Anyone else HATE Amtrak

The BBQ Pit
1

After riding from Chicago to Minneapolis on a TERRIFIC wonderful train with two levels, seperate smoking car, observation car and room and clean bathrooms I decided to try to go to NYC on the train.

It was awful. First of all the train leaves 2 hours late. We get in line at 5:30p wait, cause we want a seat together. At 7:15p they board the train AND let EVERYONE with KIDS go in before us, as they need to sit together. I wind up sitting next to someone I don’t know because all the seats together were taken by people with kids who were in line, literally HOURS after we were.

There is NO observation car. The lounge car is SMOKING. So my friend and I, who aren’t sitting together can’t even go in there and talk at the lounge is so full of smoke. By the next morning I wake up and we are now FOUR hours behind. Of course we paid the extra $50.00 to take the earlier train to get to NYC 3 hours earlier than the later train. Now at 12 noon the lounge car says it is out of food. Then at 3pm they kick us out of the lounge car (we went in an beared the smoke) because they had to restock the lounge car. As the train was so late they would have to leave NYC back as soon as they got there.If they ran out of food at 12 noon where did they get the food to restock the car???

Horrible.

Coming back 1 hour late leaving. My friend and I sit together and then are told to MOVE because a family needs seats next to each other. I’m sorry but if you need 5 seats of which ONLY ONE is an adult fare together get a sleeper (a sleeper was over 750.00 when we checked and by the time we got our reservations none were available).

Again a smoking lounge car, no pillows or blankets (we got them going to Minneapolis), we ran short of food. The dining car was so backed up they closed at 9pm.

I get up at 6am after not sleeping and sitting next to a stranger go to the lounge car. We sit. The conductor says we will be 2 hours late getting into Chicago.

A stop outside of Fort Wayne In, the conductor says EVERYONE in our car has to move out as Boy Scouts are getting on in Indiana and they can’t have them running all over the place.

One little old lady was getting some food. (which I still don’t get as again they say they ran out of food but by morning it appears magically again). Anyway they MOVED herstuff and she couldn’t find any of it. The conductor tells her to WAIT until we get to Chicago to find it.

These BOY SCOUTS turn out to be 16 and 17 year old EAGLE SCOUTS. The way the conductor was talking we had to move as they were little kids that would run amok. Like a 17 year old EAGLE SCOUT doesn’t know enuff to behave from Fort Wayne to Chicago.

We get to Chicago 2 hours late and they announce another delay they FIRST have to uncouple and unload the MAIL CAR while WE sit on the train.

I complain to Amtrak they say they WON’T do anything for us and that maybe in the future I should consider taking a plane. Then the guy has the nerve to say planes have their problems too. This is true but at least I would have been only irritated for 2 or 3 hours from NYC to Chicago and not for 23 hours.

2

Frankly, it doesn’t sound any worse than some airline horror stories I’ve heard and, in some cases, endured personally. Travelling can be a bitch no matter what route you take. On the other hand, the majority of the time travelling by train is probably just fine. I used to take Amtrak from Philly to NYC and Boston all the time, never had any problems. Only drawback is that it takes significantly longer, but it’s usually about the same as flying.

I moved from Philadelphia to San Diego and moved everything I owned by train - 33 boxes weighing just under one ton of belongings cost me $375 to ship cross-country, and the only things that broke were the things I packed inadequately. Took 8 days - just enough time for me to send it off and get there by plane (even though the plane left 12 hours delayed, in the snow, and I had to spend the night in Dallas because of delays, and then had to take a re-route through LA - airlines can be just as tedious as your adventure was, trust me). Now, the two bags I took with me on the plane the airline lost for 5 days, so everything ended up arriving at the same time.

So, um… I actually like Amtrak. :slight_smile:

Esprix

3

That’s a bit strange, if your trip came in that late I believe you should be eligible for some sort of refund/rebate under the ‘Satisfaction Guarantee’ program - I believe you just needed to go higher in the management chain with your complaints.
If you didn’t have the number already (which I’m guessing you did), from the web-site:

If our efforts aren’t enough, call 1-800-USA-RAIL (1-800-872-7245) for a Service Guarantee Certificate toward future travel.

