How Do You Know Amtrak Performance?
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- Article
- Calendar week of Nov 30, 2020
- 11-year Saga Over Amtrak'south On-Fourth dimension Performance Metrics Comes to an End
11-year Saga Over Amtrak's On-Time Performance Metrics Comes to an End
December 04, 2020 | Paul Lewis
It seems fitting that the "Amtrak Joe" Biden Administration will be able to use new information to evaluate the performance of America'south intercity passenger trains. Only similar the Sunset Limited, these metrics go far at the station after a lengthy filibuster. In fact, the incoming president can give thanks George W. Bush-league for signing the law that requires Amtrak to report on-time performance and enables the Surface Transportation Board (STB) to investigate and punish host railroads for excessive delays.
The Rider Runway Investment and Comeback Deed of 2008 (PRIIA, Public Law 110-432) required Amtrak and the Federal Railroad Assistants (FRA) to develop metrics and minimum standards for measuring the performance and service quality of Amtrak service. After a 10-yr court boxing that fabricated its way to the Supreme Courtroom (twice), FRA published the terminal rule the calendar week before Thanksgiving.
While PRIIA requires reporting of metrics on a number of performance areas, including fiscal, customer service, and public benefits, it's the on-time performance (OTP) metrics that are virtually of import to intercity passenger rails. Given that the individual railroads on which Amtrak operates cause some of its delays, and that these delays are often outside of Amtrak'south straight control, it currently has little recourse for addressing those delays. But Department 213 of the PRIIA law enables the STB to utilise the OTP metrics as a basis for investigating and awarding damages when warranted.
The rule also mandates greater transparency from Amtrak, which has to study when it is responsible for sure delays, if it is meeting customer service performance targets, and be open up about its financial functioning. The final rule applies to all intercity Amtrak trains, simply non to other intercity rider trains non run by Amtrak or by commuter railroads.
On time functioning metric
The FRA settled on a simple, straightforward "customer on-time performance (OTP)" metric for its primary measurement of on time. As divers in the rulemaking:
The customer on-time operation (OTP) is percent of all customers on an intercity passenger rail train who go far at their detraining point no after than 15 minutes after their published scheduled arrival fourth dimension, reported by railroad train and by road.
The terminal dominion requires Amtrak and host railroads to negotiate schedules to something that they agree is achievable. The client OTP is weighted for all passengers using a straightforward calculation laid out in the rulemaking.
The standard for the customer OTP is a weighted boilerplate of lxxx percent on-fourth dimension for all customers over two consecutive quarters. The eighty percent OTP standard does not change over time. While the standard is fix at 80 per centum, a train or route dipping beneath that 80 percentage threshold does not necessarily spur an STB investigation nor does it mean that freight railroads are responsible for missing the standard. The other metrics in the rule can help STB make the determination on whether an investigation or punishment are warranted. The rule delays the application of the customer OTP standard until afterward in 2021 to give time to resolve disputes over schedules.
(Annotation: The metric and the standard are a huge improvement over the original final rule published in 2009, which was invalidated past court order. In that rule, FRA prepare a three-function definition for on-fourth dimension, including "effective speed," measured to a FY 2007 baseline (or in other cases a 2008 baseline) with the standards improving over time.)
Other metrics
The final rule includes the following metrics every bit part of on-time performance:
- Train delays: total minutes of delay for all Amtrak-responsible delays, host-responsible delays, and third-party delays for the host railroad territory within each route.
- Station performance metric: number of detraining passengers, the number of tardily passengers, and the average minutes belatedly that late customers go far at their detraining stations, reported past route, by train, and by station
- Host Running Time: the average actual running fourth dimension and median actual running fourth dimension compared to the schedule running time between first and final reporting points for a host railroad segment, reported by route, by train, and by host railroad.
- Railroad train Delays per 10,000 train miles: minutes of delay per 10,000 train miles for all Amtrak-responsible and host -responsible delays for the host railroad territory within each road.
The dominion requires Amtrak to study six metrics on customer service. Based on client satisfaction surveys, Amtrak must report overall satisfaction and satisfaction with Amtrak personnel, information given, on-board comfort, on-lath cleanliness, and food service.
Amtrak must also written report financial metrics, including cost recovery, avoidable operating costs covered by passenger acquirement, fully allocated core operating costs covered by rider revenue, average ridership, and total ridership.
Finally, Amtrak has to report several metrics that relate to what the rulemaking calls public benefits. These include:
- Connectivity (per centum of passengers connecting to and from other Amtrak routes)
- Missed connections (percent of passengers that missed connection to an Amtrak service)
- Community access (pct of Amtrak trips to and from not-well-served comminutes, as farther defined in the rulemaking)
- Service availability (number of daily trains per 100,000 MSA population for top 100 MSAs)
The end of the line?
The metrics and standards have the potential to directly address the dismal country of Amtrak's long distance service. Of Amtrak'due south 15 long altitude routes, but 10 had on-time performance of greater than 50 percent in 2018 (using Amtrak's metric, not this dominion's). Some route, like the Dusk Limited, arrived on time merely 26 percent of the time.
Although the rule is final, future litigation or revisions to the constabulary could derail things. As discussed in a recent Business firm hearing, the reauthorization of the Surface Transportation Lath is upcoming, potentially reshaping its role in addressing Amtrak and host track bug.
The Association of American Railroads, which represents the major freight carriers, has concerns virtually the metrics, particularly the customer on-time operation. Specifically, the PRIIA law cites using this metric every bit a basis for investigation of freight track-caused delay, just the metric itself does not discern betwixt the responsible host railroad. Although the rulemaking recognizes this shortcoming and suggests STB utilize other metrics during its potential investigation, how this rule is implemented and what it ways for Amtrak and the host railroads is still unclear.
Even if the new metrics betoken to delays that are conspicuously the fault of the host railroad, current law does not give Amtrak a direct remedy. Amtrak must petition the STB for relief (a lengthy process), or, if the STB decision is not to Amtrak'south liking, the Justice Section has to decide whether or not to have a host railroad to court to enforce Amtrak's preference correct (which Justice rarely does). Section 9204 of the mammoth infrastructure bill passed by Business firm Democrats this past summertime would change that law and would give Amtrak the right to take its host railroads to federal court itself to enforce its preference rights.
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Source: https://www.enotrans.org/article/11-year-saga-over-amtraks-on-time-performance-metrics-comes-to-an-end/
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