My Amtrak Experience.

[Guest]

Should have added a pic of the second class sleepers and the thousands of people on the outside of the Indian trains that a member posted last year! (No offense to India, I know they have nice stuff also, it's just that the discepancie between the rich and the poor is so huge in third world countries, sounds like what our rich want here!)

 

[darien-l]

I found this comparison to be fascinating - makes me want to head to Russia just to ride the trains! One question - how do the prices compare? Could an "average Joe" afford to ride first class?

The last time I rode trains in Russia extensively was 2005, and prices have been rising consistently. In the late 90's, first class between Moscow and St. Petersburg could be had for about $40/person, for example. By 2005, it was over $100/person. I think nowadays, it's about $200/person. Still pretty reasonable, though.

Note: The prices above are if you book directly from Russian Railways (yes, you can book on their website these days). If you go through a travel agency, particularly a Russian one, you can easily pay twice the amount. Russian travel agencies love to milk foreigners for all they're worth.

 

[rrdude]

I too had no idea they had that kind of top level service in Russia.

Comparisons can go on forever, but the comment that makes the most sense in ALL of this is the one that stated "....when the average Joe rides Amtrak, he expects AC that works, the train to be on time, and employees who are at least courteous....." (paraphrasing)

I honestly think that of all the ppl I have talked into riding Amtrak, more than half of them never will again. And I DON'T paint a false picture.

 

[Jack Boudreaux]

Some Indian trains don't look half bad.

My link

 

[Bob Dylan]

I too had no idea they had that kind of top level service in Russia.

Comparisons can go on forever, but the comment that makes the most sense in ALL of this is the one that stated "....when the average Joe rides Amtrak, he expects AC that works, the train to be on time, and employees who are at least courteous....." (paraphrasing)

I honestly think that of all the ppl I have talked into riding Amtrak, more than half of them never will again. And I DON'T paint a false picture.

If half the people are not going to ride Amtrak again I guess the full trains are the same fools riding over and over again since they don't know any better! Just think, they could go out to the airport and have a fun flight or even better catch an overnight dog!Id say half is hyperbole, and I am no apologist for Amtrak,most of what the posters say about the bad and indifferent is true IN SOME INSTANCES!!

 

[craftsman]

The trains are full because there are so few routes, they run infrequently, with not many cars.

There are 300+million people in the US, that's enough to supply first-and-only-time riders for a long, long time.

And you can always count on more than a few here who would ride trains even if they had to shovel the coal themselves.

 

[Ryan]

The trains are full because there are so few routes, they run infrequently, with not many cars.

There are 300+million people in the US, that's enough to supply first-and-only-time riders for a long, long time.

And you can always count on more than a few here who would ride trains even if they had to shovel the coal themselves.

At roughly 30 million riders a year, that's only 10 years.

 

[Bob Dylan]

The trains are full because there are so few routes, they run infrequently, with not many cars.

There are 300+million people in the US, that's enough to supply first-and-only-time riders for a long, long time.

And you can always count on more than a few here who would ride trains even if they had to shovel the coal themselves.

The comment about shoveling coal is priceless! If only you knew how many guys (and women on this forum) would love to be in a steamer as the engineer,fireman or even a deadhead rider!

It might surprise some that the people most critical of the bad experiences on Amtrak are the train fans since we have experienced the good,the average and the bad and know that the bad is the exception and not the rule! :excl:

Compare that to the bad experiences that most people have now days on airplanes and the dog!!

 

[amtrakwolverine]

If our trains were like the ones in Europe I would think many people would take a train over a plane. Amtrak is like a 3rd world operation.

http://www.bahn.com/i/view/DEU/en/services/index.shtml

then don't come to this country. AMTRAK IS NOT THRID WORLD DOES AMTRAK LOOK LIKE THIS

 

[Jack Boudreaux]

If our trains were like the ones in Europe I would think many people would take a train over a plane. Amtrak is like a 3rd world operation.

http://www.bahn.com/i/view/DEU/en/services/index.shtml

then don't come to this country. AMTRAK IS NOT THRID WORLD DOES AMTRAK LOOK LIKE THIS


Some of you guys are fan boys/girls. Our rails are pathetic. Yes I would pay more to get a more comfortable trip.

