New timetable book out (sort of)

[WoodyinNYC]

Quite a few changes but none significant. ... Vermonter had some tightening. ...

To Vermont riders, that tightening could be significant. Sleep later in the morning? Or do chores -- drop the kids off at school, stop in the office for a few seconds -- because the train leaves 27 minutes later now, at 9:25 a.m. That saved half hour pushes on down thru Essex Junction and White River Junction ("There'll be a function at the junction" -- but which one?) to Springfield, beyond which the Timetable remains the same. This makes about an hour (or more?) out of the Vermonter's end-to-end SB schedule since the Stimulus-funded projects began on this route.

Not quite as sweet NB, where half the time saved is apparently being used as padding while the tracks New Haven-Hartford-Springfield are a construction site mess. So you only get home to Montpelier 10 minutes faster, to St Albans 17 minutes sooner.

But a nice accomplishment. And a nice step toward a good arrival time in Montreal as well.

 

[Chicoan]

I just picked up the new print schedule. Leafing through, I see at least a couple of new and improved Thruway buses, but the map at the front of the schedule doesn't reflect the additions, nor are they singled out by Mr Boardman as he did in the last schedule.

Specifically: the Pittsburgh-Columbus Thruway which first appeared in the previous schedule has been extended to Indianapolis; and there's a new Denver-Gunnison-Alamosa Thruway which isn't on the map OR the list of Amtrak stations.

 

[WoodyinNYC]

There is a major change of the BOS - Albany times being tightened Trains 448 / 449

Sorry. I don't see it online when I call up the current and coming Timetables. I'm not surprised to think there's slack to tighten with the Boston-Worcester segment is under new management. Just don't see it online. Maybe someone failed to post the correct coming schedule.

 

[WoodyinNYC]

I just picked up the new print schedule. Leafing through, I see at least a couple of new and improved Thruway buses ...

Specifically: the Pittsburgh-Columbus Thruway which first appeared in the previous schedule has been extended to Indianapolis ...

Amtrak meets the electronic age: On Amtrak.com, click SCHEDULES. See that the Capitol Ltd offers the schedule from April 6, 2015, and one effective January 11, 2016. Except that nobody is home. Both Timetables presented are the same from April, 2015. Hope someone comes to headquarters tanned, rested, and ready on Monday, cuz there's work to do. :angry:

 

[Acela150]

The vast majority of people who ride the Acela's have secretaries who do it all for them.

Almost certainly untrue.

And irrelevant, since those that do have secretaries booking for them use the website like the rest of us.

Ryan, I think there is some truth to this. Just not secretaries it's more of bosses doing the bookings. This is what I've seemed to gain from my experiences on AE in that FC car. When my Dad worked for a living (His quote) his secretary would book his trips after what train he would tell her to book, after approval from his boss. And Ryan, he worked in the same department as you.. NAVSEA I can provide you with endless stories of the Philly Navy Yard and the NAVSEA department members.

 

[Thirdrail7]

We can tie a lot of this together at once.

I have a feeling this topic is about to get blown out if proportion

Assuming that this printed version becomes the online version at Amtrak.com, does anyone want to join me in discussing its MANY flaws?

On the home page at Amtrak.com, click on SCHEDULES. On that page, right at the top it reads, Acela Express -- see Northeast Corridor timetables.

But [if]... all I want is info on Acelas, ... Amtrak does not offer that info.

Now seriously, why not allow the prospective customer to click on a link labeled Acelas and see the timetable for Acelas?
...

Amtrak Blue said (lost in attempting to cut some of my words)

"If you're an Acela snob, you know that Acela train #s are 4 digits and start with 2. Others are 2 or 3 digits (except specials which I think start with 4). So it's not that hard to find your Acelas on the TT's.

"I'm a regional cheapo and skip the columns with the 2xxx trains. "
+++++++++++++++++++

Thanks again, Amtrak Blue. But this is more insider info for those already in the know. What about first-time users -- they can be Acela snobs without every having consulted the Northeast Regional timetable before. Why make things hard. Why not make it easy for a wanna-be buyer to look over all the offerings before making a decision. Why should anyone have to go thru consulting a Northeast Corridor timetable with 51 Southbound trains with info spread 12 columns wide. Why are you arguing that Amtrak need not bother with an added Acela-only schedule? What would that cost you? Adding an Acela timetable seems like a good project for the intern.

