I’ve been idle on this page for over a year, in spite of many good intentions to update the last posting on topic. But it’s our vacation that prompts this offering. For the first time in more than two decades we’re on the rails again. From Denver to Sacramento and from Sacramento to Portland (OR) we’re renewing an old relationship with Amtrak.
19 June 2015
One of the realities of train travel in the US is the role Amtrak plays as a “guest” on other company’s tracks. Other than the Northeast Corridor (Washington, DC to Boston) Amtrak pays a fee to run trains on the tracks of private freight companies. There are two side-effects to this situation that affect our travel plans. The first is the priorities of the hosting railroad. Each company has a dispatcher that determines who can use the track when and how fast. It is not true that Amtrak trains have to pull over on sidings for every freight train they encounter. On the other hand wherever terrain creates a bottleneck passenger traffic most always gives way to freight.
On the matter of speed, that is a matter of safety. some of the regulations are no-brainers. After all, there is a reason why Independence Pass has a much lower speed limit than I-76 to the Nebraska border. Beyond grades and curves, there is another limiter of train speed: track condition. while freight companies do try to keep their tracks in safe condition, “safe” for railworkers and the freight they manage rarely equals “comfortable” for a passenger ride. The steel unitized track with concrete ties rarely appears beyond major metropolitan areas.
That is why train travel (outside those major metropolitan areas) is not for those who desire efficiency and timeliness in their arrangements.
Or, to put it more succinctly, our train was 2 1/2 hours late this morning and continues to lose time as we head west.
The Apprentice Priest 