COMMUTE: November Wrap Up

A review of my Philly-NYC commuting patterns in November:

Trains Taken

• Morning trains taken: 130 (took this only once), 642
• Evening trains taken: 137, 175, 177, 635, 655

Quick Commute Stats

• I took a total of 20 one way trips on Amtrak In November.
• I bought a 10 trip ticket good from November through mid December ($394 - bought this before the fare increase).
• I cashed in Amtrak Guest Rewards tickets for 9 tickets in November; 22,500 points total.
• I'll do a commuting cost analysis at the end of December. My plan is to achieve my commute for Nov and Dec by cashing in AGR points and the purchase of a single 10 trip ticket. So far I'm on track to make this.

On Time Performance and Analysis

• On time performance was literally zero on all the morning trains I took. On time performance was pretty good on the evening trains however. There's something up with train #642 in the morning out of 30th Street, it always pulls out like exactly 30 minutes late. I haven't found out why this is the case but I'm determined to find out why.
• Average travel time in the mornings: Generally the morning trains took just under 1 hour and 20 minutes, some did make it in under 1 hour 15 minutes. Trains may leave 30th Street late but once rolling the total travel time is fairly consistent. There were a couple cases where it took nearly 1 hr 30 min; but a couple times a month I can deal with.
• Average travel time in the evenings: Evening trains on average took around 1 hour and 25 minutes. I do take trains that stop variously at Liberty Airport, Metropark, Cornwells Heights, and North Philly - more stops when compared to the morning trains, which means longer travel times.

COMMUTE: Wed Nov 30, 2005; #642 (late) and #137 (on time)

My commute for Wednesday November 30, 2005.

Morning - I took Amtrak Train #642 (PHL-NYC):

• PHL 9:08, +24
  
• TRE 9:34, +24
  
• NWK 10:03, +23
• NYC 10:20, +20

So I was completely shocked at the dealy this morning for train #642, I mean what are the chances that this train was going to depart over 20 minutes late? So same drill, I checked train status on amtrak.com before I left and the site noted it was running 1 minute late (aka "on time"). The board at 30th Street Station said 10 minutes late when I got there, then 15 minutes late, then 20. I need to call Amtrak to see why this train is always late. Had an empty seat next to me, this train was maybe half full. Used an AGR ticket.

Evening - I took Amtrak Train #137 (NYC-PHL):

• NYC 6:20, 0
  
• NWK 6:36, -1
  
• TRE 7:19, +5
• PHL 7:45, +1
  

Empty seat next to me on this leg only until Newark Penn Station. Train was nearly full i would say. Used 10 trip ticket.

COMMUTE: Tue Nov 29, 2005; #642 (late) and #137 (late)

My commute for Tuesday November 29, 2005.

Morning - I took Amtrak Train #642 (PHL-NYC):

• PHL 9:18, +34
  
• TRE 9:46, +36
  
• NWK 10:19, +37
• NYC 10:34, +34

Big delay this morning. I checked train status on amtrak.com before I left and the site noted it was running 1 minute late (aka "on time"). The board at 30th Street Station said 20 minutes late when I got there, then 25 minutes late, then 30. Since Monday October 24 this train has left 15+ minutes late each time I've taken it. Had an empty seat next to me, this train was over half full. Used an AGR ticket.

Evening - I took Amtrak Train #137 (NYC-PHL):

• NYC 6:20, 0
  
• NWK 6:33, -4
  
• TRE 7:29, +15
• PHL 7:57, +13
  

Empty seat next to me on this leg, train was more than half full. Used 10 trip ticket.

NOTE: From now on in the title of each thread afeter the train number I'll note if the train arrived (late) or (on time) at its destination.

2006 Amtrak Budget Likely to be Approved, This Means Things Look OK for Philly-NYC Commuters in 2006

Budget Gives Amtrak Carrots, but Wields Sticks as Well
NYTimes.com
Nov 26, 2005

Congress passed a budget Nov 18 just before they broke for Thanksgiving; the highlights and in italics are how this impacts my commute from Philadelphia to NYC:

1. The $1.31 billion Amtrak subsidy is a sprawling bill covering the Department of Transportation and unrelated departments like Treasury and Housing and Urban Development and the judiciary. This means Amtrak will continue to run in 2006, which is good.
   
