convincing 1st-timers w/ a bad experience to try

[AmtrakFan]

My return flight was delayed 6 hours because Air Canada didn't have........A AIRPLANE!!!!! I got to Chicago 10 minutes before my puddle jumper to Lincoln was to depart. They let me and two other Nebraskans get off first, run like heck to the puddle jumper terminal, one person got a ride on one of those nifty Cushman carts, we were told by Air Canada that they weren't going to hold the airplane. I got to the gate, threw my ticket at the CSR for "Puddle Jumper Express" and the person said, "Mr. C, this flight is for Green Bay WI, the flight for LNK hasn't arrived yet, it's 2 hours late! :angry: :angry:

Hmmm.... That sounds like some of my Dad's Airplane Trips on Business, he was delayed 8 Hours once, due to No Plame and the Gate was moved to the next Terminal :blink: :lol: Kind of reminds me of my 2005 Luggage Fiazol on American.

 

[Patrick Tufts]

I've just come off of a really bad Amtrak experience, but I hope it doesn't color this post too much. I used to tell people about how great the Coast Starlight was (my group had one or two really nice trips on it). But my most recent experience was awful.

If someone is not a huge fan of rail travel, or has to be anywhere by a certain time (or every by a certain day) I would warn them strongly against taking the Coast Starlight. I would unfortunately have to emphasize that the service is inconsistent (and not just the schedule), and that they cannot expect many of the amenities that are supposed to come with sleeper car travel (my train was missing the parlour car *and* the extra view car for sleeper passengers, meaning there was no place to gather but the already full coach view car).

Amtrak's chief problem, which distinguishes it from the airlines, is a lack of consistency. If I fly Southwest, for instance, I know that the great majority of the time, I'll get where I'm going on-time or close to it. And for the times that don't work out, the staff will keep me informed and I may be able to fly on another plane or airline.

With Amtrak, when things go wrong, there's often no alternate locomotive or track, so problems tend to snowball. Airlines have more redundancy, and with the exception of awful airlines like America West, can usually recover from a snafu.

--Pat "I was on the #11 from Portland to San Francisco when the UP freight train ahead derailed."

 

[gswager]

Problem is there's not enough spare equipments across the US. Also, Amtrak is riding on private railroad tracks. The schedule are late due to heavy freights, track works, accidents, etc.

I've heard that there are hits and misses with Pacific Parlour on Coast Starlight, due to equipment breakdowns.

It would be nice to get a several millions dollar from the feds to build new cars, replacing the old ones.

 

[Guest]

Problem is there's not enough spare equipment across the US. Also, Amtrak is riding on private railroad tracks. The schedule are late due to heavy freights, track works, accidents, etc.
I've heard that there are hits and misses with Pacific Parlour on Coast Starlight, due to equipment breakdowns.

It would be nice to get a several millions dollar from the feds to build new cars, replacing the old ones.

Oh, I know, and I agree completely. Still, I can't recommend the service to my friends. Unfortunately, for travelers, it's the problems that matter, rather than the causes.

One thing Amtrak should do is be upfront with passengers about known issues. If there's no parlour car in the trainset, they should say so as soon as they know it (at booking time, or at boarding time) rather than just not mention it and let the traveler discover the problem during the trip.

Similarly, if the train <i>regularly</i> arrives 4-6 hrs late in Los Angeles, they should amend the schedule to reflect reality.

If I could make it happen, I'd see that Amtrak was properly funded and equipped. We're a resourceful, wealthy nation, and when we put our minds to it, we can do anything. We should have a rail system that reflects this.

--Pat

 

[gswager]

Oh, I know, and I agree completely. Still, I can't recommend the service to my friends. Unfortunately, for travelers, it's the problems that matter, rather than the causes.
One thing Amtrak should do is be upfront with passengers about known issues. If there's no parlour car in the trainset, they should say so as soon as they know it (at booking time, or at boarding time) rather than just not mention it and let the traveler discover the problem during the trip.

Similarly, if the train <i>regularly</i> arrives 4-6 hrs late in Los Angeles, they should amend the schedule to reflect reality.

If I could make it happen, I'd see that Amtrak was properly funded and equipped. We're a resourceful, wealthy nation, and when we put our minds to it, we can do anything. We should have a rail system that reflects this.

--Pat

Glad that you had a great time. I would agree with you to keep the passengers informed.

As for schedule, they did changed the time for Sunset Limited before the Katrina. Unfortunately, the UP delayed them a little longer.

 

[AlanB]

Similarly, if the train <i>regularly</i> arrives 4-6 hrs late in Los Angeles, they should amend the schedule to reflect reality.

Glad that you had a great time. I would agree with you to keep the passengers informed.

As for schedule, they did changed the time for Sunset Limited before the Katrina. Unfortunately, the UP delayed them a little longer.

That's correct, in the last 6 years I believe, Amtrak has added 12 - 1/2 hours to the overal schedule for the Sunset Limited. UP has taken advantage of everyone of those schedule changes and continues to make this train on average 6 to 8 hours late. It was that late on average before all the extra hours were added.

So adding time to the schedule isn't the answer. The only answer is to somehow either force UP to do the right thing or give them the funding necessary to add the needed track to prevent delays.