Weird that the one Amtrak LD train that routinely arrives OT or ahead of schedule is one that gets to its terminal at an ungodly hour. Some kind of rescheduling is obviously needed.
The reschedule already occurred. That's how we got here in the first place. Amtrak's decision to serve a metro of two million people with a once every few days departure shortly before 3:00AM and arrival into a metro of 13 million shortly after 4:00AM did more to reduce my annual train travel than all of their other negative changes combined. From what I understand the millions of sleepless retirees who were supposed to replace working age folks like me never showed up and now the Sunset is operating with fewer passengers overall.
As far as the SL and SWC arriving at the same time, well, Metrolink and Amtrak's Surflners probably needed as many platforms as possible during the weekday morning rush hour. Having LD trains setting around for long periods of time probably doesn't fit in with the commuter nature of today's Los Angeles Union Station.
I always assumed the only reason the Sunset Limited sat on the platform to begin with was because someone at Amtrak must have realized that the horrible schedule was unnecessarily punitive and thought that sleeper passengers might abandon future trips after being kicked out into the night like a hobo.
In reality everyone who rides the Sunset into Los Angeles is being penalized, including coach travelers, but I don't think Amtrak really cares about whatever long distance coach travelers think. Amtrak's bossy and indifferent attitude toward coach passengers is half the reason I travel in sleepers. Amtrak's uncomfortable and needlessly intimate cuddle style coach seats are the other.