 

[rrdude]

Or Jack, keep riding Amtrak, as much as you can stomach, and don't LET them give you bad service. Be nice, but say "no" when they try and seat you in one of those stooooopid CCC booths. Politely say "no thanks, I'll wait". And watch the attitude. Or when they ask you to wait, when there are many open tables, politely ask "why do I have to wait". There may well be a valid reason. (short of staff, reservations expected, short on temper)

Or if you are unfortunate enuff to get an unhappy SCA, FIND them, and politely inform them what you expect. You may or may not get it.

Many ppl feel that the "uniform" gives them this right of power or sense of power, and that they can treat you any way they want, and YOU have to like it, AND tip them. Sorry pal, not from me.

To me, the uniform means, "you are here to service me". I hold no unrealistic expectations of them, but have been pleasantly surprised from time to time.

Or just go ride Via, but don't take BlueJean Girl's train to get to the border! :blush:

Keep riding, hold staff's feet to the fire, compliment and tip when deserved, and most of all, KEEP POSTING here!

 

[sunchaser]

Some Indian trains don't look half bad.

My link

Jack, did you look at the article?? It's an article about a couple from India who moved to Australia to start a winery. The 'train' in the picture has been converted into a cottage. This is their website!

Now, this would be a train to take IF you could afford it!!!

 

[rrdude]

Some Indian trains don't look half bad.

My link

Jack, did you look at the article?? It's an article about a couple from India who moved to Australia to start a winery. The 'train' in the picture has been converted into a cottage. This is their website!

Now, this would be a train to take IF you could afford it!!!

I honestly think he was just surfing for a photo. But that doesn't diminish his thoughts / remarks about Amtrak. "Don't kill the messenger, just because he brings unwanted news........"

 

[Jack Boudreaux]

Some Indian trains don't look half bad.

My link

Jack, did you look at the article?? It's an article about a couple from India who moved to Australia to start a winery. The 'train' in the picture has been converted into a cottage. This is their website!

Now, this would be a train to take IF you could afford it!!!

Yes I saw that after I posted it. I had tried to upload some pictures of Indian trains that were equal at least from the photo to Amtrak. Did you see that luxury Indian train video I posted? This country has let the rail system to rot. I guess the airlines have a hold on the market and the government isn't even interested to be competitive.

 

[rrdude]

Some Indian trains don't look half bad.

My link

Jack, did you look at the article?? It's an article about a couple from India who moved to Australia to start a winery. The 'train' in the picture has been converted into a cottage. This is their website!

Now, this would be a train to take IF you could afford it!!!

Yes I saw that after I posted it. I had tried to upload some pictures of Indian trains that were equal at least from the photo to Amtrak. Did you see that luxury Indian train video I posted? This country has let the rail system to rot. I guess the airlines have a hold on the market and the government isn't even interested to be competitive.

Pendulum swung way to far in favor of other (competing) modes of transportation. (Interstate, and Air)

I would not say that the pendulum is heading in the other direction, yet. But it may have slowed down a bit.

It concerns the hell out of me though, when CHINA can spend HUNDREDS of BILLIONS of dollars, in less than five years, and jump to the front of the game when it comes to HSR. It's all about commitment.

 

[ALC Rail Writer]

If our trains were like the ones in Europe I would think many people would take a train over a plane. Amtrak is like a 3rd world operation.

http://www.bahn.com/i/view/DEU/en/services/index.shtml

then don't come to this country. AMTRAK IS NOT THRID WORLD DOES AMTRAK LOOK LIKE THIS

America had that, it was called GrandLuxe :lol: Chapter seven.

