Just looking at Amtrak's track a train on their site and noticed
the Texas Eagle that left San Antonio Sunday morning 8/5 is 12
hours late arriving at Alton Il. Anyone no the reason it's SO late?
GS
GeoffS Just looking at Amtrak's track a train on their site and noticed the Texas Eagle that left San Antonio Sunday morning 8/5 is 12 hours late arriving at Alton Il. Anyone no the reason it's SO late? GS
Just looking at Amtrak's track a train on their site and noticed the Texas Eagle that left San Antonio Sunday morning 8/5 is 12 hours late arriving at Alton Il. Anyone no the reason it's SO late?
No 22 was 2 hour, 2 minutes late at Dallas. But it was 7 hours, 50 minutes late arriving Mineola, which is the next eastbound stop. It was 10 hours, 18 minutes late into Longview. It was 12 hours, 11 minutes late arriving Little Rock.
Something went wrong between Dallas and Mineola, which is approximately 80 miles east Dallas. I don't know what it was.
Rio Grande Valley, CFI,CFII
another site reported that track experienced a sink hole under UP track. Had to re ballast the track. Kudos to UP getting the rock there so fast.
Thank's guys for the replies.
Shocked to see the answer on the "News Wire" this morning too!Must have been a fun trip. Ugh!
Although not as bad as the incident related to in the original post, the Texas Eagle is up to its old on-time performance tricks, which seem to be negatively correlated with good economic times.
On Sunday No. 21 was 24 minutes late into San Antonio. On Monday it was 1 hour 23 minutes late; Tuesday 2 hours, 37 minutes late; tonight it is currently estimated to be 1 hour 29 minutes late.
The schedule between Austin and San Antonio has a least an hour of padding built into it. No 21 is reported to be 2 hours 29 minutes late for Austin, but only 1 hour 29 minutes late for San Antonio because of the padding.
It is this sort of nonsense that drove people away from the Texas Eagle years ago, and it is the reason many people say never again.
And this is what passes for railroading?
charlie hebdoAnd this is what passes for railroading?
And this is what passes for Forum discussion?
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
BaltACD charlie hebdo And this is what passes for railroading? And this is what passes for Forum discussion?
charlie hebdo And this is what passes for railroading?
What more is there to say? The Eagle is a miserable excuse for passenger transportation. Why even have a schedule when the train, even with padding, is usually very late.
Eagle seems to be closer to OTP than the Crescent south of ATL
I went to Chicago on Aug. 5, and rode the Lincoln Service early train from St. Louis at 6:40 am. The Eagle was 3 hours late then and people could switch from that train to mine, and many did. Our train was packed, people could not sleep on seats, had to sit up so someone else could sit with them. Don't know what the problem is, it was late in the mid 90's, one time I booked it to Chicago and it was going to be very late, so Amtrak had buses to take us to Chi, one that made all the stops and one just at Springfield and direct to Chi. I had packed a lunch so I was ok, but others were starved by the time we got to Chi, as Springfield only had vending machines. Our old "Amshak " did not have any food service either, the new Gateway center does.
blue streak 1 Eagle seems to be closer to OTP than the Crescent south of ATL
In 2017 the Eagle's on-time performance at its end points was 60.7 percent vs. 42.2 percent for the Crescent.
During the first half of 2018 the Eagle's on-time performce at all stations was 39.9 percent vs. 27.7 percent for the Crescent.
If one is taking the Eagle from Dallas to San Antonio, as I do often, he should bring a book and be prepared to get some extra reading time at Dallas' Union Station.
Trains Status Information on No. 21 went dark yesterday, Saturday, August 18th. Also, no information is given for No. 22's departure from San Antonio this morning, Sunday, August 19. Anyone know what is going on?
PJS1 During the first half of 2018 the Eagle's on-time performce at all stations was 39.9 percent vs. 27.7 percent for the Crescent.
Having followed the Crescent for some time we always find that arrivals for #20 is less on time at WASH than NYP. That probably is because #20 often beats schedule WASH - NYP by almost an hour. By the same token #19 OTP at Laurel Ms usually is much lower than NOL due to Sliidell - NOL padding. There was one month that #19 did not arrive NOL on time any day.
After further research if you take 0 minute delay here are th awful stats for the Crescent. Jan 01 - June 30 181 days.
for train #19 Laurel, Ms 0 less than 1 hr late and 23 cancelled.
New Orleans #19 1 early 23 less than 1 hr late and 23 cancelled
WASH #20 17 early 15 those ATL originations, 15 less than 1 hour
source
https://juckins.net/amtrak_status/archive/html/history.php
Which is why I try to time my ridings of the Texas Eagle during periods of reduced freight train traffic. During those days it is usually ahead of scheduled and I find the train taking long stops at stations to kill schedule padding.
Seriously, the amount of padding on that trains schedule is ridiculous. Amtrak and UP need to reach some sort of accomodation and I would setup the agreement so Amtrak pays a fine to UP when the train is late due to Amtrak. Some of the reason Amtraks trains are late is just poor supervision or planning.
A little sleuthing uncovered what happened to No. 21 yesterday. It hit a truck that was stalled on the tracks at a road crossing near Hallsville, TX, which is half way between Marshall and Longview. The truck was destroyed, and the locomotive was damaged by a fire that spread from the truck.
Apparently, the truck driver was towing another vehicle. The tow strap broke as the driver was crossing the tracks. So, exercising the lack of common sense that seemingly afflicts many people today, he parked the truck on the tracks while attempting to fix the tow strap. Not a good idea.
As if to add insult to injury, No. 21 was running 4 hours, 26 minutes late because of a grade crossing accident in Arkansas. A freight train was involved in an accident in Clay County, Arkansas, which backed-up the line. Apparently two high school seniors were killed. Sad!