Alas, it’s not a specific number (just the general phone number).

Also, the growing amount of LCL freight handled by Amtrak (mail and express), while helping their bottom line, is causing annoying delays for the passengers. In the old days motivated passenger train management on the Class I (and Class II) RRs (talking 1920s-1940s era [way before anyone on this board’s time]- NOT late 50s-1960s era) would have had the equipment and manpower to cut off the head-end cars from the passenger train, and send both to their respective terminals for concurrent loading/unloading (or some other alternate plan to ensure there was little delay).

4

Amtrak has very little sense of customer service. On a Memorial Day trip our train stopped in the middle of KEntucky for TEN HOURS while a derailed freight train was cleared off the track. While I realize that the derailed freight train was not at all under the control of Amtrak, at no point did any of the workers express even a shred of sympathy. In fact, one of the attendents, when asked how long we’d be there (they wouldn’t tell us what was going on) said, “We can stay here all day, for all I care, I get paid by the hour.”

If I were a big cheese at Amtrak and I’d found out that a 14 hour trip had been delayed 10 additional hours, I’d head off a PR disaster at the pass and AT LEAST send out letters of apology to everyone on the train. But no, even when my wife and I wrote to complain, at first nothing happened and then eventually they sent me (not my wife) a travel voucher on Amtrak, as though we want to go through them again.

Most of the time the train ride isn’t bad. But the few times it has been, there has been a complete lack of concern on their part.

5

Well, I used to take Amtrak from Rochester to NYC and back several time per year and it was usually fine. The biggest problem was sometimes getting stuck in Albany for an hour or two, but besides that the service was fine and people were nice.

But you can’t really expect a high degree of compotencce or shit-giving from a Gubbermint subsidized monopoly.

6

I took Amtrak from Minneapolis to Minot, ND this past spring. The train was delayed, and there were no blankets or pillows available, and the seat itself was uncomfortable, but other than that, I had a satisfactory experience.

To answer your question, Markxxx, the trains were likely re-stocked overnight, while you were asleep.

Robin

7

If you want travel hell, try going Greyhound.

8

This is true. I once swore that if, when I die, the only way to get to Heaven is on a Greyhound Bus, I will walk to Hell.

9

Greyhound’s OK if you don’t mind a busful of scary-looking, VERY smelly people.

Robin

10

That should read, “… but it’s usually about the same cost as flying.”

Thank you.

Esprix

11

TESTIFY!

A few days after New Year’s Eve, 1993, I’m attempting to take Greyhound from Spokane back home to Portland. There had been some very nasty winter storms recently (lotsa snow, lotsa wind), and all of outbound train lines were closed, and the passengers shuffled over to Greyhound.

To make a long, painful, irritating story short, they oversold the bus that I was on.

I had already checked in my bags.

I could not board the bus.

I tried to get my luggage back.

I asked the guy who was loading them if he could return it to me.

He looks at me like I’m the largest snot-ball that ever talked, and continues to load the luggage.

“Did you hear me?” I ask, raising my voice just so.

“Hey,” he replied. “I just load the bags.”

“So you’re not going to get my bags back out?” I show him my claim tickets.

“I would have to unload a bunch of these bags to get to it, prob’ly.”

So in other words, he’s too FUCKING lazy to get it.

“I need them back. I can’t get on this bus, it’s overbooked, and the next one won’t go to Portland until tomorrow.”

“Sorry.”

[incredibly loud yelling ensues]

I leave, trying to find some kind of supervisor/manager. When I finally locate one in the pandemonium and explain the situation to him, the bus has left. (Pandemonium because the joint is absolutely packed from all the re-routed Amtrak passengers.)

“Well,” the supervisor said. “To make it up to you, how about a coupon for a discount on your next Greyhound ticket.”

