My Amtrak Experience.

[Jack Boudreaux]

Amtrak employees are not government employees, it's a common enough mistake. They are employees of the National Passanger Rail Corporation, whose sole investor is the US Congress. They are a corporation just like any other, the controlling share and thus cash cow, is the US Congress.
Amtrak is a political hot potato. That's about as far as the connection between Amtrak employees and government goes.

So they are owned by the Congress and not the government? LOL! Did you eat paint chips as a kid?

 

[amamba]

come on kids, don't feed the trolls.

 

[AlanB]

I work for a living, that's all you need to know.
You paid for twenty some hours of service... Divide your ticket by the number of people then by the number of hours. I'll use a recent trip I took on the LSL from BOS to CLE.

Two people divided by 460' 230 per person, we spent about fifteen hours on the train.. That means we each paid $15.34 per hour per person... And that was an expensive trip, had my miter not been along I would have done coach.

When you actually run the numbers, you aren't paying all that much for your service.

Awe! An Amtrak government employee. You guys suck!

Not that it should matter, but he's not an Amtrak employee. There are a few on this board, but ALC isn't one.

And please watch your tone or I'm going to shut this topic down. I understand that you're upset, but insulting people isn't going to change things. Talking or writing to Amtrak might help some, but again insulting people here won't.

Thanks.

 

[ALC Rail Writer]

And your knowledge of corporate accounting is wrong, just because the Congrsss has a controlling interest in a corporation doesn't mean they own it outright, much less have the ability or authority to manage it's day to day operations.

 

[ALC Rail Writer]

And this topic is....closed.

 

[darien-l]

I've seen this scenario before: someone shells out a lot of $$$ for a bedroom in the very highest bucket, and expects luxury because of the high price paid. Of course, these people often don't realize that had they booked farther in advance, or tried different dates, their fare would be dramatically lower and far more in line with their expectations.

To avoid this, Amtrak needs to be more transparent about their fare system. When you book an airline ticket, a fare class is always shown; why not do the same on Amtrak? Amtrak could even simply it by color coding, say, green for lowest bucket and red for highest bucket. Also, having a "fare calendar," like many airlines, would be helpful for people who have flexible travel plans and are looking for the best price.

Jack, my question to you is, would you be as upset if you paid, say, only a third of what you did?

 

[Rail Freak]

Jack B,

Ya ever thought about takin a cruise?

RF

 

[Jack Boudreaux]

I've seen this scenario before: someone shells out a lot of $$$ for a bedroom in the very highest bucket, and expects luxury because of the high price paid. .
Jack, my question to you is, would you be as upset if you paid, say, only a third of what you did?

No not at all. I mean it didn't have to be as miserable as it was. Why not have some sodas available within reason for the sleeper people? Why not have AC that actually works 24/7? I'm a country boy that grew up fishing in the Gulf of Mexico. I don't need to be waited on like a 5 star hotel. When I say pampered I mean having a decent place to sleep and choices of being hydrated. How hard would it have been to have a bucket of ice and sodas? AC that actually works? Linen that was clean and not paper thin so I don't have to sleep with thousands of people?

 

[Jack Boudreaux]

Jack B,Ya ever thought about takin a cruise?

RF

I've done several cruises and no I don't expect that type of service on a train. Could we not have beverages available for people paying for a sleeper 24/7? What about WiFi? If an airplane thousands of feet up can have it how hard would it be in a train? Fully functional AC? Decent bedding?

 

[darien-l]

Jack,

Like most other people on this board, I travel extensively by Amtrak, and have had good trips, bad trips, and amazing trips. Yours, unfortunately, was clearly bad. In many cases, the sleeper car attendant makes the trip, and it sounds like yours didn't bother to do much. A good sleeper car attendant will bring you sodas and whatever else you might need, even meals delivered to your room, if you desire. Buckets of ice, juice, and coffee are normally available in the sleeping car. If they weren't on your trip, your attendant clearly dropped the ball. I personally have never had any problems with AC on my trips: it's definitely not typical. So, you definitely had a worse-than-average Amtrak trip, and the solution, as other people here suggested, is to contact Amtrak Customer Relations. You will get apologies for the issues you've encountered and a voucher for a future trip.

 

[ALC Rail Writer]

Ive always slept fine on Amtrak linens, in fact when I was younger I stole (I'll admit it, first time in a sleeper, years ago) I stole a blanket, and to this day it's in my bedroom. A nice quality cotton.

