schlimmAmtrak basically is holding a gun to the head of the freight hosts: "You give us service for pennies on the dollar because you agreed to do so 43 years ago." So Amtrak gets service, poor service, as anyone would expect when that is the climate between the two parties.
I think the frt RRs actually do the best they can. Amtrak is getting the best service possible. That's the problem.
-Don (Random stuff, mostly about trains - what else? http://blerfblog.blogspot.com/)
oltmannd schlimmAmtrak basically is holding a gun to the head of the freight hosts: "You give us service for pennies on the dollar because you agreed to do so 43 years ago." So Amtrak gets service, poor service, as anyone would expect when that is the climate between the two parties. I think the frt RRs actually do the best they can. Amtrak is getting the best service possible. That's the problem.
People don't comprehend the 'footprint' required to operate a passenger trains at maximum authorized speed on a busy district of railroad, no matter if it is single track, double track or more than two tracks.
Moses had a easier time parting the Red Sea, than Train Dispatcher's have in moving Amtrak on a high use freight railroad. The reality is that Amtrak has their own difficulties in not delaying their own trains on their own property.
When you need to have 4 to 6 or more miles of clear track ahead of a train for it to get CLEAR signal indications - the limited 'playing field' of a dispatching district gets that much more constrained. Throw in some terminal congestion, for whatever reasons (track space, crew availability, working power availability) and the playing field becomes that much more constrained.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
Makes one wonder if everybody, including Amtrak, wouldn't actually be ahead if passenger trains ran at freight-train speeds on the freight railroads. Surely any gain from occasional bursts of 79 mph is dissipated in those long waits for a green light.
One fact that has kept a low profile for the past 12 months is this:
"A federal judge struck down the law that told railroad dispatchers to give Amtrak priority over freight trains. Since then Amtrak’s on-time arrivals have slipped across the country, to just 74 percent since last October."http://www.railwayage.com/index.php/blogs/frank-n-wilner/amtraks-sisyphean-struggle-to-run-on-time.html
C&NW, CA&E, MILW, CGW and IC fan
schlimm oltmannd schlimmAmtrak basically is holding a gun to the head of the freight hosts: "You give us service for pennies on the dollar because you agreed to do so 43 years ago." So Amtrak gets service, poor service, as anyone would expect when that is the climate between the two parties. I think the frt RRs actually do the best they can. Amtrak is getting the best service possible. That's the problem. I am reposting this: One fact that has kept a low profile for the past 12 months is this: "A federal judge struck down the law that told railroad dispatchers to give Amtrak priority over freight trains. Since then Amtrak’s on-time arrivals have slipped across the country, to just 74 percent since last October."http://www.railwayage.com/index.php/blogs/frank-n-wilner/amtraks-sisyphean-struggle-to-run-on-time.html
Observation from the Dispatching trenches!
Never had heard of either the 'legal priority' or the ruling that 'struck it down'; and such rulings have not entered into the tactical dispatching decisions that get made on my territory. Passenger is given as much priority as the available 'parking' or meeting spaces on the territory will allow. There are times when. for a variety of reasons, there are more freight trains on the district than there are locations to hold them without putting the entire territory into gridlock.
Whatever decrease in Amtrak performance that occurs on the territories I am responsible for is because of increased volumes of freight traffic - not because a legal provision has been invalidated.
The Train Dispatcher has a two dimensional playing field of fixed dimensions and characteristics - just because the Train Dispatcher has more trains to move does not give him any more facilities with which to do the job.
Other carriers and other territories may vary.
dakotafred Makes one wonder if everybody, including Amtrak, wouldn't actually be ahead if passenger trains ran at freight-train speeds on the freight railroads. Surely any gain from occasional bursts of 79 mph is dissipated in those long waits for a green light.
BaltACD schlimm oltmannd schlimmAmtrak basically is holding a gun to the head of the freight hosts: "You give us service for pennies on the dollar because you agreed to do so 43 years ago." So Amtrak gets service, poor service, as anyone would expect when that is the climate between the two parties. I think the frt RRs actually do the best they can. Amtrak is getting the best service possible. That's the problem. I am reposting this: One fact that has kept a low profile for the past 12 months is this: "A federal judge struck down the law that told railroad dispatchers to give Amtrak priority over freight trains. Since then Amtrak’s on-time arrivals have slipped across the country, to just 74 percent since last October."http://www.railwayage.com/index.php/blogs/frank-n-wilner/amtraks-sisyphean-struggle-to-run-on-time.html Observation from the Dispatching trenches! Never had heard of either the 'legal priority' or the ruling that 'struck it down'; and such rulings have not entered into the tactical dispatching decisions that get made on my territory. Passenger is given as much priority as the available 'parking' or meeting spaces on the territory will allow. There are times when. for a variety of reasons, there are more freight trains on the district than there are locations to hold them without putting the entire territory into gridlock. Whatever decrease in Amtrak performance that occurs on the territories I am responsible for is because of increased volumes of freight traffic - not because a legal provision has been invalidated. The Train Dispatcher has a two dimensional playing field of fixed dimensions and characteristics - just because the Train Dispatcher has more trains to move does not give him any more facilities with which to do the job. Other carriers and other territories may vary.
And in the words of, ie. paraphrasing don oltmann, that is Amtrak's problem.
schlimm BaltACD schlimm oltmannd schlimmAmtrak basically is holding a gun to the head of the freight hosts: "You give us service for pennies on the dollar because you agreed to do so 43 years ago." So Amtrak gets service, poor service, as anyone would expect when that is the climate between the two parties. I think the frt RRs actually do the best they can. Amtrak is getting the best service possible. That's the problem. I am reposting this: One fact that has kept a low profile for the past 12 months is this: "A federal judge struck down the law that told railroad dispatchers to give Amtrak priority over freight trains. Since then Amtrak’s on-time arrivals have slipped across the country, to just 74 percent since last October."http://www.railwayage.com/index.php/blogs/frank-n-wilner/amtraks-sisyphean-struggle-to-run-on-time.html Observation from the Dispatching trenches! Never had heard of either the 'legal priority' or the ruling that 'struck it down'; and such rulings have not entered into the tactical dispatching decisions that get made on my territory. Passenger is given as much priority as the available 'parking' or meeting spaces on the territory will allow. There are times when. for a variety of reasons, there are more freight trains on the district than there are locations to hold them without putting the entire territory into gridlock. Whatever decrease in Amtrak performance that occurs on the territories I am responsible for is because of increased volumes of freight traffic - not because a legal provision has been invalidated. The Train Dispatcher has a two dimensional playing field of fixed dimensions and characteristics - just because the Train Dispatcher has more trains to move does not give him any more facilities with which to do the job. Other carriers and other territories may vary. And in the words of, ie. paraphrasing don oltmann, that is Amtrak's problem.
Note - AMTK has the same problems on their own territory with their own trains.
BaltACD The Train Dispatcher has a two dimensional playing field of fixed dimensions and characteristics - just because the Train Dispatcher has more trains to move does not give him any more facilities with which to do the job. Other carriers and other territories may vary. Note - AMTK has the same problems on their own territory with their own trains.
Some freight lines do better than others.
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