Cardinal?

[jis]

66/67?

3 hr 57 min southbound

3 hr 50 min northbound

That compares to about 3 hr 30 min for a couple of midday Northeast regionals picked at random. Yes middle of the night is slower, and 66/67 are in the schedule so their presence would be plugged into the maintenance work plan. The Cardinal's off schedule would not be in the plan, so it would much more likely be delayed.

Exactly! And things are likely to get worse at night time and weekends starting next year and lasting to maybe late 2016 as they start taking a track or two our of service in NJ for high speed and catenary upgrade during off hours.

 

[Phil S]

Hah! I see that 50 is on time (out of MNG) and this time it's 30 that's down 2+ hrs out of Connellsville. But never give up hope. There's still the BB for 50 to deal with.

 

[OBS]

Hah! I see that 50 is on time (out of MNG) and this time it's 30 that's down 2+ hrs out of Connellsville. But never give up hope. There's still the BB for 50 to deal with.

See? Amtrak took action and corrected the problems...All better now and nothing to worry about... :lol:

 

[Mackensen]

Train 50 (10) arrived NYP 4'41 late...Not bad, all things considered...

If that is "not" bad what is? I'm sorry but that is unacceptable, it was almost 2 hours late before it even hit it's 4 stop and ends up over 4 hours late. I can deal with an hour or so late but anything over 2.5 hours late to me is unacceptable and Amtrak either needs to fix this issue (there continual running 2+ hours late) or change that route to avoid that much delays.

What I meant by not bad is that since it is first passenger train operating thru an area that was presumably out of service for almost two weeks, you have to assume there will be some residual delays thru the area...

In regards to "fixing this issue" , I don't think it is all that easy, because it is not one consistent problem causing the delays...

Running fine this morning; 2 minutes late out of Prince.

 

[afigg]

Hah! I see that 50 is on time (out of MNG) and this time it's 30 that's down 2+ hrs out of Connellsville. But never give up hope. There's still the BB for 50 to deal with.

See? Amtrak took action and corrected the problems...All better now and nothing to worry about... :lol:

Amtrak may have begged CSX to allow the eastbound Cardinal to get through WV on schedule for at least 1 day this month. :lol: On the BB, it will likely end up getting to Culpepper late. Some Friday afternoon drama! Will the #50(12) stay on schedule or not? will it get slammed between Clifton Forge and Charlottesville? Stay tuned!

Would be useful to learn what the plans and schedules for the track maintenance and signal upgrades for the BBRR tracks are for the next several years. Has there been tie replacement, track repair work on the BB North Mountain Subdivision in recent months which might account for some of the constant delays?

 

[sitzplatz17]

Train 50 (10) arrived NYP 4'41 late...Not bad, all things considered...

If that is "not" bad what is? I'm sorry but that is unacceptable, it was almost 2 hours late before it even hit it's 4 stop and ends up over 4 hours late. I can deal with an hour or so late but anything over 2.5 hours late to me is unacceptable and Amtrak either needs to fix this issue (there continual running 2+ hours late) or change that route to avoid that much delays.

What I meant by not bad is that since it is first passenger train operating thru an area that was presumably out of service for almost two weeks, you have to assume there will be some residual delays thru the area...

In regards to "fixing this issue" , I don't think it is all that easy, because it is not one consistent problem causing the delays...

Running fine this morning; 2 minutes late out of Prince.

Starting to lose a little time: 17 minutes late out of Clifton Forge.

 

[The Davy Crockett]

I wonder what the current line in Vegas is? :unsure:

 

[AmtrakBlue]

Ok, you guys made me look (at the status map). "CVS ... Arrived: 52 minutes late."

Is this east of the BB? If so, does that mean she's making good time?

 

[afigg]

Ok, you guys made me look (at the status map). "CVS ... Arrived: 52 minutes late."

Is this east of the BB? If so, does that mean she's making good time?

For the eastbound #50 Cardinal, that is practically on-time. #50 will be on BB tracks until it gets to Orange VA, then it is on NS tracks to Culpepper, Manassas. You can see in Google Earth the BB and NS tracks diverge in Orange and then the BB tracks cross over the NS tracks at the CVS train station.

The two Cardinals have passed each on the BB North Mountain Sub-division. #51 westbound departed CVS 38 minutes late, then Staunton 53 minutes late.

 

[The Davy Crockett]

#50 CLP 1 Hour, 12 Min. late.

 

[nybatt]

51 in a service disruption?????? Oh, no.

hopefully something minor!!

 

[jis]

Major gas main break near Lafayette, will take 48 hours or more to repair. 50 will turn at Indy to become 51. 50 passengers will be bustituted to Chicago and 51 passengers tomorrow will be bustituted from Chicago to Indy. The earliest that 850 is likely to run is Sunday according to reports on Trainorderrs.

 

[dn4192]

Both 850 and 51 showing disruption, something must have happened here in Indiana...

 

[Texan Eagle]

Major gas main break near Lafayette, will take 48 hours or more to repair. 50 will turn at Indy to become 51. 50 passengers will be bustituted to Chicago and 51 passengers tomorrow will be bustituted from Chicago to Indy. The earliest that 850 is likely to run is Sunday according to reports on Trainorderrs.

This train just can't catch a break, can it?

