Late-Starting Trains Today?

[NY Penn]

Several trains have had odd late starts over the past few days (more than usual):

TE-Train 21-07/05 left CHI 3 h, 44 min late.

Were there multiple bad ordered cars, or something else?

CZ-Train 6-07/03 left EMY 1h, 33 min late. This train is now almost 5 hours down.

CZ-Train 6-07/05 left EMY 44 min late. It will probably end up like the one two days before it.

Adirondack-Train 69-07/05 left NYP 45 min late. While this is not as significant, it seems strange that this train was sitting in NYP for the majority of an hour, during the rush period. What went wrong?

Also, #5 (3) managed to become 11 hours late. What happened? Freight congestion? Or another EB-like situation?

 

[JayPea]

I've been noticing, too, that on days the CZ appears to be so late that it will misconnect with the CS at Sacramento at midnight, the CS that was supposed to arrive at midnight at Sacramento starts out an hour or two late from LA, thus being late enough that it will still make that connection. For instance, today's CZ that was supposed to arrive in Sacramento this afternoon is now scheduled in at 12:46 AM, 10 1/2 hrs late. And if the CS from LA were on time, it would miss it by 47 minutes. Providentially, the CS was 1 hr and 14 minutes late leaving Los Angeles this morning and is scheduled into Sacramento at 1:13 AM, also an hr and 14 minutes late, late enough that if things go accordingly, the CZ will make a connection with the CS at Sacramento. Coincidence? I've noticed this same phenomenon before the last couple of weeks. Or are they delaying the starting time of the CS at Los Angeles so that it will give the CZ a chance to connect at Sacramento?

 

[AlanB]

I can't imagine that Amtrak would intentionally delay the Starlight out of LA because the CZ was going to be late into SAC. Delaying the CS screws up METRA and UP and has the potential to make the CS really late itself.

If Amtrak is going to do anything with the CS, I'd expect them to dispatch on time from LA and then hold the train in SAC for the connection. Equally likely that they'd consider bussing to make the connection.

 

[JayPea]

The idea that Amtrak would intentionally delay the start of the CS in Los Angeles really didn't make sense to me, either, yet it seems lately every time the CZ is going to be late enough to miss the Sacramento connection, the CS is delayed just enough at its beginning in Los Angeles that they make that connection anyway. Odd coincidence, I guess.

 

[Bruce-C]

Well, the CS #14 out of LA does not directly connect with the CZ #6 in SAC. The #14 pulls out of LAX at 10:20 AM. and it's scheduled departure from SAC is at 11:59 PM. The #6 scheduled departure from SAC is at 11:09 AM.

Now back to the tardiness of the #14 at LAX. In the last consecutive 9 days the #14 has been late out of the gate 5 days, 3 of those days it has been late over 1 hour for a 60% tardiness rate.Now for the kicker! The #14 has been late out of SAC 9 out of 9 days!! Six of those days over 1 hr. late, 3 of those days the #14n has been late over 2 hrs.!!!!

If you remember my post of a week ago this arrival/departure time is what stirred up a hornets nest on this site!

The last 9 departures for #6 out of SAC(I'm not worrying about Emeryville, Sac. is my concern) has been late all 9 times. Two of those more than 2 hrs. and 2 others were service disruptions!!

I really think there is justification to raise a complaint about this!!!!

Do we have equipment failure, blocked tracks?? Or are the trains just waiting for tardy crew members to arrive?? I have no idea, but this ain't anyway to run a railroad.

 

[GlobalistPotato]

What's been causing the lateness with the CS? I remember it having a 90% OTP last year.

I don't why the other trains would be late.

 

[JayPea]

I'd find out the specific reasons why these things happen before I'd register a complaint. And my comment about the CZ wasn't about #6, but #5. #5 is scheduled to get into Sacramento 9 3/4 hrs before CS #14 from Los Angeles arrives, but the CZ #5 has been so late the last few weeks at times it doesn't even make that connection, unless #14 is late. As for why #6 has started late, my guess is that it is because #5 is so late into Emeryville. There isn't enough time to get it ready for an on-time departure after it arrives in Emeryville. And #5 has been horrendously late due to flooding, detours, and several freight lines shut down over the Missouri, and those trains all being routed onto the BNSF line that Amtrak uses.

As I said before, Amtrak is completely at the mercy of the host railroad. If the host railroad is routing 3 times as many freights onto the line Amtrak uses, then that's the way she goes. If the dispatcher puts Amtrak onto a siding to run freight trains around them, I fail to see what Amtrak can do about it.