The Sunset Limited's o.t. performance

[Bill Haithcoat]

Well, I think it is doing better. since the new schedule. I have kept notes on the westbound's arrival in LA for about a month and it seems better to me, with only two especially glaring exceptions.(of the type it had become famous for)

3/16 1 hr. 57 min late

3/18 7 hr. 58 min late

3/20 1 hr. 39 min late

3/23 2 hr. 5 min late

3/25 4 minutes early

3/27 1 hr. 12 min. EARLY

3/30 3 hr. late

4/1 2 hr. 23 min. late

4/3 41 min. late

4/6 2 min. early

4/8 18 min. late

4/10 37min. late

4/13 9 hr. 35 min late

4/15 2 hr. 25 min late

While the above is not really good-at all--it much better than the often quoted 5 to 10 hrs delays (unless they were exaggerated and I do not believe they were). Seems to me it is getting better, though I did not keep such extensive records prior to the new schedule.

Any thoughts? Anybody been observing the eastbound run into Orlando since the new schedule?

P.S. Of course I realize this is against the backdrop of a much slower schedule.

 

[Save Our Trains Michigan]

The eastbound #2 has only been running 2-3hrs late into NOL

 

[jccollins]

On paper and to the passengers it looks better, and that is the important part. However, we have to remember that Amtrak has added 3 1/2 hours of padding in at the LAUPT end for train 1. Train 1 used to be scheduled in at 6:40am vs. the current 10:10am. So if you add 3 1/2 hours to all the early/late times it doesn't look quite as good. Unfortunately, adding more padding is about all Amtrak can do (since they don't have the guts to sue the h*** out of UP for their blatant stabs on top of their heavy freight congestion) and it is what they needed to do to so that it at least appears to be a "reasonably" performing train to the passengers and our ever-scrutinizing legislators who hold the purse strings. 4 trains arriving early or "on time" (according to Amtrak's standards) within the thirty day period you quoted means that it is now "on time" about 28.6% of the time, much better than the perevious, consecutive track record of 0.0%. It's just a numbers game.

 

[AmtrakWPK]

It's more than a numbers game. Pax don't care what time they arrive, per se. They care how close to the SCHEDULED arrival time they arrive. If the extra pad helps do that, pax are happier. Regardless of where the fault lies in not being able to meet schedule, pax are happier when they arrive at least moderately close to the scheduled arrival time. Then they meet relatives, friends, rental car and hotel reservations, and cruise ships, or whatever, and MAKE those connections, instead of missing them and having everybody's schedules disrupted.

 

[jccollins]

Right, and that's why I said, "On paper and to the passengers it looks better, and that is the important part." The numbers game I referred to is more of an internal Amtrak thing.

B)

 

[tulanegrad]

I rode the Sunset Limited from New Orleans to Tucson, AZ at the end of March, and we were four hours late getting into Tucson (though I think the train made up time between Tucson and L.A., making its' overall "on time" status much better if you were trying to go to L.A. as opposed to a stop in between). I was travelling on business, so it was important to me to get there within a few hours of the scheduled arrival time. I agree with the earlier comments -- as a passenger, I don't care how much padding they put in the schedule as long as they arrive fairly close to what was scheduled so it doesn't ruin the rest of my trip.

I just wish Amtrak had a better system for folks trying to get to Phoenix. They used to go to Phoenix, but no more. Now the only options are Tucson and Maricopa, and Maricopa isn't much of an option since there's nothing there (and as far as I could see, no way to get from there to Phoenix). I looked into riding Greyhound from Tucson to Phoenix, but it would've taken almost a day, when it only takes less than two hours to drive! I ended up getting a hotel room in Tucson (since the train gets in at an ungodly hour when the airport isn't open yet), and rented a car at the airport and then drove to Phoenix.