AMTRAK SYSTEM TIMETABLE DISCONTINUED

Stopping the printing of all those policies and the NEC schedules is a no-brainer.

But I do think they should put out a limited timetable consisting of only the National Network services, given the target demographic...

Interesting to consider:

If they were printing 1,000,000 copies of every single new issue that would imply that the cost to do so was probably in the 7 figures (if not 8) as well. I could see unit costs for a publication of this size with some full color pages and the rest being three color process going for well above $1.00 and possibly close to $10. Throw in shipping costs for an order that size and I think you're in to some pretty substantial savings for Amtrak. The annual operating deficit is calculated in the hundreds of millions. Ten million dollars on one billion would be 1%. Pretty sure the operating deficit is closer to $300 million or less which would mean a $10,000,000 savings would be 3.3%. Not bad at all.

With so many schedule changes across the country, much of the information was out of date in the National Timetable.
Wrong information is worse than no inrformation.

Lee

From Food Court Perimeter Mall

The timetable was mostly a collector's item for railfans, so "we" here will sob over its loss. "John Q" could care less. In the Corridors, which let's face it, is what Amtrak is all about. A guess; but I'd say 95% of Corridor passengers have access to and actively use the web.

I'd guess for the non fans who would obtain one, it was a planning tool extolling "the joys of train travel", but with amenity nickel and diming, the questionable reliability of the service, the timetable simply represented false advertising.

Everyone:

More thoughts about Amtrak's discontinuing the System Timetable:

I agree with the idea of a printable PDF that could replace the hard copy. This could literally keep and continue
the same information available with this option.

Noel has a good point about older people prefering a printed copy to a computer or internet generated one.
Younger people are more likely to use technology to access this information.

Noel is also right about Amtrak splitting the NEC and the rest of the system into two separate timetable booklets.
This was dabbled with at some point during the 70s and was used for a time period during the 90s until it was
decided to print a full System Timetable again.

Does anyone have any idea how much revenue the advertisements that the System Timetable had brought in?
Was it enough to cover at least some of the printing costs? Could implementing a cost per copy along with a
reduction in the physical amount that is printed work out to be a positive for Amtrak?

I found Skelly's mention about a $15 charge for a Greyhound System Timetable interesting because the
information as described is perhaps the closest that they come to having a "employee" timetable only
available to insiders only. The high charge per copy means they are sold only as a absolute necessity.

I like VIA Rail Canada's booklet timetable - the latest one I have is June 2015. These were introduced in
recent years along with VIA's service cutbacks. With added services they could implement a small fee or
sell advertising space to keep them available. An Amtrak NEC booklet in similar size could be a welcome
change to replace or supplement the group of large folders covering the NEC.

In closing I will miss the Amtrak System Timetable ...

MACTRAXX

MACTRAXX wrote:Noel is also right about Amtrak splitting the NEC and the rest of the system into two separate timetable booklets.
This was dabbled with at some point during the 70s and was used for a time period during the 90s until it was decided to print a full System Timetable again.

The last edition of a complete system timetable was 10/25/92, the NEC and "National" routes remained separate until combined in the 10/27/03 edition (a Gunn decision, he mentions a statement on the change inside).

Side note: Greyhound's system timetable is online, but not on the public access section of the website, rather in the internal support department (intended for employees and authorized ticket agents).

I'll miss the timetables, but really little flier with a map or maps that basically show all the routes and their endpoints, so that someone in Cleveland could glance at it and say "aha! I can catch a train here, change in Chicago, and go to Seattle!" would do the trick. They already do a map that shows roughly where the LD trains go in daylight and where they go at night. Add a symbol to show where trains terminate (where there are none running through, I guess, as in Chicago) so people know they'll have to change. Add some kind of simple symbol code (or a little text box) to show which transfers are possible same-day at each point where routes cross (only Chicago would be complicated; at the other extreme it would be easy to show that Lakeshore Ltd to Vermonter is basically out), and you've got the information you need. With some color coding or text to show which are the daily routes, which run a few times a day, and which run often, and you've got it made. It's probably simpler than the London Underground map.

I doubt very many people are consulting the paper timetable to figure out how long the layovers are or whether they can transfer from train xx to train xxx on Sundays, so the station times for each train are probably no great loss. The key thing is for people to see quickly that a particular trip is possible, so that they go to the computer or the phone and find out whether they like the schedule.

gokeefe wrote:... printing 1,000,000 copies … would imply that the cost to do so was probably in the 7 figures (if not 8) as well. I could see unit costs for a publication of this size, with some full color pages and the rest being three color process, going for well above $1.00 and possibly close to $10. Throw in shipping costs for an order that size ... pretty substantial savings for Amtrak.

Suppose your helpful calculation is somehow off by twice what the savings will be, so not printing the System Timetable will actually save a mere $5 million a year. To put things in perspective, cutting the diners from the Star may save $5 or $6 million a year, iirc. And Joe Boardman's recent memo about the urgent need for cost cutting said ridership was off, causing the operating deficit to run above forecasts by at least $30 million, iirc.

If dropping printed System Schedules saves $10 or $5 or $1 million, it must be done.

I will miss the printed timetables because for most schedules I cannot view the whole page once I magnify it on the screen so that I can easily read it.

I do use the national timetable to plan trips.

I'm 62 but not computer-averse: I have a blog and a website.

I'm 62 as well. I remember as a kid waiting in anticipation for the Sears, Montgomery Wards, Neiman Marcus, and other store catalogs to arrive to make a wish list for Christmas, but most of those catalogs and stores are going the way of the dodo bird. Today I just search Amazon's online store.
The days of having stacks of huge books - what those catalogs were - are gone. And that's what I feel about a huge book of train schedules - a small fragment of time in history.

Hopefully Amtrak will continue to provide PDFs train schedules where those who want a book can print all of them and make their own!

My pet brouse right now is an Official Guide from November, 1959. It is simply amazing the stuff that I have found in it. You can bury yourself in something like this for hours and hours on end. I have more of them to look at as well but not now.
Noel Weaver

Believe it or not, despite my very pro-technology stance and frequent use of the internet for anything, I actually use the printed timetable book when trying to set up business travel. Of course I then book online but the printed book has been handy for me.

Not a surprise, though. The last printed book may be a collector's item but don't expect the price to go up anytime soon, there's a lot of them out there.

Printed matter and electronic displays each have their benefits and drawbacks.

In light of Amtrak's recent new appropriation to "restore and enhance passenger service" perhaps the best way to explain this choice is as follows:

"Do you want printed timetables or more trains?"

I think that's how Amtrak sees it right now. Anything more than a million or two in savings really does have the potential to allow Amtrak to restore additional service. Interesting to note that we've gotten to the point were Amtrak really can make these kinds of decisions.

VIA's corridor timetables are awful. Needless distinctions between Toronto-Ottawa-Montreal services rather than displaying a single timetable like the NEC timetables.
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