What Is Going On With AMTRAK???

[Rail Freak]

What is going on with AMTRAK and schedules??? I go on AMTRAK Status and everyplace I look trains are late. By late I mean 2,3,5, and even 7 hours and more. Is this a "slowdown" perpetrated by unions?? Is this being done intentionally by someone?? Is this due to the larger than expected ridership?? Its got to be costing AMTRAK dearly to accommodate people missing connections. It must really be upsetting many, many passengers, especially first time riders looking for an acceptable experience. Or is this NORMAL for this time of the year?? I know people will blame flooding, etc., but I see it happening in areas around the country where flooding does not come into play. Anybody have and answer to this seemingly growing problem??

No one here has that answer, it's just that Mother Nature is Pissed! It started with the Heavy Winter Snow & resulting in the Melt Off. It's hard for us Floridians to grasp!!!

 

[anir dendroica]

No one here has that answer, it's just that Mother Nature is Pissed! It started with the Heavy Winter Snow & resulting in the Melt Off. It's hard for us Floridians to grasp!!!

Mother Nature is half of the problem. The other half is that Amtrak has limited operational flexibility. If flooding makes a route take 3-5 hours longer than usual, the smart thing to do would be to publish a temporary longer schedule, shorten crew districts, and cancel one out of every six (EB) or seven (CZ) trains so that consists have time to turn at each end. Instead we see a very reactive approach where late trains get later due to issues with crew rest and availability, dogcatches in the middle of nowhere, etc.

One could argue that a proactive approach would be expensive, but I highly doubt that it would be more expensive than all of the bustitutions and hotel rooms that Amtrak is currently paying for.

Mark

 

[Rail Freak]

No one here has that answer, it's just that Mother Nature is Pissed! It started with the Heavy Winter Snow & resulting in the Melt Off. It's hard for us Floridians to grasp!!!

Mother Nature is half of the problem. The other half is that Amtrak has limited operational flexibility. If flooding makes a route take 3-5 hours longer than usual, the smart thing to do would be to publish a temporary longer schedule, shorten crew districts, and cancel one out of every six (EB) or seven (CZ) trains so that consists have time to turn at each end. Instead we see a very reactive approach where late trains get later due to issues with crew rest and availability, dogcatches in the middle of nowhere, etc.

One could argue that a proactive approach would be expensive, but I highly doubt that it would be more expensive than all of the bustitutions and hotel rooms that Amtrak is currently paying for.

Mark

Point Taken! But, this year with all of Mother Natures Unforeseen Furry, that's a lot of Dog Catches!!! Plus, if I'm not mistaken, it's been months of, not just 3-5 hours lateness, but months of Train Cancellations!

 

[pennyk]

That will lead to very messy rails. Teabags are meant to be confined to tea cups or tea pots only and once they have produced the tea they belong in garbage cans. This is of course ignoring all other creative colloquialisms involving tea bags.

:lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[Donctor]

What is going on with AMTRAK and schedules??? I go on AMTRAK Status and everyplace I look trains are late. By late I mean 2,3,5, and even 7 hours and more. Is this a "slowdown" perpetrated by unions?? Is this being done intentionally by someone?? Is this due to the larger than expected ridership?? Its got to be costing AMTRAK dearly to accommodate people missing connections. It must really be upsetting many, many passengers, especially first time riders looking for an acceptable experience. Or is this NORMAL for this time of the year?? I know people will blame flooding, etc., but I see it happening in areas around the country where flooding does not come into play. Anybody have and answer to this seemingly growing problem??

I don't have and answer!! It's terrible! ¡ UNIONS !

 

[George B]

What is going on with AMTRAK and schedules??? I go on AMTRAK Status and everyplace I look trains are late. By late I mean 2,3,5, and even 7 hours and more. Is this a "slowdown" perpetrated by unions?? Is this being done intentionally by someone?? Is this due to the larger than expected ridership?? Its got to be costing AMTRAK dearly to accommodate people missing connections. It must really be upsetting many, many passengers, especially first time riders looking for an acceptable experience. Or is this NORMAL for this time of the year?? I know people will blame flooding, etc., but I see it happening in areas around the country where flooding does not come into play. Anybody have and answer to this seemingly growing problem??

I don't have and answer!! It's terrible! ¡ UNIONS !

I’m telling ya, it’s the Communists! Haven’t you ever seen Dr. Strangelove? They want to fluoridate, indoctrinate, sap, and impurify our trains!

