Route Timetable PDFs returning? (2021-2022)

[Chatter163]

Were you scheduled to arrive next Tuesday? If so, that's a real problem. Almost as bad as my order for masks with Amazon which is "delayed".

No, as indicated, I'm scheduled to arrive on the Saturday before Thanksgiving.

 

[cocojacoby]

If RPA has a timetable site, and it's probably very accurate and up to date, could they offer that link to Amtrak so people could at least see it? No cost to Amtrak and a little "Presented by RPA" promotion for RPA.

 

[John819]

When Amtrak promised timetables by September, did they say September of 2021? Or was the year left open.

 

[joelkfla]

If RPA has a timetable site, and it's probably very accurate and up to date, could they offer that link to Amtrak so people could at least see it? No cost to Amtrak and a little "Presented by RPA" promotion for RPA.

RPA just has the most recent timetables published by Amtrak. There's no reason for Amtrak to link to it; they already have them. But most of them are for 3 day a week service, so technically they're out of date, and Amtrak doesn't want to show out of date timetables.

 

[me_little_me]

RPA just has the most recent timetables published by Amtrak. There's no reason for Amtrak to link to it; they already have them. But most of them are for 3 day a week service, so technically they're out of date, and Amtrak doesn't want to show out of date timetables.

Reminds me of a comparison between a clock that is broken and one that is off by a minute a day. which is better?

The broken clock is right twice a day. The one that is off a minute a day is only right once every 180 days.

Amtrak has the clock that is broken (i.e. no timetables). RPA has the clock that is off a minute a month. Amtrak's clock (i.e. no timetables) is so much better.

 

[me_little_me]

Are they that stupid or just bad liars?

I found an old link in my browser to go to the timetables ro see what I'd find. Here is what it now said:

Create your personalized timetable

When you’re looking for the most up-to-date schedule information for the origin and destination of your choice, create a customized timetable.
Just select a date (or date range) and two stations, and you'll get a personalized timetable showing you all the available travel options, whether it be train, connecting bus or a combination of the two.

You’ll see departure and arrival times for each station on the route, along with the features and amenities of each travel option. You can even print or download the timetable you've created.
It’s an essential planning tool with all the information you need in one handy package.

So I tried it. Hinton, WV to Chicago on the 24th. It shows Hinton and Chicago (that's customized?) and no intermediate cities. So I click on the details and it shows me 12 cities but not all. I have to click on "6+Stations Tap to see next 6 stations"to see them. Guess what? The first 10 intermediate cities disappear. Click on the "10+Stations Tap to see the 10 previous station" and the 6 are gone. So there is no way to see all he cities at one time with their times nor is there any way to print all the cities. This may work on a bigger screen but my laptop at full screen will only show some of them, not all.
Printing with the Firefox print selection or with the hidden (all you see is a small box with nine little blocks) on-page print button which brings up an option to print), still does not print all the stations.
I hope their trains have better testing than their web page or my heirs will be very happy.

 

[west point]

OK just print this link for your trip.
Amtrak 50 (10/21) (transitdocs.com)

Sorry 51 not operating so cannot give other direction.

 

[TinCan782]

OK just print this link for your trip.
Amtrak 50 (10/21) (transitdocs.com)

Sorry 51 not operating so cannot give other direction.

That's what I do now for the routes I'm interested in.

 

[AmtrakBlue]

OK just print this link for your trip.
Amtrak 50 (10/21) (transitdocs.com)

Sorry 51 not operating so cannot give other direction.

Just change the date and train number to get 51's I changed the date to the 20th.

 

[west point]

Here is the link for 51/
Amtrak 51 (10/22) (transitdocs.com)

 

[neroden]

-- deleted as pointless --

 

[me_little_me]

OK just print this link for your trip.
Amtrak 50 (10/21) (transitdocs.com)

Sorry 51 not operating so cannot give other direction.

Thanks, but that wasn't my point. I can get that information but it is yet another example of how poor Amtrak has become and it's still an open question as to whether it is incompetence (failure to check how their site looks on different size monitors and failure to see that what is displayed and printed differs from what they claim) or whether their intentions are "less than enthusiastic" about supporting long distance as has been claimed by many.

In either case, the way the page works belies their claims on that page.

Thanks for providing that information.

 

[neroden]

Unverified rumors are that the problematic IT department is... not on the same page as the marketing department.

Remember, a large organization never acts with one mind -- it's a good thing to remember whenever you're wondering what "Amtrak's intentions" are -- the question is not entirely coherent.

 

[John from RI]

I've been riding Northeast Corridor Trains between Providence and New York or Washington since the 1950's. Even in the days of the New Haven Railroad there were always paper timetables available. Now I can't even find an on line time table giving me the information for Amtrak trains. Does anyone know if they are still published and if so how to get one?

 

[denmarks]

There are no printed timetables. Detailed times are online and only for a single route at a time.
Click "schedules" on first page. You must put in a from and to and date. Pick train on left. Schedule is on the right. There is no easy way to compare train side by side.

 

[Cal]

They are gone.

 

[Rasputin]

Try to remember the kind of September when life was slow and oh so mellow,
so slow in fact that timetables promised by Amtrak to be here in September haven't quite made it yet and business is mellowing.

 

[me_little_me]

Try to remember the kind of September when life was slow and oh so mellow,
so slow in fact that timetables promised by Amtrak to be here in September haven't quite made it yet and business is mellowing.

September is coming in 11 months.

 

[John from RI]

There are no printed timetables. Detailed times are online and only for a single route at a time.
Click "schedules" on first page. You must put in a from and to and date. Pick train on left. Schedule is on the right. There is no easy way to compare train side by side.

Thanks for the information. Your suggestion between NYP and PVD (Providence) worked exactly as you said it would. Never ever did I think I would feel nostalgic about the New Haven Railroad until now.

 

[John from RI]

They are gone.

Yes, like the Phoebe Snow, they are gone.

 

[neroden]

The PDF or HTML timetables are going to come back, but I don't know if it'll require federal legislation. So don't hold your breath.

 

[ZiaReba]

I am trying to find the schedules for my trains (they used to have paper copies in the cars) but I can’t seem to find the route schedules on the Amtrak site. Can anyone help?

 

[slasher-fun]

If you're looking for the original Amtrak PDF timetables, they're gone.
If you're looking for any sort of timetable, to see where and when your train is scheduled to stop, you can use NA Intercity Rail Tools for example

 

[ZiaReba]

I was looking for the original timetables - bummer.

 

[Rasputin]

I was looking for the original timetables - bummer.

Much the same way that some parks have limits on attendance in order to prevent overcrowding, Amtrak keeps the times of their train services secret as a way of crowd control.

Remember the scene in Dr. Zhivago where there is a crowd of people waiting around a station platform. Then suddenly and without warning a train arrives and pandemonium breaks out. That is Amtrak's train services only the locomotives are now diesel or electric (or diesel-electric, I guess to be correct).