This court ruling may mean nothing but along with the disclosures of the CSX operating agreement ? ? ?
http://trn.trains.com/news/news-wire/2018/07/20-court-ruling-opens-door-for-fra-amtrak-to-establish-on-time-performance-metrics
Here is a partial look at the CSX operating agreement
http://cs.trains.com/trn/b/observation-tower/archive/2018/07/17/a-rare-peek-at-an-amtrak-host-railroad-contract.aspx
Here is the link that would not active in the OP
Well for some reason will not activate. Go to the top of this passenger forum and click on the blogs and forums and then click on the far left picture that says " a rare peek of Amtrak host RR contract ".
And now for another round of high priced law firms ringing up billable hours against each of the parties. The only one's that win are the lawyers. Nothing new here - keep on moving.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
Some senate amendments to Amtrak legislation bill .
https://amp.cincinnati.com/amp/841651002
blue streak 1 Some senate amendments to Amtrak legislation bill . https://amp.cincinnati.com/amp/841651002
Another example of politicans pandering at the taxpayer's expense!
If Amtrak's management has to look over its collective shoulder to see if even simple staffing decisions will incur the rath of Washington politicians, what hope is there that it will ever be an efficient and effective organization?
Rio Grande Valley, CFI,CFII
PJS1what hope is there that it will ever be an efficient and effective organization?
The local media in southern Illinois, has picked up on this legislation, and one TV station in the Carbondale market has done an expose' on CN slowing the Chicago-Carbondale Amtrak trains.
https://www.wpsdlocal6.com/2018/07/26/senate-bill-change-aims-to-assess-how-delays-are-impacting-amtrak/
BLS53 The local media in southern Illinois, has picked up on this legislation, and one TV station in the Carbondale market has done an expose' on CN slowing the Chicago-Carbondale Amtrak trains. https://www.wpsdlocal6.com/2018/07/26/senate-bill-change-aims-to-assess-how-delays-are-impacting-amtrak/
The Amtrak report card for the recent quarter paints a very different picture for Saluki service specifically and overall CN gets an F.
"Sample Route Performance – Illini/Saluki Service In 2017, over 200,000 passengers (84%) arrived late at their destinations on the Illini/Saluki service. Amtrak trains were delayed by CN freight trains on nearly 90% of trips on this service, many being made to stop in sidings to wait for CN freight trains, or follow them for many miles at slow speeds. Additionally, Amtrak trains were delayed by an average of 26 minutes on a daily basis due to problems with CN maintained infrastructure."
Much has been made of the on time performance on the freight railroad hosts. How does Amtrak do on tracks it controls, or on the tracks of commuter railroads such as Metro North?
Personal observation; after Amtrak lost the contract to be the operator of VRE trains, wherever possible K Tower (Amtrak Union Station) would run a (late) Amtrak train out of Union Station in the VRE schedule slot and thereby delay the scheduled VRE train.
During the afternoon rush period there are multiple Amtrak & VRE schedules that operate on close headway departing Union Station.
A McIntosh Much has been made of the on time performance on the freight railroad hosts. How does Amtrak do on tracks it controls, or on the tracks of commuter railroads such as Metro North?
The private carriers signed contracts with Amtrak and should be held to them. Most of them perform well; CN does not. Neither does NS, both getting Fs. CSX gets a C.
Aggregate data is not as useful here as looking at performance by private carrier or by route.
charlie hebdo Aggregate data is not as useful here as looking at performance by private carrier or by route.
True! But the question was how does Amtrak do on the tracks that it controls....... For the most part that is the NEC. So, a good starting point is the group data for Amtrak’s three major service lines.
Most of the business analysts that I know start at the group or population level and then drill down.
Drilling down on the long-distance trains shows that he worst performing long distance train in 2017 was the Silver Star, which was on-time at its end points an average of 38.6 percent. The best performing trains in the long-distance group were the City of New Orleans and the Sunset Limited. They had end point on-time percentages of 68.3 percent.