2. This budget could threaten Amtrak's ability to serve meals to passengers. I don't buy food on the train, no big deal to me.
   
3. It gives the transportation secretary the power to raise the price Amtrak charges commuter railroads, like New Jersey Transit, for their use of the Northeast Corridor tracks, which Amtrak owns. Anything that could prevent future fare increases for me is good, so I think this is good for Amtrak commuters.
   
4. Seeks to limit Amtrak's ability to discount tickets and reduce the airline-style pricing that the railroad has been using. This is lame, legislating pricing is bad, could make monthly passes and 10 trip passes more for me.
   
5. Likely to pass as Bush has yet to veto a bill. This is good as I'd like to see the bill passed as it will keep Amtrak running in 2006.
   

Amtrak related blogs

There are a lot of blogs talking about Amtrak in general and commuting on Amtrak. These sites are much more informative I've found than traditional media. They've all had a lot more activity as the politics of Amtrak is spoiking interest. Since I've started my commuteter blog I've dug up these pages. It didn't take much digging mind you but I think average folks will not come across these pages via casual Google searching. I wanted to share the blogs I commonly read:

1) Replacing Amtrak
This blog is by Joe Vranich, a former Amtrak employee there at the beginning in the early 70's. Joe also sent me an email, thanks for reading! Informative post on this blog:

• Amtrak Board Made Right Decision to Dismiss CEO

2) Amtrak: Dan Zukowski: Commentary and coverage on Amtrak.


3) Empire Commuter
Interesting post on this blog:

• Philly commuters are mad about the increase too...

4) Rip Track

5) iDude
Not sure if this blog will talk about Amtrak, but it did have the full transcript of this article from the The New Republic: Derailed: WHY WE SHOULDN'T EXPECT AMTRAK TO TURN A PROFIT.

Amtrak chairman admits secret talks to sell assets

Amtrak chairman admits secret talks to sell assets

David Laney, the interim Amtrak CEO appointed after Gunn got canned, told the House railroads subcommittee that he spoke with private parties interested in buying 500 miles of track and other assets along the Northeast Corridor from DC to Boston. As noted in my prior post, I think this is the Bush 'full steam ahead' policy and forcing the matter of making Amtrak less of a financial cost to the Federal government. What will come of this? How will this affect my commute? Who knows, likely nothing for the next few months anyway so I plan on enjoying the holidays.

My op-ed on the Bush Administration's Amtrak Policy

So a lot has gone down the past few weeks with Amtrak, a quick rundown:

• CEO Gunn was fired and said Bush wants to liquidate Amtrak
• Laney, a man who seems to like Bush's idea to spinoff the NEC , appointed interim CEO
• Teamsters imply Amtrak work stoppage possible
• Mineta spoke in NYC to assuage fears that Bush wants to kill Amtrak
• A nice page that talks about Amtrak post Gunn and the Bush policy on Amtrak: Running Amtrak off the track, Arizona Republic
  

Gunn said he was fired because "I just became an obstacle to dismantling Amtrak." Does Bush want to kill Amtrak? I don't know, so let me talk out my thoughts. The recent events may be another piece of the Bush policy to privatize everything, like social security, or to reduce the size of government. I think you can read Mineta's speech the other day as the administration wanting to transfer the finances of high traffic Amtrak routes, namely the NEC, to the states through which they run. This would cut down the Federal funding thus realizing a savings in the Fed's budget.

But can the states pick up the finances (NY, PA, MA, RI, CT, DE, DC)? Would they be interested, even with Fed grants to help out? States would be less interested in taking on more transit responsibility I'm sure. The states seem to support a hub in the states largest city and spokes out to the burbs. But Amtrak is less of this model and more city to city, state to state. I think most states simply pay rent (if you will) to Amtrak to use the NEC tracks that Amtrak owns. So this seems easy for the states, they have less maintenance headaches to deal with and just pay Amtrak money for track use.

