Comment by ars
6 years ago
> I'm sure there are some sort of rules on mixed consists of freight and passenger
It could work if you are willing to travel slowly. Freight trains don't travel very fast (25/mpg ish), while Amtrak tries to go in 50/mph ish range.
This causes them a lot of scheduling trouble.
But if you are willing to travel at the same speed as freight it would be a lot easier to accommodate.
Passenger trains tend to travel faster than freight, true. But 25 MPH? No. Not on major lines, anyway.
You can probably find statistics that give you a number that low (or even lower), but I think they include dwell time in yards, not just road time.
I sat in one that got stuck behind freight traffic (according to the announcement).
25 MPH is what I remember, with short bursts of faster speed.
It was much faster before we got stuck behind the freight.
PS. The statistics I found actually said current average is 20!!
No way dude, I live in semu-rural Pennsylvania and the freight train that passes 10+ times a day does 45-50 mph. I've driven alongside dozens of times.