Peter Greenberg: Avoiding Amtrak Delays
By: Peter Greenberg | Source: AARP.org | 2008-10-31
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I'm interested in taking Amtrak for an upcoming vacation, but I heard that a lot of Amtrak lines are plagued by delays. Is there a way I can find out which routes have these delays and how to avoid them?
-Shirley, Savannah, Ga.
You absolutely can find out about the delays on specific Amtrak routes before you go. All you really have to know is the name of the route you're interested in taking.
For example, the Silver Service/Palmetto, which runs through Savannah, Ga., on its way between Miami and New York, was on time 52.2 percent during the past 12 months, although it was down to just 32 percent on time in June. But for Amtrak, both of these numbers are good enough to place it in the middle tier—not one of the most delayed routes, but not one of the most on-time, either.
For the complete listing of on-time averages, go to Amtrak's Route Performance Web site.
Please note that you can also find out about specific trains on these routes, and some of them are delayed significantly more or less than the average. Once you're on the page for a specific route, click the menu that says "View Performance by Train" for a listing of the train numbers for the route. Select the one you want, then hit "Go" for a breakdown of its on-time performance.
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