For Coach Passengers

[Shanghai]

I have traveled 55,000 miles on Amtrak since 2002 without any major incident.

On one trip, my electrical power in my roomette didn't work and the SCA reset

the switch and all was fine. I've been late in arriving, but I always got where

I was booked to arrive. Never had to bus anywhere and never missed a meal!!

 

[VrmlBasic]

Even though I am retired I still pay my dues. The breaking of the union's back has been a great contributor to the down falling of the middle class.

Begging the question. That tired old line doesn't hold water. Following it logically, it derails (pun). Your first quoted sentence illustrates that you are fervent in your belief, and will not be swayed or "proselytized", so I won't bother. If you are going to make allegations against me then I would appreciate it if they were done properly. BTW, the train crew explained their leaving as being a "union mandate". Blame them for any "miscommunication". I'm not here to argue opinions against facts or quibble over punctilio which I frankly despise. I'm here to relate my coach travel experiences, which were pretty horrendous, and apparently (mercifully) an outlier.

What kind of impact do you feel when your car strikes a piece of paper? Or a patch of grass that blows across the road?

Oh, I understand that I wouldn't feel anything in such a collision. I only mentioned that as I did not see the collision happen, and only saw the apparent aftermath and the report of the train crew. Not seeing it first-hand and not researching the incident at a later time, there's still a tiny bit of doubt floating around, and I didn't want to put myself on the line for that.
I guess no one here was on the same train I was? Where were you guys?

(Hoosier State/Cardinal, Empire Builder, Winter 2008; Cascades: Winter 2008/2009)

I have traveled 55,000 miles on Amtrak since 2002 without any major incident.On one trip, my electrical power in my roomette didn't work and the SCA reset

the switch and all was fine. I've been late in arriving, but I always got where

I was booked to arrive. Never had to bus anywhere and never missed a meal!!

That's good to hear, though how much of that was in coach? I'm curious as train travel outside of coach is vastly less efficient than other forms of transit. Not criticizing, and not surprised as this is a train enthusiast site, but when I look at roomette prices I see that I could drive the distance far faster, and for less. I tried to do the whole Roomette thing once, but Amtrak canceled the train on me. (More aptly, they canceled the train I needed to get to the train with the roomette, and then took 2+ months to refund the money from the thus-canceled roomette.) Maybe I'm still "all broke up about that"?

 

[Ryan]

So you'll take the crews (incorrect) word that Union rules, not Federal Law mandates hours of service (and ignore the fact that it's trivial to look up the correct answer), but when presented with a long stop and a busted car, you somehow think that the crew is lying and they just stopped for sh-ts and giggles and then made up a story about it.

 

[Green Maned Lion]

Even though I am retired I still pay my dues. The breaking of the union's back has been a great contributor to the down falling of the middle class.

Begging the question. That tired old line doesn't hold water. Following it logically, it derails (pun). Your first quoted sentence illustrates that you are fervent in your belief, and will not be swayed or "proselytized", so I won't bother. If you are going to make allegations against me then I would appreciate it if they were done properly. BTW, the train crew explained their leaving as being a "union mandate". Blame them for any "miscommunication". I'm not here to argue opinions against facts or quibble over punctilio which I frankly despise. I'm here to relate my coach travel experiences, which were pretty horrendous, and apparently (mercifully) an outlier.

You're a fool. Unions have created problems, especially when management of various organizations have strove to make relations as combative as possible. GM might have had an easier time controlling Union costs if they had been reasonable with their Unions in the first place. But over nearly a hundred years of fighting wherein Management attempted to **** them up the *** as hard as they could while the Unions tried to flip them over and do the same, when it became time for do-or-die reformations, the Union and Management were not exactly on such terms where they could reach reasonable results.

However, on the whole Unions have been a great benefit to the nation as a whole, and their defanging has impressively correlated with the wealth divide in this country. I know it doesn't imply causation, but...

