Edit post

Edit your reply below.

Post Body
Enter your post below.
[quote user="ArthurRaynolds"]  On Nov 28th, my wife and I boarded the Sunset Limited in LA to travel across the country to Greenville SC.  Due to equipment problems, the train arrived in the station late.  We left 30 minutes late.  By El Paso, we not only made up the time, but arrived early.  All the way from El Paso to San Antonio TX, we only passed two UP freight trains.  We were put into a siding only once and that was to allow train # 1 to pass WB.  We sped across Texas, arriving earily at almost every station stop and had to wait for the appointed time to continue.  Despite signal failure along the TX & LA line due to heavy rain, where we had to run at restricted speeds, we stilled arrived into New Orleans 17 minutes early.  On Monday, the only time the NB Crescent took to a siding, it was to allow the SB Crescent to pass.  Then to really surprise me, we had to back out of the siding because there was a freight ahead of us.  At nearly every station we either arrived early on on time.  My hats off to the powers that allowed this improvement.   This is what Amtrak has needed all along. <IMG alt=Smile src="http://cs.trains.com/trccs/emoticons/icon_smile.gif" mce_src="http://cs.trains.com/trccs/emoticons/icon_smile.gif">  Now we need new equipment! [/quote] I track the schedule performance of Amtrak's trains at key points in Texas.  Since the beginning of the year Number 2 has been late, on average, by 61 minutes, with a median of 46 minutes, at El Paso.  Number 1 has been late, on average, by 38 minutes, with a median of 7 minutes.  This is a marked improvement over 2007 when No 2 was late, on average, by 129 minutes and Number 1 was late by an average of 62 minutes. Number 2 has been late, on average, by 86 minutes at San Antonio, with a median of 65 minutes.  Number 1 has only been late by an average of 35 minutes, with a median of 0 minutes, which means that it has been on time as often as it has been late.  Frequently the train has arrived in San Antonio more than an hour early during October and November.  The on time performance at San Antonio and El Paso has improved dramatically this fall.  The down turn in the economy has reduce the number of freight movements on the UP, thereby making it possible to move Amtrak's trains without undue delay. The other variable, as mentioned, is the schedule.  It is padded more than a hockey goalie's uniform. Amtrak does not need new long distance equipment.  It needs to get rid of the long distance trains, which accounted for less than 25 per cent of its revenues but chewed up nearly 140 per cent of the operating costs and 48 per cent of the federal subsidy in FY 2007.  Less than 15 per cent of Amtrak's passengers rode its long distance trains.  And less than one per cent of intercity travellers opted for long distance trains. Amtrak could buy a business class ticket on Air Trans for every Sunset passenger traveling from LAX to New Orleans for $566.  In FY 2007 the average per passenger subsidy for a LAX to New Orleans trip on the Sunset was $958 before other charges or nearly $1,200 after other charges.  Doing so would save the taxpayers more than $600 per passenger.
Tags (Optional)
Tags are keywords that get attached to your post. They are used to categorize your submission and make it easier to search for. To add tags to your post type a tag into the box below and click the "Add Tag" button.
Add Tag