Philzy
Train Attendant
In another thread found HERE and HEREwe were discussing the effectiveness of operating a “Limited” service train and diners on a train. This got me thinking about the ineffectiveness of having the discharge/receive on long distance trains North of Washington DC.
Note: For those that do not know (mods correct me if I’m off here), long distance trains operating north of Washington DC and heading north may only drop off passengers and long distance trains heading south may only pick up passengers bound for points south of Washington DC. Basically, this is to keep all traffic that arriving and departing in/to points between Boston and Washington DC on the Northeast Regional (NER) & Acela trains. It’s to make the numbers “look good” or maybe even “profitable” for the NER.
I would love to see a fleet utilization grid for Amtrak and the train sets it uses on the long hauls, and the NER. I’m guessing that some serious tweaking could be done allowing for better utilization of equipment and cars.
An example which I think may have been mentioned before is to look at the schedule for routes like the Northbound (NB) Crescent #20 (a favorite route of mine), it’s arrival in NYP is mere 9 minutes before the departure of the Southbound (SB) Cresent #19. This means that instead of two train sets that they need 3 train sets. If the train on its current schedule was to terminate in Washington DC then one less train set would be needed. The northbound train could be cleaned and turned around to operate out the southbound train at 6pm. That frees up coaches, sleepers and those valuable Heritage Diners that are so hard to come by.
Considering that Amtrak’s equipment is so limited I’m sure a full train set that’s free for a whole day could be put to some good use (ahem, *cough*cough* daily Cardinal service *cough*). I’m also sure that there is probably more than one route that tweaking like this could be done to free up additional cars and crews.
What about stopping long distance trains in DC period? Ridership numbers on the NER would surely climb, which is good for that route. In addition, if you started from scratch and reworked the schedules of each route, you’d find that you could get a number of other free train sets to be used other places or maybe even new routes or restore service to some that have lost it or increase frequency on routes that need the capacity.
While I understand that it’s the general consensus that passengers would much rather be on one train than making a connection. Yet, no one seems to have a problem changing planes in an airport or waiting for 4 hours for their next flight. Need I mention that at a train station there is no security and you can go outside if you’re a smoker, or go shopping in the nearby areas?
I’m sure it’s been stated before but the more I look at it, requiring multiple near empty trains to continue north of DC and only discharge passengers and not receive is not a good utilization of the rail cars. It’s also a horrible misuse of the crewmembers working these trains! One would think that not having to staff a full train for an additional 4 hours each way (8 total) everyday for 30/31 days out of the month times 365 a year - that would save a serious amount of cash, yes no? Wouldn’t consolidating passenger travel to NER from long distance make more sense that operating half full to empty trains?
Thoughts, constructive ideas?
Note: For those that do not know (mods correct me if I’m off here), long distance trains operating north of Washington DC and heading north may only drop off passengers and long distance trains heading south may only pick up passengers bound for points south of Washington DC. Basically, this is to keep all traffic that arriving and departing in/to points between Boston and Washington DC on the Northeast Regional (NER) & Acela trains. It’s to make the numbers “look good” or maybe even “profitable” for the NER.
I would love to see a fleet utilization grid for Amtrak and the train sets it uses on the long hauls, and the NER. I’m guessing that some serious tweaking could be done allowing for better utilization of equipment and cars.
An example which I think may have been mentioned before is to look at the schedule for routes like the Northbound (NB) Crescent #20 (a favorite route of mine), it’s arrival in NYP is mere 9 minutes before the departure of the Southbound (SB) Cresent #19. This means that instead of two train sets that they need 3 train sets. If the train on its current schedule was to terminate in Washington DC then one less train set would be needed. The northbound train could be cleaned and turned around to operate out the southbound train at 6pm. That frees up coaches, sleepers and those valuable Heritage Diners that are so hard to come by.
Considering that Amtrak’s equipment is so limited I’m sure a full train set that’s free for a whole day could be put to some good use (ahem, *cough*cough* daily Cardinal service *cough*). I’m also sure that there is probably more than one route that tweaking like this could be done to free up additional cars and crews.
What about stopping long distance trains in DC period? Ridership numbers on the NER would surely climb, which is good for that route. In addition, if you started from scratch and reworked the schedules of each route, you’d find that you could get a number of other free train sets to be used other places or maybe even new routes or restore service to some that have lost it or increase frequency on routes that need the capacity.
While I understand that it’s the general consensus that passengers would much rather be on one train than making a connection. Yet, no one seems to have a problem changing planes in an airport or waiting for 4 hours for their next flight. Need I mention that at a train station there is no security and you can go outside if you’re a smoker, or go shopping in the nearby areas?
I’m sure it’s been stated before but the more I look at it, requiring multiple near empty trains to continue north of DC and only discharge passengers and not receive is not a good utilization of the rail cars. It’s also a horrible misuse of the crewmembers working these trains! One would think that not having to staff a full train for an additional 4 hours each way (8 total) everyday for 30/31 days out of the month times 365 a year - that would save a serious amount of cash, yes no? Wouldn’t consolidating passenger travel to NER from long distance make more sense that operating half full to empty trains?
Thoughts, constructive ideas?