Expensive total first-class trains like that only work in countries like India where there is an undeveloped regional airport system and a huge divide between rich and poor.

BTW next time you want to find a picture of something, don't leave the search field in Google Images up... "Best Indian Train" and you STILL had to go to the second results page! BTW here's a "real" Indian train's sleepers.

That Amtrak mat looking good yet? :lol:

 

[sunchaser]

Some Indian trains don't look half bad.

My link

Jack, did you look at the article?? It's an article about a couple from India who moved to Australia to start a winery. The 'train' in the picture has been converted into a cottage. This is their website!

Now, this would be a train to take IF you could afford it!!!

Yes I saw that after I posted it. I had tried to upload some pictures of Indian trains that were equal at least from the photo to Amtrak. Did you see that luxury Indian train video I posted? This country has let the rail system to rot. I guess the airlines have a hold on the market and the government isn't even interested to be competitive.

I just looked at the India luxury train video.

You will note they don't post prices.

It is true that Amtrak does not compare to something like that.

But we are not comparing Luxury train rides to Amtrak, are we?

It really does depend on what you would consider First Class.

Are you expecting to be treated like royalty?

If so, then of course Amtrak won't even be close.

As I have said before, with our limited amount of train rides, it was pretty good for what we paid.

We didn't feel 'ripped off', but there were some maintenance issues with our sleeper.

We mulled it over for a bit before I emailed, & didn't get a response other than automated.

So I called, & they were understanding & apologetic. With no prompting, a voucher was sent out, which we used for another ride, which was much improved both ways over the one before that.

I would love to see the train service & luxury of yesteryear. Most here I think would too. I unfortunately never experienced any of that. Maybe someday, if I scrimp & save we might get to do a private rail tour like calzephyrrailcar.com. I still think you should call Amtrak. I'm beginning to get the impression that you just want to complain, period. If I'm wrong, I do apologize.

 

[Jack Boudreaux]

Some Indian trains don't look half bad.

My link

Jack, did you look at the article?? It's an article about a couple from India who moved to Australia to start a winery. The 'train' in the picture has been converted into a cottage. This is their website!

Now, this would be a train to take IF you could afford it!!!

Yes I saw that after I posted it. I had tried to upload some pictures of Indian trains that were equal at least from the photo to Amtrak. Did you see that luxury Indian train video I posted? This country has let the rail system to rot. I guess the airlines have a hold on the market and the government isn't even interested to be competitive.

I just looked at the India luxury train video.

You will note they don't post prices.

It is true that Amtrak does not compare to something like that.

But we are not comparing Luxury train rides to Amtrak, are we?

It really does depend on what you would consider First Class.

Are you expecting to be treated like royalty?

If so, then of course Amtrak won't even be close.

As I have said before, with our limited amount of train rides, it was pretty good for what we paid.

We didn't feel 'ripped off', but there were some maintenance issues with our sleeper.

We mulled it over for a bit before I emailed, & didn't get a response other than automated.

So I called, & they were understanding & apologetic. With no prompting, a voucher was sent out, which we used for another ride, which was much improved both ways over the one before that.

I would love to see the train service & luxury of yesteryear. Most here I think would too. I unfortunately never experienced any of that. Maybe someday, if I scrimp & save we might get to do a private rail tour like calzephyrrailcar.com. I still think you should call Amtrak. I'm beginning to get the impression that you just want to complain, period. If I'm wrong, I do apologize.

