Amtrak Stays On Schedule Despite Surge In Crude Oil Shipments

Yahoo!News is reporting that Amtrak continues to arrive "on time," generally within 24 hours of the scheduled arrival time. I don't think the article actually gives any specific data, it's mostly hearsay and rumor and conjecture, but reading between the lines, it seems everything about Amtrak is about as I remember it.

Well before CBR, a) Amtrak was "always late" according to those who did not understand Amtrak; and, b) farmers always said there were not enough grain cars during harvest season. Fortunately, Amtrak has been able to keep on schedule (as defined by arriving at destinations within 24 hours of scheduled arrivals) due to the administration's success in holding back the economy. Amtrak would have significant problems if the economy were (was?) surging.

I love riding Amtrak, but haven't had the opportunity since 2011. Amtrak has always had delays; I have blogged in the past that if Amtrak arrives within 24 hours of its scheduled arrival, it has arrived on time.

In the winter, it is the weather that "delays" Amtrak.

In the summer, it is the flooding around Minot and Devils Lake that "delays" Amtrak.

In fact, if Amtrak is moving, it is delayed. 

As usual, the comments at the story are the most interesting part.

The tracks are owned by the railroad companies. Amtrak does not own the tracks. In North Dakota,  most tracks are owned by Warren Buffett and BNSF. Amtrak rents the opportunity to use BNSF tracks and, yes, freight trains have priority. These freight trains carry a lot more than just crude oil: including agricultural and industrial products. And the much-talked about, seldom seen hobo.

At one time a great capitalist nation would have solved this problem. There was the potential of shovel-ready jobs many years ago to build more railroad sidings, but the president had no interest in such shovel-ready jobs. Had the railroad companies started work on these railroad sidings, efforts would have been stopped by activist environmentalists, anyway; it would have taken five years just to get the environmental impact statements completed. Crude-by-rail surged after the president killed the Keystone XL pipeline program.

If Congress kills CBR, the oil will be trucked.

But the writer of the Amtrak story misses the most important point: no one rides Amtrak to make time or to arrive on schedule, at least not across the northern tier. If folks need to be somewhere on time, they take the airlines. Amtrak is no longer competitive on price vs airlines.

Amtrak appears to be reaching most of its destinations within 24 hours of scheduled arrivals. Amtrak is so consistently "late" by other people's definitions I've never understood why Amtrak doesn't simply change its schedules to reflect reality.