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TEXAS EAGLE DELAYS

as a result of


Union Pacific Operating Failures

Hundreds of Amtrak passengers aboard the Texas Eagle each trip are being subjected to extreme delays, ranging from four to eight hours, due to Union Pacific dispatching failures. Union Pacific is repeatedly delaying Amtrak passenger trains at the same time that top Union Pacific officials are proclaiming that their freight train gridlock in Texas has largely been resolved. At a time when Amtrak trains are operating with a capacity load during the peak summer travel season, the Texas Eagle and Sunset Limited passenger trains are routinely delayed by malfunctioning signals and trackside detectors*, track maintenance gangs, inordinate waits for operating instructions from dispatchers and improperly scheduled meets with freight trains. These delays, perhaps coincidentally, have gotten systematically worse since the Surface Transportation Board issued a ruling on May 29 which reaffirmed Amtrak's express initiative and dismissed Union Pacific objections to Amtrak's express program. The following table gives a sample of the magnitude of the problem now being inflicted upon those who have chosen to ride the Texas Eagle this summer. For comparison purposes, similar times are provided for the month of April 1997, when the Eagle was being dispatched over the Union Pacific with a much greater degree of precision. Because of the route's "padded" schedule, delays in the following tables of one hour or less often resulted in an on time arrival in the endpoint terminal.

*Trackside hotbox/dragging equipment detectors cause delay when they malfunction and indicate a defect on train when none is present, or when they fail to respond after train's passage. In either event, it is necessary for crew to stop and inspect train before proceeding.

Texas Eagle Delay Report
Random Dates -- May & June 1998; April 1997

The dates in the following table reflect the origin date of train; Chicago for train #21 and Los Angeles for train #22. Times represent the point of greatest delay between Chicago and San Antonio. This method of assessing train delay is used because this route has excessive padding in the schedule, thus the arrival times at endpoint terminals do not always reflect the magnitude of inconvenience which passengers have experienced. Some of the following delays can be attributed to Amtrak, but the vast majority are chargeable to the Union Pacific Railroad, primarily due to freight train interference.

May 1998

     Train #21 CHI-LAX                  Train #22 LAX-CHI
                                        22(3) annulled-derailment
                                        22(5)  2' 19" MIN
     21(7)   3' 20" SAS
     21(8)   1' 25" MHL                 22(8)  1' 22" MIN
     21(9)   1' 08" DAL            
                                        22(10) 2' 58" LVW
                                        22(11) 2' 32" MIN
     21(12)  3' 01" AUS                 22(12) 3' 05 ARK
     21(14)     23" ARK
     21(15)     20" SMC                 22(15) 1' 14" PBF
     21(16)     13" MHL
                                        22(17) 7' 35" MIN
                                        22(18) 3' 12" ARK
     21(19) 3' 41" SMC                  22(19) est 4' 35" TXA
                                        22(26) 4' 22" PBF
     21(28) 2' 20" LVW
     21(29) 4' 06" DAL                  22(29) 3' 18" MIN
     21(30) 1' 53" AUS
                                        22(31) 2' 55" PBF

June 1998

     Train #21 CHI-LAX                  Train #22 LAX-CHI

     21(2) 2' 42" SMC                   22(2)     11" WNR
     21(4) 6' 34" FTW
     21(5) 8' 34" AUS                   22(5)  2' 38" MIN
     21(6) 1' 05" FTW
                                        22(7)  4' 03" MIN
                                        22(8)  2' 58" PBF
     21(9)  7' 31" AUS                  22(9)  6' 0"  ARK
     21(11) 3' 11" SAS                                            
     21(12) 2' 27" FTW                  22(12) 4' 21" MIN 
     21(13) 1' 20" AUS             
                                        22(14) 4' 37" MVN
                                        22(15) 3' 33" MIN
                                        22(16) 7' 27" ALN
     21(18) 3' 02" SMC
     21(19) 9' 19" FTW
     21(20) 6' 30" MCG
                                        22(21) 8' 00" PBF
                                        22(22) 4" 57" MIN
     21(23) 4' 12" MCG                  22(23) 6' 21" SPI
     21(25) 5' 37" FTW 
          [14' 38" SAS due to U.P. freight derailment]
     21(26) 2' 29" TAY                  22(26) 9' 32" MIN
     21(27) 2' 48" SMC
                                        22(28) 2' 15" ALN 
                                        22(29)11' 04" JOL
     21(30) 3' 10" SMC                  22(30) 6' 30" (est)FTW
          [22(30) annulled Dallas-St. Louis -- derailment]

April 1997

     Train #21 CHI-LAX                  Train #22 LAX-CHI

     21(1)    25" BNL                   22(1)     7" MCG
     21(4)    17" SMC                   22(4)    25" MIN
     21(6)  2'24" LRK**                 22(6)    34" MIN
          **(Signal failure north of Bloomington)
     21(8)    12" PON                   22(8)  1'36" MVN
     21(13) 1'10" MHL                   22(13)   48" TXA
     21(15)   11" BNL                   22(15) On Time (!)
     21(18)   44" MHL                   22(18)   27" TXA
     21(20)   38" FTW                   22(20) 1'58" LRK
     21(22) 1'02" MHL
     21(25) 2'55" AUS***                22(25)   57" SMC
          ***(Freight derailment north of St. Louis -- detour)
     21(27)   40" MHL                   22(27)   31" MIN


Prepared by Arkansas Rail.
Email: arkrail@arkansas.net






Posted: Friday, 12 June 1998. Last revised: Friday, 3 July
1998.

 
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