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Amtrak, UP agree on rescheduled Sunset Limited
I have read this several times and still don’t understand the frequency of operation. Some places it sounds like there will be Chi-LA daily service and NO-SAT service, other places it says triweekly. Am I missing something?
Find new schedule on page 3 of this: http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/BlobServer?blobcol=urldata&blobtable=MungoBlobs&blobkey=id&blobwhere=1249238713922&blobheader=application%2Fpdf&blobheadername1=Content-disposition&blobheadervalue1=attachment;filename=Amtrak_ATK-12-018_Sunset_schedule_change.pdf
What is Amtrak’s present explanation for no service to Gulfport, Biloxi, Mobile, Panama City, Tallahassee, and Lake City? How do they get away with it? And on the newly revised schedule, if indeed the Sunset Limited arrives L.A. at 5:30 a.m., I’ll be finding other means of getting there. It may be a “guarantee” most trips to connect with the Coast Starlight but is it possibly a veiled method of eliminating a meal for sleeping car passengers, too (thereby saving expense)? Just a thought.
The proposed connection between the arrival of southbound Coast Starlight (Tr #11) at 9:00 PM and the departure of eastbound Sunset Ltd (Tr #2) at 10:00 PM is problematic to say the least. The “Starlate” has a pretty bad reputation for missing scheduled arrival times, so I’d be hesitant to book a connection between it and the new departure of the Sunset. If you miss your connection your whole trip is thrown off by TWO days. That could be a real mess!
I fail to see how a 5:35am arrival into LA can be construed as a benefit to passengers.
Mr. Johnston wrote: “The new departure times (compared below with the current schedule)…”
But it appears the editor dropped the ball…and those new departure times.
I’m glad to read about the Sunset Ltd. Now, do get the Sunset to go back to Florida? I can dream, can’t I?
didn’t compare schedules of #1 #2 to the present. very cloudy article and it needs transparancy
didn’t compare schedules of #1 #2 to the present. very cloudy article and it needs transparancy
didn’t compare schedules of #1 #2 to the present. very cloudy article and it needs transparancy
The tri-weekly operation of the Sunset does not change, only the schedule and days of operation westbound, leaving New Orleans Saturday instead of Friday. The 2010 performance improvement plan proposed daily operation AND the new schedule. Amtrak’s request for a days-of-operation change pre-dated the daily request, but had been denied by UP until it secured a promise from Amtrak in this agreement that it would not press for additional passenger trains on any route for 2 years.
Bill,
The Sunset is currently tri-weekly NOL-LAX, with through cars from the CHI-SAT Texas Eagle on the days the Sunset runs. Amtrak wants to change to daily CHI-SAT-LAX, with a separate daily train NOL-SAT, which it can do with no additional equipment.
This agreement lets Amtrak change one of the NOL departures from Friday to Saturday, which will free up equipment for other uses, but Amtrak agrees not to even talk about going daily for at least 2 years.
Once again Texas–and the Southwest in general are second class for Amtrak. I could not find the actual schedule. Do we have a daily SA-NO train or not?
Doug
Is there a proposed schedule or not? If so, why doesn’t Trains publish it right here? Is everyone there asleep at the switch?
I think AMTRAK has more operarional stratagy than the bracketologists. So much new double tracks and new/longer sidings and AMTRAK still has to beg for slots. Of course in Europe freight move secondarily to passenger trains for the most part.
a 5:30am arrival time for #1 into LA is just atrocious. I like the cost savings of not having the train (and crew) idle for so long in New Orleans between runs, but, come on, think of the passengers for once. How many people are going to want to wake up at 4:00 or 5:30 for an ridiculously early arrival. If the train is on time, and lately its been running early into LA with all the padded schedule… the passengers connecting to the Northbound Starlight still have a 5 hour wait. Thats horrible.
The full, detailed, new Sunset schedule is available on the Amtrak website press release for this. Meanwhile, Amtrak continues to ignore its illegal dropping of the New Orleans - Orlando segment without a 180-day Notice of Discontinuance. It’s only been over 6 years so far.
By happenstance I wrote a letter to Boardman this past Sunday suggesting that the Eagle’s tri-weekly schedule be improved. My major recommendations were the reduction of the dwell times in San Antonio and improved calling times at major markets, i.e. Houston, Tucson, etc.
It looks like the announced schedule changes were in the works. Oh well, at least my letter reinforced the decision to improve the schedule.
I’m still waiting for them to bring back the L.A. to Las Vegas train. Whatever happened to that idea?