Next, I employ people in my business on an hourly basis. But it doesn't matter that they are hourly and don't get paid if we close earlier rather than later. When I say, "Ok guys, start closing up", they will practically shove me and my girlfriend out of the way if they think our closing up isn't being done fast enough. They'd rather get home 15 minutes sooner than get an extra 15 minutes worth of pay, period. I can't imagine train crews being any different. Are they upset they are being paid more? I doubt it- but I'd bet they are more upset that they aren't getting home to their families or crew bases for a needed rest than they are gleeful at the extra money they are making.

 

[Susan]

Wow, I'm not sure what "amfleet" means. I'm traveling from Charlottesville, VA to Lafayette, IN - 17 hour trip - anyone know what their coach seats are like?

Do they have the viewliner sleepers? What would the upgrade cost for one person?

 

[Green Maned Lion]

Wow, I'm not sure what "amfleet" means. I'm traveling from Charlottesville, VA to Lafayette, IN - 17 hour trip - anyone know what their coach seats are like?

Do they have the viewliner sleepers? What would the upgrade cost for one person?

Not as comfortable as, say, a 1980s Mercedes, but pretty good. I can do overnights in them pretty easily. Upgrades on that route can be pretty hight, though. Only one sleeper on it.

 

[Ispolkom]

Well, you are certainly one of the luckier ones.)

Or perhaps you're the unlucky one. Arguing from anecdote is useless. I've traveled on the Empire Builder (often in winter, usually in coach) for 30 years, and my opinion is very different from yours. You have your experience, for what it's worth, and I have mine, for what it's worth. I've just had a lot more experiences than you have.

 

[AlanB]

Next, I employ people in my business on an hourly basis. But it doesn't matter that they are hourly and don't get paid if we close earlier rather than later. When I say, "Ok guys, start closing up", they will practically shove me and my girlfriend out of the way if they think our closing up isn't being done fast enough. They'd rather get home 15 minutes sooner than get an extra 15 minutes worth of pay, period. I can't imagine train crews being any different. Are they upset they are being paid more? I doubt it- but I'd bet they are more upset that they aren't getting home to their families or crew bases for a needed rest than they are gleeful at the extra money they are making.

While I agree with your analogy here, things at Amtrak are actually worse than the comparison that you make. When an Amtrak crew hits the bumper block at the last station for that trains run, they stop getting paid by Amtrak. Yet there is still work that they must do before they can actually leave the train and go home.

This is one reason that attendants in sleeping cars will always try to get all the linens changed on all the beds before the train gets to the last station stop. If they don't get it done before that point, then they're doing it on their own dime as it were.

 

[Meenie]

Wow, I'm not sure what "amfleet" means. I'm traveling from Charlottesville, VA to Lafayette, IN - 17 hour trip - anyone know what their coach seats are like?

Do they have the viewliner sleepers? What would the upgrade cost for one person?

Not as comfortable as, say, a 1980s Mercedes, but pretty good. I can do overnights in them pretty easily. Upgrades on that route can be pretty hight, though. Only one sleeper on it.

Hmmm it's been a long time since I traveled on Amtrak but when I did when I tried to put my seat back, the woman behind me screamed and said I hurt her feet so I had to keep it upright - not that it went back very far anyway. And I couldn't get the foot part to go up. I wound up sleeping across 3 seats in the observation car.

 

[Green Maned Lion]

Wow, I'm not sure what "amfleet" means. I'm traveling from Charlottesville, VA to Lafayette, IN - 17 hour trip - anyone know what their coach seats are like?

Do they have the viewliner sleepers? What would the upgrade cost for one person?

Not as comfortable as, say, a 1980s Mercedes, but pretty good. I can do overnights in them pretty easily. Upgrades on that route can be pretty hight, though. Only one sleeper on it.

Hmmm it's been a long time since I traveled on Amtrak but when I did when I tried to put my seat back, the woman behind me screamed and said I hurt her feet so I had to keep it upright - not that it went back very far anyway. And I couldn't get the foot part to go up. I wound up sleeping across 3 seats in the observation car.

First of all, if that really happened, that was in an 86 seat Amfleet I, which have been gone from Amtrak service for some years now. Secondarily, if a woman in the seat behind me got her feet hurt by me reclining (which would mean they, for some unknown reason, contorted their feet into the seat mechanism) I think I'd be faster to say "sod off" then to tilt my seat upright.

