Pennsylvania Amtrak route – but not the Pennsylvanian – is the most punctual in all of America
HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) — Amtrak’s Keystone route — which runs between Harrisburg and New York City — is the most punctual in all of America, according to new data.
And it isn’t even close.
The Keystone’s on-time performance rate — defined as the percentage of passengers who arrive at their destination within 15 minutes of the scheduled time — was 95% for October through December 2023, according to a report the railroad released last week. That was a slight improvement from the 94% rate the Keystone notched during the same period a year earlier.
No. 2 in the system for October through December 2023 — the most recent quarter reported — was the Hiawatha route, which runs between Chicago and Milwaukee and had an on-time performance rate of 88%.
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On the other hand, the other route that runs primary through the commonwealth — the eponymous Pennsylvanian, which runs between Pittsburgh and New York City — arrived on time just 74% of the time during the quarter, according to the same report.
The railroad’s systemwide on-time performance rate was 78%. The most chronically tardy route was the Southwest Chief, which runs between Chicago and Los Angeles, and delivered passengers to their destinations within 15 minutes of scheduled times just 45% of the time.
For the rare instances when the Keystone was late, the top three reasons for the delay were — in order — bad weather, repair-related delays for problems like faulty signals and “interference” by commuter lines, such as New Jersey Transit or the Philadelphia area’s SEPTA system.
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The more frequent Pennsylvanian delays were most commonly due to — in this order — “interference” by frieght trains (among freight lines, Norfolk Southern overlaps most along the Pennsylvanian’s route), “miscellaneous” delays (which can include various reasons why a train can’t operate as its normal speed) and routing delays, including diversions (i.e., unscheduled switches to different tracks).
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