Cost effect analysis...

I am on an AE from NYP to WAS right now. The upgrade to first class is $102, for less than three hours of train time. Right now I am paying double, if not triple, per hour what I would on a sleeper. You know what else? I am being pampered, so yes, pampering is possible with Amtrak... You just have to PAY for it. $30 an hour per person on an Acela or $15 or even $10 per person in a sleeper.

Hows does this NOT make sense? Pay more, get more.

Edit for typos...

 

[ALC Rail Writer]

As an aside...

Since this trip is ten years old, a call to Amtrak now wouldn't do much good.

 

[Rail Freak]

Well, I only see two options here, get over it & book another Amtrak Trip OR just get over it!!!

Good Night Irene!!!

RF

 

[pennyk]

I have always liked the train. I took one ten years ago from New Orleans to Los Angles. It was about a 2 day trip. We really enjoyed it. We just took the Crescent from New Orleans to Washington and didn't really like it at all. I know Amtrak is government owned and has no competition. It really showed on this trip. We had sleepers of course and the service was just terrible. Hot bottled water was the only thing we could drink without having to go to the lounge car. The bedding was terrible. The sheets must have been about 10 thread county and the bedding nothing more than a small foam pad. Service was always with a frown and half hearted. The food was terrible. I think Amtrak is missing the boat on why people would go with them rather than fly. You really should be pampered as much as possible on a train. The trains themselves need to updated. They are old, dirty and poorly designed. I'm sorry to say that next time we take a trip I will be flying.

Unfortunately, you hit upon the most glaring defect in Amtrak service: the consistent inconsistency of service, esp. in the sleepers where you are paying an arm and a leg for the trip, unless you have enough Amtrak Guest Reward points (and even there, you've paid in other ways to earn them).

We took the Southwest Chief, Empire Builder and Coast Starlight recently. The Southwest Chief service was so-so, the diner the equivalent of a Denny's, the hot water kaput in the sleepers, but the SCA very friendly and helpful. The Empire Builder was a waste of money from the get-go: surly waiters, balky lights, toilet and doors in sleepers, an all-but-non-existent SCA until the arrival in Portland where he took our bag out to the platform and waited for a tip. (I hope he remained surprised that entire day when his hand returned to his side empty.) The Coast Starlight was a dream, though, with a great SCA, a room without defects, and food and dining waiters the equivalent to a nice restaurant.

But our bottom line is the same as yours: until you can be assured of consistent service, why shell out thousands of dollars (in our case) on a crap shoot?

The apologists for Amtrak, and there are many on this forum, should try and figure out a way to get Amtrak to offer reliable, consistent service rather than setting up a straw man in airline service to defend the rail system. The only thing Amtrak has going over airlines in most cases is the lack of security--and if that changes some day, no one will be riding Amtrak unless it ups its quality.

Exactly. The Amtrak fan boys or employees above don't get it. We did pay an arm and a leg for a sleeper. What I meant by being pampered were sheets that were not paper thin so you could see the material on the pillow and foam pad that about a million other people have slept on. I got a sleeper so we would not have to deal with coach. So if I want a coke at 9:00 I have to walk to the "Lounge Car" and deal with the folks I didn't want to have to deal with? Much needed room for improvement on Amtrak. It sucks. A good example how government usually makes things worse.

I do not think you will get a coke at all on an Amtrak train - just Pepsi products. Apparently your expectations were very high and you were disappointed with a SCA who possibly did not do his or her job. Train travel is not for everyone. Most of us on this board LOVE to travel by train and 10 count sheets, thin mattresses, Pepsi only with meals, etc. do not bother us. My guess most of us would complain about how we were treated by the airlines, if we chose to fly.

 

[MrEd]

wow, is this trip really 10 years old ?

 

[Jack Boudreaux]

Jack,
Like most other people on this board, I travel extensively by Amtrak, and have had good trips, bad trips, and amazing trips. Yours, unfortunately, was clearly bad. In many cases, the sleeper car attendant makes the trip, and it sounds like yours didn't bother to do much. A good sleeper car attendant will bring you sodas and whatever else you might need, even meals delivered to your room, if you desire. Buckets of ice, juice, and coffee are normally available in the sleeping car. If they weren't on your trip, your attendant clearly dropped the ball. I personally have never had any problems with AC on my trips: it's definitely not typical. So, you definitely had a worse-than-average Amtrak trip, and the solution, as other people here suggested, is to contact Amtrak Customer Relations. You will get apologies for the issues you've encountered and a voucher for a future trip.

