Carolinian #79

[abcnews]

Business class on the Carolinian is very nice - and I think better than the Northeast Regionals. Clean car, bathroom, good crews, friendly service. But I was in BC.

Perhaps Business Class is worth the upgrade.

 

[me_little_me]

We just took the 79 from Baltimore to Cary NC. It was awful. Dirty, crowded, late and very uncomfortable seats even though we upgraded to business. Nothing like the pictures they show on line. My husband & I both had back problems for days afterwards from the terrible seating. We will never do this again. Did I mention dirty!

Interesting. We went the opposite way last Friday. We originally had Cary -> Baltimore but we bought additional rickets (and so had 2 reservations) from Salisbury->Cary. Because we were going to Baltimore, we were put in the last car. This one was furthest from the cafe but it also meant nobody walking through the car and restrooms used only by car passengers. They stayed cleaner much longer but of course since no Amtrak people cleaned them en route, they slowly deteriorated but not to the point of being unusable.

Can you explain "dirty"? Trash? Condition of restrooms?

Seats were comfortable during the trip and I also have a bad back.

Conductor said that the southbound is "always late" but we arrived ahead of schedule going north. Very nice trip in coach. Wifi was weak or dead in a few areas but when it worked, it was good and in VA was excellent.

 

[m. hill]

Haven ridden durham to philly and back, twice recently. always BC. A BC hostess, Shona, was terrific, but the coach smelled fouly of sewage. Avoid club car food from their microwave. Yuck. Seats were fine. WIFI ok. (south to northbound). On a recent north to south run, the BC host (a male) went to sleep for long periods between stops. Several of us took pictures of him, snoring away and sent these to Amtrak. Lousy experience.

 

[xyzzy]

My experience with 79/80 and 89/90 has been such that I would pay the extra.
On 79/80 (Carolinian), the coaches are Amfleet 1, 80 seaters, and the BCare hte 60 seater Amfleet 1. In that case, BC is clearly more roomy, plus, there's a better chance that the crowds will be less and you'll be able to have 2 seats for yourself. On my last trip, the coaches were packed solid on a warm day, and despite the A/C, the cars reeked, which wasn't the case in BC.

On 89/90 (The Palmetto), 60 seater Amfleet II coaches are available (though they have an Amfleet I coach, too, for people going shorter distances), and the BC is the same 60 seater Amfleet I. In that case, BC doesn't have an advantage in roominess of the seats, but I still prefer it because it's usually less crowded.

In general, I don't bother with BC on the NEC, unless it's a real crowded travel time and I want to increase the chance I can sit with my traveling companions. Maybe for a trip was WAS to BOS. And if I'm taking 66/67 overnight, I'll spring for BC, as that train has the 2+1 seating, the seats recline further, there are the legrests, and the windows have curtains. The same is true for the Vermonter. On the other hand, the Pennsylvanian abandoned the 2+1 club BC seating for a 60 seater Amfleet I, while the coaches are (mostly) 60 seat Amfleet II, so I think there's no advantage to BC unless you're traveling during a busy period.

In my mind, one of the main things you're getting from an accommodation upgrade is less crowding. The other stuff is just icing on the cake.

To bring this thread up-to-date: the exact numbers these days are that Amfleet I coaches on 79/80 have 72 seats (reduced, thankfully, from 84 seats in the original design of Amfleet in the 1970s). Business class on 79/80 has 62 seats. Amfleet II coaches have 59 seats, whether sold as business class or not. Therefore, business class on 79/80 offers a little more legroom than regular coach -- but it's not the difference between night and day. Business class on 89/90 offers no additional legroom. If you have a choice between 79/80 and 89/90, take 89/90.

That said, Amtrak will occasionally substitute a Club-Dinette on either train -- and then some lucky business class passengers will get to sit in the 2x1 seating section. Sweet.

As to the April 17 post, everyone would argue that there is room for improvement on Amtrak. Megabus has similar problems. For that matter, so do the airlines that I fly every week.

 

[TimSpencer]

That said, Amtrak will occasionally substitute a Club-Dinette on either train -- and then some lucky business class passengers will get to sit in the 2x1 seating section. Sweet.

is there a way to find out if 2x1 business cars will be used on the day I travel? (on a Saturday)

thanks!

 

[xyzzy]

It happens only a few times a year, and I don't know any way to predict it.

 

[Laura Silvers]

I have ridden on both the Carolinian Train 79 and Train 80. Yesterday I came back to DC on Train 80 in coach and it was horrendous. It was so noisy and cold. The blower on the air conditioner was much too high. I wasn't the only one that was cold. Others complained and the train attendant turned the blower off. However, it was toward the end of the trip. The same is true on Train 79. I suspect that turning the AC full blast is standard for Amtrak. .

In both Business and Coach and on both Train routes, I found the bathrooms to be filthy. The staff could care less. When I complained, I was told to try other bathrooms on the train. They might be better.

I have taken this this trip 3 times in the last two months and it was always late. Yesterday we were 50 minutes late.

The only advantage to Business class is that it is more quiet and the seats are bigger. It is worth the cost difference for those reasons. However, I am considering flying next time!

 

[Ryan]

Did you call customer service and complain?

