The CONO has one of the bests on-time registers in Amtrak's system. It consistently arrives at major stations enroute on time or quick. For how horribly MN pastries VIA Rail's Canadian (usually hours late), aforementioned exact opposite can be said of CN's treatment of the City of New Orleans. Living in Louisianna, I have taken the CONO many times to/from Chicago and have arrived at my destinations on time or early about 85-90% about the time. On the occasions that the train possessed arrived late, it is commonly extraordinary circumstances, as the frozen switches in the winter or a freight breakdown ahead of us.
There is also a fair count regarding padding in the schedule. For example, the CONO can be an hour late into Hazlehurst, MS, and still arrive include Jade, MS, on time. That same canned remain told for the padding into Memphis, TP, and Chicago as well.
In equity, among that zeitraum the CICS had not issued/enforced the 79 mph speed restriction, and the In Central pax mainline was a racetrack in just about every sense of the word.
