As a matter of curiosity I checked the TE's performance figures for the last four weeks. I was surprised to find that No.22 arrived in Chicago an average of 47 mins late over that period and on only four occasions was it over an hour late, the longest time being 212 mins. Southbound No.21 arrived in San Antonio an ave. of 68 mins late, was over an hour late only nine times, the maximum being 270 mins.
That's a big improvement over as recently as last summer when the Eagle routinely ran four hours late. I guess this is the result of less freight train interference due to fewer UP trains being run because of the economic downturn. Probably some credit should also go to UP dispatching which I think may be giving Amtrak a higher priority today than they did previously. As a sometimes rider of the TE, I certainly hope this performance continues and maybe even improves.
Mark
KCSfan As a matter of curiosity I checked the TE's performance figures for the last four weeks. I was surprised to find that No.22 arrived in Chicago an average of 47 mins late over that period and on only four occasions was it over an hour late, the longest time being 212 mins. Southbound No.21 arrived in San Antonio an ave. of 68 mins late, was over an hour late only nine times, the maximum being 270 mins. That's a big improvement over as recently as last summer when the Eagle routinely ran four hours late. I guess this is the result of less freight train interference due to fewer UP trains being run because of the economic downturn. Probably some credit should also go to UP dispatching which I think may be giving Amtrak a higher priority today than they did previously. As a sometimes rider of the TE, I certainly hope this performance continues and maybe even improves. Mark
The numbers on my spreadsheet, which I update daily, show different results for the Eagle's arrival in San Antonio during 2008.
Number 21 was late, on average, by 101 minutes, with a median of 80 minutes. It was late by as much as 732 minutes (more than 12 hours) on one occasion, and on several occasions it did not arrive in San Antonio in time to be turned for its 7:00 a.m. departure for Chicago. On 19 occasions the train was so late that it was terminated in Fort Worth, and the passengers were put on a bus for points south. It arrived after midnight 109 times, as opposed to its scheduled arrival time of 10:25 p.m. Arriving in downtown San Antonio in the wee hours of the morning is not the best experience.
As you noted, performance improved significantly during the last three months of the year, but it still leaves much to be desired.
Amtrak claims that the Eagle was on time 35.6 per cent of the time during 2008. According to its criteria the train can be 30 minutes late and still be on time. Don't tell that to the passengers or people waiting to meet them in San Antonio. I am a bit old fashion. It is on time or it isn't. Using the scheduled arrival and departure times, the train was on time 24.6 per cent of the time, with most of the on-time arrivals occurring during the last three months of the year.
I only track on time performance in Texas. The other station that I check for the Eagle is Fort Worth. There Number 21 was late, on average, by 86 minutes, with a median of 62 minutes. Thus, the late running Eagle, on average, lost additional time getting from Fort Worth to San Antonio. It northbound sister train was late, on average, at Fort Worth by 58 minutes, with a median of 45 minutes. Its on time performance record was 5.5 per cent. This is for a distance of 283 rail miles.
In 2007 the Number 21 was late, on average, at Fort Worth by 55 minutes, with a median of 32 minutes, whilst the average and median at San Antonio was 69 and 60 minutes. Clearly, the train's on time performance in 2008 was considerably worse than in 2007. Number 22 was late at Fort Worth by an average of 63 minutes, with a median of 57 minutes. On average it did a bit better in 2008, but using the median as a benchmark, it did considerably better in 2008 than 2007.
Sam1 KCSfan As a matter of curiosity I checked the TE's performance figures for the last four weeks. I was surprised to find that No.22 arrived in Chicago an average of 47 mins late over that period and on only four occasions was it over an hour late, the longest time being 212 mins. Southbound No.21 arrived in San Antonio an ave. of 68 mins late, was over an hour late only nine times, the maximum being 270 mins. That's a big improvement over as recently as last summer when the Eagle routinely ran four hours late. I guess this is the result of less freight train interference due to fewer UP trains being run because of the economic downturn. Probably some credit should also go to UP dispatching which I think may be giving Amtrak a higher priority today than they did previously. As a sometimes rider of the TE, I certainly hope this performance continues and maybe even improves. Mark The numbers on my spreadsheet, which I update daily, show different results for the Eagle's arrival in San Antonio during FY 2008. Number 21 was late, on average, by 101 minutes, with a median of 80 minutes. It was late by as much as 732 minutes (more than 12 hours) on one occasion, and on several occasions it did not arrive in San Antonio in time to be turned for its 7:00 a.m. departure for Chicago. On 19 occasions the train was so late that it was terminated in Fort Worth, and the passengers were put on a bus for points south. It arrived after midnight, as opposed to its scheduled 10:25 p.m. scheduled arrival time, 109 times. Arriving in downtown San Antonio in the wee hours of the morning is not the best experience. As you noted, performance improved significantly during the last three months of the year, but it still leaves much to be desired. Amtrak claims that the Eagle was on time 35.6 per cent of the time during FY 2008. According to its criteria the train can be 30 minutes late and still be on time. Don't tell that to the passengers or people waiting to meet them in San Antonio. I am a bit old fashion. It is on time or it isn't. Using the scheduled arrival and departure times, the train was on time 24.6 per cent of the time, with most of the on-time arrivals occurring during the last three months of the year. I only track on time performance in Texas. The other station that I check for the Eagle is Fort Worth. There Number 21 was late, on average, by 86 minutes, with a median of 62 minutes. Thus, the late running Eagle, on average, lost additional time getting from Fort Worth to San Antonio. It northbound sister train was late, on average, at Fort Worth by 58 minutes, with a median of 45 minutes. Its on time performance record was 5.5 per cent. This is for a distance of 283 rail miles. In FY 2007 the Number 21 was late, on average, at Fort Worth by 55 minutes, with a median of 32 minutes, whilst the average and median at San Antonio was 69 and 60 minutes. Clearly, the train's on time performance in 2008 was considerably worse than in 2007. Number 22 was late at Fort Worth by an average of 63 minutes, with a median of 57 minutes. On average it did a bit better in FY 2008, but using the median as a benchmark, it did considerably better in 2008 than 2007.
