(The following article by Joe Ruff was posted on the Omaha World-Herald website on June 21.)
OMAHA, Neb. — Hoping to limit passenger train slowdowns, Union Pacific Railroad and Amtrak said Wednesday they agreed to limit the maximum number of minutes Amtrak trains can be delayed on tracks being repaired by the nation’s largest railroad.
“On-time performance is the single largest determinant of passenger satisfaction, and these changes will make a real difference,” said Paul Vilter, an Amtrak assistant vice president.
Seventy percent of the miles traveled by Amtrak trains are on tracks owned by other railroads. Omaha-based Union Pacific is one of the three biggest hosts, with about 5.4 million miles of track used by Amtrak, including short-distance trains and parts of four overnight routes in the West, Pacific Northwest and Midwest.
Amtrak uses about 6.5 million miles of track on BNSF Railway and 5.5 million miles of track owned by CSX Corp.
Amtrak pays the railroads for using their tracks, including incentives for trains arriving on time. This is the first agreement specifying a process for carrying out track repairs and taking schedules into account, Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari said.
Amtrak would be interested in pursuing similar agreements with other railroads, Magliari said.
Union Pacific spokesman James Barnes said the agreement was triggered by unprecedented demand for freight service, which has stressed capacity, coupled with necessary track repairs.
Union Pacific has not earned incentives for on-time performance from Amtrak for several years, and the agreement should help the railroad improve in that area, Barnes said.
The agreement includes a new schedule going into effect today for the California Zephyr, a Chicago-to-San Francisco Bay route that travels through Nebraska. Amtrak trains have been delayed on the route in recent months as Union Pacific prepares to make major improvements to track between Reno, Nev., and Salt Lake City, Magliari said.
The new schedule adds about three hours to the three-day trip, both westbound and eastbound. In Nebraska, stops remain about the same when westbound from Omaha, at Lincoln, Hastings, Holdredge and McCook. Eastbound, however, each stop occurs about one hour later than the old schedule.
The new schedule will help Amtrak trains arrive and depart on time, and it will be shortened as track work is completed through the end of 2009, Amtrak officials said.
Temporary speed restrictions are a common practice on the nation’s railroads as they repair tracks. On routes with heavy traffic, it can be difficult to work on track without affecting schedules.
The agreement defines in detail the maximum number of minutes of “slow order” delays that will be allowed on each Amtrak route operated on Union Pacific track while the railroad makes track improvements, Vilter said.
Amtrak provides passenger rail service to more than 500 destinations in 46 states on a 21,000- mile system. Union Pacific operates about 32,000 miles of track in the western two-thirds of the country.
Amtrak corridor routes affected by the new agreement with Union Pacific Railroad:
• Amtrak Cascades in Oregon and Washington.
• Capital Corridor Service, Pacific Surfliner Service and San Joaquin Service in California.
• Lincoln Service, Illinois.
• Missouri Mules, Missouri.
• California Zephyr, Chicago to San Francisco Bay.
• Coast Starlight, Los Angeles to Seattle.
• Sunset Limited, Los Angeles to New Orleans.
• Texas Eagle, San Antonio to Chicago.