The look I gave him must have been one of complete and utter hatred, for he actually backed up a step. Or maybe he was just bumped by a passer-by. I gave no reply and left.

I will not speak of my eventual trip home, for fear of hijacking this thread even more than I already have. Suffice to say that it felt like the Voyage of the Damned, with a bus driver that was not only from hell, but probably was Cthulhu’s bitch in his spare time.

My luggage arrived in Portland nearly 24 hours before I did.

Bastards.

Sorry about the hijack, but damn, this was cathartic.

12

Oh yeah, this was the most annoying part of my trips to Chicago. They have to hook up mail cars or something.

Worse still is when the train is stopped for an hour in the boondocks somewhere between Elyria, OH and Elkheart, IN. I’m sure there’s a reason for it, but how 'bout letting the passengers know whats up, huh?

I was very annoyed by Amtrak but I do it even so often for two reasons. One is that its operaton is more or less weather-independent. Two is Acela.

I took the Acela Express from NY to DC. Business Class. The cars are fucking beautiful, they have massive windows, you can listen to the news or music through a headphone jack in the seat. And the car is silent. Plus, it went from NY to DC with no stops. No freaking Wilmington, no lousy Baltimore. Just two uninterupted hours of a nice view. sigh.

Of course I took the no-frills Amtrak ride back and was severely pissed again. But I highly recommend Business Class Acela Express.

13

Really? I freakin’ hated Acela.

First, the seats were too damn close to the floor. So even though I’m not tall, I felt like I was sitting in a kid’s chair.

Second, a bunch of the seats are set up so you’re facing the person in front of you. This is doubtless useful for the kind of person who wants to have a meeting on the train in front of anyone who cares to listen, but for me it’s annoying. I hate people and do not wish to look at them for 2 and a half hours. Also, that means no footrest.

Third, it was the brightest place on earth. I felt like at any second a film noir detective was going to come in and browbeat me about who my accomplices were.

Feh. Metroliner is the way to go.

14

Good stuff, Atreyu. :smiley:

I travel between NY and Providence, RI several times a year and I take a Bonanza bus. The bus is acutally faster than the train, assuming you’re willing to leave at the crack of dawn when there’s less traffic. It’s also cheaper. And there’s a movie. (Usually one that involves some sort of transportation accident. Sadists.) Still, these bus “advantages” are usually outweighed by the fact that the people on the bus are very, very annoying. So annoying, in fact, that I think Bonanza should pay its passengers, rather than the other way 'round. Paying for a bus trip is just adding insult to injury.

15

Next time just take off a shoe and put your foot in the lap of the person sitting across from you. At least one of your problems will be solved.

Personally, I wish we had a more comprehensive, cheaper, and customer-service oriented train system. Most long train trips these days are more expensive than flying. I miss Europe, where you could hop a train for a weekend trip and it would be cheap, efficient, and mostly on time.

16

Actually, if he did that I bet both his problems would be solved. :slight_smile:

And manhattan - “I hate people?” You certainly live up to your name. :slight_smile:

Esprix

17

::raises hand::

Yes indeedy-do, I hate Amtrak. I took it this summer from Chicago to just outside of Detroit in order to visit my SO.

Hell on Earth.

To set the scene: I’m in the Amtrak terminal at Union Station in Chicago. Now, I’ve taken classes in the city before, so I’m fairly familiar with the layout of the station. In passing the Amtrak waiting area isn’t so bad.

In reality, it is hell on Earth. This was in the middle of July–you Chicago-area dopers will remember the stretch of insanely hot weather we had then. For some reason, the air conditioning isn’t working. I take this in stride–I was in much the same situation at Midway. As I arrive, a line is starting to form (I got there about an hour early). I figure that this line won’t form too quickly, so I go over to the pay phone to call my SO’s mom and tell her that I’m on my way.

Every fucking payphone was occupied. Or being stood in front of by a chatty person on the adjacent phone. After about 10 minutes of throat clearing, foot tapping, and sub-audible cursing, I finally get the nerve to ask one guy whether he could please please please move so I can use the phone. He gives me a really put out glare, and lets me use the phone. My call lasts–as pay phone calls are supposed to–less than a minute.