And I'm guessing the states probably don't want to take on the Amtrak NEC business. The states just don't do this kind of business, I mean PA isn't going to care too much about a train from DC to Baltimore, or a train from Boston to NYC. The NEC is inter-state, albeit just a few states, and inter-state stuff traditionally falls in the province of the Federal government. So I would espouse that the federal government have the largest role in the NEC.

Another issue, the states in the NEC are all Democratic so there's likely some politics here with the current administration.

Perhaps by transferring control of the Amtrak NEC to either the states or a private company, Bush can save the Fed some money. Which is cool, they need to balance the budget so all options should be considered. However, it is worth noting that every form of public transportation is subsidized, namely airlines and highways (which are subsidized beyond gas tax). By transferring the NEC to the states or to a private company, and if Amtrak fails, Bush may be somewhat isolated from blame, while still saving money for the Fed budget and placing a burden on states that generally do not support Republicans gaining a sort of political victory. But if Amtrak were to fail the Fed would have to step in with money anyway negating potential savings.

Congress has approved over a billion in Amtrak funding in principle. So short term, like most of 2006 I'm guessing, Amtrak should function as is. So I think what's happening here is Bush forcing things but will look for a compromise. Bush policy tends to be a full speed ahead approach and Bush owns the Amtrak board so he has a lot of control here. Perhaps Congress will ask the states for more money to run on Amtrak tracks? Perhaps Amtrak will cut lines that don't make money? Perhaps Amtrak will have across the board cuts is service and staff? Combination of these? Or something like the status quo will continue onward?

My question as always - how does this affect my commute? I'm guessing there will be no problems through end of year and likely well into 2006, so I'm not overly concerned at the moment. But this all adds uncertainty to Amtrak, hence the need to monitor these matters ongoing, which I'll do and post here.

Mineta Reassures New York City on Amtrak

United States Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta made a speech in New York City Thursday morning November 17 stating the Bush administration’s stance on the future of Amtrak and the Northeast Corridor. Details on Secretary Mineta speech are here:

Mineta Tries to Reassure City on Amtrak
NYTimes.com

Some excerpts from the speech:

"We are willing to provide federal funds to build and repair tracks, just as we spend taxpayer money to build and repair highways, runways, and subway lines. We are willing to invest federal funds in train stations and switching equipment, just as we invest in exit ramps, air traffic control towers, and new transit depots every day."

"And yes, we want to spend federal funds to improve the tracks, tunnels, bridges, and stations along the Northeast Corridor, which we recognize is vital – not just to New York and the other communities along the route, but also to the economic health of this Nation. But we are not willing to continue funding the current system."

Full transcript of Mineta's speech:
http://www.dot.gov/affairs/minetasp111705.htm

Other stories on Mineta's speech:
http://www.wnyc.org/news/articles/54129
http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051118/BUSINESS/511180336/-1/NEWS01

COMMUTE: Thu Nov 17, 2005; #642 and #177

My commute for Thursday November 17, 2005.

Morning leg - I took Amtrak Train #642 (PHL-NYC):

• PHL 9:14, +30
  
• TRE 9:43, +33
  
• NWK 10:18, +36
• NYC 10:37, +37

Shocker, big delay this morning on #642. This half hour dealy should now be scheduled. Had an empty seat next to me, this train a little over half full. Used AGR ticket.

Evening leg - took Amtrak Train #177 (NYC-PHL):

• NYC 10:06, +1
  
• NWK 10:23, +1
  
• TRE 11:01, +3
• PHL 11:27, -1
  

Had empty seat next to me, train was over half full. Used 10 trip ticket.