The numbers on my spreadsheet, which I update daily, show different results for the Eagle's arrival in San Antonio during FY 2008.
Number 21 was late, on average, by 101 minutes, with a median of 80 minutes. It was late by as much as 732 minutes (more than 12 hours) on one occasion, and on several occasions it did not arrive in San Antonio in time to be turned for its 7:00 a.m. departure for Chicago. On 19 occasions the train was so late that it was terminated in Fort Worth, and the passengers were put on a bus for points south. It arrived after midnight, as opposed to its scheduled 10:25 p.m. scheduled arrival time, 109 times. Arriving in downtown San Antonio in the wee hours of the morning is not the best experience.
Amtrak claims that the Eagle was on time 35.6 per cent of the time during FY 2008. According to its criteria the train can be 30 minutes late and still be on time. Don't tell that to the passengers or people waiting to meet them in San Antonio. I am a bit old fashion. It is on time or it isn't. Using the scheduled arrival and departure times, the train was on time 24.6 per cent of the time, with most of the on-time arrivals occurring during the last three months of the year.
In FY 2007 the Number 21 was late, on average, at Fort Worth by 55 minutes, with a median of 32 minutes, whilst the average and median at San Antonio was 69 and 60 minutes. Clearly, the train's on time performance in 2008 was considerably worse than in 2007. Number 22 was late at Fort Worth by an average of 63 minutes, with a median of 57 minutes. On average it did a bit better in FY 2008, but using the median as a benchmark, it did considerably better in 2008 than 2007.
That is information Amtrak might read and cause them to pad the schedule of the TE even more. It certainly seems like if a train is consistantly late Amtrak has a habit of padding that schedule even more. A good example is to look at the Coast Starlight from the beginnings of Amtrak to the present day. I think SP performed better than UP has where that particular train is concerned.
Al - in - Stockton
Sam1 KCSfan As a matter of curiosity I checked the TE's performance figures for the last four weeks. I was surprised to find that No.22 arrived in Chicago an average of 47 mins late over that period and on only four occasions was it over an hour late, the longest time being 212 mins. Southbound No.21 arrived in San Antonio an ave. of 68 mins late, was over an hour late only nine times, the maximum being 270 mins. That's a big improvement over as recently as last summer when the Eagle routinely ran four hours late. I guess this is the result of less freight train interference due to fewer UP trains being run because of the economic downturn. Probably some credit should also go to UP dispatching which I think may be giving Amtrak a higher priority today than they did previously. As a sometimes rider of the TE, I certainly hope this performance continues and maybe even improves. Mark The numbers on my spreadsheet, which I update daily, show different results for the Eagle's arrival in San Antonio during FY 2008.
Sam,
The source of my data is amtrakdelays.com. As I stated this informaion is for the last four weeks beginning 12/22/08 and not for all of 2008.
KCSfan Sam1 KCSfan As a matter of curiosity I checked the TE's performance figures for the last four weeks. I was surprised to find that No.22 arrived in Chicago an average of 47 mins late over that period and on only four occasions was it over an hour late, the longest time being 212 mins. Southbound No.21 arrived in San Antonio an ave. of 68 mins late, was over an hour late only nine times, the maximum being 270 mins. That's a big improvement over as recently as last summer when the Eagle routinely ran four hours late. I guess this is the result of less freight train interference due to fewer UP trains being run because of the economic downturn. Probably some credit should also go to UP dispatching which I think may be giving Amtrak a higher priority today than they did previously. As a sometimes rider of the TE, I certainly hope this performance continues and maybe even improves. Mark The numbers on my spreadsheet, which I update daily, show different results for the Eagle's arrival in San Antonio during FY 2008. Sam, The source of my data is amtrakdelays.com. As I stated this informaion is for the last four weeks beginning 12/22/08 and not for all of 2008. Mark
I attempted to make clear in my post that I was reporting 2008 numbers, as opposed to the last quarter of 2008, and I recognized that the southbound performance of the Eagle improved significantly during the fourth quarter. Interestingly, the fourth quarter did not see an improvement at Fort Worth for the northbound train.
Sam1 I attempted to make clear in my post that I was reporting 2008 numbers, as opposed to the last quarter of 2008, and I recognized that the southbound performance of the Eagle improved significantly during the fourth quarter. Interestingly, the fourth quarter did not see an improvement at Fort Worth for the northbound train.
Fourth quarter performance may have been adversely affected by trackwork on the No. 2 main out of San Antonio (ex-MKT) and concurrent continuing improvements on the Waco Sub as well as trackwork on BNSF. Further, in the last four weeks, No. 21 has improved dramatically, with only 5 late trains, as Amtrak classifies them. This would translate, using my feeble math skills, to something along an 83 percent on time rate for that train.
Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.