO to have. As much as many would like to wish otherwise - a Graham Claytor like CEO who's going to come in and make long distance into what it was in the old days simply doesn't exist. It's a thankless executive job with a lot of responsibility which likely doesn't pay anything close to what the airlines and other private sector employers pay their chief executives. This is why we got 3 retired short timer CEOs in a row doing it as a "service." This is just not a sought after job as they can't provide the perks that the private sector can.
At least Gardner could provide some longevity as being an insider he is likely to stay for a long time rather than a revolving door of 1 and a half year CEOs. Businessmen today are influenced heavily by the school of today's Wall Street which is all about cutting your way to success making a return with little care about how you do so long as you're making money. You're going to be hard pressed to find any executive type in 2022 who is not at least partially influenced by that doctrine because Wall Street controls most of corporate America. The answer is to get the new board in there and make clear what Amtrak's mission is and direct the management appropriately. I think at the end of the day Gardner will do as directed.
I have trouble recalling normal times. However, I don't think that PDX has ever had a spare sleeper. With notice, a sleeper can be deadheaded from SEA to cover Train 28.
neroden
Engineer
I'm going to disagree with you. Gardner's very likely to get fired. I'm not sure how long it's going to take, but he's proven his incompetence repeatedly. So far he's hidden it by always being a underling, so someone else was in the hot seat. Now he's risen too high, he can't hide, and his incompetent mistakes will land on his desk. There's enough demand for a functioning national rail network that his incompetence won't be tolerated forever.
Of course, Mr. Gardner is welcome to become competent at any time, and I will not call for his removal if he starts acting competent. So far he has shown that he simply doesn't understand railroads at all.
It's not about "NEC" or "National Network", it's about Gardner being completely incompetent to run a railroad. The man didn't even understand that it's necessary to publish *timetables*. Any replacement with a hour of experience on a railroad would know better.
neroden
Engineer
To answer the question of the original poster: daily service is likely by summer, but "having their act together" by summer? No chance.
Amtrak does NOT keep enough spare equipment around at LD terminals.
Largely just:
- Miami (Hialeah) - base for the Viewliners
- New York Penn
- Chicago - base for the Superliners
- LA
Limited at Seattle and Washington DC now. Nothing at PDX ever. And typically nothing at EMY or NOL.
Largely just:
- Miami (Hialeah) - base for the Viewliners
- New York Penn
- Chicago - base for the Superliners
- LA
Limited at Seattle and Washington DC now. Nothing at PDX ever. And typically nothing at EMY or NOL.
Was reading the results of an audit which basically said Amtrak has so many staffing shortages right now, they don't even have enough people to do the hiring of enough people to get its act together any time soon. (Did not save the link, it was 3 am insomnia reading, but I'm sure people in the know, will know where to find the audit story). I'm just so floored by this. Employees were laid off during the worst of Covid, weren't they? Do they not try to call experienced people back to fill positions?
In the meantime, Amtrak is selling out its sleeping car inventory, and the fares I see are mostly quite steep. Effect is to force us back to flying or stay home, I guess.
In the meantime, Amtrak is selling out its sleeping car inventory, and the fares I see are mostly quite steep. Effect is to force us back to flying or stay home, I guess.
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They did recall everyone but some inevitably moved on to new jobs and chose to stick with their new career and not return. They did of course get some back as they were able to resume daily service at least for a while. It isn’t just the furloughs though it was also retirement incentives - and you’re never getting those people back. They seem to be doing what they should be - offering incentives for employees near retirement to stay on and even offering sign on and relocation bonuses in the skilled crafts which is where the largest shortage is. Bringing on new people is slow - the training process for many of the jobs takes time and they are seeing a fairly high level of attrition with people washing out in the on boarding process. Legal marijuana in many states has also created a challenge as it’s still completely prohibited in many federally regulated jobs and grounds for immediate dismissal. Mandatory drug tests are required in T&E, OBS, track department, train dispatchers, and reportedly now mechanical as well. Some are washing out after initially passing the urinalysis but then failing the hair test.
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Really stupid they even do the hair test IMO. Apparently pilots can consume it as long as it not within 8 hours of the start of their shift. I think that's a huge double standard. Still gets me that if someone's an alcoholic, there'd be no way to tell unless they were singled out.
Cannabis testing is having a huge impact on the labor market and will only become a bigger issue as more states legalize it. Industries and government regulators need to realize if they don't change, eventually they're going to have a very difficult time hiring.
Devil's Advocate
⠀⠀⠀
Buzzing on personal time is fine but I do not want a distracted pothead near the controls of a plane, train, ship, or vehicle. It sounds like we need improved methods for preventing debilitative intoxication.
toddinde
OBS Chief
I absolutely disagree that the Amtrak board couldn’t hire an excellent executive. People do things for reasons other than money, and a long resume doesn’t make a good leader. I guarantee there are great leaders out there that would take the job, do it well, and focus on the national system. The northeast corridor isn’t, and shouldn’t be, the center of the Amtrak universe. The population growth in the US is not in the northeast. Yes, we need the corridor. But the rest of America needs rail service just as much. The new board structure has a more national focus by law, and the for profit language is gone. A good board can find a good CEO.
I assume you feel the same of a distracted alcoholic. What methods do you propose for preventing debilitative intoxication?
jis
Permanent Way Inspector
Staff member
Administator
Moderator
AU Supporting Member
Gathering Team Member
Indian Railways insists on doing a breathalizer test on each T&E Crew just before they come on duty. That could at least help with alcohol related distraction. It sure won't be popular with the crew though.