This woman was insane

If you thought the Phi-NYC commute could be rough, try commuting with ... maxine r. lewis; Surviving the six-hour schlep (story from www.delawareonline.com)

More News About Potential Rail Strike

More stories today about a possible strike by unions servicing Amtrak. These are the unions that operate Amtrak's trains, construct and maintain railroad track, buildings and bridges and overhead catenary system along the Northeast Corridor. I saw some of the union guys handing out flyers at 30th Street Station to the morning commuters; they were in front of me at the Dunkin' Donuts line (which is now always hugely long with Bucks County Coffee undergoing renovations). The sites:

Railroad Unions Picket Amtrak's 30th Street Station in Philadelphia; Warn of Potential Rail Strike
yahoo.com

Amtrak Warns Of Possible Strike
www.allheadlinenews.com

The unions involved are the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen and the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees - these two unions together comprise the Rail Division of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. From the stories it's not clear when a strike would happen, so I guess it's not imminent? The articles state that there has been "a six-year stalemate in contract negotiations which if not resolved will lead to the shutdown of Amtrak's Northeast Corridor. In addition, the two Unions will be protesting the plans of the White House-appointed Amtrak Board of Directors to break up the railroad with so-called reforms that are designed to attack railroad employees' pensions and outsource union jobs."

The proposed break up of the Amtrak NEC has the unions freaked out I imagine. They've gone six years without a contract so the status quo clearly works for these guys. I would say there's little doubt that spinning off the NEC would impact respective unions. With the talk of Fed cuts to Amtrak funding, cutting service to get Amtrak load capacity over 50%, and achieving other efficiencies, one can see how this would translate to job cuts leading to the natural 'strike' reactoin by unions.

This all sucks for those employed by the unions/Amtrak, but of more importance - how does this affect me and my commute? Well, naturally, this potentially would affect me badly. No trains to NYC means not getting to NYC without severe pain.

COMMUTE: Wed Nov 16, 2005; #642 and #137

My commute for Wednesday November 16, 2005.

Morning leg - I took Amtrak Train #642 (PHL-NYC):

• PHL 9:17, +33
  
• TRE 9:46, +36
  
• NWK 10:26, +44
• NYC 10:47, +47

Again, big delay this morning. I checked train status on amtrak.com before I left and the site noted it was running 9 minutes late. The board at 30th Street Station said on time when I got there. It was adjusted to 10 min late, then 15 minutes late, then 25. Since Monday October 24 this train has left 15+ minutes late each time I've taken it. Had an empty seat next to me, this train was about half full. Used AGR ticket.

Evening leg - I took Amtrak Train #137 (NYC-PHL):

• NYC 6:24, +4
  
• NWK 6:36, -1
  
• TRE 7:25, +11
• PHL 7:52, +8
  

No empty seat next to me on this leg, train was packed. Used 10 trip pass.

COMMUTE: Tue Nov 15, 2005; #642 and #655

My commute for Tuesday November 15, 2005.

Morning leg - took Amtrak Train #642 (PHL-NYC):

• PHL 9:11, +27
  
• TRE 9:42, +22
  
• NWK 10:15, +33
• NYC 10:28, +28

All too familiar morning - I checked train status on amtrak.com before I left and the site noted it was only 1 minute late. The board at 30th Street Station said on time when I got there. It was adjusted to 10 min late, then 15 minutes late, then 20. But again they adjust the departure time after the train is already that much late. Again this train has been running late the past two plus weeks now. Had an empty seat next to me, this train about half full. Used AGR ticket.

Evening leg - took Amtrak train #655 (NYC-PHL):

• NYC 6:30, 0
  
• NWK 6:44, -3
  
• TRE 7:19, -2
  
• PHL 7:57, +4

Did not have an empty seat next to me as the train was pretty full, 75% I'd say. Seat opened up in Trenton so I moved to get two seats to myself. Used 10 trip ticket.

Amtrak work stoppage by Teamsters possible

Article in the Philly Inquirer:
Amtrak work stoppage by Teamsters possible

This would be bad for my commute.

Was the Firing of David Gunn a Good or Bad Thing for Amtrak Commuters?

Looks like David Gunn was canned for not towing the Bush policy line. He openly disagreed with the NEC spin off idea pushed by the Bush administration, so they shot him. I still don't know how this impacts my Phi-NYC commute, if at all. I mean fares have gone up and they've cut some trains so it didn't get better for me under Gunn. But if Bush policy is to kill Amtrak, as some of these stories imply, then his firing could be bad for Amtrak commuters in general. Unfortunately I think only time will tell.