 

[had8ley]

What is going on with AMTRAK and schedules??? I go on AMTRAK Status and everyplace I look trains are late. By late I mean 2,3,5, and even 7 hours and more. Is this a "slowdown" perpetrated by unions?? Is this being done intentionally by someone?? Is this due to the larger than expected ridership?? Its got to be costing AMTRAK dearly to accommodate people missing connections. It must really be upsetting many, many passengers, especially first time riders looking for an acceptable experience. Or is this NORMAL for this time of the year?? I know people will blame flooding, etc., but I see it happening in areas around the country where flooding does not come into play. Anybody have and answer to this seemingly growing problem??

I don't have and answer!! It's terrible! ¡ UNIONS !

Did you acquire this obvious hatred of unions or have you been day dreaming ??? Point in case; Metra had to cancel some trains a while back. The reason? There were only 5 men on the extra board qualified to run Metra. Five were used on Sunday preceeding the Metra cancellations due to detours. Only one was legally rested to cover a vacation vacancy and four other men were on vacation. And who begged for a 10 man extra board~ THE UNIONS !!! :help:

 

[Ryan]

I think that Donctor was being sarcastic.

 

[daveyb99]

Is this a "slowdown" perpetrated by unions?? Is this being done intentionally by someone??

That's pretty funny.

I think it was Elvis and the Easter Bunny.

Perhaps it is a Communist plot by the Reds!

I heard it was all the people asking for onboard upgrades ....

 

[PaulM]

One could argue that a proactive approach would be expensive, but I highly doubt that it would be more expensive than all of the bustitutions and hotel rooms that Amtrak is currently paying for.

I worry more about the long term effects of the unusual number and widespread nature of the service disruptions. All the PO'ed first time riders and the bad publicity could hurt ridership, not to mention lead to an even worse political situation.

 

[disneymom]

I can tell you that on wed july 20th,I boarded an east bound train, number4 the Southwest chief from LA to Chicago. late Thursday nt, early Friday morning, around one am the train stopped........Dodge City Kansas, and the entire train was evacuated for over 7 hours do to a suspicious package being found in the shower of a sleeper. Amtrak was clueless in how to handle the situation.....The salvation army brought us food and the huundreds of security officers/firemen watched over us in some old town hall building, while the bomb squad swept the train......Possibly amtrak needs to invest in security measures for their LDd trains...... stops that can not accomodate should be withdrawn....... earlier in the trip in albuerquerque, a Police officer searched two men and their belonginngs on the train..... I was traveling with 3 children.... this all was very scary to them..... I personally will never, ever ride amtrak again....... i feel they are rude, imcompetent, and quite frankly, very unsafe.

 

[HoosierStater]

One could argue that a proactive approach would be expensive, but I highly doubt that it would be more expensive than all of the bustitutions and hotel rooms that Amtrak is currently paying for.

I worry more about the long term effects of the unusual number and widespread nature of the service disruptions. All the PO'ed first time riders and the bad publicity could hurt ridership, not to mention lead to an even worse political situation.

Right now I don't think Amtrak is going to be in focus for Congress for a while.

 

[Bob Dylan]

I can tell you that on wed july 20th,I boarded an east bound train, number4 the Southwest chief from LA to Chicago. late Thursday nt, early Friday morning, around one am the train stopped........Dodge City Kansas, and the entire train was evacuated for over 7 hours do to a suspicious package being found in the shower of a sleeper. Amtrak was clueless in how to handle the situation.....The salvation army brought us food and the huundreds of security officers/firemen watched over us in some old town hall building, while the bomb squad swept the train......Possibly amtrak needs to invest in security measures for their LDd trains...... stops that can not accomodate should be withdrawn....... earlier in the trip in albuerquerque, a Police officer searched two men and their belonginngs on the train..... I was traveling with 3 children.... this all was very scary to them..... I personally will never, ever ride amtrak again....... i feel they are rude, imcompetent, and quite frankly, very unsafe.

You may have seen the thread on this Fiasco, it wasnt Amtraks fault that LE overreacted, I expressed my opinion on this Keystone Cops episode, others had their own points of view that differed! Living in Fear of what Might happen?? is not Living, it's 1984!!!

