Why does Amtrak pay for hotel/meals when delay was caused by weather

As much as I hated missing my connecting train, I enjoyed a free hotel and meals on Amtrak's dime. It was actually a pretty nice hotel.(hotel's own website showed last minute rates of $129 that night)

This is what I don't understand. My first train was clearly delayed to weather problems along the route. At one point, the conductor announced that we had to stop here because of excessive rain and strong winds.

The only other time I've been delayed on Amtrak and given hotel and meals was last year. The train was forced to pull over to an alternate track(or whatever they call it), sit still for almost 40 minutes, all because a CSX train was coming up behind us and we had to let it go first. (what's the logic in letting freight trains go first, but that's a question I'll ask another day) An hour later, we stopped again due to another CSX train. By the time I got into DC Union Station, I only had less than 3 minutes until the scheduled departure time of my connecting train. I was an idiot and ran like a manic to my connecting train which was 4 platforms over. I watched the train pull out of Union Station right when I got the platform. A nice Amtrak employee saw me and escorted me back inside. I was put up at a lousy hotel across the river near National Airport. They gave me cab fare. I kept the money and took a Metro train to National Airport, then caught the hotel's shuttle van.(same thing the next afternoon back to Union Station)

Why does Amtrak pay for hotel/meals when delay was caused by weather or freight train delays? I don't suppose Amtrak gets reimbursed from God or CSX?

No, Amtrak is not reimbursed. However, I'll take what Amtrak does over what airlines do in the same situation (delays because of weather). Gone are the days when airlines provided you with a paid hotel. Now they say "You can sleep on these hard seats in the waiting area!" until your next flight. (It doesn't matter that the next flight that has seats available is in 5 days. You can either sleep in the airport, or you can find your own hotel - along with the thousands of other travelers - and pay yourself for 5 nights of hotel and meals!)

Why does Amtrak stop to let freight trains pass? :huh: Because freight railroads own 90% of the tracks that Amtrak runs on. (Amtrak only owns tracks on the NEC and a few other places.) Dispatchers for the controlling railroads many times give their own trains priority over Amtrak.

Because doing so makes good marketing sense. Airlines have an objection to being preferred so they decided to all collusively treat their customers like **** and therefore all save themselves the trouble of doing right by them.

Green Maned Lion said:

Because doing so makes good marketing sense. Airlines have an objection to being preferred so they decided to all collusively treat their customers like **** and therefore all save themselves the trouble of doing right by them.

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Very well said! While many people grouse and moan about Amtrak service, where else do you see $25+ cash Meal Money disbursement, cab fare (or Motorcoach ride) and nice hotels offered when a guaranteed connection is blown. I'll take that any day over riding the plastic at an airport when things go wrong.

Question: does a passenger traveling on a FULL-FARE airline ticket still get boned in one if those infamous weather delays? I'm sure its airline specific, but since 90% or more of a plane is filled with bargain basement fare travelers I can see the reasoning for not providing a room to anyone but those who coughed up the cash from the get-go.

Amttak is certainly a different animal. Though I can see even them pointing to a seat and foregoing the hotel soon enough as a cost saving measure.

What exactly does the 'ticket contract' or condition of carriage, or whatever it's called, have to say about Amtrak's responsibility regarding 'guaranteed connection'?

And what do the airlines say, that is different?

That is the legal standing that the passenger has. Now why Amtrak has its clauses is up to them, but passenger's should know their rights, if in such a situation....

I'm a bit surprised an outgoing train wouldn't be briefly held (in the example of the OP) for arriving connections on another track rather than having to offer overnight accommodations, however.

I don't know for sure about airlines and full fare vs cheap tickets, but I can relate what happened to my BIL.

OK, it was Air France and it was in Paris. He happened to be flying First Class. His incoming flight was delayed due to fog before takeoff from the origination airport, and he missed his connecting flight to the US. Because he was First Class, he got a paid room. Coach passengers got a "We got you a seat on the next flight, and the airport seats are right over there or you can find a hotel but you're on your own."