All A-Board
New York Sun Editorial
November 10, 2005

A Disgraceful Signal at Amtrak
NY Times
November 10, 2005

COMMENTARY: Thriving Amtrak Sustains Life-Threatening Blow with Firing of David Gunn
Huntington News Network
Nov 12, 2005

COMMUTE: Thu Nov 10, 2005; #642 and #635

My commute for Thursday November 10, 2005.

Morning leg - took Amtrak Train #642 (PHL-NYC):

• PHL 9:24, +40
  
• TRE 10:01, +41
  
• NWK 10:40, +58
• NYC 11:01, +61

Checked train status on amtrak.com before I left and site noted it was only 1 minute late. The board at 30th Street Station said on time when I got there. It was adjusted to 5 min late, then 10, then 15 minutes late, then 20. Not sure if it was adjusted after the 20 min late notice. But they adjust the departure time after the train is already that much late. It's like we know it's 20 minutes late because it's 9:05 and the train was supposed to leave at 8:44. Again this train has been running late the past two plus weeks now. Had an empty seat next to me, this train a much less than half as a lot of folks bolted for the 9:21 regional train. Used AGR ticket.

Evening leg - took Amtrak Train #635 (NYC-PHL):

• NYC 11:00, 0
  
• NWK 11:12, -5
  
• TRE 11:55, -1
  
• PHL 12:21 AM, -4
  

Had empty seat next to me on this leg, train was over half full. Used 10 trip ticket. This is now the latest train back to Philadelphia 30th Street Station, the midniht train is off the Amtrak schedule at the moment, I have no idea if they will bring it back.

Other "Philly NYC" Commuter Pages

Some other sites I visit periodically that discuss matters related to commuting between Philadelphia and New York City:

• PhillyBlog - Commuting between Philly and NYC
• Save Cornwells Heights

David Gunn, Amtrak President + CEO, released by Amtrak’s board

Amtrak’s board today released David L. Gunn as President and CEO. The press release on amtrak.com: Amtrak Board Releases Gunn.

How will this impact my Phi-NYC commute? Don't know. Ticket pricing has gone way up so the only thing worse would be if they shut down Amtrak. Since that is unlikely to happen I guess I could give a shit if they can this guy or any other executive at Amtrak.

COMMUTE: Tue Nov 8, 2005; #642 and #137

My commute for Tuesday November 8, 2005.

Morning leg - I took Amtrak Train #642 (PHL-NYC):

• PHL 9:09, +25
  
• TRE 9:36, +26
  
• NWK 10:08, +26
• NYC 10:26, +26

Longish delay again this morning. I think I checked status at amtrak.com before I left and the site said it was running 10 minutes or so late. Had an empty seat next to me, this train a little over half full by my estimation. Used AGR ticket.

Evening leg - I took Amtrak Train #137 (NYC-PHL):

• NYC 6:23, +3
  
• NWK 6:37, 0
  
• TRE 7:14, +4
• PHL ????

No empty seat next to me on this leg, train was packed. Used 10 trip pass.

COMMUTE: Mon Nov 7, 2005; #130 and #137

My commute for Monday November 7, 2005.

Morning leg - took Amtrak Train #130 (PHL-NYC):

• PHL 8:38, +16
• TRE 9:08, +18
  
• NWK 10:02, +35
• NYC 10:17, +32

Used AGR ticket. This train was packed, no empty seat next to me, no empty seats period. A few folks in the car I was in were standing; people were likely standing in other cars too. Heard someone say that the train was three carriages shorter than normal. Not sure if this was true or if this is the way #130 will be configured from now on; I hope not. Status for this train reported via amtrak.com was that it was estimated to leave 10 minutes late; the board at 30th Street Station said it was 5 minutes late. Was slowish through most of the trip, lost another 15+ minutes after the train got started.

Evening leg - took Amtrak Train #137 (NYC-PHL):

• NYC 6:23, +3
• NWK ????
  
• TRE 7:30, +16
• PHL 7:57, +13

Had empty seat next to me, train was less than half full, used 10 trip ticket.

COMMUTE: Thu Nov 3, 2005; #642 and #635

My commute for Thursday November 3, 2005.

