WASHINGTON — Amtrak says on-time performance of the Sunset Limited remains poor, highlighting an urgent need for action by the Surface Transportation Board on its request for an investigation into the train’s operations.
In a Monday filing, the passenger operator provides a status report on quarterly performance of the Sunset, the subject of its Dec. 8, 2022 petition for an STB investigation of the train’s substandard performance under a provision of the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008 [see “Amtrak asks federal regulators to investigate …,” Trains News Wire, Dec. 9, 2022].
That filing laid the problems squarely at the feet of Union Pacific, while an accompanying document outlined suggested methodology for the first-of-its-kind investigation.
The December filing also said the Sunset had been far below the Federal Railroad Administration on-time standard of 80% customer on-time performance for the preceding four quarters, with on-time figures no higher than 40% and as low as 7%. The update, for the first quarter of Amtrak’s 2023 fiscal year (October through December of 2022), shows performance has improved from the previous two quarters but is still abysmal, with a 31% customer on-time figure for the westbound train, No. 1, and 26% for eastbound No. 2. Amtrak says the figures underscore “the need for an expeditious board investigation that provides Amtrak with appropriate relief.”
Monday’s filing follows a month of relative quiet on the matter. Union Pacific filed its reply to Amtrak’s petition in January, arguing that the issues with the Sunset derived from a schedule not designed to take the customer on-time performance metric into account [see “UP asks STB to order mediation …,” News Wire, Jan. 30, 2023]. Amtrak responded in early February, arguing against UP’s request for mediation [see “Amtrak argues against mediation …,” News Wire, Feb. 7, 2023].
If Amtrak doesn’t like the service it’s getting from Union Pacific, why dioesn’t it buy the line from UP if it won’t build its own railroad?
Back before PSR and megatrains, SP was incapable of operating AMTK 1-2 close to on time.
Why should UP in the PSR and megatrain era with disinvestment and layoffs be expected to do any better?
A bypass of Ashland VA could have been a winner for residents, as CSX could have run most of the freight on the bypass, leaving the downtown just with the passenger and fast intermodal.
Lafayette, Indiana was in a similar situation with trains running through it’s downtown for many years, but a rail line bypass around town was eventually built. The FRA should enact a new freight sidings rule: no train operator must ever allow train lengths to exceed the capacity of their sidings. No more 2 mile long freight consists with sidings that are too short to accommodate it, if Amtrak is also a scheduled user there.
The Sunset route is a fairly high-speed route. However, it is a route that was set up with 5000 – 7000-foot sidings in the distant past. Long trains PSR does not only affects Amtrak but the freight shippers also. So, the STB needs to combine Amtrak and the freight delays.
To speed up everything on a route tell a RR that it cannot dispatch trains longer than its shortest siding for a certain distances. The RR will have to report each short siding delay and STB’s Implement requirements.
Acknowledging the difficulty for dispatchers to work with the unique demands of a tri-weekly schedule, perhaps life would be easier for the UP if Amtrak’s 1 & 2 ran daily? Certainly, Amtrak’s concept of costs would be better amortized over seven days, as well as the public service more accessible and acceptable.
Has the STB even inquired of UP what cause(s) the consistent delays of the “Sunset”? Do the excessive dwell times on this route also impact its schedule reliability?
As the country slides into recession, how could this potentially impact UP’s dispatching of Amtrak?
Amtrak must build dedicated rail so there are no delays created by the freight rail industry…both passenger train services and freight rail services are equally important and neither should be expected to have their services delayed!
Okay, sketch me out a dedicated rail route from New Orleans to LAUS. Cost it out and estimate the payback period. And tell me how long to build it.
I couldn’t sketch out a rail bypass around the town I live in, given all the money and all the time in the world to build it. I couldn’t do it for fifty billion dollars and fifty years construction time.
CA is doing that for future Capitol Corridor trains east of Sacramento. Specifically a bypass around UP’s Roseville Yard. As per government projects this has been in the planning, environmental and engineering stages for about ten years. Not sure, when construction will begin.
This raises another point: what does Amtrak pay the RRs to use a slot. The Capitol Corridor JPA pays UP a premium for dispatching their trains on time. Does anyone know how the fees Amtrak pays to the host RRs are calculated? Are they frozen in 1971 dollars? Maybe if they were paid more, they would do a better job? Or, at least be incentivized to a better job?
@Charles Landey Agreed. All one has to do is look at the attempts to bypass the towns of Lac Megantic, Que, and Ashland, VA. The former should require no explanation. Ashland is a college town bisected by the 2-track main of CSX’s Baltimore-Jacksonville line, a busy line that sees substantial freight traffic and an ever-increasing amount of passenger traffic through town. It is also designated as part of the federal high-speed corridor program. The town is a quiet zone and has a speed restriction within the town limits. A plan was devised to add a bypass track to the west of town a number of years ago. The route was in the final design stage, I believe. Maps were produced and published on the web. Then suddenly the plan was scrapped, apparently permanently. Apparently, there was too much local opposition. One can visualize the nightmare of trying to lay new rail lines through population centers of any size. Even the federal government doesn’t have the money needed to win every one of those battles.
Why do the RR’s keep hitting up Amtrak as a way to rebuild their shortsighted capacity errors of the past? Why don’t approach it like they do with the CREATE project or other rail congestion projects where they partner with Fed/State/local govt’s present a plan to get the funding? If it aids commerce, shippers & passengers it should be worth the investment just like FRA grants to small RR for track work. The RR’s were put at a disadvantage when the Gov’t enabled competition by building the Interstates & continue to invest in them along with aviation & waterways. The RR’s can’t continue to be an engine of commerce if they’re going to be shut out of the investment that the Gov’t bestows on other modes. The RR’s pay fuel taxes, property taxes, etc but what do they really get in return? It’s time the RR’s to get assertive they have plenty of positive advantages over other modes & are probably more deserving of the investment than their competitors.
The FRA should provide Union Pacific upgrades of its Sunset Route as Fortress did for Florida East Coast for the efficient operation of Brightline trains. Resolution accomplished!