Amtrak's Long-Distance Train Performance
May 2020
For the month of May 2020, the Bull Sheet has calculated that 65 percent of Amtrak's named long-distance trains arrived at their final destination on time or earlier. [In the same month last year it was 27 percent.]
The average arrival of all long-distance trains in the survey period was 25 minutes late. [In the same month last year the average was one hour and eight minutes late.]
The average arrival of just the trains that were behind schedule was one hour and 11 minutes late. [In the same month last year it was one hour and 33 minutes late.]
A train is considered late whenever it arrives at its final destination behind schedule, even if only by a minute. Sufficient padding is incorporated into long-distance train schedules to eliminate the need for grace allowances in showing a train arriving on time when it is actually late. Amtrak routinely reports trains arriving on time if they are nominally late, within certain guidelines, but the Bull Sheet conveys more realistic parameters reflecting actual performance (on time, or it is late).
Trains arriving ahead of schedule are shown 'on time,' with no extra credit given to offset other arrivals that are late. Trains that are canceled, truncated, terminated en route, or provided with ambiguous or unreliable data are excluded from the survey.
This survey was compiled by the Bull Sheet's statistical department comprehending actual performance as reported for each affected train on Amtrak's website. Data only apply to arrival at final destination; average arrival at intermediate stations may differ.
Traffic in May was somewhat impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. This, and the fact that freight volumes on host railroads were considerably depressed, resulted in more improved Amtrak performance in this period. Moreover, a number of trains that would ordinarily operate were either truncated or did not run at all. The averages reflected in this survey period are not typical by historical standards, but they are presented nevertheless as a matter of record. Average daily long-distance train performance in May 2020 was as follows:
Date
Pct on-time arrival
Overall avg arrival
Avg arrival if late
Friday, May 1 64 %
24 mins late
1 hour, 8 mins late
Saturday, May 2 65 %
30 mins late
1 hour, 25 mins late
Sunday, May 3 85 %
3 mins late
18 mins late
Monday, May 4 62 %
25 mins late
1 hour, 5 mins late
Tuesday, May 5 75 %
3 mins late
14 mins late
Wednesday, May 6 56 %
44 mins late
1 hour, 41 mins late
Thursday, May 7 63 %
12 mins late
32 mins late
Friday, May 8 55 %
29 mins late
1 hour, 5 mins late
Saturday, May 9 75 %
9 mins late
37 mins late
Sunday, May 10 83 %
12 mins late
1 hour, 12 mins late
Monday, May 11 85 %
2 mins late
13 mins late
Tuesday, May 12 68 %
6 mins late
20 mins late
Wednesday, May 13 69 %
6 mins late
20 mins late
Thursday, May 14 38 %
49 mins late
1 hour, 19 mins late
Friday, May 15 73 %
43 mins late
1 hour, 37 mins late
Saturday, May 16 73 %
9 mins late
32 mins late
Sunday, May 17 67 %
26 mins late
1 hour, 18 mins late
Monday, May 18 76 %
6 mins late
26 mins late
Tuesday, May 19 71 %
12 mins late
41 mins late
Wednesday, May 20 52 %
25 mins late
52 mins late
Thursday, May 21 38 %
33 mins late
53 mins late
Friday, May 22 63 %
21 mins late
57 mins late
Saturday, May 23 58 %
27 mins late
1 hour, 4 mins late
Sunday, May 24 54 %
29 mins late
1 hour, 3 mins late
Monday, May 25 79 %
6 mins late
29 mins late
Tuesday, May 26 81 %
7 mins late
38 mins late
Wednesday, May 27 67 %
23 mins late
1 hour, 9 mins late
Thursday, May 28 78 %
11 mins late
50 mins late
Friday, May 29 71 %
24 mins late
1 hour, 23 mins late
Saturday, May 30 48 %
27 mins late
51 mins late
Sunday, May 31 71 %
15 mins late
53 mins late
Composite for Month 65 %
25 mins late
1 hour, 11 mins late
Five-year comparison for May . . .
5-year comparison
Pct on-time arrival
Overall avg arrival
Avg arrival if late
. .
.
.
May 2016 41 %
38 mins late
1 hour, 6 mins late
May 2017 28 %
1 hour, 6 mins late
1 hour, 31 mins late
May 2018 26 %
1 hour, 7 mins late
1 hour, 30 mins late
May 2019 27 %
1 hour, 8 mins late
1 hour, 33 mins late
May 2020 65 %
25 mins late
1 hour, 11 mins late
May 2020 Train-by-Train Performance . . .
Train
Pct on-time arrival
Overall avg arrival
Avg arrival if late
Auto Train 50 %
25 mins late
49 mins late
California Zephyr 88 %
12 mins late
1 hour, 34 mins late
Capitol Limited 46 %
17 mins late
32 mins late
Cardinal 45 %
1 hour, 1 min late
1 hour, 51 mins late
Carolinian [no data]
.
