Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan Last week, I had my first Amtrak train travel experience. I went with my son's Boy Scout troop from the San Francisco Bay Area to Oregon and back. Due to a series of delays, the trip there took a total of 24 hours. I found most of the personnel on the train and in the stations surley and unhelpful. Details on what was causing the delays, or when we might get to our destination, was like pulling teeth. Delays are understandable and easier to take if they simply would have explained what was happening from time to time. They chose not to do that, and seemed peeved whenever any passenger would finally ask one of the employees what was happening. Compared to airplane travel, where usually you are kept informed of where you are and what might be causing delays, Amtrak simply didn't communicate with us over the intercom very often. We would sometimes be sitting at a standstill for an hour at a time, with no word on why or when we might get rolling again. As we passed Klamath Lake, the conductor chimed in over the intercom all sorts of facts about the lake for a good 5-10 minutes. It was very interesting, but it seemed odd that we would suddenly get this wealth of information compared to how non-communicative they had been the rest of the time. So, for those of you who travel by train, is this a typical experience on Amtrak, or did we just have a dud crew?
Originally Posted By DlandJB 2oony, I'd strongly urge you to contact Customer Service at Amtrak and complain about any bad experiences you had. Let them know if you would like any specific kind of compensation. They are very likely to comply. It has been a few years but my late husband used to work there and if you can reach the right people you can get help. You have to carefully explain what the problems were and what you would like (reimbursement or travel) and include your ticket (keep a copy. Customer Service Office Amtrak 60 Massachusetts Ave, NE Washington, DC 20002 Now, if you are also just fed up about it, send a copy to your congressional representative and cc the Government Affairs office. They need to know when there is a problem and since Congress supports Amtrak it is important to let them know if things have reached a ridiculous level. Having had some recent bad experiences with airline travel, I wouldn't necessarily say it is much better. But it will only change if people demand it does.
Originally Posted By Mr X I'd have to disagree, Amtrak travel is WAY worse than the way airlines are run overall. It's nothing new, I took a trip back in the 90's and it was a nightmare. Everything that K2M said, except I don't recall the crew being particularly surly (definitely uninformative though). Living in Japan where they do the train system RIGHT, Amtrak seems even more pathetic to me. I think the biggest issue is that they don't own the rails they travel on. They "rent", and the passenger trains are given the lowest priority so all the "more important" freight trains can keep their schedule. That's the reason for the utterly SILLY super long delays, and it really is a good reason to never give them any business at all. Who needs em. Seriously. Buses, cars and planes work just fine for me (not to mention that Amtrak is EXPENSIVE too! what a joke!). All that is just my opinion, and I'm sure some people who work there try hard and do a great job (so no reflection on your husband Dland), but overall that system has major problems and it is really pathetic when it comes right down to it. I mean, come on, build a bullet train for the eastern corridor (GREAT idea), and then don't build a dedicated track system for it (RETARDED idea) so the train is hardly faster than all the rest AND you have kids getting killed on the tracks (bullet trains aren't supposed to have crossings, duh!)! How dumb is that?
Originally Posted By Mr X I have to stress "overall" in my comments about airlines vs. Amtrak, I'm very aware that there have been some "horror stories" of late, and I'm sorry to hear that you went through that, JB! Overall, I really can't complain. I guess I've had good luck and I've never been horribly delayed (around 3 hours is the worst I've experienced I think), though I do think that some airlines are MUCH better than others.
Originally Posted By Mr X **Delays are understandable** See, I disagree and I think that's an attitude that is too forgiving and results from extremely lowered expectations because Amtrak has been so poorly run for so long. Again to come back to Japan, the trains are NEVER (well, I'll just say 99.99% to be fair) delayed for anything other than severe weather (THAT is understandable) or suicide at the stations (also understandable, being unavoidable). And in the case of any delay, passangers receive up to the minute info on what's wrong, and how soon they expect to be up and running again (announcements every few minutes).
Originally Posted By trekkeruss <<Living in Japan where they do the train system RIGHT, Amtrak seems even more pathetic to me.>> Japan has it relatively easy though. The country is absolutely tiny compared to the USA, and all their lines are private, whereas Amtrak is run by the government. With all that goes on in Washington, it's a wonder that Amtrak gets any funding at all.