I walk back to where the line was forming…and find that it has suddenly mushroomed to an admirable size. In fact, there are two lines! One of them is in front of the gate listed under my train number. The other is the adjacent gate.

Being of the rather simple-minded type–in that I tend to believe that my reference source for train/plane gates is accurate–I stand in front of the assigned gate. Twenty minutes go by. The family in front of me seems to be composed of white trash suffering from body odor problems. I hold my breath, and try not to swear audibly when their children start running around. I wipe the sweat from my forehead, adjust my backpack…and, then 20 minutes later, an announcement is made:

“This line for families with children only!”

My reaction: WTF?! Fuck that shit! This is the line in front of the goddamn gate. But then I look at the line. . .and it is composed of families with children.

At this point, I was sorely tempted to use my (regrettably) youthful looks to claim that I’m 14 years-old. However, I decided that I didn’t want to stand next to Mr. and Mrs. Can’t-control-their-children-lacking-hygene-have-decided-now-to-argue-in-public any more, so I go over to the other line…I wait in THAT line for an obscenely long period of time, am cut in front of multiple times (mostly by people who I’m afraid will kick my ass if I say anything. . .especially because what I would have said at that time would have been something like “Hey, jackalope-sodomized fuck-breath! It’s called a line!”). Finally, I get on the train. I even manage to get a window seat. The ride starts without a hit, albeit half an hour late. . .

. . .until we stop in the middle of some fucking cornfield somewhere in Indiana. For no obvious reason. No given reason, anyway. To top it off, I’m sitting next to an older lady who has decided to start witnessing me (which, upon reflection, was not Amtrak’s fault). Damn, I wish I kept my mouth shut in these situations, but noooo, when someone asks if I’ve found Jesus, I have to say “No, maybe he’s in the bathroom.” So sue me, I was in a bitchy mood, and she–

::slap:: [/hijack] Anyway, I go to the conductor and ask what the problem is. He doesn’t know. We start again. I call my SO and tell him that I’m going to be about an hour and a half late. Then I go to the snack car, where the guy at the counter spends 15 minutes talking to some hot chick who’s getting a cup of hot chocolate. This is while other passengers and I–a person who has a very poor sense of balance due to being a klutz–are holding onto the counter and the walls of the car, trying not to fall over. I finally get to the counter and ask for a diet soda. He hands me a regular coke without so much as a glance in my direction.

Well fuck you very much, but I’m sorry I’m not a 25 year-old bombshell. I’m sorry that I look all of 16 years old at the age of 18, and I’m sorry that you’re not into what you see as jailbait, but I asked for diet, bitch! However…I’m not diabetic, I’m tired, I’m thirsty, and I want out. I take the coke, pay through the nose, and go sit in my seat, gratefully without the companionship of the witnesser, who got off sometime while I was getting a drink. The rest of the ride passes uneventfully…

…except that we are somehow a little less than two hours I don’t know how it happened. There was no announcement. We started half an hour late, and the delay in Indiana was about 45 minutes long…so where we picked up the delay was anyone’s guess.

So, basically…fuck you Amtrak…this has been on my chest for a while…thank you Markx for giving me the opportunity to vent it.

(incidentally, due to fracturing a bone while visiting my SO, I had a pleasant ride home. Why? Tylenol 3. Slept throught the whole damn thing. Thank god.)

18

well.

this decides me;

when i finally go completly utterly insane, i am going to slink off into my own little mental world where there exists magic, and no trains / planes / buses. instead, you just cast “teleport” and POOF! you’re where you need to be.

but then, some incompetent will probably mess up and appear somewhere just sticking halfway out of the floor, and they will make teleports illegal because when an incompetent misuses the spell without reading the manual or using common sense he kills himself and makes an rotting ugly floor decoration…

Damnit! i can’t even be happy in my own scizophrenic delusions!

i’m sad now.