![]() ![]() And a more successful Amtrak should lead to a more prosperous Baltimore as the project will not only repair the original 110-year-old terminal and expand the station’s capacity but support development in the surrounding Station North neighborhood. Penn Station, now undergoing a $175 million face-lift is Amtrak’s eighth busiest stop. On long-distance trains, average speeds are generally in the 40 mph territory.įor Baltimore, a faster and more reliable Amtrak can’t happen too soon. Even so, Northeast performance remains fantastic compared to long-distance trains, particularly given investments that allow Acela trains to 150 miles per hour (with speeds of 160 coming next year). Weather, track maintenance, obstructions and mechanical problems are among the top excuses after freight conflicts. Studies have shown the passenger rail provider was having a tough time meeting on-time performance goals pre-pandemic, when freight traffic was not nearly so robust. Amtrak and other passenger rail providers (including Maryland’s MARC) can file a complaint with OPR staff when a problem arises, and it will be up to that office to drop the hammer on CSX Transportation, Norfolk Southern, Union Pacific or its peers. Under a long-standing law, freight lines are supposed to give preference to passenger service but who can tell whether they’ve given Amtrak priority or not and what are the consequences for not yielding? That investigative and enforcement responsibility now falls to the OPR. And that’s not even counting how the railroads have lost crew members during the COVID-19 pandemic. And supply chain bottlenecks that have crowded the nation’s ports have also put enormous pressure on its rail lines. ![]() That’s not usually the problem in the Northeast Corridor, where Amtrak owns the right of way, but it happens all the time in the rest of the country. 13, is vital because the leading cause of Amtrak delays isn’t actually within its control too often, passenger trains are slowed or stopped because freight trains are occupying the tracks. And their goal will be to make sure that at least 80% of passengers arrive at their stations within 15 minutes of the scheduled time. In other words, the on-time police are coming. The good news is that the federal government recently took an important, if little-noticed step, toward that end - the creation of the federal Office of Passenger Rail, which will be responsible for investigating and analyzing issues regarding Amtrak on-time performance. Such experiences, surely worsened by the pandemic, need to be derailed if Amtrak is to become what President Joe Biden last year promised it soon will be thanks to an upgrade in federal infrastructure spending: the means to ease traffic congestion, bring access to jobs and prosperity to cities like Baltimore and reduce air pollution including greenhouse gas emissions while serving tens of millions more Americans. 7, Wolverine Train 351 provided one high-profile example of Amtrak’s current woes: It made the 5-hour trip from Pontiac, Michigan, to Chicago’s Union Station in 19 hours, the multiple delays along the way compounded by a lack of electricity, heat, working bathrooms and food leaving some passengers literally fleeing the train to find more reliable - or at least tolerable - transportation. To board such trains is to hope you will get to where you are going within hours of the posted schedule. Not the Capitol Limited from Washington, D.C., to Chicago not even the Sunset Limited from New Orleans to Los Angeles. Not the Empire Builder from Chicago to Seattle. long-distance passenger trains made it to their destinations on time between October and December of last year? Would you guess one-quarter? Maybe half? Two-thirds? If you chose any of the above, you are either an eternal optimist or have little experience with Amtrak these days. that person does not have to wait on rude snob east coast people.Here’s a pop quiz for those who ride Amtrak on a regular basis: What percentage of U.S. I met a neat a Airline Employee and even he said that we need better Amtrak Service. no Transportation in the world is 100% perfect and that goes 100% for the stupid Airlines. and it had gotten worst Post 911 and almost 9 years ago. That person never reads article about Airline Travel turning into Nightmares. and it would likewise make manners worst. That stupid women from the east coast, should apply at Amtrak, and try to boss those union people around. how about being tied up at Stupid Airports. people driving like 90 mph and causing crashes and tie up. Therefore, I challenge that snob person to drive and see where they are tied up in Traffic. ![]() and wost, derailment or had to take off a rude like passenger for misconduct. normally, it is the Single that is out, a switch that broke. they love to blame Amtrak for delays that’s likewise be-on their control. ![]()
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