Devil's Advocate
⠀⠀⠀
In the case of alcoholics we have more established standards for measuring impairment, as well as portable alerting devices, precise real-time analysis, and a common set of behavior flags. It is in no way perfect but it does focus on active intoxication and is treated in a predictable fashion. I want to see us move in a similar direction with cannabis now that legal consumption is becoming more common.
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Oh, I agree, but it seems that the hair tests they use for cannabis are useless for determining whether you're intoxicated or otherwise impaired. Read this article:
How long does weed stay in your system? Info about hair drug testing, specifically for a marijuana drug test (thecannabist.co)
The test doesn't tell whether you're stoned or otherwise impaired, it just indicates that you've use the stuff regularly within the past 90 days or so. Actually, the same goes for the urine tests, although they detect use within a much smaller time window (2-3 days). I think employers have been using the tests to screen out drug users in general (although they don't seem to care about regular alcohol users), not screen out people who are stoned when on the job. With staff shortages all over the place and recreational cannabis use legalized in many states, employers might need to rethink their policies on this issue. And of course, as stated, what they really need is some sort of "field sobriety test," and it turns out people are working on it:
Marijuana Breathalyzers & Sobriety Tests: Are They Accurate? | PotGuide.com
At the very least, employers should get rid of hair testing and focus on urine testing, plus the use of "drug recognition experts" who would be able to examine the individual's behavior on the job and determine whether or not they were impaired while they were on the job.
Of course, that might not help employers or employees in the transportation sector, because of Federal laws and regulations, but those can be changed, too. And before too long, I think they'll have field sobriety tests for cannabis, just as they have them for alcohol. At that point they can get totally rid of both the urine and the hair tests.
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Siegmund
Lead Service Attendant
It is not that simple, for pilots. There is a very long list of medications, and how long you must remain on the ground after consuming them. If you are a pilot and take any medication, you and your doctor are expected to look up whatever you are taking, and act accordingly. The rules are sometimes a little bizarre. Required wait time is, for example, 24 hours after taking Ambien, but 60 hours after taking Benadryl. A prescription for codeine cough syrup grounds you until you are done taking it and can prove you no longer have an open prescription. Admitting to ongoing marijuana use will still cost you your medical certificate.
west point
Engineer
I was running a dispatcher class. The first 2 days started out telling class "Mary Jane do not use it and if you have withdraw to a later class when you can be found clean". You guess it. The 3rd day we ran the drug test. week later lost 2 plus they lost their medical but worse all their other FAA licenses. Commercial, private, instructor both plane and ground school. It was not pretty. One also had a commercial driver's license that was revoked. Do not remember who it was but some fed came to my class to collect licenses in person.
amtrakpass
Service Attendant
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There will always be some issues hiring the right people, but one thing I think would help is to shorten the whole process. For too many years it has become normal for HR departments hiring process for labor jobs to take forever as if you were selecting people for a PHD program. It should not take weeks and months for candidates to hear back, and then months again in process. You lose too many people that would be good employees that way There also should not be a huge pre-qualification list for entry level jobs. If a candidate is wiling to work, maybe willing to move to a different city even, passes a drug test very early in the process, they should be in on the job training within a short period of time and give it a try in my view.
And most if not all railroad skills and jobs are only learned on the job anyway.
To make the hiring process overly-selective for skills on paper that often cannot be determined beforehand in my view makes it more difficult than it needs to be to get good workers to be willing to start a career with the railroad
And most if not all railroad skills and jobs are only learned on the job anyway.
To make the hiring process overly-selective for skills on paper that often cannot be determined beforehand in my view makes it more difficult than it needs to be to get good workers to be willing to start a career with the railroad
Ziv
Conductor
Management sometimes makes decisions that seem ridiculous later, but seem to make sense in the short run. Back in 1980 Mayor Barry was laying off Washington DC employees to cut spending and without really analyzing it even superficially, he and his staff laid off more than 50 meter maids. The problem was that each meter maid was paid less than a tenth of the amount that they brought in for the city. So every person laid off saved the city around $30k in wages and benefits but cost the city about $350k in lost revenue.
run
20th Century Rider
Engineer
Yikes! Most of the discussion seems to be about staffing shortages and availability... is money no object? Roomette fares between PDX and CHI range between $900 and $1400 each way in November for the dates I looked at. In the not so distant past I remember getting a sleeper with full meal service in the $250 range each way.
Deteriorating service and sky high fares are very discouraging.
The pandemic, economy, environmental modifications, and the Ukraine crisis are certainly contributing to supply and work force shortages. I wonder how other AU'ers are coping???
Deteriorating service and sky high fares are very discouraging.
The pandemic, economy, environmental modifications, and the Ukraine crisis are certainly contributing to supply and work force shortages. I wonder how other AU'ers are coping???
jis
Permanent Way Inspector
Staff member
Administator
Moderator
AU Supporting Member
Gathering Team Member
For the train(s) that I normally frequent - the Silver Service, the only degradation compared to pre-COVID is that we now have a single through train instead of two, but capacity available is about the same on that single train as was available in the two trains put together.
For those who connect from it to go north beyond NY it is a problem, and for those who head west from Washington it is almost a problem. But for us who stay within the corridor, it is more or less a wash, with some inconvenience for a few specific city pairs. The actual Sleeper fares that I have gotten have stayed within a stable range for a while now.
Still I am eagerly waiting to go back to the two train normal and of course for Traditional Dining to return.
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