2301 Washington Avenue
Conway, Arkansas 72032-2766
July 1, 1998
Transmission via Facsimile to 214-743-5606
Confirmation via U.S. Mail
Richard K. Davidson, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer
Union Pacific Railroad
1717 Main Street, Suite 5900
Dallas, Texas 75201-4605
Dear Mr. Davidson:
I am writing on behalf of the Texas Eagle Marketing & Performance Organization. This coalition is empowered by elected officials, municipalities and others who helped -- in Washington, D.C., and Austin -- to secure the future of passenger train service for Texas and Arkansas.
Our organization requests your personal intervention to promptly resolve the timekeeping problems on the Texas Eagle. We believe that it is in the best interest of all parties to avoid the litiginous circumstances which developed between Amtrak and Southern Pacific in 1979-1980 and between Amtrak and Missouri Pacific in the 1970s. At the same time, the present operating practices for the Texas Eagle are intolerable (see accompanying data), with crippling delays on a recurring basis as a result of Union Pacific handling.
Union Pacific's weekly filings with the Surface Transportation Board suggest considerable improvement in the gridlock conditions affecting Texas and the southwest, but the deteriorating timekeeping of the Texas Eagle (and the Sunset Limited) suggests otherwise. Elected officials, the media, and even the STB may well view the on-time performance of the Texas Eagle as a useful indicator of the railroad's recovery efforts, rather than relying on much more abstract statistics such as blocked sidings, car counts or yard congestion.
I am confident that your personal review of delays to Amtrak trains will provide the impetus needed to make the necessary corrections. In recognition of the more complicated problems along the Sunset route, one option would include opening the Baird subdivision [El Paso - Midland/Odessa - Fort Worth] to detour movements of Texas Eagle through cars, such as when the eastbound Sunset Limited is more than two hours late at El Paso. This adjustment would help ensure on-time operation of the northbound Texas Eagle from San Antonio, avoiding the present situation where the train is now held hostage awaiting extremely late arrivals of the eastbound Sunset Limited (which itself is late largely because of U.P. freight train interference.)
Your attention to the issue of improving Texas Eagle timekeeping will be most appreciated.
Yours truly,
William A. Pollard, D.D.S.
Chairman, Texas Eagle Marketing & Performance Organization
The following tables reflect the point of maximum delay for southbound train #21 and northbound train #22, along with the station code where the maximum delay was reported.
May 1998
Train #21 CHI-LAX Train #22 LAX-CHI
22(3) annulled-derailment
22(5) 2' 19" MIN
21(7) 3' 20" SAS
21(8) 1' 25" MHL 22(8) 1' 22" MIN
21(9) 1' 08" DAL
22(10) 2' 58" LVW
22(11) 2' 32" MIN
21(12) 3' 01" AUS 22(12) 3' 05 ARK
21(14) 23" ARK
21(15) 20" SMC 22(15) 1' 14" PBF
21(16) 13" MHL
22(17) 7' 35" MIN
22(18) 3' 12" ARK
21(19) 3' 41" SMC 22(19) est 4' 35" TXA
22(26) 4' 22" PBF
21(28) 2' 20" LVW
21(29) 4' 06" DAL 22(29) 3' 18" MIN
21(30) 1' 53" AUS
22(31) 2' 55" PBF
June 1998
Train #21 CHI-LAX Train #22 LAX-CHI
21(2) 2' 42" SMC 22(2) 11" WNR
21(4) 6' 34" FTW
21(5) 8' 34" AUS 22(5) 2' 38" MIN
21(6) 1' 05" FTW
22(7) 4' 03" MIN
22(8) 2' 58" PBF
21(9) 7' 31" AUS 22(9) 6' 0" ARK
21(11) 3' 11" SAS
21(12) 2' 27" FTW 22(12) 4' 21" MIN
21(13) 1' 20" AUS
22(14) 4' 37" MVN
22(15) 3' 33" MIN
22(16) 7' 27" ALN
21(18) 3' 02" SMC
21(19) 9' 19" FTW
21(20) 6' 30" MCG
22(21) 8' 00" PBF
22(22) 4" 57" MIN
21(23) 4' 12" MCG 22(23) 6' 21" SPI
21(25) 5' 37" FTW
[14' 38" at SAS due to derailment & detour]
21(26) 2' 29" TAY 22(26) 9' 32" MIN
21(27) 2' 48" SMC
22(29) 11' 04" JOL
Posted for Arkansas Rail by Bill
Pollard. Email: arkrail@arkansas.net
Posted: Friday, 3 July 1998.
