PALM SPRINGS, Calif. — Travelers who want to catch the Amtrak at its desolate, sand-blown station in North Palm Springs should be prepared to wait, the Desert Sun reported.
And wait.
And wait — into the wee hours of morning when the train arrives, often three and four hours late on a narrow spine of east- and west-bound rail.
Amtrak’s long-distance trains increasingly are behind schedule, costing the financially struggling company riders and revenues at a time when congressional critics want to eliminate money-losing lines.
During the 12 months ending Sept. 30, Amtrak estimates it lost $28 million in ticket revenues due to overall service problems, chiefly because of late trains. Millions more were lost in extra labor costs, though company officials could not provide exact figures.
“I’d love it if the train were here in reasonable time,” said Palm Springs Aerial Tramway manager Rob Parkins, who embarked Friday on the three-night Sunset Limited to Orlando, Fla.
Amtrak President David Gunn said delays have contributed to significant ridership losses on 18 long-distance lines the company threatened to shut down earlier this year.
Some in Congress want to cancel lines with shrinking ridership, several of which lose more than $200 per passenger.
In rapidly growing regions such as Riverside County, passenger rails are being eyed as part of a future solution to clogged freeways, poor air quality and long Southern California commutes.
“I don’t know if the Coachella Valley is quite ready to have passenger rail established here, but it continues to be a goal we are working toward,” said Allyn Waggle, assistant director of the Coachella Valley Association of Governments.
Gunn attributed most of Amtrak’s delays to growing freight train congestion, particularly in the South and Southwest, and poor track conditions the company can do little about because freight companies own most of the track.
Freight traffic density — essentially the amount of freight per mile of track — has doubled since 1987, according to the Association of American Railroads.
Freight companies give priority to Amtrak trains, but that requires them to be on schedule. To the extent they slip behind, Union Pacific has the right to put trains ahead, said Mike Furtney, spokesman for the western regional office of Union Pacific Railroad.
Amtrak’s Sunset Limited and Texas Eagle lines share tracks with as many as 50 Union Pacific freighters rattling daily through the Coachella Valley, where last month 206 passengers detrained and 48 passengers boarded the Amtrak lines.
The number of passengers widely fluctuates each month, according to SunLine Transit Agency, which tracks local ridership.
Over the past five years, the westbound Sunset Limited from Orlando to Los Angeles was late at least two-thirds of the time. The eastbound Sunset Limited was on time more often because it encountered less freight traffic.
Since 1998, ridership on the Sunset Limited has decreased by 19.3 percent.
Every year, Amtrak dangles millions in incentives for freight and passenger trains to give it priority. In the past fiscal year, Amtrak paid out $23 million in bonuses to freight and commuter lines for doing so. An additional $46 million in incentives were left on the table.
Gunn admits some of Amtrak’s tardiness is self-inflicted.
The company’s freight business, created to boost earnings, causes delays because train cars have to be switched or added to accommodate freight. Gunn said the company is phasing out its money-losing freight business, which should help on-time performance.
Ross Capon, executive director of the National Association of Rail Passengers, says there is not enough evidence to link the increasing lateness of trains with a drop in ridership, given the myriad reasons people decide to take — or not take — the train.
“It’s fair to say that there are a lot of people on the long-distance trains that are not expecting on-time performance,” Capon said.
“But when it reaches the point where (you’re) missing a connection and spending an extra night someplace, it becomes much more of a problem.”
For travelers such as Parkins, who has worked politically to see more money legislated for passenger rail, trains offer a unique experience.
Parkins said the federal government needs to get serious about improving services to the level of efficiency as those in Japan and Europe.
Meanwhile, Parkins said he planned to spend his weekend trip with paperwork and a novel, which he will inevitably set aside as he passes through towns and cities and people’s back yards.
“The train gives you a sense of identity with travel. You’re moving through communities and seeing things you would miss by just flying over.”