JoBeth_DCA said:

The train was forced to pull over to an alternate track(or whatever they call it), sit still for almost 40 minutes, all because a CSX train was coming up behind us and we had to let it go first. (what's the logic in letting freight trains go first, but that's a question I'll ask another day) An hour later, we stopped again due to another CSX train.

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Sounds like my typical LD Amtrak trip.

Its also part of why late trains get only later, even if Julie optimistically suggests that they can gain back all their lost time in route.

the_traveler said:

Why does Amtrak stop to let freight trains pass? :huh: Because freight railroads own 90% of the tracks that Amtrak runs on. (Amtrak only owns tracks on the NEC and a few other places.) Dispatchers for the controlling railroads many times give their own trains priority over Amtrak.

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While I agree that's true in practice, isn't there a law (or fed rule?) that says the reverse? That Amtrak's passenger trains have to be given priority (or some word like that)?

Sleepless in Viewliner said:

While I agree that's true in practice, isn't there a law (or fed rule?) that says the reverse? That Amtrak's passenger trains have to be given priority (or some word like that)?

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I don't think so. In any case, I think that most dispatching problems come not from actual railroad malice but instead from general congestion (like on the Hi Line), or the Amtrak train already being late. Amtrak's problems with its own equipment (like the locomotive catching on fire on the Coast Starlight, for instance), often are the original reason for the train being late.

That being said, the one time I misconnected, I was very pleased by how Amtrak treated me. I got a detour over rare trackage, got a free hotel room and meal money, and was booked on the next day's Empire Builder. The worst thing I could complain about was that I was in bedroom A between Portland and Shelby, which really isn't much of a complaint.

My GF just returned from Europe on a Cheapie ticket on SAS (Copenhagen-EWR) and United (EWR-IAH-ABI.)

When she reached Houston her connecting flight from IAH to Austin was Canceled due to the plane not arriving from SFO due to bad weather!

United put the 100+ stranded pax up in Airport Hotels (hers was a Marriott/Breakfast included) took them in shuttle buses to/from the Hotels and the next morning flew a Charter flight for them to Austin!

I was astounded and so was she! Normally she would have been offered her choice of an airport chair or floor for the night and an attempt to book her on one of the very busy 5 times a day shuttles IAH-ABI the next day!

There is a regional airline based in Phoenix that when the have to cancel a flight for a mechanical reason will sill tell the passengers it is a weather cancellation so they don't have to pay for hotel.

By law, passenger trains have priority over freight traffic. But the freight railroads sued to block the 2008 law that required Amtrak and the Federal Railroad Administration to jointly set performance standards for Amtrak. The freight lines argued the law unconstitutionally delegated legislative power to Amtrak, a private corporation.

http://cqrcengage.com/narp/app/document/3464603

Oh geez - this one has legs also.

Passenger trains have priority, officially, the recent ruling doesn't change that, only -- the recent ruling was that Amtrak can't be part of the the board that rules on HOW to measure that.

Practically - the freight railroads that dispatch Amtrak trains on most of the long-distance routes -- their dispatchers try to get the most trains thru on the limited rail space. Sometimes (OFTEN on some routes Amtrak trains get delayed - sometimes a lot) because the freight rails that Amtrak runs on are under-maintained and the freight rails are also over-committed -- (hear the screams from the grain shippers in NODAK)

It's likely that that that Amtrak trains get delayed - sometimes because they show up late for their assigned slot on the main-line.

It used to be - and my daughter still believes - that Amtrak on the UP gets totally screwed. (She got totally waiting on the UP on the CS a few years back) But this is no longer true.

I have zero problem with Amtrak paying for missed connections. Like putting people up in a hotel.

I also have no problem with the airlines NOT doing so. (I pay not much, IA get less-- )

I was happy enough when the O'Hare airport (not the airline) gave me a blanket and pillow and folding cot (for all of 01:20 to 04:20) last May 12-13.

Was told by the airline that I might get a flight at 10 PM (was sched fly ORD-STL ON 12 May) -- that was 30 hours later than my reservation -

Took the Blue to CUS, caught the train to STL - made connection, missed day in STL.

Worked out OK == but if I's trusted the airline, i'd been a day or two late and several dollars short.