But one could drill down even further. So, while the Silver Star has an average on-time performance at its end points of 38.6 percent, the on-time percent for New York City probably differs from the on-time percent for Miami. At one time Amtrak used to show this information on its webpage, but I am not able to find it now.
PJS1 charlie hebdo Aggregate data is not as useful here as looking at performance by private carrier or by route. True! But the question was how does Amtrak do on the tracks that it controls....... For the most part that is the NEC. So, a good starting point is the group data for Amtrak’s three major service lines. Most of the analysts that I know start at the group or population level and then drill down. So, the worst performing long distance train in 2017 was the Silver Star, which was on-time at its end points an average of 38.6 percent. The best performing trains in the group were the City of New Orleans and the Sunset Limited. They had end point on-time percentages of 68.3 percent. But one could drill down even further. So, while the Silver Star has an average on-time performance at its end points of 38.6 percent, the on-time percent for New York City probably differs from the on-time percent for Miami. At one time Amtrak used to show this information on its webpage, but I am not able to find it now.
Most of the analysts that I know start at the group or population level and then drill down. So, the worst performing long distance train in 2017 was the Silver Star, which was on-time at its end points an average of 38.6 percent. The best performing trains in the group were the City of New Orleans and the Sunset Limited. They had end point on-time percentages of 68.3 percent.
And what was the Silver Star's OT percentage between NY & DC? When the Star departs DC a hour late it isn't going to be OT at desination. End point OT calculations don't illuminate the issues or the responsibility.
What is the dwell time in Washington for the Silver Star? Since the public TT gives no arrival time SB or departure time NB, the public have no access to these numbers. Also, the times at other stations show no dwell time, so the NB train (discharge only) is able to make more time up than corridor trains can. The Crescent, Silver Meteor, Cardinal (when it runs through to/from NYC), and Palmetto also do not carry local passengers between NYC and Washington. The Carolinian makes local stops SB, but discharges only NB.
Johnny
DeggestyWhat is the dwell time in Washington for the Silver Star? Since the public TT gives no arrival time SB or departure time NB, the public have no access to these numbers. Also, the times at other stations show no dwell time, so the NB train (discharge only) is able to make more time up than corridor trains can. The Crescent, Silver Meteor, Cardinal (when it runs through to/from NYC), and Palmetto also do not carry local passengers between NYC and Washington. The Carolinian makes local stops SB, but discharges only NB.
Amtrak has similar 'out of slot' problems with these trains that the freight carriers do with the Amtrak trains on the freight properties. It is the nature of the beast.
Late NB Amtrak trains can run into difficulties with OT trains such as NJT and MBTA.
About 3 1/2 years ago, I was waiting in Providence for a late Amtrak train to Boston--and an MBTA train left, on time, before my train came in. Once my train was under way, it had to lose more time when it came up behind the MBTA train, which had made a scheduled stop east of Providence, and we arrived in Boston just behind the MBTA train.
BaltACD And what was the Silver Star's OT percentage between NY & DC? When the Star departs DC a hour late it isn't going to be OT at desination. End point OT calculations don't illuminate the issues or the responsibility.
True, OT statistics don't say anything about causes, responsibilities, and accountabilities. Irrespective of whether they are reported at the group or individual level, however, they provide a starting point for framing the problem and laying out a path toward identifying causes and finding solutions.
Amtrak reports average on-time percentages by route for end points and intermediate stations. Ultimately, the analysis has to come down to looking at each route.
To get the average OT percentages for the intermediate stations, Amtrak has to have the arrival and departure times for each station. I don't know how it works on the NEC, but a San Antonio based conductor on the Eagle, whom I have gotten to know reasonably well, told me that they up load the arrival and departure time for the Eagle at each station. I had thought that the information was transmitted from the locomotive to Amtrak's computers via GPS, but it appears I was wrong.
As far as I know, Amtrak does not publish the intermediate statistics for each station. So, for the general reader, how the Silver Star performed at Baltimore, as an example, is unknown.
