Amtrak Long-Distance Trains
Performance for the Year 2018
Thirty-one percent of Amtrak's named long-distance trains arrived at their final destination on time or earlier in the year 2018. The remaining 69 percent, on average, arrived one hour and 36 minutes late.
Monthly performance |
Pct on-time arrival |
Overall avg arrival |
Avg arrival if late |
| January 2018 | 35 % |
1 hour, 5 mins late |
1 hour, 41 mins late |
| February 2018 | 37 % |
55 mins late |
1 hour, 27 mins late |
| March 2018 | 39 % |
57 mins late |
1 hour, 32 mins late |
| April 2018 | 37 % |
47 mins late |
1 hour, 15 mins late |
| May 2018 | 26 % |
1 hour, 7 mins late |
1 hour, 30 mins late |
| June 2018 | 19 % |
1 hour, 27 mins late |
1 hour, 47 mins late |
| First Half 2018 | 32 % |
1 hour, 3 mins late |
1 hour, 33 mins late |
| July 2018 | 20 % |
1 hour, 33 mins late |
1 hour, 56 mins late |
| August 2018 | 21 % |
1 hour, 26 mins late |
1 hour, 50 mins late |
| September 2018 | 29 % |
1 hour, 6 mins late |
1 hour, 33 mins late |
| October 2018 | 34 % |
49 mins late |
1 hour, 15 mins late |
| November 2018 | 32 % |
1 hour, 14 mins late |
1 hour, 48 mins late |
| December 2018 | 37 % |
59 mins late |
1 hour, 33 mins late |
| Second Half 2018 | 29 % |
1 hour, 11 mins late |
1 hour, 40 mins late |
| Full Year 2018 | 31 % |
1 hour, 7 mins late |
1 hour, 36 mins late |
| Full Year 2017 | 30 % |
1 hour late |
1 hour, 27 mins late |
| Full Year 2016 | 40 % |
45 mins late |
1 hour, 14 mins late |
_ _ _ _
Performance of Individual Trains in 2018 . . . .
Auto Train
California Zephyr
Capitol Limited
Cardinal
Carolinian
City of New Orleans
Coast Starlight
Crescent
Empire Builder
Lake Shore Limited
Maple Leaf
Palmetto
Silver Meteor
Silver Star
Southwest Chief
Sunset Limited
Texas Eagle
Vermonter
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Year 2018 Standings - Percentage On-Time Arrival
Train
Pct On Time Arrival
City of New Orleans 62 %
Auto Train 60 %
Coast Starlight 50 %
Maple Leaf 41 %
California Zephyr 39 %
Empire Builder 37 %
Cardinal 36 %
Southwest Chief 33 %
Sunset Limited 30 %
Vermonter 30 %
Silver Meteor 28 %
Texas Eagle 24 %
Carolinian 23 %
Palmetto 21 %
Lake Shore Limited 13 %
Silver Star 11 %
Capitol Limited 11 %
Crescent 4 %
Year 2018 Standings - Overall Average Arrival
Train
Overall Average Arrival
Maple Leaf 17 mins late
Vermonter 24 mins late
City of New Orleans 25 mins late
Auto Train 40 mins late
Coast Starlight 46 mins late
Carolinian 47 mins late
Palmetto 47 mins late
Cardinal 56 mins late
Silver Meteor 1 hour, 4 mins late
Southwest Chief 1 hour, 10 mins late
California Zephyr 1 hour, 10 mins late
Empire Builder 1 hour, 19 mins late
Lake Shore Limited 1 hour, 22 mins late
Texas Eagle 1 hour, 24 mins late
Silver Star 1 hour, 34 mins late
Capitol Limited 1 hour, 36 mins late
Sunset Limited 1 hour, 41 mins late
Crescent 2 hours, 47 mins late
Year 2018 Standings - Average Arrival if Late
Train
Average arrival if late
Maple Leaf 28 mins late
Vermonter 35 mins late
Palmetto 59 mins late
Carolinian 1 hour, 1 min late
City of New Orleans 1 hour, 5 mins late
Cardinal 1 hour, 28 mins late
Silver Meteor 1 hour, 29 mins late
Coast Starlight 1 hour, 32 mins late
Lake Shore Limited 1 hour, 34 mins late
Auto Train 1 hour, 41 mins late
Southwest Chief 1 hour, 44 mins late
Silver Star 1 hour, 46 mins late
Capitol Limited 1 hour, 48 mins late
Texas Eagle 1 hour, 51 mins late
California Zephyr 1 hour, 55 mins late
Empire Builder 2 hours, 5 mins late
Sunset Limited 2 hours, 25 mins late
Crescent 2 hours, 53 mins late
ABOUT THESE REPORTS:
The Bull Sheet calculates arrival performance at final destination of Amtrak's named long-distance trains. The data are based upon the reported arrival times of each of the affected trains, and there is no grace allowance for minimal lateness. If a train arrives at its final terminal behind schedule, even by a minute, it is considered 'late.' The Bull Sheet considers that long-distance trains have sufficient padding in their schedule to offset typical en route delays, and it is not necessary to apply a grace allowance on top of that padding to bolster on time reporting. Accordingly, these reports offer a more realistic analysis than what is reported by Amtrak.
(Trains that are truncated, annulled, terminated en route, reported as 'service disrupted,' or reported with incomplete or ambiguous data are typically excluded from the survey.)
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