Silver Star schedule change

[MusicManSamwise]

Got a phone call and email from an Amtrak rep, informing me that the schedule for train 92 has been changed as of March 27 (possibly sooner). It now departs Tampa at 3:17PM and arrives in DC tomorrow afternoon at 1:14PM--a change of roughly two hours.

However when I looked up the same itinerary for a couple months out, there was STILL no connection to the westbound Capitol Limited, even though there is now ample time to do so...the only option is via a Thruway to Orlando. (I didn't check the east/southbound CL/SS...but I assume there was a similar adjustment.)

I know schedule changes are made for a variety of reasons but I can't help but think they are missing out on a big opportunity here...

The LSL change has been discussed...anyone else know of other upcoming schedule changes?

--Sam

 

[Guest]

...the only option is via a Thruway to Orlando.

So, you can get a guaranteed connection to the Capitol Limited via Washington, if you take the bus to Orlando, and catch train 98 northbound?

Is there even now a guarantee that 92 will actually stop at Tampa? At least in the past, Amtrak would sometimes skip Tampa (running late?), and bus any passengers.

 

[AlanB]

Got a phone call and email from an Amtrak rep, informing me that the schedule for train 92 has been changed as of March 27 (possibly sooner). It now departs Tampa at 3:17PM and arrives in DC tomorrow afternoon at 1:14PM--a change of roughly two hours.
However when I looked up the same itinerary for a couple months out, there was STILL no connection to the westbound Capitol Limited, even though there is now ample time to do so...the only option is via a Thruway to Orlando. (I didn't check the east/southbound CL/SS...but I assume there was a similar adjustment.)

I know schedule changes are made for a variety of reasons but I can't help but think they are missing out on a big opportunity here...

The LSL change has been discussed...anyone else know of other upcoming schedule changes?

--Sam

Sam,

It wouldn't surprise me if Amtrak eventually did allow a guaranteed connection, but that's certainly not the first priority that Amtrak has when doing a schedule change. There are many other things to take care of first, before sitting down to reprogram the computer to allow a guaranteed connection.

 

[Green Maned Lion]

I imagine this is an attempt to kill a Silver consist and use the three Viewliners to make both Silvers 3 VL consists year round?

 

[Rafi]

Sam I looked into it for you through a friend at NARP, and here's the deal...

This is not a permanent schedule change. This is a schedule change from March 2-April 9 due to trackwork in Florida (2 hours earlier MIA-WAS and 1 hour earlier WAS-NYP). On several dates, the train skips Tampa when the work is west of Auburndale. While Amtrak considered it, the connection with the Capitol is not legalized because there is a chance the trackwork will end early and with the train back on its regular schedule, you'd have passengers that either need to be re-accommodated on the Meteor, or in the case of Tampa-Lakeland passengers, totally broken misconnections that would create an ARROW scheduling headache for whoever needed to clean it up.

Just the messenger, so don't shoot!

-Rafi

 

[battalion51]

CSX has been doing a lot of maintenance blitzes in the Jacksonville Division before the north end of the world thaws out from the winter and the work shifts up there. I've had a bunch of CSX guys in my hotel the past few weeks working on the Tallahassee Sub. In the back of my head I'm hoping it's for a possible Sunset restoration, but I'm not holding my breath either.