As a friend of mine used to say, if it weren't for bad luck he would not have any luck at all. This seems to apply to the unlucky Texas Eagle, at least since Saturday.
Yesterday No. 21 had to be turned at Fort Worth, and the passengers taken by bus to Cleburne, TX. No. 22 had to be turned at Cleburne, and taken by bus to Fort Worth. According to the Amtrak agent in Dallas, a bridge failure between Cleburne and Fort Worth caused the disruption in service.
No. 22 is reported at 2 hours, 49 minutes late for Chicago. No. 21 arrived in San Antonio at 2:10 this morning, which was 4 hours, 15 minutes late.
Have a hankering to see San Antonio in the wee hours of the morning? But don't want to rise from your hotel bed in the middle of the night to do so? No problem! Just take the Texas Eagle to the Alamo City.
On three out of the last four nights, including tonight, No. 21 arrived or is estimated to arrive in San Antonio between 2:00 am and 4:30 a.m. Just the right time to take a stroll through the Alamo City, although I would not recommend doing so from the station, which is located in a not so good area of town.
Catch a cab to the River Walk. A few of my favorite gin joints will still be open. Well, maybe not after 2 am, but what the heck, give it a go.
The scheduled arrival time for No. 21 in the Alamo City is 9:55 pm. This is just one more example of why the long-distance trains make no sense.
Well, I blew it. No sooner had I posted my suggestion to ride No. 21 to San Antonio to see the city in the wee hours of the morning w/o having to get out of a hotel bed, Amtrak threw me a curve.
The train that was due last night (September 5th) did not arrive in the Alamo City until 9:17 this morning (September 6th): 11 hours 22 minutes late.
No. 1 is marked-up as 8 hours 21 minutes late for El Paso. So, Amtrak must have held it in San Antonio for the connecting cars from No. 21.
Holding No. 1 until after breakfast so that the ticked-off passengers from No. 21 could join the ticked-off passengers on No. 1, while the ticked-off passengers booked on No. 22 waited for its nearly five hour late departure from San Antonio, does not seem like an effective customer relations strategy.
Running hours late routinely is simply unacceptable.
charlie hebdo Running hours late routinely is simply unacceptable.
runnerdude48The last time I tried to ride the Texas Eagle I was booked in a roomette from St. Louis to Chicago to make a connection with the Capitol Limited to DC. I received a call from Julie saying that the train was running 6 hours late and expected to get later. Rather than hassle with the possibility of getting a hotel room in Chicago and a rebooking on the following day's Capitol, probably without a sleeper room, I booked a last minute flight to Chicago and cancelled my Amtrak trip from St. L. to CUS. My friend drove me to the airport and my flight took about 45 minutes. I took the Blue Line to the Loop and had a leisurely lunch and time to relax in the Metropolitan Lounge before boarding the Capitol to DC. I suppose I could have hung out in St. Louis and arrived in Chicago at about 10:00, let Amtrak pay for the hotel and then flown back to Boston the next day but the quick trip to Chicago and saving the majority of my trip took precedence. I appreciated the call from Julie but I would have preferred to have lunch in the diner and the train ride. But, I'm not going to screw around with Amtrak. When they can't provide the service I'll find someone that can. In this case it was United Airlines.
The drainage on some of the UPRR lines in Arkansas and North to Central Texas is pretty crappy. The line sits less than a foot above the ground level in many places. So my guess is that in heavy rains the line is under restricted speed in places. UP should spend more money on fixing this but they probably do not care as they have several alternative routes into Texas. Whereas, Amtrak just has the two directional routes from the Northeast (Ex-MP?).
You could have taken #302. It leaves St Louis 1:15 earlier and arrives Chicago 1:32 earlier. But then you would not have your private space. Was this considered?
PJS1 charlie hebdo Running hours late routinely is simply unacceptable. Apparently a number of regular and potential riders have come to the same conclusion. One of the coaches has been removed from the Texas Eagle. Normally it carries three coaches, but it has been running with just two for the last month or so.
Apparently a number of regular and potential riders have come to the same conclusion. One of the coaches has been removed from the Texas Eagle. Normally it carries three coaches, but it has been running with just two for the last month or so.
This morning, October 25th, Amtrak.com is showing a service disruption for No. 22, which means No. 21 probably did not get to San Antonio last night.
PJS1This morning, October 25th, Amtrak.com is showing a service disruption for No. 22, which means No. 21 probably did not get to San Antonio last night.
Yes, Transitdocs shows it (21) arrived at 10:00 PM and did not continue south. Will probably Lv Ft Worth today as 22.
https://asm.transitdocs.com/train/2018/10/23/21
Electroliner 1935You could have taken #302. It leaves St Louis 1:15 earlier and arrives Chicago 1:32 earlier. But then you would not have your private space. Was this considered?
Electroliner 1935 PJS1 This morning, October 25th, Amtrak.com is showing a service disruption for No. 22, which means No. 21 probably did not get to San Antonio last night. Yes, Transitdocs shows it (21) arrived at 10:00 PM and did not continue south. Will probably Lv Ft Worth today as 22. https://asm.transitdocs.com/train/2018/10/23/21
Thanks for the reference. Who maintains it?
Wow, 10 pm into Fort Worth. Assuming passengers for Austin and San Antonio were on a bus and on their way by 10:30 pm, they probaby did not get to Austin until approximately 4 am and San Antonio until approximately 6 am. I'll bet they were happy campers.
This is the sort of thing that kills repeat customers. It is also another indicator why the long-distance trains, which are at the mercy of the freight railroads, don't make any sense.
Why would anyone choose to take such a train?
charlie hebdoWhy would anyone choose to take such a train?
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