Passenger Group Says Coast Starlight Delay Too Long SACRAMENTO CA -- Passengers are experiencing delays of up to 11-1/2 hours on the Coast Starlight, a passenger train between Los Angeles and Seattle that was once one of the nation's most reliable, a rail passengers' group complained Thursday. The Train Riders Association of California said it has been monitoring the southbound train's arrival times at Paso Robles over about the last month and has noted consistent, long delays ranging from five to 11-1/2 hours. "This is so far beyond the mild lateness we're used to that something needs to be done," said Alan Miller, the association's executive director. The group asked the governors of California, Oregon and Washington to pressure Union Pacific Railroad and the federal Surface Transportation Board to correct the problem. Gerald Cauthen, TRAC's president, said part of the problem is that there is only a single track to handle freight and passenger trains between Portland and Sacramento and he suggested that UP could ease delays by adding a second track. He also contended that Union Pacific's dispatchers don't give passenger trains required preferences. "We don't think that UP dispatchers really care enough about passenger service," he said. "We don't expect them to deny themselves profits to help passengers, but they are under some obligations." James Barnes, a spokesman for Union Pacific, said the railroad's managers and dispatchers "make every reasonable effort to provide priority to passenger trains on the Coast Starlight corridor." But he said the line is one of the mostly heavily traveled in the country and that the section between Eugene, OR, and Roseville, CA, is undergoing repairs that require slower train speeds. "The bulk of that work is being done over the course of this year," he said. "That will help remove some of those restrictions." He said adding a second track between Portland and Sacramento was "an option. But I'm not sure how viable the option is," he added. "Putting in track is a weighty endeavor." Vernae Graham, a spokeswoman for Amtrak, which runs the nation's passenger trains, said the Coast Starlight used to have one of the nation's best on-time records. Now it has one of the worst, she added. "The delays have been disastrous for us on the Coast Starlight, but it's been disastrous for years." She said the line not only has heavy freight traffic but also is shared by commuter trains in the Los Angeles and San Francisco-Sacramento areas. In summer months, repair work adds to the congestion, she added. "Usually they try to work around the passenger train schedule, but we still incur huge delays and huge hits..." she said. "Antiquated equipment is a huge, huge problem. If the track is broken it's got to be fixed." - Steve Lawrence, The Associated Press, The San Jose Mercury News
I can attest to the lateness of the Coast Starlight. We had occasion to travel from Phoenix to Seattle two summers ago. First, we spend almost as much time on a bus as on the train both coming and going. The Sunset was so late we were bussed over three hundred miles to catch the Coast Starlight. Coming back we were bussed from Seattle to well south of Portland and then again the following afternoon since we were so late we couldn't make the LA connection with the Sunset and were bussed again nearly 300 miles to Ontario so we could stand out in the cold for over an hour in the dark waiting for the Sunset. 14 hours late getting to Seattle and nearly 4 hours late returning to Maricopa, AZ. a wide spot in the desert where Amtrak has a station? (more of a joke) since Phoenix is only 3.6 million people and obviously doesn't merit passenger train service. The bright side, with all the bus rides we got most of our fare refunded, so the entire trip, sleepers and all was less than $500.00 for my wife and I. Love Amtrak since everything was the fault of the UP. Before I took this trip I thought I hated the Up. Now I know I hate the UP. A pox on their house! Doc
What is really pathetic is that although Amtrak gets the bad rap, the real problem is...1) the Bush Administration, 2) the Congress, 3) the Media, and 4) the freight companies who could care less about passenger rail in this country. We, the suffering public end up with three (3) choices...Automobile, Air, and Shoe Leather.....Rant, Rant, Rant!!!!! Regards items 1, 2, 3, & 4...you can organize a retaliation against a dedicated enemy, a force that is trying to kill rail passenger aggressively as they did in the 30's and 40's. But you can't combat an administration that doesn't even care, that doesn't acknowledge that rail passenger transport matters or even exists. It's like fighting the Pillsbury Doughboy.
Same problem here... COAL always has priority so getting in or out of UNION Station is always a crap shot for Amtrak and the Ski Train because of the same problems here. If Amtrak is to ever going to be the US Passenger service it was to have been thye have to have there own tracks because you can't ask today's freight service to take a back seat to there schedule. Problem is I just don't see that happening due to the costs and right a way issues of having side by side track then shared resources. :zip: :zip: :zip: :zip:
The collective cry of "So what?" you hear in the distance came from riders of the Texas Eagle and the Sunset Limited, two other Amtrakers who also run on UP rails. In Texas, "on time" on the Sunset is anytime within 5 hours of the scheduled arrival time.
I'm sure the derailment near Kalamath Falls, Or. Thursday will add to the problem further. UP dispatchers run the freights first around here,Amtrak gets to wait if there are UP trains to move.
I bet Amtrak could be on time at Union Station (in Denver) if it went the around about way over Tennesse Pass (out of service)
Since Amtrak does not have its own track maybe these states should fund a new dedicated track themselves since they will be the end users of said track. Dont ask the rest of us to pay for it.
I would like to note that UP's ontime performance in the Chicago commuter service last month was around 98% and for LA was 95%. Long-haul passenger trains have a longer run, and therefore much more opportunity for failure - slow orders and FORM B's can really stack up. And forget about some kind of interruption - some things just can't be helped. I look at CAD every day and watch 1 and 2 being routed AROUND Z-type trains on the Sunset.
Hey Corey, where have you been, man? I just read the article entitled "The Spigot" in the latest Trains mag, all about the LA and Long Beach container terminals and business there. Are you working for PHL? :confused2:
Hey! Hiya, Corey! You must be keeping really busy at the job? Maybe you'll be able to stop by more often? Boxcab E50
Yes been busy with the job. No I work for UP at ICTF - a near-dock facility where containers are loaded to railcars destined for points east. I should be around a little more often for the time being.
Glad to see you back on line, Corey. I imagine you had quite a culture shock going from NE to SOCAL....mg: Hope to hear from you more often. :teeth:
Went to the Convention on the 'Zepher'. Five hours late into Denver. But, the return trip really upset me, We left Denver 1 hour late, but arrived in Salt Lake...ON TIME... At night across the desert we lost 4 hour between salt Lake and Reno. Cannot figure that out at all. Yes...the poor amtrak train employees catch the grief...and it's not their fault. I feel that UP is doing anything to make 'long distant' trains a bad experience to disuade ridership. then Amtrak will be forced to discontinue the train. Same MO as used be the SP years ago to discontinue passenger trains. And the food...Talk to the Steward..a Mr. Rivers..on the return. Nice guy. Congress added an Amendment to the last funding. Opponents of Amtrak in Congress. The Amendment took two crew out of the Dinning car. Result-No Grill and no dish washing. So the food is now pre-prepared. No fresh eggs, no steaks. no real plates...plastic instead. How does that save when you ahve to carry and disguard all od the plastic garbage. How Stupid...just another way to make Amtrak look bad in the eyes of the public.
