I ride the Lincoln Service frequently and have noticed some spots where we are going 110 mph, asked conductor who confirmed it. They did have to replace many crossing gates and signals. I usually take the 6:40 am train out of St. Louis if I am connecting to one of the later trains, Eagle is often late and will not rely on that one to get me there in time for a connection.
SunnylandEagle is often late and will not rely on that one to get me there in time for a connection.
The Texas Eagle slows down sometimes North of Dallas and into Southern Arkansas, not sure what is going on there but there has been some recent UPRR track construction. Laying of a second or third track in places in Texas as well as re-engineering one or two of the cutoffs to take up less real estate when they branch off the mainline. Usually the stop at Texarkana is used by UPRR to get some frieghts past the Texas Eagle while it is in the station. Same deal at Marshall, TX. You can tell the train is hindering freight operations.
Also, South of Dallas is a problem sometimes as well as far as time keeping is concerned. I was told that even the TRE line can be a problem if Herzog dispatches a commutter train in front of Amtrak prior to leaving Fort Worth it makes the arrival into Dallas 20 min late (they need more double track on the TRE line). I'll bet not a day goes by that UPRR is not celebrating they got rid of Amtrak between Dallas and Fort Worth. :) Even though Dallas and Fort Worth are talking on and off again about putting commuter trains on that line as well or using it as a route for a HSR line.
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