 

[JayPea]

Major gas main break near Lafayette, will take 48 hours or more to repair. 50 will turn at Indy to become 51. 50 passengers will be bustituted to Chicago and 51 passengers tomorrow will be bustituted from Chicago to Indy. The earliest that 850 is likely to run is Sunday according to reports on Trainorderrs.

This train just can't catch a break, can it?

Well, it caught a gas main break.............

 

[spot1181]

On our 26 hour round trip from Cincinnat to Chicago yesterday, 51 was a half hour late into Chicago, coming back 50 was on time into Cincinnti. Talk about luck, our other choice was tomorrow.

 

[AlanB]

66/67?

3 hr 57 min southbound

3 hr 50 min northbound

Taht compares to about 3 hr 30 min for a couple of midday Norhteast reagionals picked at random. Yes middle of the night is slower, and 66/67 are in the schedule so their persence would be plugged into the maintenance work plan. The Cardinal's off sechdule would not be in the plan, so it would much more likely be delayed.

While maintenance is most certainly a part of the slower running times, a second factor is that train is simply scheduled to run slower so as to not arrive in Boston and DC too early in the morning. For example, what other train sits in NYP for nearly 1 hour? Even the long distance trains don't typically sit there for that long, and they've got a lot more loading/unloading to do than a simple Regional.

 

[Ryan]

I would think that the 110 MPH restriction on the baggage car would also contribute to the slightly longer run time.

 

[jis]

I would think that the 110 MPH restriction on the baggage car would also contribute to the slightly longer run time.

Not to mention the same limit on Viewliners too until they get uprated to the new Viewliner's 125mph capability.

But in general I think the LDs have more padding on NEC than would be necessary merely for the 15mph top speed difference. That is partly to account for longer station dwell times to deal with baggage etc.

 

[afigg]

Looks like the Cardinal is pretty much back to what has passed for normal in recent months. Running a little late.

#50(14) left IND 1:41 late, departed Clifton Forge 1:29 late, losing almost an hour over the BB to 2:25 late by Culpepper, now departing ALX 3 hours late.

Meanwhile the westbound #51(15) was 1:24 late departing Clifton Forge.

 

[afigg]

Since there has been so much attention paid to the on-time performance of the Cardinal, something stunning happened to the eastbound #50 (7/24) today - it arrived at NYP on-time. Link to the Amtrak Status Map tracking.

It departed Clifton Forge and Staunton 21 minutes late, and MADE UP TIME from Staunton to Charlottesvile on the BB. Ok, it then departed Culpepper 35 minutes late, but that's quibbling.

Of course, the westbound #51 will probably get to CHI hours later to compensate.

 

[NJCoastExp]

Since there has been so much attention paid to the on-time performance of the Cardinal, something stunning happened to the eastbound #50 (7/24) today - it arrived at NYP on-time. Link to the Amtrak Status Map tracking.

It departed Clifton Forge and Staunton 21 minutes late, and MADE UP TIME from Staunton to Charlottesvile on the BB. Ok, it then departed Culpepper 35 minutes late, but that's quibbling.

Of course, the westbound #51 will probably get to CHI hours later to compensate.

Since I was on board that train, I can tell why we did not get slammed on BB. Only 1 meet with CSX and that one happenned east of Charlottesvile.

 

[Notelvis]

How long until the operating agreement for the Cardinal on it's current route (via Buckingham Branch) expires? Not hearing as much about it's future as we are the SWC for some reason.

 

[afigg]

How long until the operating agreement for the Cardinal on it's current route (via Buckingham Branch) expires? Not hearing as much about it's future as we are the SWC for some reason.

I don't think Amtrak is looking to re-route off of the BB line. To get to the CSX through WV, I think unless the train is rerouted south to Richmond, it has go on the BB line. Others can comment more knowledgeably on possible NS to CSX connections through VA and WV.

The difference from the SWC is that the SWC operates over a line that the owner is seeking to abandon with the big challenge of who would pay to maintain it for Amtrak service.

The BB North Mountain Subdivision line, which is owned by CSX but leased to BBRR, is an active freight line. The state of Virginia is providing 10s of millions of dollars through FY15 for track maintenance and repairs to the BB lines via their Shortline Railway Preservation program. There is the interesting new project in the VA transportation budget for state FY13 (started July 1) & FY14 of $7 million total ($4.9 million from VA. $2.1 million from ?) for the North Mountain Siding Project. The BB tracks the Cardinal uses will be in better condition with a new signal system in the coming years. Helps to have a state with a rail fund to pay for track maintenance and upgrades when the freight operator won't or can't afford to.

 

[jis]

How long until the operating agreement for the Cardinal on it's current route (via Buckingham Branch) expires? Not hearing as much about it's future as we are the SWC for some reason.

I don't think Amtrak (or anyone else for that matter) is looking to re-route off of the BB line. To get to the CSX through WV, I think unless the train is rerouted south to Richmond, it has go on the BB line. Others can comment more knowledgeably on possible NS to CSX connections through VA and WV.

I agree that no one is looking to re-route the Card. Theoretically it could be rerouted via Lynchburg, Roanoke, Bluefield, Prince I suppose (remember the Hilltopper?), missing White Sulphur Springs in the process, and requiring several more hours of running time making it almost certainly a two night run. But as I said, no one is contemplating that.

The difference from the SWC is that the SWC operates over a line that the owner is seeking to abandon with the big challenge of who would pay to maintain it for Amtrak service.

Indeed, neither CSX nor the State of Virginia have any intention of giving up on BBRR.