State Funded trains are on time more?

[frequentflyer]

I have a theory that state funded trains are more on time than LD trains, because the Railroads aren't afraid of Amtrak CEOs , but are deftly afraid of public seeking no nothing bureaucrats and state lawmakers looking for a camera. Intentionally delay a train that a state tax payers are directly funding and you get the wrong type of attention.

 

[MikefromCrete]

Since state-funded trains run on shorter routes, the chances they'll be on time is greater.

 

[brianpmcdonnell17]

That could be a factor, but there are other reasons as well. For example, state trains are shorter than LD trains in length. In addition, many are relatively new and were built with the permission of freight railroads as track improvements were developed to accommodate the new service.

 

[Lonestar648]

State supported trains are shorter, have fewer stops, and I have found that the passengers seem to board and get off with more efficiency than LD.

 

[acelafan]

I have a theory that state funded trains are more on time than LD trains, because the Railroads aren't afraid of Amtrak CEOs , but are deftly afraid of public seeking no nothing bureaucrats and state lawmakers looking for a camera. Intentionally delay a train that a state tax payers are directly funding and you get the wrong type of attention.

You can play around with some links on "ASMAD" - an archive of Amtrak Status Maps on-time performance. Average OTP by train number, entire route, service disruptions, etc.

https://juckins.net/amtrak_status/archive/html/home.php

 

[seat38a]

Well based on this site: https://www.amtrak.com/about-amtrak/on-time-performance.htmllooks like the Hawatha is killing it and following close behind by the Capitol Corridor.

 

[jis]

State run trains also have relatively short runs presenting many fewer opportunities for a run to be adversely affected by unforeseen events.

 

[amtkstn]

Another reason is the SD train are much shorter. The crew of the Heartland Flyer call it a racecar.

 

[frequentflyer]

Yes, State supported (403b) trains are shorter. But if UP were to routinely stab the Capitol trains in California someone is Sacramento is firing a letter or email to Omaha.

 

[jis]

There is no 403(b) anymore. That act is defunct. Now they are all PRIIA Section 209 trains.

The CalDOT deal with UP was put together by Gene Skorposwski before he moved to Brightline in Florida. It included a significant dollop of additional money and a credible incentive structure for UP to come to heel purely as a business savvy move. UP does not stab Capitol trains because it is sufficiently hurtful to them contractually to do so.

 

[Maglev]

I don't find the on-time performance of the Cascades to be anything great. Overall for the last year, they're only on-time 55%, and one of the trains serving my area (#516) boasts a mere 23% on-time performance.

 

[railiner]

The CalDOT deal with UP was put together by Gene Skorposwski before he moved to Brightline in Florida. It included a significant dollop of additional money and a credible incentive structure for UP to come to heel purely as a business savvy move. UP does not stab Capitol trains because it is sufficiently hurtful to them contractually to do so.

Now that sounds like the kind of guy that Amtrak director's should have recruited.....looks like they let another good one slip away....

 

[ParanoidAndroid]

Illini & Saluki are rarely on-time, due to CN.

 

[jis]

The CalDOT deal with UP was put together by Gene Skorposwski before he moved to Brightline in Florida. It included a significant dollop of additional money and a credible incentive structure for UP to come to heel purely as a business savvy move. UP does not stab Capitol trains because it is sufficiently hurtful to them contractually to do so.

Now that sounds like the kind of guy that Amtrak director's should have recruited.....looks like they let another good one slip away....

He has since retired from Brightline, after getting the first service up and ready to go. I had a long chat with him in Chicago at the RPA Spring Meeting. Delightful gentleman to talk to.

 

[Anderson]

I had a nice talk with him at the opening of Brightline (fun story about spelling names there). Agreed.

By the way, he used to work for Amtrak. I forget his exact title.

The big issue is that Amtrak isn't really in a position to offer those incentives. There's actually an amusing problem in VA (well, when you're not dealing with it) where CSX will stab a Regional for a VRE train because VRE offers better incentive payments. They'll also occasionally stab an LD train for a Regional, though that's somewhat less common if only because there are less chances for it to happen.

 

[neroden]

I have a theory that state funded trains are more on time than LD trains, because the Railroads aren't afraid of Amtrak CEOs , but are deftly afraid of public seeking no nothing bureaucrats and state lawmakers looking for a camera. Intentionally delay a train that a state tax payers are directly funding and you get the wrong type of attention.

They aren't. The fact is that the state lawmakers can make a big fuss over delays to LD trains too, and I've seen them do it.

What I see is that trains which run on state-owned tracks are more on time than trains which run on freight-owned tracks, because ownership is powerful. Even when the freight railroad dispatches the tracks, knowing that the state can revoke the dispatching contract is a huge, huge stick.

The CalDOT/UP deal seems to be an unusual case where the freight railroad still owns the tracks but the state has enough of a contractural stick.