Amtrak on Time?

by DonInGuilford | Questions & Answers | 1441 Views

I’m to meet someone coming in on the northbound at Brattleboro and am wondering whether the train is tending to run more-or-less on time? Used to be a variable of a half hour or so, but it’s my sense that the operation has been improving. I expect someone on this site has good, recent experience to report. Thanks.

Comments | 4

  • Submitted by cgrotke on August 26, 2018 at 11:01 am

    A week or so ago

    The last time we picked someone up – about a week or so ago – the train was on time north until it hit Massachusetts, then it stopped and waiting fro signal issues to be resolved for about 30-45 min. It arrived late.

  • Submitted by DonInGuilford on August 26, 2018 at 5:05 pm

    Thanks for that first piece of intel on this. I intend

    Thanks for that first piece of intel on this. I intend to be there “on time,” but wanted to know what to expect.

  • Submitted by cgrotke on August 27, 2018 at 11:24 am

    I like the tracking map

    Amtrak has a web site feature for tracking the status of trains. Actually, they have two… one lets you see the times of arrivals and departures, which is updated every 10 minutes or so with the latest info.

    That’s okay, but the fun one is the map. Find the tracking map and you get an almost real-time view of every Amtrak train currently in service. You can watch your train make progress, plus it included the same information as the status tracker – the times, etc. updated every few minutes.

    The map times out after a short while, so you’ll want to click on it and move things around a bit every so often to keep it in operation (or, start over when it times out).

    You can watch and see when the northbound passes the southbound, see how other trains are moving, and so on.

    This will be really fun when it is completely real-time. As it is, it is useful, and can help gauge when to head to the station (as long as there isn’t a nearby delay after you head out…)

  • Submitted by Wendy M. Levy on August 27, 2018 at 11:30 am

    Track-a-Train

    Hi Don,

    If you prefer to call, 1-800-USA-RAIL has an automated system (aka a robot) to tell you train arrival and departure times — and that’s not what’s on the schedule, but what’s actually happening. It helps if you know the train number, but if you don’t, there is a look-up function by city.

    I hope that helps.

    -Wendy

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