Amtrak Engineer/Conductor question Acela

Hello,

For the Acela, how many
engineer/conductor changes are there?

How many different train crew depots (maybe you call it bases?) operate the Acela service?

Is the concept of a link a think there in the US only certain engineers/conductors do the Acela? E.g. only senior engineers do it or does everyone drive all routes and traction signed by that depot.

Just purely out of interest.

The engineer of the Frankford Junction, Pennsylvania train wreck in 2015 did not have much seniority (about 4 years?), yet he made his next to the last trip running an Acela Express.

From chatting with an Amtrak assistant conductor/on board service tech, likely they change in Philadephia and NYC. If the schedule has arrival and departure times, there's your clue that there's a possible crew change.

UKtraindriver wrote:Hello,

For the Acela, how many
engineer/conductor changes are there?

How many different train crew depots (maybe you call it bases?) operate the Acela service?

Is the concept of a link a think there in the US only certain engineers/conductors do the Acela? E.g. only senior engineers do it or does everyone drive all routes and traction signed by that depot.

Just purely out of interest.

Boston, New Haven, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington crews sign for the Acela and any other associated traction in the crew base. As for route knowledge, not everyone signs the whole area covered by the crew base, and some crew bases are divided by separate roster "zones", such as New York and Washington, but generally if you do not have enough seniority to hold a regular job you must be qualified everywhere the crew base works, as an example in New Haven crews need to be qualified New York-Boston and also to Springfield. In Philadelphia, it's New York-Washington, Philly-Harrisburg, and down the NS Reybold Branch to Bear. There are not links, such as you might be familiar with with rotating assignments, but there are regular assignments which can be bid on with seniority. Generally double Acela jobs go high, because they are long days with few stops and long layovers between trips.

STrRedWolf wrote: ↑Sat Oct 26, 2024 2:00 pm From chatting with an Amtrak assistant conductor/on board service tech, likely they change in Philadephia and NYC. If the schedule has arrival and departure times, there's your clue that there's a possible crew change.

There are currently no en route crew changes at Philadelphia, except for Keystone trains & The Pennsylvanian. The exception is if there is a service disruption and a train needs to be recrewed at Philly, which is why Philly crews need to be qualified NY-DC. Philly has traditionally had separate arrival and departure times to account for heavy passenger turnover and schedule recovery.

Really appreciate all the replies, very interesting stuff. Thanks!

CNJGeep wrote: ↑Sat Oct 26, 2024 2:29 pm
Boston, New Haven, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington crews sign for the Acela and any other associated traction in the crew base. As for route knowledge, not everyone signs the whole area covered by the crew base, and some crew bases are divided by separate roster "zones", such as New York and Washington, but generally if you do not have enough seniority to hold a regular job you must be qualified everywhere the crew base works, as an example in New Haven crews need to be qualified New York-Boston and also to Springfield. In Philadelphia, it's New York-Washington, Philly-Harrisburg, and down the NS Reybold Branch to Bear. There are not links, such as you might be familiar with with rotating assignments, but there are regular assignments which can be bid on with seniority. Generally double Acela jobs go high, because they are long days with few stops and long layovers between trips.

Thanks for the detailed reply!

UKtraindriver wrote: ↑Sat Oct 26, 2024 3:07 pm Really appreciate all the replies, very interesting stuff. Thanks!

CNJGeep wrote: ↑Sat Oct 26, 2024 2:29 pm
Boston, New Haven, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington crews sign for the Acela and any other associated traction in the crew base. As for route knowledge, not everyone signs the whole area covered by the crew base, and some crew bases are divided by separate roster "zones", such as New York and Washington, but generally if you do not have enough seniority to hold a regular job you must be qualified everywhere the crew base works, as an example in New Haven crews need to be qualified New York-Boston and also to Springfield. In Philadelphia, it's New York-Washington, Philly-Harrisburg, and down the NS Reybold Branch to Bear. There are not links, such as you might be familiar with with rotating assignments, but there are regular assignments which can be bid on with seniority. Generally double Acela jobs go high, because they are long days with few stops and long layovers between trips.

Thanks for the detailed reply!

So let me clarify, if you are asking strictly about the Acela there is only one crew change done enroute in NYP. There are 4 zones that cover the work. BOS, NYP Zone 1, NYP Zone 2 and WASH Zone 2. As previous mentioned most of the regular assignments are senior because they are longer and pay more but if you are working the extra list then you cover everything.

8th Notch wrote: ↑Wed Oct 30, 2024 7:54 am
So let me clarify, if you are asking strictly about the Acela there is only one crew change done enroute in NYP. There are 4 zones that cover the work. BOS, NYP Zone 1, NYP Zone 2 and WASH Zone 2. As previous mentioned most of the regular assignments are senior because they are longer and pay more but if you are working the extra list then you cover everything.

Thanks for the reply. I have some more follow up questions if you’re happy to answer them, just purely out of interest.