.
City of New Orleans 88 %
23 mins late
3 hours, 13 mins late
Coast Starlight 79 %
27 mins late
2 hours, 11 mins late
Crescent 52 %
20 mins late
42 mins late
Empire Builder 74 %
20 mins late
1 hour, 18 mins late
Lake Shore Limited 68 %
26 mins late
1 hour, 21 mins late
Maple Leaf [no data]
.
.
Palmetto 42 %
34 mins late
59 mins late
Silver Meteor 39 %
43 mins late
1 hour, 10 mins late
Silver Star 63 %
28 mins late
1 hour, 13 mins late
Southwest Chief 81 %
16 mins late
1 hour, 26 mins late
Sunset Limited 57 %
35 mins late
1 hour, 22 mins late
Texas Eagle 65 %
25 mins late
1 hour, 12 mins late
Vermonter [no data]
.
.
Composite for Month 65 %
25 mins late
1 hour, 11 mins late
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
2020 Year-to-Date Standings - Percentage On-Time Arrival
Train
Pct On Time Arrival
City of New Orleans 90 %
Maple Leaf 78 %
Southwest Chief 70 %
Empire Builder 69 %
California Zephyr 67 %
Coast Starlight 67 %
Vermonter 67 %
Carolinian 64 %
Silver Star 64 %
Auto Train 61 %
Silver Meteor 59 %
Cardinal 58 %
Lake Shore Limited 55 %
Capitol Limited 44 %
Palmetto 43 %
Texas Eagle 40 %
Sunset Limited 28 %
Crescent 20 %
2020 Year-to-Date Standings - Overall Average Arrival
Train
Overall Average Arrival
Maple Leaf 3 mins late
Vermonter 4 mins late
City of New Orleans 9 mins late
Lake Shore Limited 17 mins late
Carolinian 18 mins late
Palmetto 20 mins late
Coast Starlight 21 mins late
Silver Star 22 mins late
Capitol Limited 24 mins late
Silver Meteor 25 mins late
Southwest Chief 28 mins late
Empire Builder 31 mins late
Auto Train 33 mins late
Cardinal 35 mins late
California Zephyr 39 mins late
Texas Eagle 49 mins late
Crescent 1 hour, 30 mins late
Sunset Limited 1 hour, 47 hours late
2020 Year-to-Date Standings - Average Arrival if Late
Train
Average arrival if late
Vermonter 12 mins late
Maple Leaf 14 mins late
Palmetto 35 mins late
Lake Shore Limited 38 mins late
Capitol Limited 43 mins late
Carolinian 48 mins late
Silver Star 1 hour, 1 min late
Silver Meteor 1 hour, 1 min late
Coast Starlight 1 hour, 4 mins late
Cardinal 1 hour, 22 mins late
Auto Train 1 hour, 23 mins late
Texas Eagle 1 hour, 23 mins late
City of New Orleans 1 hour, 25 mins late
Southwest Chief 1 hour, 31 mins late
Empire Builder 1 hour, 42 mins late
Crescent 1 hour, 53 mins late
California Zephyr 1 hour, 58 mins late
Sunset Limited 2 hours, 29 mins late
MULTI-WEEK PERFORMANCE:
Week ending . . .
Pct on-time arrival
Overall avg arrival
Avg arrival if late
January 5, 2020 52 %
47 mins late
1 hour, 37 mins late
January 12, 2020 52 %
40 mins late
1 hour, 23 mins late
January 19, 2020 58 %
22 mins late
52 mins late
January 26, 2020 62 %
22 mins late
56 mins late
February 2, 2020 60 %
24 mins late
59 mins late
February 9, 2020 49 %
51 mins late
1 hour, 39 mins late
February 16, 2020 48 %
47 mins late
1 hour, 30 mins late
February 23, 2020 47 %
46 mins late
1 hour, 26 mins late
March 1, 2020 53 %
33 mins late
1 hour, 11 mins late
March 8, 2020 53 %
32 mins late
1 hour, 9 mins late
March 15, 2020 55 %
39 mins late
1 hour, 27 mins late
March 22, 2020 52 %
41 mins late
1 hour, 25 mins late
March 29, 2020 55 %
40 mins late
1 hour, 28 mins late
April 5, 2020 63 %
22 mins late
1 hour, 1 min late
April 12, 2020 68 %
25 mins late
1 hour, 18 mins late
April 19, 2020 67 %
23 mins late
1 hour, 11 mins late
April 26, 2020 69 %
11 mins late
36 mins late
May 3, 2020 72 %
18 mins late
1 hour, 3 mins late
May 10, 2020 67 %
19 mins late
59 mins late
May 17, 2020 65 %
20 mins late
58 mins late
May 24, 2020 59 %
22 mins late
53 mins late
May 31, 2020 71 %
16 mins late
55 mins late