Originally Posted by
serpens
Amtrak has (most recently, I believe, with the Crescent) changed a schedule to improve on-time performance. It hasn't worked, and the train operates late under the new schedule. (I have no evidence at hand to back up my assertion and don't intent to search for any; it's just what I've read.)
You are correct. It's the northbound Crescent that was chronically late, beginning in MS or AL, and continuing through the Carolinas. Its schedules got padded based on negotiations between NS and Amtrak. Now the train is still chronically late, even based on the padded schedule.
It used to be scheduled to come through Greenville, SC at about 10:50pm, which was already almost too late at night for me; now it's scheduled to come through at around 2am, but it's chronically late even with that new time. I quit taking that train because I'm not going to get up at 2am and deal with waiting for a late train at that hour.