If so, what did they say?

If not, why not? Amtrak can't fix problems that they don't know about.

 

[John Bobinyec]

Did you call customer service and complain?
If so, what did they say?

If not, why not? Amtrak can't fix problems that they don't know about.

How far should a complaint be taken? She did say she complained to the on-board crew about both the A/C and the bathrooms. We who have ridden Amtrak for years know that complaining to just the on-board crew will usually yield little change. We also know that the train can be very cold at times, and so we bring sweaters and jackets along, especially to the diner.

Are the on-board staff required to fill out any kind of report on conditions?

jb

PS I've often thought that Amtrak should hire independent contractors (me) to ride all of their trains anonymously and report accurately on conditions, staff, etc...

 

[Ryan]

I'd sign up for that job!

I agree that complaining on board can yield poor results, that's why I suggested the call to customer service.

We've seen people get fired/reassigned because of complaints to customer service, so it can work.

It certainly has a better chance of working than complaining about it here.

 

[Bob Dylan]

Still wish Amtrak would go back to a Chief of On Board Service on LD Routes (this is a State train but it's 13 Hours!!! The Adirondack could use it too!) but as a Management Position,(Exempt/Salaried) not Union! Most of us remember when they tried it and IME All they did was Eat in the Diner, talk a little with Pax in the Lounge, Walk through the Cars a couple of Times and go to their Room to Rest and Hide! But of course I guess this would involve Negotiations with the Unions and also Add Cost, so how about a $1 charge per Ticket to help cover these Costs and help Improve On Board Service and insure Consistency, Amtrak's Biggest Problem besides Congress!

 

[me_little_me]

My experiences on the east long distance trains (Silvers, Crescent, Carolinian) is that the customers are pretty bad about using the bathrooms and the staff almost never cleans them but instead just locks them when they get really bad to eliminate complaints.

 

[afigg]

My experiences on the east long distance trains (Silvers, Crescent, Carolinian) is that the customers are pretty bad about using the bathrooms and the staff almost never cleans them but instead just locks them when they get really bad to eliminate complaints.

The Carolinian is not a long distance train, but a medium distance state supported corridor train. It also has the highest total number of passengers among all the once a day corridor trains with 306.4K passengers in FY2012. The NEC Regional trains that run from NPN to BOS probably carry more passengers but their numbers are not broken out in the monthly reports. The Carolinian covers 704 miles with a major turnover on its route, so there are a lot of passengers to mess up the restrooms over the 13 hour trip.

If the onboard crew won't keep the restrooms clean enroute at a minimum level, perhaps Amtrak should consider a quick pit stop at Staples Mill or Raleigh to have a local crew do a quick clean and restock of the restrooms. The problem is that the restrooms may be back to nasty 50 miles later.

As for the on-time performance of the Carolinian, the route will see a number of track and capacity improvements over the next 4-5 years with the upgrades to the Piedmont corridor and in Virginia. It has taken a long time to get the HSIPR funded projects going.

 

[TVRM610]

The cars need to be kept on the cool side on a summer day. Everytime the train stops the doors are open for long periods of time letting in warm air. The sun shining through all of those windows can heat things up quickly. I've been on trains where the heat got the best and the cars air couldn't keep up. Trust me... It's completely miserable. Any Amtrak employee with experience knows this and will intentionally keep the cars on the cool side. (I'm speaking specifically of Single Level Cars).

 

[xyzzy]

As for the on-time performance of the Carolinian, the route will see a number of track and capacity improvements over the next 4-5 years with the upgrades to the Piedmont corridor and in Virginia. It has taken a long time to get the HSIPR funded projects going.

The most urgent need is installation of the three crossovers between Rocky Mount and the NC/VA line. (79, 80, 89, 90, and 92 all transit this stretch of track within a period of hours.) Unfortunately CSX and NCDOT have not been able to agree on project implementation even though NCDOT has hard funding for it.

 

[Guest]

why is the 79 always late southbound - there are a number of us who live in charlotte and work in Greensboro and its doable if the 79 gets to Greensboro on time.

 

[afigg]

why is the 79 always late southbound - there are a number of us who live in charlotte and work in Greensboro and its doable if the 79 gets to Greensboro on time.

Random checks of different days over the past several months (skipping over the track work service disruption days) on Amtrak Status Map archives shows the southbound Carolinian is often getting delayed between the Richmond Staples Mill and Rocky Mount stops. Often hit delays between Alexandria and Richmond and south of Rocky Mount, but the trip between RVR and RMT is where it often runs late. If you read back a page or two in this thread, you will see posts about the funded track projects in VA and NC north of Raleigh that are in limbo.

NC recently gave up on a rail-rail grade separation project in Charlotte and shifted grant funds to make sure the rest of the selected track upgrade projects, the new Raleigh station, and additional rolling stock refurbs were covered. The best bet for reliable later service from Greensboro to Charlotte is the expansion of Piedmont service to 4 daily trains. I would think they would add a late afternoon/evening Piedmont run. But the additional trains can't be added until the track improvement projects are completed or mostly completed, currently scheduled for 2016 or 2017. If you can wait 3-4 years, there will be better service on the Piedmont corridor.