So how did 79 of 7/28/2014 manage to loose 2 hours between Richmond and Petersburg?
jb
jb
From my random checks of the Silvers and the Palmetto at Amtrak status maps, they have often been getting delayed between Staples Mill and Rocky Mount in recent weeks. Yesterday's delays were consistent. The southbound Palmetto #89 (7/28) went from 5 minutes late at RVR to 2:38 late at RMT. The Silver Meteor #97 (7/28) last night went from on-time at RVR to 6 minutes late at PTB to 1:38 late at RMT; the Star #91 (7/28) went from 30 minutes late at RVR to 2:03 late at PTB.I think you said it - perhaps the tracks were loose for the trains to lose 2 hours. Dunno. Wonder if other trains had issues around Richmond and Petersburg yesterday...
Appears the Rocky Mount Gautnlet ~2+ hour delay is still in effect for today. Northbound #80 is 2:59 late at PTB, the Silver Star #92 went from on-time at RMT to 2:27 late at RVR."Rocky Mount Gauntlet". Interesting. I simply refer to it as "the Black Hole".
jb
Was that a bad business decision on CSX's part? How much (if any) incentive do they get to run Amtrak on time? Just asking...CSX needs to put the second track between RMT and PTB back in place, the one they removed in their enthusiasm for cost saving, even while they were also discontinuing the use of the line via Norlina. There is a reason that it is called the Rocky Mount Gauntlet.
The fact that it will only carry (mostly) high speed better performance scheduled passenger trains should mitigate the bit about single track specially if it is built with a well placed set of passing sidings. We have seen how well a scheduled single track railroad with well placed passing loops can be run even with 15 minute headway in various places. Once long and unpredictable freights get in the mix it is a completely different story.And maybe SEHSR will happen someday... although, SEHSR would create mostly a single-track railroad between Collier Yard and Wake Forest, NC.
The SEHSR line would be used for *local* freights... so they'd go to the CSX yard in Raleigh. There are no plans to use it routinely for *through* freights (though I'm sure it could be used in emergency reroutes).Hopefully, their access to the line will be rather constrained by virtue of the fact that they will nor be doing the dispatching.
A few freight trains judiciously mixed in more or less on some sort of a schedule should be manageable. But of course the good question is where on earth will they go once they get to Raleigh,
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