March 23, 2018 - TRA Newswire -
Amtrak trains that run on the "host" railroads of BNSF and Union Pacific scored much higher in a new quarterly report card over other railroads that delayed passenger trains across the nation.
Most of Amtrak's trains run on track that is owned, maintained and operated by freight railroads. That can put trains like the Texas Eagle, Sunset Limited and Heartland Flyer subject to delays in their on-time performance from freight train traffic, especially in areas with just a single track and passing sidings.
The first "report card" issued by Amtrak gave BNSF Railway a B+ ranking while Union Pacific Railroad earned a B- rank. That puts both Western carriers below Canadian Pacific which scored an A but far ahead of CSX (C score) and Norfolk Southern and Canadian National which both flunked the Amtrak on-time performance metric with F's.
According to Amtrak, because the freight railroads make all dispatching decisions about which trains have priority in using the rail line, the freight railroads have a tremendous amount of influence over Amtrak’s operations on their lines. Amtrak passenger trains are to be given preference over freight trains using any rail line, according to federal law. According to Amtrak there are only a few exceptions to that rule.
The first Amtrak Host Railroad Report Card is based on delay time per 10,000 train miles. It is a measure of how much delay each host railroad causes to Amtrak trains. The measure is normalized by train mile so
that routes of different lengths, and hosts with different amounts of Amtrak service, can be compared to each other.
Specifically, it is the number of minutes of host-responsible delay, divided by the number of Amtrak train miles operated over that host, times 10,000
According to a news release, the largest cause of delay to Amtrak trains on host railroads is Freight Train Interference, typically caused by a freight railroad requiring an Amtrak passenger train to wait so that its freight trains can operate first. Host railroads often choose to force Amtrak trains with hundreds of passengers on them to stop and wait in favor of their trains carrying coal, garbage, crude oil, empty freight cars, or any freight that the host chooses to prioritize. Sometimes a host railroad will make Amtrak passengers follow the same slow freight train for 50 to 100 miles, or may even make Amtrak passengers wait while individual freight cars are switched into or out of industrial facilities.
Amtrak indicated that decisions by freight companies to prioritize their trains over passengers often occur when freight trains are operating late, short on crews, etc. Undisciplined freight companies may operate freight trains many hours ahead of or behind schedule,or with no schedule at all. So a poor grade may also indicate that the host is doing an ineffective job of running their freight operations, which causes Amtrak passengers to suffer.
Amtrak trains that run on the "host" railroads of BNSF and Union Pacific scored much higher in a new quarterly report card over other railroads that delayed passenger trains across the nation.
Most of Amtrak's trains run on track that is owned, maintained and operated by freight railroads. That can put trains like the Texas Eagle, Sunset Limited and Heartland Flyer subject to delays in their on-time performance from freight train traffic, especially in areas with just a single track and passing sidings.
The first "report card" issued by Amtrak gave BNSF Railway a B+ ranking while Union Pacific Railroad earned a B- rank. That puts both Western carriers below Canadian Pacific which scored an A but far ahead of CSX (C score) and Norfolk Southern and Canadian National which both flunked the Amtrak on-time performance metric with F's.
According to Amtrak, because the freight railroads make all dispatching decisions about which trains have priority in using the rail line, the freight railroads have a tremendous amount of influence over Amtrak’s operations on their lines. Amtrak passenger trains are to be given preference over freight trains using any rail line, according to federal law. According to Amtrak there are only a few exceptions to that rule.
The first Amtrak Host Railroad Report Card is based on delay time per 10,000 train miles. It is a measure of how much delay each host railroad causes to Amtrak trains. The measure is normalized by train mile so
that routes of different lengths, and hosts with different amounts of Amtrak service, can be compared to each other.
Specifically, it is the number of minutes of host-responsible delay, divided by the number of Amtrak train miles operated over that host, times 10,000
According to a news release, the largest cause of delay to Amtrak trains on host railroads is Freight Train Interference, typically caused by a freight railroad requiring an Amtrak passenger train to wait so that its freight trains can operate first. Host railroads often choose to force Amtrak trains with hundreds of passengers on them to stop and wait in favor of their trains carrying coal, garbage, crude oil, empty freight cars, or any freight that the host chooses to prioritize. Sometimes a host railroad will make Amtrak passengers follow the same slow freight train for 50 to 100 miles, or may even make Amtrak passengers wait while individual freight cars are switched into or out of industrial facilities.
Amtrak indicated that decisions by freight companies to prioritize their trains over passengers often occur when freight trains are operating late, short on crews, etc. Undisciplined freight companies may operate freight trains many hours ahead of or behind schedule,or with no schedule at all. So a poor grade may also indicate that the host is doing an ineffective job of running their freight operations, which causes Amtrak passengers to suffer.