HOW IT ALL WORKS - All Aboard: The Complete North American Train Travel Guide - page 189

Making Up Time

Contrary to popular belief, the engineer can't really make up lost
time by increasing the speed of the train. The schedule assumes
the train will be running right at the posted speeds, and the penal-
ties for exceeding those speeds are severe.
Once a train falls behind schedule, there are really only two
ways to make up the time. The first is by hurrying up the loading
and unloading of passengers and baggage at station stops along
the way; the second is through padding in the schedule itself.
Padding is extra time built into the schedule. It's like a fam-
ily having a little emergency stash in a savings account to cover
unexpected expenses. If a train is delayed for 20 minutes because
of track work somewhere along the route, a little padding in the
schedule here and there helps get it back on schedule.
For example, take a look at this excerpt from a recent Amtrak
timetable:

Train 29 Capitol Limited Train 30

4:05 P.M. Washington, DC 1:15 P.M.

4:29 P.M. Rockville, MD 12:15 P.M.

According to the timetable, when train 29, the Capitol Lim-
ited, starts out on its route from Washington, D.C., en route to
Chicago, it will take 24 minutes to cover the 13 miles to its first
stop, Rockville, Maryland. But for train 30, the eastbound Capi-
tol Limited that's completing its overnight trip from Chicago to
Washington, that same Amtrak timetable allows a full hour for
the train to travel those final 13 miles. That extra 36 minutes is
padding to cover any delays that might have occurred in the 764
miles between Chicago and Rockville.