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Pere Marquette plagued by departure delays
Seemingly a fix would be to reschedule the train to leave Chicago earlier so that it arrives in Grand Rapids at an hour that will enable the crew to get the required rest.
I cannot think of a better way to turn potential customers off than to have a train depart its origin point late.
OK, let me get this straight. The train is delayed for crew rest so that it won’t get delayed in route for a recrew. A recrew that could be planned in advance. This is done to hold down cost. Though eventually this will impact ridership (if it hasn’t already. How many additional passengers have been lost because of this that you will never know about?) . Reducing revenue. And one wonders why Amtrak is questioned about its finances. Wouldn’t crewing the train out of Grand Rapids completely mitigate all of this? Or would that just be too simple of a solution?
In 1947 #8 left Chicago at 4:30 PM and arrived Grand Rapids five hours later. However, that was accomplished, I assume, by having all employees crewed at GR. Of course, in 1947, there three daily departures plus a 3:30 PM departure on Friday only to Holland and Muskegon.
So a 4:30 departure would possibly help.
I lived a few hundred feet from the Holland depot until 1949.
In 1947 #8 left Chicago at 4:30 PM and arrived Grand Rapids five hours later. However, that was accomplished, I assume, by having all employees crewed at GR. Of course, in 1947, there three daily departures plus a 3:30 PM departure on Friday only to Holland and Muskegon.
So a 4:30 departure would possibly help.
I lived a few hundred feet from the Holland depot until 1949.
Customer loss is a reality. My father told me someone he knows is very bitter about the morning train being 1.5 hours late which caused a missed connection in Chicago for a St. Louis bound train.