I was not arguing against having a separate TT.

Well, OK!

And why not a page for Regionals only?

For the likes of us who are spending our own money, not tax-deductible expense accounts funds on Acela tickets ...

Just looking to find my way thru 51 different trains on a Timetable, when I know that I have no interest in about half of them.

Not saying that Amtrak couldn't keep the full 51-train Timetable for all, and I do mean ALL, trains NYC to D.C. But it wouldn't hurt to carve out a couple of specialized shorter simpler Timetables. I don't see any downside, not printing expenses, with dead trees and all that, so what could it cost?

And dare I say, if we weren't cramming 51 trains onto one page, but only say 20 or 25 Acelas or Regionals, a little white space between the stacked train names could make the thing more readable. On the old-fashioned printed on paper Timetables, it made sense to squeeze all the info into the smallest possible allotted space. But not now.

Maybe I don't want the intern handling the revisions, after all. I want a bifocals-wearing senior employee who often has to squint to read fine print. LOL.

The schedules are nothing more than scanned timetables that are available in the stations. As more passengers use online tools, less printed information is available since paper schedules cost money. The Acela only timetable disappeared a few years ago. So did the exclusive Northeast timetable.

It is all available online, just as RR indicated. The website has the filters and that is what most people seem to use these days. I wonder how much longer the printed system schedule will continue to exist. I can see the wallet cars sticking around, but they may go the way of the paper ticket.

I've emailed Amtrak more than once to suggest that the Northeast Corridor timetables in the main national schedule book be separated into "Weekday" and "Weekend" timetables. The current timetables are practically unreadable, because for any given day, half the trains listed are not running. I think there's only one train which runs at the same times on weekdays and weekends, and it's #66/67

67 is a weekday train with a schedule that allows for MARC traffic. 65 is the weekend version which does not follow a MARC train out of Baltimore. Therefore, the times are different between BAL-NPN.

 

[Ryan]

The vast majority of people who ride the Acela's have secretaries who do it all for them.

Almost certainly untrue.

And irrelevant, since those that do have secretaries booking for them use the website like the rest of us.

Ryan, I think there is some truth to this. Just not secretaries it's more of bosses doing the bookings. This is what I've seemed to gain from my experiences on AE in that FC car. When my Dad worked for a living (His quote) his secretary would book his trips after what train he would tell her to book, after approval from his boss. And Ryan, he worked in the same department as you.. NAVSEA I can provide you with endless stories of the Philly Navy Yard and the NAVSEA department members.

I am certain that some are booked by secretaries. Maybe even a majority in the FC car. But a vast majority? Across the whole train? Absolutely not.

Also, we have to book our own travel these days, and it's absolutely not going to be an Acela.

 

[neroden]

The website has the filters and that is what most people seem to use these days.

That's completely worthless crap and you can quote me on that!

I wonder how much longer the printed system schedule will continue to exist.

I don't care whether it's physically printed -- I can print a PDF at home. As long as I can click on the link and get a nice readable timetable (which I just did), I'm fine.
But a clear timetable book must continue to be created, even if it's "print for yourself".

"Reservation searches on the website" are worthless crap if you're trying to figure out possible routings and possible schedules. No travel agent would consider it acceptable, as it takes hundreds of hours more work. Travel agents still go to the trouble of getting timetables for airlines, which are hard to get these days.

If Amtrak ever fails to provide timetables, eventually someone will have to design something along the lines of Amsnag, only even less friendly to Amtrak's reservations system workload, to hammer the reservations system daily with thousands of test bookings in order to deduce the schedules and print them. Nobody wants that, do they?

VIA Rail Canada has come very close to not providing acceptable timetables, and I think it's gross incompetence on their part. But even they still do provide timetables; they're just very badly designed timetables which are very hard to find on the website.

By contrast, most commuter rail operators provide *gorgeous* printed timetables which are everything you could desire for trip planning.

Think about how many people drive around with printed maps from Google Maps. Sure, they're not buying preprinted maps, but they need a printable map and they are printing it out. Turn-by-turn directions are NO SUBSTITUTE.

