Philly Inquirer "Amtrak's on-time performance runs off the rails"

Paul Nussbaum at the Inquirer wrote an article "Amtrak's on-time performance runs off the rails" detailing Amtrak on-time performance.

I like stories that give specifics of Amtrak performance particularly along the NEC, hard numbers for on-time arrival percentages are not easy to find. 

Article Highlights:

* Amtrak trains have been late nearly 30 percent of the time in the past 12 months, considerably worse than the year before.

* Amtrak says the issue is that most of its routes operate on tracks owned and controlled by freight railroads. And a federal-court decision last year - which is now headed to the U.S. Supreme Court - undercut Amtrak's ability to compel freight operators to give priority to passenger trains.

* In the 12 months ending in June, only two of 33 Amtrak routes met the railroad's nationwide goal of 85.5 percent on-time performance.

* In the eight months ending in May, Amtrak's on-time record was 73.6 percent, down from 85.1 percent in the same period a year earlier. And June was worse than May on 24 of 33 routes.

* Acela Express trains were on time just 76 percent of the time in the eight months ending in May, compared to 89.3 percent during the same period a year earlier.

* In June, Acela on-time performance fell to 72.9 percent.

* Northeast Regional trains were on time 76 percent of the time for the first eight months of fiscal 2014, compared to 86.7 percent in the same period in fiscal 2013.