Ocala Mike
Lead Service Attendant
I just got back from a 4-leg trip from Palatka, Fl to Saratoga Springs, NY in a roomette on 98/97. The only leg that went off without a hitch was on the Ethan Allan on Tues., 8/9.
Questions about the Ethan Allan - Is it considered a long distance train, a regional train, or a state-subsidized train? If state-subsidized, is it equal between NY and VT? Reason I ask is that there were practically no passengers on it for VT last Tues. Also, why does it stop to discharge passengers at Yonkers and Croton/Harmon? Those stops should be boarding only, in my opinion.
The other three legs were all horror shows; latenesses due to signal problems, broken down freights, and a new one to me, "outlaw crew" on 97 coming down requiring a delay of 2-1/2 hours in Virginia for a replacement operating crew to be located. Jeez! I have a case no. with Customer Relations on that one, because it made us 3-1/2 hours late today coming home, and I don't quite understand how that happens. Didn't the engineer(s) know when they left Washington exactly where and when they would run out of hours? Why didn't Amtrak have the replacement crew waiting in Fredericksburg already?
Questions about the Ethan Allan - Is it considered a long distance train, a regional train, or a state-subsidized train? If state-subsidized, is it equal between NY and VT? Reason I ask is that there were practically no passengers on it for VT last Tues. Also, why does it stop to discharge passengers at Yonkers and Croton/Harmon? Those stops should be boarding only, in my opinion.
The other three legs were all horror shows; latenesses due to signal problems, broken down freights, and a new one to me, "outlaw crew" on 97 coming down requiring a delay of 2-1/2 hours in Virginia for a replacement operating crew to be located. Jeez! I have a case no. with Customer Relations on that one, because it made us 3-1/2 hours late today coming home, and I don't quite understand how that happens. Didn't the engineer(s) know when they left Washington exactly where and when they would run out of hours? Why didn't Amtrak have the replacement crew waiting in Fredericksburg already?