The situation with "reservation searches" vs. timetables really the same sort of thing. The reservation search is *not* a substitute for the timetable. The advantage to "print on demand" is that you can print only the pages you're actually interested in, but you still need a comprehensive timetable.

Using the timetable, I can design a complex itinerary with multiple layovers with ease. Trying to do it with searches in the reservation system is a complete nightmare, to the point of "To hell with it, I'll just drive". Because of this, VIA Rail actually lost business from me a couple of times before I found their timetables.

 

[Train2104]

Also, unlike air travel, bus and train rides are slow enough that one often wants to refer to a timetable while onboard the vehicle to check status. So the printed pamphlets for all routes need to stay.

On the NEC, the issue is that during holidays, there's so many operational exceptions that can't really be easily explained by reference notes. So Amtrak should just put out special online-only versions of the NYP-WAS and BOS-WAS cards for those periods (in the regular W2/W4 format, not the Turkey Day book format), and clearly state on the printed one to go check online around holidays.

I'm not so sure as to the usefulness of the big book. The NEC definitely doesn't belong in there, nor do I think the list of stations is needed.

 

[willem]

The schedules are nothing more than scanned timetables that are available in the stations.

I hope you're simply playing loose with terminology and don't really mean it. There is a difference between generating a PDF (print to PDF, for example) from an electronic source document and scanning.

 

[WoodyinNYC]

The schedules are nothing more than scanned timetables that are available in the stations.

I hope you're simply playing loose with terminology and don't really mean it. There is a difference between generating a PDF (print to PDF, for example) from an electronic source document and scanning.

Let me put it this way:

The SCHEDULES are nothing more that online versions of the electronic document that the printer used for the paper Timetables.

Which brings me back to the point that the online SCHEDULES could easily be tweaked and improved in minor but useful ways.

Online we're not so constrained by 'real estate' as with the paper schedules, so info could be added or expanded without creating big problems with the fit, or adding to the costs of printing and distributing the nicely folded, but heavy when in volume, paper Timetables.

On the other hand, the online SCHEDULES simply waste lots of 'real estate'. The cover page is always centered with dead space on either side. Perhaps the blank space could be used for a bigger better map, or other info, or for ads. "Visit beautiful Vermont" could go on the top of the Ethan Allen and Vermonter timetables. Oops. NY State pays part of the Ethan Allen train. Maybe make that ad read, "Take the scenic route".

And dare I say, in many cases the online blank space might allow larger type, for the many of us riders of the 'reading glasses' generation.

Yeah, I know there are ways to enlarge printed pages online. But before anyone hurries to tell me that, answer me this: In what way would anyone be harmed if slightly larger type were used for the online Timetables?

 

[Bex]

I consult the PDF "printed" timetables because on SB trains where I board at NYP, I'd much rather take one originating there, as the ones from Boston are invariably 20-30 minutes late at the times I usually take them. There are also more seats available in the Quiet Car. The online "station to station" schedules don't show where the train originates.

I would love a separation of weekend/weekday trains, but I find the Acela/NER delineation is already quite clear because of the different colors used.

 

[Chicoan]

I just picked up the new print schedule. Leafing through, I see at least a couple of new and improved Thruway buses, but the map at the front of the schedule doesn't reflect the additions, nor are they singled out by Mr Boardman as he did in the last schedule.

Specifically: the Pittsburgh-Columbus Thruway which first appeared in the previous schedule has been extended to Indianapolis; and there's a new Denver-Gunnison-Alamosa Thruway which isn't on the map OR the list of Amtrak stations.

also--the bus from Scranton to/from Philadelphia is missing from the map. By the way, is there anywhere a thread discussing Thruway routes in general?

 

[WoodyinNYC]

I just picked up the new print schedule. ...

Amtrak meets the electronic age: On Amtrak.com, click SCHEDULES. See that the Capitol Ltd offers the schedule from April 6, 2015, and one effective January 11, 2016. Except that nobody is home. Both Timetables presented are the same from April, 2015. Hope someone comes to headquarters tanned, rested, and ready on Monday, cuz there's work to do. :angry:

Nothing about the online SCHEDULES for the Lake Shore Ltd to/from Boston, or for the Capitol Ltd, has been updated online. The cover pages have new dates, but all the other pages are the same as before. Well, tomorrow is another day.