Originally Posted By Mr X Sure, Japan has a small amount of land which makes rail service make a LOT of sense...but I don't see how that makes them automatically more efficient and more courteous and more punctual though. As for all the lines being private, JR (japan railways) USED to be run by the government but it went private (I don't know all the details). If being run by the government is a bad thing, why not take it private? In any case, as it stands it doesn't work at all, so they might as well try to come up with some solutions, right? To get back to your "tiny" comment about Japan, if you consider "zones" in America like the Eastern Seaboard, Texas, and California (for example)...a fantastic train service would make a lot of sense. Europe is pretty darn big, all considered, but they manage to have a FAR superior train service in comparison to America as well. In any case, I don't really see those excuses as being good reasons why it's "okay" for Amtrak to suck. Maybe their reliance on federal dollars is part of the problem? I dunno. Don't really care, honestly, although I'd like to enjoy "riding the rails"in America if it were a fun and economical option but it really, truly isn't. And frankly, I don't understand WHY my taxpayer dollars go to fund that crappy rail system anyway. Is there a valid reason? I wish Amtrak DIDN'T get any funding...I'd sooner see my hard earned and forcibly taken money go to something more worthwhile (or at least something that works!).
Originally Posted By amazedncal2 A friend of ours is an engineer for Amtrak. One of the calmest, nicest guys you'd ever meet A big frustration for him is exactly what Mr X wrote about. Amtrak rents the rails and if a cargo train is coming through, oh well for the passengers. I don't see any excuse for not keeping the passengers informed. I'd write a letter 2oony, maybe a letter written by the scouts and a lesson for them on how to properly state a complaint and then wait for the reply
Originally Posted By Mr X Even considering the whole "rental" situation, and the fact that the freight trains take priority (understandable, I suppose...they own the rails right? OR, they pay more or something?), I don't understand why they can't work out a schedule which includes ALL the traffic... I would love for someone with any expertise to explain this to me. I understand the "priority" system...but all these trains have got scheduled routes WAY ahead of time no? Why can't they work it out so the intolorable delays are eliminated? Is it simply guesswork? I really don't think so (and again, I'll point to Japan as an example even though I do realize things don't necessarily work the same way in different countries). I wonder if K2M's frustration (about lack of info) might actually be SHARED by Amazed's conductor friend and other workers...maybe THEY don't get any info either?
Originally Posted By Mr X I'm guessing that old and outmoded equipment has something to do with it (do Amtrak and these freight companies even use sophisticated "tracking computers" and stuff like that? I tend to doubt it...not state of the art, anyway)...which points further to the infrastructure problems that lie at the root of the issue. The more I think about it, Toony, the more I think that poor staff on the train probably had good reason to be surly, and probably didn't even HAVE any updated information to offer you guys! My 2 cents, anyway (I tend to go up the ladder in the blame game...it is RARELY the employees you meet who are the real problem, usually they're working hard under tough conditions wherever you go)... I hope you and the Scouts had a great trip anyway? Oh, and happy belated birthday! (saw the thread, but when I went back to chime in I couldn't find it again!)
Originally Posted By Mr X From wiki (sorry)... ***Ridership stagnated at roughly 20 million passengers per year amid uncertain government aid from 1981 to about 2000.[17] Ridership increased in the 2000s amid capital improvements in the Northeast Corridor and rising fuel costs. Since 2002, Amtrak has had four consecutive years of record ridership records. During fiscal year 2006, Amtrak reported more than 24.3 million passengers, its highest total to date.[18] According to Amtrak, an average of more than 67,000 passengers ride on up to 300 Amtrak trains per day.*** According to this, Amtrak is doing very well since the turn of the century. Because of infrastructure improvements and rising fuel costs? Not sure I buy that.
Originally Posted By Kennesaw Tom Kar2oonMan I am sorry to hear of your bad experience. I also share jb's view that you should call or write AMTRACK or your Congressman about your concerns. I have had some good experiences with Amtrack which I am very pleased about. Yes by far jet travel in this country demonstrates better customer service. I think competition has a lot to do with it. We one have one national rail service... We have LOTS of air serves available to anyone one of us. Yes, our national rail service has many obsticals to overcome such as modernization, etc. But I am convinced that Amtrack is trying with the tools our Federal Government has given them. I grew up near the "rails" for the North East Cooridor and have traveled on many of the trains between NYC to Boston many times. Those rails are not rented. They had to be modernized and eletrified. They were never designed for highspeed rain travel so Amtrack chose a trainset that "leans" into the curves to achieve optimum speeds. Again Amtrack has had and continues to have huge obsticals to overcome. For instance remember how I mentioned that Amtrack eletrified the rails in the North East Coorider.. well there are 7 differnet voltage variences alone while passing through the state of Connecticut. Its a engineering marvel that we have the Acela train at all.
Originally Posted By Mr X Kennesaw (by the way, fellow nor'erster here, from Boston! ), don't you think it would have been simpler for them to just create a whole new infrastructure for the high speed stuff (like they did in Japan, France, Germany etc...)? What I've read about acela sounds like they never should have bothered at all, with all the limitations (the train only manages "top speed" for like 18 miles!!!!????). I just see that as a waste of money on some very decent trains that don't go anywhere "fast".