Morning leg - took Amtrak Train #642 (PHL-NYC):

• PHL 8:57, +13
  
• TRE 9:25, +15
  
• NWK 9:55, +13
• NYC 10:10, +10

Checked train status on amtrak.com before I left but said it was only 1 minute late. The board at 30th Street Station said it was 5 minutes late when I got there, then it was adjusted to 15 minutes late when it was already 15 minutes late. This train has been running late the past two weeks now but today was not too bad. Had an empty seat next to me, this train a little over half full by my estimation.

Evening leg - took Amtrak Train #635 (NYC-PHL):

• NYC 11:00, 0
  
• NWK 11:14, -3
  
• TRE 11:54, -2
  
• PHL 12:28 AM, 0
  

Had empty seat next to me on this leg, train was much less than half full. Conductor punched the same slot on my 10 trip pass that was punched on the evening of Nov 1 when I took train #175, essentially not deducting a trip. So this makes my 10 trip ticket at least an 11 trip ticket; hey, it all adds up.

Good article in CFO Magazine: Is This Any Way to Run a Railroad?

Article I liked in CFO Magazine:

Is This Any Way to Run a Railroad?
You think you've got problems? Amtrak's got an overpaid workforce. Its trains and tracks are falling apart. Worse, the carrier's balance sheet is a flat-out mess.
John Goff, CFO Magazine
November 01, 2005
http://www.cfo.com/article.cfm/5077873?f=home_featured

Good quote:
"And while critics howl about the $30 billion or so Amtrak has received in federal subsidies since 1971, that largesse pales in comparison with what airlines received during the same period. Observers estimate that, from 1971 to 2004, federal and state grants for the construction of airports, improvements to the national grid system, and other items topped $2 trillion. The sector received nearly $15 billion in federal assistance after 9/11 — and still, airline after airline files for Chapter 11 protection."

COMMUTE: Tue Nov 1, 2005; #642 and #175

My commute for Tuesday November 1, 2005.

Morning leg - I took Amtrak Train #642 (PHL-NYC):

• PHL 9:03, +19
  
• TRE 9:32, +22
  
• NWK 10:02, +20
• NYC 10:20, +20

Checked train status on amtrak.com before I left but said it was only 1 minute late. This train has been 15+ minutes late several morning trips in a row now. Conductor took my October monthly pass as fare for this train. Had an empty seat next to me, this train a little over half full by my estimation.

Evening leg - took Amtrak Train #175 (NYC-PHL):

• NYC 8:37, +2
  
• NWK 8:50, -2
  
• TRE 9:33, +3
• PHL 10:01, -9
  

Had empty seat next to me on this leg, train was much less than half full.

COMMUTE: October Wrap Up

A review of my Philly-NYC commuting patterns in October:

Morning trains taken: 130, 642
Evening trains taken: 137, 177, 655, 639

I took a total of 28 one way trips on Amtrak In October. I had an October monthly pass ($633), so this made each trip $22.61.

Number of times train departed 10+ minutes late (either leaving from 30th Street Station or from Penn Station): 7, but six since October 24.

Number of times train arrived 10+ minutes late (either arriving into Penn Station or to 30th Street Station): 12.

Amtrak departed/arrived 10+ minutes from their scheduled time in 19 cases. Out of my 56 total depart/arrive markers, this is just over 33%.

The more concerning one is the number of cases where a train departed under 10+ minutes but arrived 10+ minutes late. Not clear why this happens. Generally as long as trains depart within 10 minutes of their scheduled time, I'm fairly happy.

On time performance was terrible the last few days in October for some reason.

Average travel time in the mornings: Generally the morning trains take around 1 hour and 20 minutes, but some did make it in under 1 hour 15 minutes. They may leave 10+ minutes late but once rolling the travel time seems fairly consistent. There were one or two cases where it took 1 hr 30 min+, but a couple times a month I can deal with.

Average travel time in the evenings: Evening trains seem to take a little over 1 hour and 30 minutes. I do take trains that stop variously at Liberty, Metropark, Cornwells Heights, and North Philly - more stops when compared to the morning trains, which means longer travel times.