No I'm not going to call Amtrak. They got me to and back from my destination in one peace. The attendant was not very good but he was not abusive just going through the motions. I just wish Amtrak was more comfortable and faster. I don't think I will live to see the day where are trains compare to those overseas. I could see where you might think I just want to complain but rather I wish I could do something about our rail system. I would pick a train over a plane any day if it was halfway comparable in speed and comfort. I checked out that California Zepher that is a bit over the top but it would be nice if all of Amtrak could come even close.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

The simple fact of the matter is that at some point we all need to take responsibility for our positions. If we think Amtrak is unacceptable then we need to start reporting who and what exactly isn't living up to our expectations and get some eyeballs on the problem. Amtrak is not very nimble, they need to be actively pushed and prodded into better service. Personally I'd seriously consider just starting over again with a brand new system and a more honest mandate, but I don't think that's a practical solution at the moment. None the less we still have several remaining choices as critics. We can push Amtrak to get better or we can pony up the dough for private cars or we can simply give up on American rail and admit permanent defeat while other countries large and small eclipse our tired efforts and leave us in their dust. Of course if we give up then we also lose the right to complain about any of it. As for me, I've decided to start applying pressure on two fronts. First, whenever someone or something on the train fails to meet my expectations I'm going to follow up with Amtrak to make sure they know about it. Second, I'm going to ask my City Council why our current station has zero parking for a metro with two million citizens and is such a pain in the ass to get into and out of.

 

[sunchaser]

Some Indian trains don't look half bad.

My link

Jack, did you look at the article?? It's an article about a couple from India who moved to Australia to start a winery. The 'train' in the picture has been converted into a cottage. This is their website!

Now, this would be a train to take IF you could afford it!!!

Yes I saw that after I posted it. I had tried to upload some pictures of Indian trains that were equal at least from the photo to Amtrak. Did you see that luxury Indian train video I posted? This country has let the rail system to rot. I guess the airlines have a hold on the market and the government isn't even interested to be competitive.

I just looked at the India luxury train video.

You will note they don't post prices.

It is true that Amtrak does not compare to something like that.

But we are not comparing Luxury train rides to Amtrak, are we?

It really does depend on what you would consider First Class.

Are you expecting to be treated like royalty?

If so, then of course Amtrak won't even be close.

As I have said before, with our limited amount of train rides, it was pretty good for what we paid.

We didn't feel 'ripped off', but there were some maintenance issues with our sleeper.

We mulled it over for a bit before I emailed, & didn't get a response other than automated.

So I called, & they were understanding & apologetic. With no prompting, a voucher was sent out, which we used for another ride, which was much improved both ways over the one before that.

I would love to see the train service & luxury of yesteryear. Most here I think would too. I unfortunately never experienced any of that. Maybe someday, if I scrimp & save we might get to do a private rail tour like calzephyrrailcar.com. I still think you should call Amtrak. I'm beginning to get the impression that you just want to complain, period. If I'm wrong, I do apologize.

No I'm not going to call Amtrak. They got me to and back from my destination in one peace. The attendant was not very good but he was not abusive just going through the motions. I just wish Amtrak was more comfortable and faster. I don't think I will live to see the day where are trains compare to those overseas. I could see where you might think I just want to complain but rather I wish I could do something about our rail system. I would pick a train over a plane any day if it was halfway comparable in speed and comfort. I checked out that California Zephyr that is a bit over the top but it would be nice if all of Amtrak could come even close.

I know most here agree with you about comfort & speed & the things they promise but may not deliver. As someone who worked in Customer Service for different companies for years, I would much rather have someone call, no matter how upset they are & inform the company of a problem than just walk away. In our situation, speed is not an issue, but we do want to be comfortable during the ride. I can say that we did feel a bit spoiled/pampered on the train rides, even given that the equipment is worn & needs refurb/replacement. We have so far enjoyed the train rides & plan to do more.

I could be wrong, but the Zephyr rail tours are probably more like train riding was before Amtrak.

If you look at the trip reports, you will find good & bad trips. Most seem to be fairly good.

I hope if you decide to try again, that goes better. I would pick the Coast Starlight for service & attention to detail, but that's my personal preference. Hubby likes it the best too.