DeggestyLate NB Amtrak trains can run into difficulties with OT trains such as NJT and MBTA. About 3 1/2 years ago, I was waiting in Providence for a late Amtrak train to Boston--and an MBTA train left, on time, before my train came in. Once my train was under way, it had to lose more time when it came up behind the MBTA train, which had made a scheduled stop east of Providence, and we arrived in Boston just behind the MBTA train.
Dispatcher's dilemma when facing a out of slot train(s). Do I disrupt ON TIME trains to allow a late, out of slot, train to gain time. There is no doubt of what the decision will be 99.99% of the time and the other 0.01% will be at the specific direction of Supervision for whatever reasons they may hold.
BaltACD Dispatcher's dilemma when facing a out of slot train(s). Do I disrupt ON TIME trains to allow a late, out of slot, train to gain time. There is no doubt of what the decision will be 99.99% of the time and the other 0.01% will be at the specific direction of Supervision for whatever reasons they may hold.
Previously you answered a few questions I had regarding the dispatcher's job. Hopefully your generosity extends to answering a few more.
Most air traffic controllers rotate positions every couple of hours, i.e. tower operations, approach control, departure control, ground control. The idea is to include some variety in their work. How does the workload of a railroad dispatcher vary during a shift?
Air traffic controllers get frequent periodic breaks. The job can be demanding; it creates a lot of stress. How long is the normal shift for a railroad dispatcher?
Is a railroad dispatcher permitted to work a double shift if necessary? Are they limited to the number of overtime hours that they can work?
PJS1Previously you answered a few questions I had regarding the dispatcher's job. Hopefully your generosity extends to answering a few more. Most air traffic controllers rotate positions every couple of hours, i.e. tower operations, approach control, departure control, ground control. The idea is to include some variety in their work. How does the workload of a railroad dispatcher vary during a shift? Air traffic controllers get frequent periodic breaks. The job can be demanding; it creates a lot of stress. How long is the normal shift for a railroad dispatcher? Is a railroad dispatcher permitted to work a double shift if necessary? Are they limited to the number of overtime hours that they can work?
USA railroad Train Dispatchers - those that line signals and issue authorities are covered by the Federal Hours of Service regulations, which limit MAXIMUM on duty time to 9 Hours and require a minimum rest period of 15 hours between On Duty periods. The normal work day is 8 hours. Train Dispatchers work their designated territory for the entire duration of their shift. Some Desks may have territory added or subtracted from shift to shift which is dependent upon the activity that takes place the territories that are added or subtracted - the presence or absence of specified territories is advertised on the bulletins for which Dispatcher Seniority bids are solicted, so the Dispatchers KNOW what territories they will be in control of during any shift that they work.
Those working Chief Dispatcher positions - who DO NOT line signals or issue movement authorities - are not covered by HOS regulations and can work double shifts that, depending on circumstance, may have one or both tours of duty being paid at the Overtime Rate.
Canada may have differing rules concerning their Rail Traffic Controllers.
BaltACD USA railroad Train Dispatchers - those that line signals and issue authorities are covered by the Federal Hours of Service regulations, which limit MAXIMUM on duty time to 9 Hours and require a minimum rest period of 15 hours between On Duty periods. The normal work day is 8 hours. Train Dispatchers work their designated territory for the entire duration of their shift. Some Desks may have territory added or subtracted from shift to shift which is dependent upon the activity that takes place the territories that are added or subtracted - the presence or absence of specified territories is advertised on the bulletins for which Dispatcher Seniority bids are solicted, so the Dispatchers KNOW what territories they will be in control of during any shift that they work. Those working Chief Dispatcher positions - who DO NOT line signals or issue movement authorities - are not covered by HOS regulations and can work double shifts that, depending on circumstance, may have one or both tours of duty being paid at the Overtime Rate. Canada may have differing rules concerning their Rail Traffic Controllers.
Very informative. Thanks.
Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.