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I am scheduled to board the Sunset Limited at 6:AM on Nov. 23. As of 10:00 AM today Amtrak is estimating the departure time from San Antonio to be 7:34AM. Should I still be at the station for the scheduled departure of 6:00? Can the train make up that lost time. If it does make up that time will I miss it because I believed Amtrak's website and took my time? What is Amtrak's policy?
Posts: 113 | From: San Antonio, Texas,USA | Registered: Aug 2003
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Yes all Trains can make up time. Im not as well educated on the Sunset Limited making up time, but my advice to you is be there at the time you were supposed to board(15 minutes earlier actually). I know a train can not leave a station until is scheduled arrival time.
Posts: 547 | From: St. Louis, MO, USA | Registered: Nov 2002
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I got this email from Amtrak regarding my estimated vs. scheduled departure question. "You can wait until 1 hour prior the estimated arrival time, however, trains can make up some time, so we do advise you to check back periodically to how the train is running. " Posts: 113 | From: San Antonio, Texas,USA | Registered: Aug 2003
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I'd check again as you get closer to departure time. It might not be a bad idea to be there at the scheduled time anyhow. I listened to what the agent (Not "Julie") said and missed the Sunset out of Tallahassee by one minute in October. AMTRAK did refund my money. The lesson here is, yes, trains can make up time. And don't believe Julie or a real person!
Posts: 2160 | From: Santa Barbara, CA, USA | Registered: Oct 2003
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I agree with SBALAX. I once *barely* made the Carolinian. Amtrak's timeliness is not the greatest, but when they are on time (or make up time) you want to be ready...buy something to read or bring music/headset if you need something to fill the time...
Posts: 874 | From: South Bay (LA County), Calif, USA | Registered: Aug 2000
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It may be too late for Mr. Boyce, but according to AMTRAK train status, the Sunset was expected to arrive in SAS at 7:30 AM today CST, approximnately 3 1/2 hrs late.
Posts: 2428 | From: Grayling, MI | Registered: Mar 2002
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posted
As for making up time,once,in1979,I rode the Coast Starlight from Oakland to Los Angeles.the train left 40 minutes late and arrived 20 minutes early.
quote:Originally posted by Boyce: I am scheduled to board the Sunset Limited at 6:AM on Nov. 23. As of 10:00 AM today Amtrak is estimating the departure time from San Antonio to be 7:34AM. Should I still be at the station for the scheduled departure of 6:00?
I'm too late to influence this situation, but the problem I see here is relying on train status information that is almost a day old by the time you board. My advice is to check no more than two hours before the scheduled departure time, and you will get a more acccurate estimate. If the train is expected to be more than two hours late, it is a safe bet that it won't make up all of that time in the next two hours. In that case you can safely arrive at the station later. But I would still get there at least an hour ahead of its expected time in case it makes up time.
It has been said you shouldn't count on your train being on time. But it is equally true that you should not count on it being late, either.
------------------ Trust God, love your neighbor, and never mistake opinion for truth. -Mr. Toy
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The estimates on the web page and through "JuLiE" use a not-all-that-accurate estimation routine. I only trust arrival and departure times from actual stations as being reliable indicators of train timekeeping. Case and point: an intermediate reporting station on the route of the Lakeshore often reports the train as being 17 minutes better than they are really running. This is just a bug in the system as it's almost always off by the same amount. Amtrak is advising all passengers to arrive at the station half an hour before departure during peak travel times, i. e. now until the beginning of December. I have been surprised myself, fortunately I'm only watching trains the times I've missed them, but it's still a miss. I also pride myself on being able to leave my house, arrive at the tracks, and be within five minutes of the train. (pats self on back)
------------------ F40PH #757099-8 March 29, 1976-August 17, 2001 Best of the best, requisecat in pacis
P42DC #53063 Now only around 2.4 million miles to go
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Presumably Amtrak use more reporting points than simply stations. Junctions, yards etc must be used if the dispatcher is to have any knowledge of the running order of trains? Anybody have a site where the full schedule is printed?
Geoff M.
Posts: 2426 | From: Apple Valley, CA | Registered: Sep 2000
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