 

[neroden]

I'm not so sure as to the usefulness of the big book.

Oh, it's essential.

The NEC definitely doesn't belong in there,

It definitely does belong in there. Ever tried to design an itinerary from Syracuse to Harrisburg, with multiple stopovers?
The NEC display in the big book should be organized in the fashion which is most useful for someone designing a complex trip. Which is why separating weekend and weekday schedules would be helpful.

nor do I think the list of stations is needed.

On that, you're probably right. The printed list of stations with their addresses is not really useful at this point.

 

[willem]

On that, you're probably right. The printed list of stations with their addresses is not really useful at this point.

To each his or her own. I find the list of stations useful for the identifier and the street address and other things. I do wish Amtrak still included information about parking, although sufficient detail is probably inappropriate in the timetable.

 

[WoodyinNYC]

And I'm still finding ways the online SCHEDULES At Amtrak.com could be improved.

Something like why not an Acela-only page, but more so:

Auto Train

Click on that, it opens the page reading ATLANTIC COAST SERVICE, because, if you're looking for the Auto Train info, you first want to detour thru the Timetables of other trains. Sure. Like you could load your private vehicle onto the Piedmonts, Palmetto, Carolinian, Silver Star, or Silver Meteor.

That's so confusing, a user might be tempted to back up and start over.

No, the user is being required to scroll down, past the page with the cover, past the page with the Timetable of 3 trains going to Charlotte and 3 trains going to Savannah. And then scroll down past the page giving the Timetables of the Silver Star and Silver Meteor from Savannah to Miami, plus assorted Thruway bus routes. THEN at last reach the page for the Auto Train.

I can understand why it saved paper and distribution costs to carefully jam seven Timetables onto the pages of one printed booklet. But would it challenge Amtrak to allow a separate page online for users wanting the Auto Train Timetable, and only the Auto Train Timetable?

The little mess says, nobody is paying attention, or, nobody cares.

 

[chakk]

Plenty of the new system timetables were available in the public timetable rack at Sacramento station on Monday. I picked up three for "home use" (two bathrooms in our house) with one added to my multi-decade collecton.

 

[WoodyinNYC]

Quite a few changes but none significant. ...

There is a major change of the BOS - Albany times being tightened Trains 448 / 449

I still don't see ANY change of the BOS-Albany times, on the timetables or using the city-to-city booking option. One of us is mistaken, and if it's me, help me find what you found.

 

[Train2104]

Thought of something - if they split the NEC timetable into weekday/weekend and transposed it (so the stations were columns) they could do WAS-BOS in one direction on one two page spread, and thus weekday/weekend in both directions in the same number of pages the current southbound schedule uses.

Also split the Keystone into weekday-weekend. Might need to rotate it like they did with the Cascades. The Empire Service has enough daily trains that the current layout works. Remove the separate pages for Carolinian, Piedmont, and Pennsylvanian.

As I said above, remove the stations list. Remove the Discounts and Passes section.

This removes 21 pages of a 136 page timetable - a 14% cost savings! Something needs to be done about the "back matter" - something should probably remain there, but it can be pared down a lot.

 

[WoodyinNYC]

New temporary schedules for the Sunset and the Eagle have been posted on amtrak.com.

The eastbound departure from LA moves up from 10 p.m. to 4 p.m. (Which totally messes up the arrival times in Maricopa (Phoenix) and Tucson, putting them in the dark of night, so this is gonna hurt ridership.)

Then in March, the present schedule will be restored.

Anybody know what's going on?

 

[MikefromCrete]

New temporary schedules for the Sunset and the Eagle have been posted on amtrak.com.

The eastbound departure from LA moves up from 10 p.m. to 4 p.m. (Which totally messes up the arrival times in Maricopa (Phoenix) and Tucson, putting them in the dark of night, so this is gonna hurt ridership.)

Then in March, the present schedule will be restored.

Anybody know what's going on?

Track work.

 

[WoodyinNYC]

New temporary schedules for the Sunset and the Eagle have been posted on amtrak.com.

...

Then in March, the present schedule will be restored.

Anybody know what's going on?

Track work.

Thanks.

That's the UP getting ready to carry the daily Sunset? Sure it is. LOL.