Just like to ask how youll like the Airports with the TSA ("thousands stand around") Security Theather and the way the Airlines gouge you before the Cattle cars are loaded up?? :angry: These kind of episodes are a result of the Climate of Fear that has been pushed ever since 911! Paranoia is the result causing people to see "Boggeymen" everywhere, same mind set prevailed in the 50s during the "Commie Scare"! If it had been an Airplane you were on you might have had to slide down a slide, kept isolated in some holding pen, then told "well try to book you on a plane going somewhere eventually when there's space available! " Give Amtrak another chance,and don't refuse to call Emergency Service s when you need them, instead of saying "I'll never call Emergency Services again!", same reasoning! :help: :excl:

 

[fillyjonk]

I can tell you why the Chicago to Dallas corridor trains are having issues - there's ongoing trackwork (well, it was supposed to be done as of yesterday) and it's bollixed up the schedule, especially of the northbound Texas Eagle. And I wouldn't be surprised if the extreme heat played a role.

I dunno; I understand the need for higher ridership and all but I can do without the Special Snowflakes on the train who swear they'll sue everyone in sight if they don't get into "their" station spot on time, and oh, they didn't get exactly the seat they wanted, and they're bored, why doesn't Amtrak show movies, and and and...

 

[Devil's Advocate]

I can tell you that on wed july 20th,I boarded an east bound train, number4 the Southwest chief from LA to Chicago. late Thursday nt, early Friday morning, around one am the train stopped........Dodge City Kansas, and the entire train was evacuated for over 7 hours do to a suspicious package being found in the shower of a sleeper. Amtrak was clueless in how to handle the situation.....The salvation army brought us food and the huundreds of security officers/firemen watched over us in some old town hall building, while the bomb squad swept the train......Possibly amtrak needs to invest in security measures for their LDd trains...... stops that can not accomodate should be withdrawn....... earlier in the trip in albuerquerque, a Police officer searched two men and their belonginngs on the train..... I was traveling with 3 children.... this all was very scary to them..... I personally will never, ever ride amtrak again....... i feel they are rude, imcompetent, and quite frankly, very unsafe.

I generally agree that Amtrak staff are rude and incompetent, but I don't agree that Amtrak is substantially less safe than any other form of travel. Just how many stops do you think Amtrak would have left after removing every stop that didn't have a dedicated 24/7 bomb analysis and removal squad? It would never work. Your situation sounds bad but it's also pretty rare at this point. You and your kids are far more likely to be harmed or killed while driving on the road than riding a train.

 

[had8ley]

I can tell you that on wed july 20th,I boarded an east bound train, number4 the Southwest chief from LA to Chicago. late Thursday nt, early Friday morning, around one am the train stopped........Dodge City Kansas, and the entire train was evacuated for over 7 hours do to a suspicious package being found in the shower of a sleeper. Amtrak was clueless in how to handle the situation.....The salvation army brought us food and the huundreds of security officers/firemen watched over us in some old town hall building, while the bomb squad swept the train......Possibly amtrak needs to invest in security measures for their LDd trains...... stops that can not accomodate should be withdrawn....... earlier in the trip in albuerquerque, a Police officer searched two men and their belonginngs on the train..... I was traveling with 3 children.... this all was very scary to them..... I personally will never, ever ride amtrak again....... i feel they are rude, imcompetent, and quite frankly, very unsafe.

Unfortunately, many Class 1's (which includes Amtrak) preach "Safety First" but fund it last. As far as OBS crews go most of them have the attitude "Every man for himself." I think you'll find the conductors and A/C's more professional and better trained to handle situations like this one.

 

[NY Penn]

Yesterday's Adirondack: an 11-hour trip turned into a 21-hour one.

Anyone know why?

 

[NY Penn]

Now, back to the last question that was posed:

Why was the Adirondack 10 hours late yesterday?

 

[PJRACER]

I AGREE - after starting this thread with a simple question and then being accused as being anti-union amongst other things. I am a retired SEIU Transit member with 30 years of transit driving and that would have been the furthest thing from my mind ANTI-UNION. It has gone from a simple question to the above mentioned references and most of my question was never answered...PLEASE ADMINISTRATOR - Take It Off. pjracer

 

[A.J.]

as to the adirondack, there was a minor accident involving a freight train and a personal vehicle near ticonderoga. that could have delayed other trains, perhaps?

 

[afigg]

Yes, when a thread runs afoul of Godwin's Law, it is time to shut it down. Too bad, because the subject of the problems Amtrak is having and when/if will it get better is a worthwhile thread. But this thread started off with some wild accusations, even if they were partly or mostly in jest, the tone did not come through that way. Close this thread & someone can start a new one with a calmer first post or clean out all the inappropriate posts.