obnoxious people on amtrak

[x-press]

Why not just do what we do in Sweden? Pre-assigned car and seat numbers that are reserved at the time of ticket purchase. Sure, people sometimes wander around trying to get at better seat, but when you have a ticket with a specific seat number printed on it, it's hard to refuse that seat.

Count me IN for that idea! Even if only for the Acelas, it would at least be a start. One of the few drawbacks of train travel (at least in coach) is the nervousness before boarding anticipating the stampede for window seats/seats together.

 

[Guest]

I STRONGLY suspect we are not getting the whole story here. TWO ultra-rude people on the same train acting like this on the same day? I theorize that the author(s) had a "tone" in their voice when wandering around/demanding seats together. I have NEVER seen anyone refuse to move to allow someone to sit next to them, and here on the corridor, you hardly EVER sit alone for long. Not to say it doesn't happen, but it's surely unusual.
I'm also not playing holier-than-thou, here. On a recent Acela trip, I may have had a bit of a "tone" with the conductor when I started seriously doubting there were ANY seats available on the whole train (the few seats without seat checks had people sitting in them). The conductor had to move someone to get me ANY seat, much less a seat with the person I was traveling with (facing backwards, not fully reclining, and at a table with no legroom or footrest, besides).

In any case, I tend to agree with an earlier poster: I enjoy my window seat greatly. I didn't catch how young these children were, but unless they were under 10, they should have been fine sitting alone for a few stops. I'm not saying I wouldn't have moved for a family, but they would have had to be VERY nice about it, and made it clear I was doing them a favor, not just "my civic duty."

Contrary to popular belief, people DO ride trains . . . and that means seating arrangements won't generally be ideal.

JPS

Conducters have told me that the often over sell NEC tickets like the airlines do. Unfortunatly, airlines give you compensation if you don't get a seat, and amtrak has no policy on this. I have one conducter refuse to take my ticket though, since there were no seats.

 

[Guest 2]

I STRONGLY suspect we are not getting the whole story here. TWO ultra-rude people on the same train acting like this on the same day? I theorize that the author(s) had a "tone" in their voice when wandering around/demanding seats together. I have NEVER seen anyone refuse to move to allow someone to sit next to them, and here on the corridor, you hardly EVER sit alone for long. Not to say it doesn't happen, but it's surely unusual.

I'm also not playing holier-than-thou, here. On a recent Acela trip, I may have had a bit of a "tone" with the conductor when I started seriously doubting there were ANY seats available on the whole train (the few seats without seat checks had people sitting in them). The conductor had to move someone to get me ANY seat, much less a seat with the person I was traveling with (facing backwards, not fully reclining, and at a table with no legroom or footrest, besides).

In any case, I tend to agree with an earlier poster: I enjoy my window seat greatly. I didn't catch how young these children were, but unless they were under 10, they should have been fine sitting alone for a few stops. I'm not saying I wouldn't have moved for a family, but they would have had to be VERY nice about it, and made it clear I was doing them a favor, not just "my civic duty."

Contrary to popular belief, people DO ride trains . . . and that means seating arrangements won't generally be ideal.

JPS

Conducters have told me that the often over sell NEC tickets like the airlines do. Unfortunatly, airlines give you compensation if you don't get a seat, and amtrak has no policy on this. I have one conducter refuse to take my ticket though, since there were no seats.

With airlines, you don't get on the plane. On Amtrak, you are still transported to your destination at the same time as your original booking.

 

[AlanB]

Why not just do what we do in Sweden? Pre-assigned car and seat numbers that are reserved at the time of ticket purchase. Sure, people sometimes wander around trying to get at better seat, but when you have a ticket with a specific seat number printed on it, it's hard to refuse that seat.

Count me IN for that idea! Even if only for the Acelas, it would at least be a start. One of the few drawbacks of train travel (at least in coach) is the nervousness before boarding anticipating the stampede for window seats/seats together.

Amtrak actually tried this idea initially with Acela when it was launched, although only for those in the First Class car. All seats in the First class car were pre-assigned at ticketing time and one could even go online and actually pick their seat as well as to see which seats were filled and which were empty. You could also see which way your seat was facing, be it forward or backwards to the trains movement.

The test was tied to an electronic ticket collection process, which had it been sucessful would have expanded to the rest of the train. Additionally it would have allowed Amtrak to sell the seats of no-shows from a station just passed at a station further up the line.

The test failed in part because of rebellion from the conductors union, in part because of the failure to develop the needed software, but in part because the passengers who for years had been used to picking their own seats in FC on the Metroliner refused to sit in their assigned seats. And the crew got tired of fighting with the passengers, in part because they wanted tips and one doesn't get a tip from someone whose angry. So after maybe 5 or 6 months of testing seat assignments in FC, the entire process went into the history books as a failed experiment.

 

[Sleepless Charlie]

Hey, I'm old enough to remember when people still smoked on public transportation and there were no rules against it. Cell phones won't kill you from secondhand chatter at least, so look at the bright side of that. While we're talking about obnoxious behavior, what about passengers who snore? They stayed up all night drunk, get on the train smelling of you know what, and promptly fall asleep. Nobody else can sleep on a train, but the buzz-saw certainly can!