 

[Trogdor]

So, we've gone from Amtrak is the equivalent of the holocaust, to Amtrak sucks because it doesn't provide luxury service fit for royalty, to Amtrak gets you there and back in once piece with employees that aren't abusive but just go through the motions of their job (which, by the way, is basically how most airline staff behave as well, it's just more noticeable on Amtrak because you're interacting with the staff more, and for longer periods of time).

All that, and this thread (which runs nine pages for me, though the page count may be dependent on your individual board settings) isn't even two days old yet.

Wow.

 

[ALC Rail Writer]

And we still aren't going to call Amtrak about it...

 

[rrdude]

And we still aren't going to call Amtrak about it...

Oh Hell, I'll call Amtrak. What do you want me to call them? Lord knows they've received enuff letters, emails, and phone calls from me over the years......

 

[Green Maned Lion]

LOL! What an attitude. I'm no troll. Look when you can't get a cold drink and the AC isn't working well that is pretty bad service. It is endemic to Amtrak. They don't care. You would like to fight me? Amtrak service on a whole was bad. My first attendant on the way up was rather good so I tipped him. On the way back it was horrible. With your attitude as far as I know you could have been the attendant on the way down.

You are the definition of internet troll. I have travelled thousands and thousands of miles on Amtrak, including a nearly 10,000 mile trip last January and I have never experienced anything close to the quality of service you act like you received.

Should have added a pic of the second class sleepers and the thousands of people on the outside of the Indian trains that a member posted last year! (No offense to India, I know they have nice stuff also, it's just that the discepancie between the rich and the poor is so huge in third world countries, sounds like what our rich want here!)

India is not the worlds wealthiest nation, nor its most developed, but like China, I would say it doesn't quite rank as "third world".

Yea India has some bad trains but they also have this. I guess we can't keep up with Indian rails.

My link

Some of you guys are fan boys/girls. Our rails are pathetic. Yes I would pay more to get a more comfortable trip.

Oh, we sure could keep up with India's rails if we wanted to charge that kind of pricing for the train. What does that type of train cost? Thousands of dollars a person. The most luxurious train tour in India costs... $5600 a person for basic accomodations. That means that if you and your wife took it, it would cost you, ahem, $11,200.

If you want to spend that on your next rail trip, I would like to direct your attention to any number of private car leasing agencies that would be happy to make your desires a reality.

 

[rrdude]

LOL! What an attitude. I'm no troll. Look when you can't get a cold drink and the AC isn't working well that is pretty bad service. It is endemic to Amtrak. They don't care. You would like to fight me? Amtrak service on a whole was bad. My first attendant on the way up was rather good so I tipped him. On the way back it was horrible. With your attitude as far as I know you could have been the attendant on the way down.

You are the definition of internet troll. I have travelled thousands and thousands of miles on Amtrak, including a nearly 10,000 mile trip last January and I have never experienced anything close to the quality of service you act like you received.

Should have added a pic of the second class sleepers and the thousands of people on the outside of the Indian trains that a member posted last year! (No offense to India, I know they have nice stuff also, it's just that the discepancie between the rich and the poor is so huge in third world countries, sounds like what our rich want here!)

India is not the worlds wealthiest nation, nor its most developed, but like China, I would say it doesn't quite rank as "third world".

Yea India has some bad trains but they also have this. I guess we can't keep up with Indian rails.

GML, with all those miles traveled, you are one lucky Bast*** not to have experienced that. I'm glad for you, I really am. But that is not my experience at all, and I've logged a few in my life too. Early Amtrak, lots in the eighties, then a void in the nineties, and more again this past decade. The "mediocre" or "poor" have always prevailed. I'm guessing, maybe 70-30. Did I not love trains, and train travel, I would have given up loooooooong ago.

This year, Via Rail has recharged by rail travel batteries. And I have vastly lowered my expectations of Amtrak, so life is a little more realistic.

btw, Jack's no troll GML, he's just a passenger on a train, pissed off.