Does AMTRAK still pay an “incentive” to the freight railroad, which they operate over , for on time performance? If so what does this amount to?
I believe the incentive was done away with years ago. Please don’t quote me on that, but recent postings make me think so.
Some railroads are better than others in helping Amtrak stay on schedule.
Southern Pacific was one that did not care for Amtrak. The government took them to court over it.
I have listened to the dispatcher here locally. They seem to get uptight if the main is blocked when Amtrak is within a few hours.
Jim,
The Incentive Plan is still going like for example BNSF gets $2 Million a year for delievering Amtrak Trains ontime.
Railroad’s that do good with Amtrak BNSF, CP and CN.
Railroad’s that it depends on NS
Railroad’s that Plain Stink with Amtrak UP and CSX…
It’s a shame and ironic since one of CSX’s primary ancestors, the SCL, made a good effort in the 1980s to deliver Amtrak trains on schedule after a rocky struggle during the 70s. I was around then and remember reading that a number of the locomotive crews, conductors, and dispatchers took pride in running Amtrak on time since they were the same railroaders that had been handling passenger trains before Amtrak’s creation in 71. (Though one notable “boo-boo” was the Floridian, which ran late frequently due to horrid track conditions along the L&N route.)
Southern was another railroad that also made the effort to do it right most of the time while Graham Claytor was at the helm.
Ode to yesteryear…[;)]
You are right about SCL. And aren’t the Florida trains handled somewhat better than the other Amtrak-CSX trains, even today?
Hi Dave.
I no longer keep up with Amtrak’s Florida trains as I used to. Here on my side of Florida, we only have the Silver Star. I catch a glimpse of her every now and then near my area. Neat to see that the train still appears full, but of course that won’t matter much to our Secretary of Transportation (who needs to retire!).