What is the condition of Amtrak?

[printman2000]

I began riding Amtrak in the early 70's as a child but have not been on since the late 80's. (I even rode many times the Southern Cresent when it was still run by Southern!) I am a huge railfan and am planning a big vacation for next summer (2006) to Washington DC from somewhere in Texas.

I was recently at the Fort Worth train station and saw an Amtrak train preparing to depart. The cars looked okay (not great) and the engine was pretty rusted. I also overheard a bus driver saying he had been doing a lot of work for Amtrak lately because they kept having trains break down.

With all the Amtrak money woes I am getting concerned about the quality of service we might get. The whole point in taking the train is for the train trip and I do not want to end up on a bus or plane. Also, I do not want to end up in some really badly maintained equipment.

I suspect we will go from Fort Worth/Dallas to Chicago and then to DC. Anyone know how these lines are doing in these aspects?

 

[WICT106]

Well . . . .

I can't write anything regarding the condition of the trains or track DFW - CHI, except to mention that the route between St. Louis and DFW is rumored to have something on the order of 72 (!) speed restricted zones. The route of the Capitol Ltd. is in good running condition, but has had considerable congestion on the NS / CSX portion around Cleveland. The past month or so the Capitol has been between 1 -2 hours late to its endpoints, due in part to freight traffic congestion. Other than that, it is in good working order. You'll find that the quality of your ride depends upon who the landlord RR is. CSX and UP don't care for the presence of Amtrak on their rails one bit - and it shows in their dispatching. Norfolk Southern is indifferent or apathetic to Amtrak.

 

[Kansascloud]

My wife and I recently (last month) rode The Southwest Chief from Kansas City to Lamy, NM and back. We bought first class tickets but I really didn't expect much other than a great view. We were pleasently surprised with almost everything. It was a memorable and fun trip. Amtrak isn't the Orient Express for sure, but it isn't bad either.

 

[daveyb99]

The conditiion of Amtrak is pretty good when speaking of equipment and people and not paying too much attention to the ill-though "service cuts" onboard.

The condition of Amtrak is horrible when speaking of the things they do not control: federal funding, a meddleing Congress, ontime performance, extra expenses created by poor performing host railroads.

Maybe a solution to this would be for the DOT to put half its shares of Amtrak on the NYSE, and make the host railroads buy the other half. Then someone would really be accountable if the train is late !!!