Originally Posted By vbdad55 If only this country had a rail system like Europe -- alas we don't. I traveled from NY to Chicago about 10 years ago, and besides it normally being a day and 1/2 trip -- the train was 11 hours late also. My daughter took Amtrak from St Louis home 2 years ago, for the first and last time as the 5 hour trip took over 10. I would love to have good rail service ( our commuter service in Chicago is awesome for getting downtown) - but we do not -- and I have a hard time telling our elected official is going to be new news to them -- it appears no one cares
Originally Posted By vbdad55 Neither party will get behind pushing for the huge sum of money to update the infrastructure as would be needed - the miles of track to be covered is staggering.
Originally Posted By Mr X How about just the North East corridor where they run the high speed stuff, VB? "on September 28, 2005 an Acela travelling from Boston to Washington, D.C. became the first Acela train involved in a collision at a grade crossing when it struck a Ford Taurus at Miner Lane in Waterford, Connecticut, one of the few remaining grade crossings on the Northeast Corridor (and one of the few on high-speed rail systems anywhere in the world)." "On January 14, 2007, Robert Castro, a tenth-grader from Easton, boarded the 12:55 pm MBTA from Providence, Rhode Island, to Boston South Station and got off at Mansfield at 1:20 pm. Seeing his mother on the opposite platform, he tried to cross over the two Northeast Corridor tracks and was struck by an Acela train traveling at approximately 130 mph (209 km/h). It took the Acela one mile to stop." And I also seem to remember something about 3 teens hanging around on the tracks and getting hit by the Acela. ALL, totally avoidable deaths...and all because of horrible planning and bad infrastructure. Better they not introduce the trains at all, if you ask me (it's not like they're particularly fast anyway, truth be told...and if you WANT high speed you have to create an infrastructure that can handle it).
Originally Posted By Mr X Post 14 highlights some of the more pathetic "super delays" (can I coin that? ). "it appears no one cares" I agree completely, and so if noone cares why the heck are we funding it? I say, shut the whole operation down, and spend our taxpayer dollars on something more effective and useful. Is it really even necessary nowadays? I mean, sure, if they DID ramp up the infrastructure in places (like I said, northeast/texas/maybe california) and created something useful then it would make some sense. But like VBDad said, noone cares. So that ain't gonna happen. More dollars flushed down the toilet, if you ask me.
Originally Posted By EdisYoda The times I've taken Amtrak, I've had good luck. Granted, the last trip I took was about 9 years ago. I lived in Boston at the time, and about twice a year, I'd take the train down to either New York or Washington. Never a problem. One year, I had 3 weeks vacation, so I decided that I'd take the train roundtrip to see my mom in San Diego. Other then being stupid for not getting a sleeping compartment, I had no complaints. Actually, the best steak I've ever had was on that train. I took a total of 3 trains. The first from Boston to Chicago, then a change to a train from Chicago to Los Angeles, then from Los Angeles to San Diego. The scenery was amazing. I took a 600 page Tom Clancy novel with me, expecting to read it along the way. Well, I only made it through 200 pages before I got home! I never found the staff on any of these trains to be anything but professional. Of course, that was 9 years ago. I also took a train round trip one summer from Boston to New Orleans. Enjoyed that too.
Originally Posted By Mr X Wow...I never knew Yoda lived in my home town! Ed, you have GOT to come visit Japan if the best steak you ever had was on a train!! Come by when SuperDry is in town, we know just where to take you for dinner! It sounds like you've had some good luck (and in fairness, I've not been on Amtrak all that much)... I think the thing that kills me about it is the high price coupled with the very real potential of "super delays" (an hour or two wouldn't bug me...TWELVE hours, though?? Or even more...yikes!). If I had all the time in the world, I would imagine a cross country trip would be wonderful. My Boston to Florida trip though, seemed (scenery wise) not much more than downtrodden cityscapes followed by even MORE downtrodden backwoods towns (like Jassup, Georgia...where all 12 barefoot kids swing from the makeshift trailer "porches" in scene after scene)... Kinda bummed me out. Is that the same route to New Orleans (I don't recall going through that city, but it was a long trip lol)? There's something to be said for the slow side though. Riding the bullet train in Japan is fun, but looking out the window just makes me nauseous! I really can't imagine what it would be like to ride the proposed maglev train (if and when)...I think I couldn't even glimpse out the window!
Originally Posted By fkurucz <<Yes, our national rail service has many obsticals to overcome such as modernization, etc.>> Maybe rising oil costs might someday make electric powered bullet train viable as a means of crossing the country. Until then the rails will simply be a inexpensive way of hauling cargo (lumber, coal, chemicals, etc.) slowly across the country.