Both attendants to and from dropped the ball? Look I spent 26 hours up and down from DC. There is no reason why they can't have sodas etc... 24/7. I know the trains are old why not at least retro fit them with WiFi and dare I say a small flat TV screen in each sleeper? They do this on the airlines. Amtrak is offering a very slow service. They should at least equal airlines with comfort or at least try.

 

[sunchaser]

I've seen this scenario before: someone shells out a lot of $$$ for a bedroom in the very highest bucket, and expects luxury because of the high price paid. .
Jack, my question to you is, would you be as upset if you paid, say, only a third of what you did?

No not at all. I mean it didn't have to be as miserable as it was. Why not have some sodas available within reason for the sleeper people? Why not have AC that actually works 24/7? I'm a country boy that grew up fishing in the Gulf of Mexico. I don't need to be waited on like a 5 star hotel. When I say pampered I mean having a decent place to sleep and choices of being hydrated. How hard would it have been to have a bucket of ice and sodas? AC that actually works? Linen that was clean and not paper thin so I don't have to sleep with thousands of people?

Jack,

There are many here that agree with you. There is a certain expectation of quality & service for the price paid.

Again I encourage you to contact Amtrak directly at 1-800-USA-RAIL (1-800-872-7245). I would not email them, my experience is that they have a heavy backlog for emails. Call to get better & faster results.

I am surprised that the sheets were not clean. They are supposed to change them for each customer. We too, experienced very worn, torn sheets among other issues.

The Sleeping Car Attendant should be able to provide a bucket of ice, but sodas are not provided for free anymore.

On each train ride we have had, there was ice, juice, & coffee available, free, throughout the journey. Four of our train rides were around 18 hours each. Most trains have 'refresh stops' where they pick up ice & things. On the Coast Starlight, in addition, fresh fruit was available & we were offered champagne splits. Our last ride, on the California Zephyr, the Sleeping Car Attendant was checking on us about every hour or so & insisted that we call him for juice & coffee or anything else.

The only issue on that round trip train ride was that the roomette was very cold eastbound. I realized later that the bedding was blocking the air flow.

I am neither a 'fanboy' or an employee. I'm a woman who started riding trains last summer with my hubby because it is less stress for him....but I do like riding the trains. As someone who at one point was going to make flying into a career, I can say I enjoy the train so much more than flying, & prefer it unless it's a time issue.

We watch a fair amount of TV. Before we went on our first trip, we bought an external DVD player for our Netbook. We never used it on the trip. Why? We were looking out the window, enjoying the scenery & talking to each other, taking video & pictures. We brought our own WiFi, & used it a little, but not much as we do at home.

 

[ALC Rail Writer]

Pay more, get more.

Want flat screen TVs? Prepare to pay out the butt for it, all those sets are going to be damaged by other pax, passing the cost onto you... WiFi is already on the NEC with nationwide rollout scheduled in the fall. Good luck though, 400. People crossing the middle of nowhere in and out of cell towers... It's easier to get a connection at 40,000 feet than it is in the middle of New Mexico.

 

[Jack Boudreaux]

I do not think you will get a coke at all on an Amtrak train - just Pepsi products. Apparently your expectations were very high and you were disappointed with a SCA who possibly did not do his or her job. Train travel is not for everyone. Most of us on this board LOVE to travel by train and 10 count sheets, thin mattresses, Pepsi only with meals, etc. do not bother us. My guess most of us would complain about how we were treated by the airlines, if we chose to fly.

You are right Diet Pepsi only which isn't much of a big deal. Why travel by train only? I know some people simply love trains. Is that it?

 

[Ozark Southern]

wow, is this trip really 10 years old ?

No. The OP said that his Amtrak trip 10 years ago was very good, but the one he just finished taking was the equivalent of murdering millions of people. Many of us believe that's perhaps a slight overstatement, but nevertheless he seems to have had atypically poor service.

 

[Jack Boudreaux]

Pay more, get more.
Want flat screen TVs? Prepare to pay out the butt for it, all those sets are going to be damaged by other pax, passing the cost onto you... WiFi is already on the NEC with nationwide rollout scheduled in the fall. Good luck though, 400. People crossing the middle of nowhere in and out of cell towers... It's easier to get a connection at 40,000 feet than it is in the middle of New Mexico.