 

[Meenie]

Wow, I'm not sure what "amfleet" means. I'm traveling from Charlottesville, VA to Lafayette, IN - 17 hour trip - anyone know what their coach seats are like?

Do they have the viewliner sleepers? What would the upgrade cost for one person?

Not as comfortable as, say, a 1980s Mercedes, but pretty good. I can do overnights in them pretty easily. Upgrades on that route can be pretty hight, though. Only one sleeper on it.

Hmmm it's been a long time since I traveled on Amtrak but when I did when I tried to put my seat back, the woman behind me screamed and said I hurt her feet so I had to keep it upright - not that it went back very far anyway. And I couldn't get the foot part to go up. I wound up sleeping across 3 seats in the observation car.

First of all, if that really happened, that was in an 86 seat Amfleet I, which have been gone from Amtrak service for some years now. Secondarily, if a woman in the seat behind me got her feet hurt by me reclining (which would mean they, for some unknown reason, contorted their feet into the seat mechanism) I think I'd be faster to say "sod off" then to tilt my seat upright.

Oh it really happened. She was an older lady and had some kind of issue with her legs and feet. I have no idea where she had put them or how they were in the way of my seat, but she did shriek and she scared the bejeebers out of me. It was about 8 years ago, going from Wash DC to Chicago. And the seats were extremely uncomfortable, even just to sit on, nevermind to try and sleep. I sure hope they're better now

 

[Green Maned Lion]

I can't imagine why that is now, I have slept many a night in Superliner seats.

 

[Meenie]

I just got home from an Amfleet trip on Wednesday. I don't know if the seat was a I or a II but I didn't find it very comfy for sleeping. It doesn't recline far enough. It does have a leg rest, but to put it up you have to get up, push a lever down and physically reach down and pull the leg rest up to the position you want, then crawl in over it. There is also a little bar type foot rest that is connected to the bottom of the seat in front of you. It's nice as your feet hang off the leg rest and that gets uncomfy after awhile.

The seat is fine for sitting up and reading or watching the scenery, but for sleeping it leaves a lot to be desired. the cushions were blue and very flat. (not thin, but flat as in no curvature)

I bought a travel pillow at Walmart for $3.00 - very good investment. The little pillows they hand out on the train are tiny and not very thick. We weren't offered any blankets but I brought my own - it's a small travel blanket that I received as a gift from my workplace - came in real handy. I also brought a light fleece jacket. It was quite warm when I got on the train but at night it was freezing! My jacket was great to have. Kept me from being a popsicle! (and my nice thick socks I brought too). I have a smallish "hobo" type carryon that I put the pillow, blanket, book, magazine and snacks in. Easy to carry.

Every couple of hours I would to to the cafe car, get a drink and sit there for awhile and read my book or watch the scenery. Gave me a good rest from the coach seat.

There were two bathrooms in each coach car. One was a little larger than the other and had a "transfer board" for people in wheelchairs. Nice touch. Both are roomier than an airline bathroom. but just like on an airplane, whenever I go in one they always hit a rough patch of rail or go around a big curve, rofl. Overall, I like the Amtrak bathrooms.

The attendants and conductor were all pleasant, the people working in the cafe car and the dining car also. The food is a little overpriced but not terribly. I got the mushroom pasta for dinner on the way out and it was delicious (cheapest item on the menu at $14.00) It came with a dinner roll, a small salad, and the pasta which was like big round raviolis filled with meat (five or six of them and they filled the plate) the sauce was good and I enjoyed it very much. There was a flatiron steak for about $23.00. Some kind of chicken dish and I don't remember what else.

Be aware the dining car is small and you will likely be seated with another traveler. I was actually seated with two others who were each traveling alone and we had a great conversation. It turned out to be fun. One was a lady probably in her 80's who was visiting grandchildren, the other was a young man in his 20's who had attended a friend's wedding. I'm 60 and on my way to visit relatives in Illinois and Indiana. You wouldn't have thought we would have had much in common, but we got along great and everyone had some great stories to tell!