1. If a Zone isn’t the same thing as a link, what is it then? Do you get to choose what zone you want to be in?

2. I know the bidding system is used by pilots but is not a thing we have over here on the railways. Could I get a brief overview of how the bidding system works?
Instead, we have a link system where as someone has said you’ll do rotating lines of assignments. The roster shows what shifts you’ll be doing and what’s days you’ll have off (RD = Rest Days). I’ve attached an example of a roster below.

With the bidding system, is there a list of turns/diagrams and each person just picks what they want to do and it’ll go in seniority order? So as a senior man, you can pick what shifts (early/late/night) you want to do? And how do your days off work?

3. What is a typical diagram like? Is it something like e.g. for a Boston driver:

Drive to New York
Break (1 - 2 hours)
Drive back to Boston

Do you do double trips? Do you have night shifts like just shunting trains to and from the yard? And do you always finish off back at base or do you lodge over night in a hotel at say New York?


4. As a qualified engineer, how many days do you get to learn e.g. Boston - New York?


Thanks, feel free to answer as little or as much as you can

UKtraindriver wrote: ↑Thu Oct 31, 2024 3:07 pm

8th Notch wrote: ↑Wed Oct 30, 2024 7:54 am
So let me clarify, if you are asking strictly about the Acela there is only one crew change done enroute in NYP. There are 4 zones that cover the work. BOS, NYP Zone 1, NYP Zone 2 and WASH Zone 2. As previous mentioned most of the regular assignments are senior because they are longer and pay more but if you are working the extra list then you cover everything.

Thanks for the reply. I have some more follow up questions if you’re happy to answer them, just purely out of interest.

1. If a Zone isn’t the same thing as a link, what is it then? Do you get to choose what zone you want to be in?

2. I know the bidding system is used by pilots but is not a thing we have over here on the railways. Could I get a brief overview of how the bidding system works?
Instead, we have a link system where as someone has said you’ll do rotating lines of assignments. The roster shows what shifts you’ll be doing and what’s days you’ll have off (RD = Rest Days). I’ve attached an example of a roster below.

With the bidding system, is there a list of turns/diagrams and each person just picks what they want to do and it’ll go in seniority order? So as a senior man, you can pick what shifts (early/late/night) you want to do? And how do your days off work?

3. What is a typical diagram like? Is it something like e.g. for a Boston driver:

Drive to New York
Break (1 - 2 hours)
Drive back to Boston

Do you do double trips? Do you have night shifts like just shunting trains to and from the yard? And do you always finish off back at base or do you lodge over night in a hotel at say New York?


4. As a qualified engineer, how many days do you get to learn e.g. Boston - New York?


Thanks, feel free to answer as little or as much as you can

IMG_8719.jpeg

I will jump in here for a bit. I work in Zone 3 which covers NYP ALB along with trains going west to Niagara Falls NY, north to Montreal QC, Burlington VT, and Boston. We never touch the ACELA train sets that is zone 1 and 2 work.
With national seniority we can move from zone to zone but there has to openings or job assignments up for bid that our seniority will allow us to hold. Then get qualified on the necessary territories of that terminal.

Every six months we have what is called an optional displacement where as a senior man can bump a junior man off their job. We also have an extra or spare board where engineers without regular assignments hold spots according to their day off which again is based on seniority.
Assignments are bid according to seniority and when the bids come out all information on each will be listed. Such as days off, sign up, sign off, any over night stays, and train numbers. Some terminals also have yard assignments or shunting jobs if you prefer.
A typical trip for a zone three engineer can be as short as 2H 45min to as much as 5H 20min. You will have to wait for the zone one or two guys to answer trip and qualification questions as I have no idea. As I said I am based out of ALB zone 3 and it took me almost a year and a half to become fully qualified on all our territory.

Hope this helped

Railjunkie wrote: ↑Fri Nov 01, 2024 1:18 am
I will jump in here for a bit. I work in Zone 3 which covers NYP ALB along with trains going west to Niagara Falls NY, north to Montreal QC, Burlington VT, and Boston. We never touch the ACELA train sets that is zone 1 and 2 work.
With national seniority we can move from zone to zone but there has to openings or job assignments up for bid that our seniority will allow us to hold. Then get qualified on the necessary territories of that terminal.

Every six months we have what is called an optional displacement where as a senior man can bump a junior man off their job. We also have an extra or spare board where engineers without regular assignments hold spots according to their day off which again is based on seniority.
Assignments are bid according to seniority and when the bids come out all information on each will be listed. Such as days off, sign up, sign off, any over night stays, and train numbers. Some terminals also have yard assignments or shunting jobs if you prefer.
A typical trip for a zone three engineer can be as short as 2H 45min to as much as 5H 20min. You will have to wait for the zone one or two guys to answer trip and qualification questions as I have no idea. As I said I am based out of ALB zone 3 and it took me almost a year and a half to become fully qualified on all our territory.

Hope this helped

Fantastic, thank you very much.

There are no set days as far as qualifying on the route is concerned, everyone learns at their own pace. If I were to estimate, I would say about 3-5 months to become qualified (as in pass all the required physical characteristic tests). Certification which is required for you to operate alone is a whole different story after the last derailment in Washington State.