Analysis Of The Causes Of Amtrak Train Delays PDF Download

The objective of this study was to analyze a list of rail enhancements that addresses current passenger and freight rail performance on the Union Pacific line from St. Louis to Kansas City in order to improve on-time passenger service and reduce freight delays. Amtrak delay data for January 1, 2008-June 30, 2009 was obtained in order to evaluate both the sources of delay and the location of delay. Researchers found that the 2008 data FTI (Freight Train Interference) has the highest percentage of delay minutes (53.38%), followed by DSR (Temporary Speed Restrictions = 15.09%) and PTI (Passenger Train Interference = 9.90%). The top three causes contribute to 78.17% of the overall Amtrak delay. In general, the delay profile for 2008 was the same as for 2005, however, there were significant differences in the first half of 2009, specifically, FTI delay was reduced by almost 50% and the overall delay minutes are on pace to be 33% of the total minutes in 2005 and 2008.