I'm willing to pay more hence the sleeper. As far as someone damaging a TV isn't that vandalism and worth prosecuting? So you are saying planes get Wifi and trains can't? Planes have TV trains not? Why? Not being a smarta$$ I would really like to know why. I used my cell phone in spots throughout my trip. A train could have Sat internet service. Freaking boats all over the world use it.

 

[ALC Rail Writer]

'freaking boats' don't have 400 plus people on board, all with iPhones, iPods, ipads, laptops ect trying to get some bandwidth.

Furthermore planes can get a signal because they are ABOVE the ground. Getting a signal ON the ground can sometimes be hard.

As for damaging of TVs, it isn't always black and white, especially when multiple people use the same car. I once accidentally damaged a Tpflat screen I bought from Best Buy while installing it, I took it back and got a new TV. Was it wrong, probably, but did Best Buy give me a new TV? Yes. They can't prove anything.

"Hey we event over that diamond and I fell into it, sorry..."

 

[darien-l]

Both attendants to and from dropped the ball? Look I spent 26 hours up and down from DC.

Sure sounds like it. In my experience, about 25% of attendants are amazing, 50% are "just doing their jobs", and 25% are just never seen or heard from. It's also somewhat route-specific: I've had great experiences on the Sunset Limited and Coast Starlight, some mixed ones on the California Zephyr, and a pretty bad one on Lakeshore Limited.

There is no reason why they can't have sodas etc... 24/7.

They normally do have coffee, water, juices, and ice available 24/7, and tea and soda on request.

I know the trains are old why not at least retro fit them with WiFi and dare I say a small flat TV screen in each sleeper?

The cars that you were in weren't that old -- they were constructed 1987-1996 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viewliner). They did initially have a small TV screen in each sleeper, but that came to an end because of budget cuts. Trains are being refit with WiFi right now: Acelas already have WiFi, and plans for other trains are in the works.

 

[AlanB]

Pay more, get more.
Want flat screen TVs? Prepare to pay out the butt for it, all those sets are going to be damaged by other pax, passing the cost onto you... WiFi is already on the NEC with nationwide rollout scheduled in the fall. Good luck though, 400. People crossing the middle of nowhere in and out of cell towers... It's easier to get a connection at 40,000 feet than it is in the middle of New Mexico.

I'm willing to pay more hence the sleeper. As far as someone damaging a TV isn't that vandalism and worth prosecuting? So you are saying planes get Wifi and trains can't? Planes have TV trains not? Why? Not being a smarta$$ I would really like to know why. I used my cell phone in spots throughout my trip. A train could have Sat internet service. Freaking boats all over the world use it.

The sleepers that you were in did at one time have small TV screens that showed first run movies, cartoons, and comedy shows. You couldn't select what you wanted to watch, it was all mixed in on one tape that just looped continuously, so you only had to wait a few hours to see the same thing again. The screens were removed in part because they were expensive to keep them working and they did get damaged both from abuse by pax and just the general knocking that occurs on the trains. Some were even damaged by falling luggage. The other side of the coin was that when in the yards, it seemed as though there were a few employees that would steal the tapes.

So unfortunately the decision was made to remove the screens and associated equipment.

As for a SAT dish, the first time the train runs through a tunnel, the dish would be gone. So a SAT dish isn't a viable answer to the Wi-Fi issue unfortunately.

 

[Jack Boudreaux]

'freaking boats' don't have 400 plus people on board, all with iPhones, iPods, ipads, laptops ect trying to get some bandwidth.
Furthermore planes can get a signal because they are ABOVE the ground. Getting a signal ON the ground can sometimes be hard.

As for damaging of TVs, it isn't always black and white, especially when multiple people use the same car. I once accidentally damaged a Tpflat screen I bought from Best Buy while installing it, I took it back and got a new TV. Was it wrong, probably, but did Best Buy give me a new TV? Yes. They can't prove anything.

"Hey we event over that diamond and I fell into it, sorry..."

Yea airlines don't have to worry about damage to a TV. There is no excuse for some sort of TV. At least have great Wifi and let the people bring there own devices. I had pretty good reception with my iphone throuhout the trip. If I was manager of this train with not many limits on money. I would first have a good internet WiFi service, second a car only for sleepers with plenty of descent snack food. Dudes the trains could rival the air but it will not as long as things remain.