OTP/Frequent delays across NEC

[Touchdowntom9]

I recently found myself on Amtrak’s train tracking site and was blown away by the frequency of late trains I saw on the NEC, specifically the NYP to WASH segment. It seemed almost half of them were behind schedule and some of them by as much as an hour and a half.

Amtrak having terrible OTP outside of the NEC is not surprising given they are on freight owned track, but given that they own the southern part of the NEC and take priority over commuter rail like NJT, I struggled to understand why they were so late.

I have also heard Amtrak has very generous schedule padding built in and yet still I was seeing that half of these trains are behind schedule and it didn’t seem abnormal.

What’s really causing this and is there a solution for it? Is it equipment (which is all about to be replaced by new Siemens rolling stock?) Because if this is just the way it will always be, and if we can’t get consistent on time performance on the NEC, then we won’t ever get it in the US anywhere in my opinion.

 

[AmtrakBlue]

I recently found myself on Amtrak’s train tracking site and was blown away by the frequency of late trains I saw on the NEC, specifically the NYP to WASH segment. It seemed almost half of them were behind schedule and some of them by as much as an hour and a half.

Amtrak having terrible OTP outside of the NEC is not surprising given they are on freight owned track, but given that they own the southern part of the NEC and take priority over commuter rail like NJT, I struggled to understand why they were so late.

I have also heard Amtrak has very generous schedule padding built in and yet still I was seeing that half of these trains are behind schedule and it didn’t seem abnormal.

What’s really causing this and is there a solution for it? Is it equipment (which is all about to be replaced by new Siemens rolling stock?) Because if this is just the way it will always be, and if we can’t get consistent on time performance on the NEC, then we won’t ever get it in the US anywhere in my opinion.

One reason has been the heat. They’ve had to lower their speed limits.
Also, there are many trains northbound that came from south of Washington. Many of them arrive late.

 

[zephyr17]

Old PRR fixed caternary that sags in the heat. They run the risk of fouling the pantographs if they run too fast. Some sections have modern constant tension caternary, but not enough yet.