I just wanted to comment on Amtrak's "Lateness." Amtrak does NOT own any rails. They are at the mercy of the owner of the lines that they happen to be on. So, when Amtrak is late, it isn't necessarily Amtrak's fault.
WRONG - as Amtrak does own and operate their own trackage!
Well, the NEC is unique, and the part in Michigan is a tiny section. Other than that, . . . . Amtrak has to accept the condition of the rails maintained by the freight lines (which can cause slowdowns), work around the freight lines' schedules, etc. Much of Amtrak's delay problems are due to factors beyond their control.
Well-put, breezinup.
And some freight railroads are better "sports" about having a passenger train on their track than others are. They all have to do track maintenance work, They all have defect detectors that can cause a freight train to stop on the main track between sidings and thus stop all other trains in both directions. These days, when most freight railroads have only one 79 MPH passenger out there among a bunch of slower freight trains, it requires a good, well thought-out, advance plan to open a "window" for the passenger train and keep it open, and it's different every day. And, then, the plan has to work as intended, i.e., no unexpected delays on the freight trains. One tends to forget that, before the 1980's, most North American passenger trains were operated by timetable and train orders. There was superiority of trains, and individual crews on inferior trains got in the clear for superior trains. Most passenger trains ran reasonably close to their schedules. Not today, with all the direction coming from the dispatching office, either via CTC or Track Warrant Control.
Dispatchers, Engineers, and Conductors all start as beginners, and they should get better with time, as they gain experience. Most do; a few don't.
Where an Amtrak train is consistently late, day after day, then it is normally the result of one of two things:
- a corporate culture that does not regard Amtrak's needs as having any importance, or
- stump-headed planning by inept Chief Dispatchers and/or Train Dispatchers who are regularly assigned to the trick which is responsible for making and executing the plan for the hours that Amtrak passes over their territory.
When a freight railroad is willing to make an effort to run Amtrak on time, the result is better, but never perfect.
In the case of the Empire Builder, the railroad (BNSF) saw a moderate-traffic northern transcontinental line quickly turn into a heavy traffic line before they had the time to build in capital improvements and hire employees to handle the traffic. You can't move trains when you have no rested crews and you can't make your crews work every day of the year. The Builder, and all the freight trains, were caught in a giant traffic jam day after day. Officials up to the Regional Manager level were replaced, and that, coupled with additional second main track and a general leveling of traffic, has made an improvement. However, there is still much single track, and the second paragraph of my reply is particularly applicable to single main track territory. Capital improvements to increase capacity take time to plan, authorize, and execute.
). Amtrak is notoriously late, especially on the east coast where they are running on CSX freight tracks. We have always traveled coach, for a one night trip its OK. Since the car is a paying customer also, we figured we would save the money on the sleeper accommodations. The crews have always been friendly and professional. The food quality has dropped a bit in the years we have traveled but it's still good. The trains are getting old so the tape and bubble wrap is a good suggestion to silence a rattle or block unwanted light.
. Last Summer we were delayed leaving Lorton (arriving train was late), so I passed the time on the end of the platform watching the crew spot the auto-carriers and prepping the engines for the trip south.
