Because of outrageous gas prices a number of people are opting to ride a train these days. For many it will be their first trip on Amtrak and unfortunately on the long distance trains at least their chances of having an enjoyable trip that lives up to their expectations are probably no better that 50/50. Of course some are better than others ranging from the Empire Builder at the top to the Sunset Ltd at the bottom of the list. All too often the first time rider forms opinions of Amtrak based on excessively late trains, uncommunicative (even outright surly) employees, marginal or completely lacking ameneties, “bustitution” (the ultimate indignity), etc.
A good friend’s daughter and her two pre-teen children just comleted a trip from Marshall, TX to Chicago on the Eagle and on to NYC on the Lake Shore. Her comment on the trip was, “Amtrak sucks”. She won’t be riding the train again but worse she’ll tell her friends about the experience and those that might consider Amtrak for a future trip will be discouraged from taking the train. I’m aware of all the reasons a train trip today can turn out to be endured rather than enjoyed and the blame is shared between the freight railroads and Amtrak. It’s sad that there are so many missed opportunities to leave the first time riders with a favorable impression of train travel.
My wife doesn’t like to fly and of course I’m partial to train travel. We make several trips a year to Chicago to visit her relatives and take the Eagle from Marshall on the few occasions that we don’t drive. In recent years we’ve had more bad trips than good ones mostly due to excessively late trains. I used to recommend taking the train to others but in all honesty these days when the subject come up in discussions I usually keep my mouth shut or sometimes apologize in advance for Amtrak’s shortcomings. It’s sad that a long time fan can no longer in good conscience advocate travel by train.
So she took a two day trip (or longer) on the train with no shower or comfort and crappy scenery when she could have flown in two hours. The trip isn’t where its at in our society. Time is money and by the time she added meals and the time it cost her the trip was more costly then any other form of transportation she could have used. Train travel isn’t romantic. Nobody can afford a luxury trip (at least no average joe). Diesels gave a brief shot in the arm to train travel but that was 60 years ago. It just doesn’t have enough sense to roll over and die. It is an antiquated service and not a viable 21st century method of travel for long distances.
It has obviously been along time since you rode the train, for sleeping car passengers showers are available on Amtrak long distance trains and the comfort in the bedrooms is far superior to anything that flys today. Lounge cars are available on the long distance trains and meals are part of the fare if you travel in a sleeper. Most meals are pretty good and beat airline fare. And many of the passengers I have talked to on the trains are making it part of the vacation. The major problem is a lack of equipment. All Amtrak California trains are operating at capacity as I write and a lack of equipment is turning passengers away. On some trains passengers are even standing. Amtrak has a large number of out of service cars at Beech Grove that need to be repaired and returned to service. If Amtrak had twice the number of Superliners available I dare say they could keep them full. Passengers with the increase in airfares and cancellation of flights are turning to Amtrak to get them to their destinations. With the increase in gasoline prices more and more people will travel by rail.
You have hit the nail on the head. The real question is why is Amtrak travel like that? Why is the service quality so variable? Some if it, like on time performance, is partially out of Amtrak’s control, but so much of it is within Amtrak’s control.
If you want a reputation for quality, you have to do it right EVERY TIME! Not just when you’re having a “good day.”
Just one example: When I fly, even for one hour, I get to pick my seat. When I ride Amtrak’s Crescent, I have to sit whereever the attendant decides to put me. If I book early, shouldn’t I get to pick a better seat? I’d much prefer a mid-car window seat to windowless aisle seat at the car’s end. All the seats are numbered, so why not? Heck, I’d even pay a few bucks for the priveledge.
Well looks like some of yall will be taking a dog for your future trips., for me personaly i have been in , worked on and taken lotta trips by train, never had a bad trip!
The lady I referred to in my first post was traveling with two kids on a limited budget so a sleeper was out of the question. The Amtrak coach fare was $732 one way for all three of them vs $1792 for a sleeper. Had she been able to afford a sleeper I’m sure she would have chosen to fly since the air fare was less, only $1695. Assuming the trains were on time (which I don’t think they were) her trip took about 46 hrs vs 5-1/2 hours on a one stop flight. Even I, who like train travel, would have flown before paying that sleeper fare on Amtrak.
I’ve ridden coach on train trips of about 36 hours on the Southwind and City of Miami many years ago when those were excellent trains with all the ameneties. Even as a young man and a rabid railfan I was darn glad to reach my destination and get off the train. IMHO the service today falls way short of the standards of those times and 46 hrs (or more because the train is likely to be late, maybe very late) in an Amtrak coach is an ordeal not a vacation trip.
I get roughly 1600 miles from Dallas to New York City. Cost of the train fare was $732.00 one way or $1464 roundtrip. The math works out the same if figured one way or roundtrip. $732/$4.25 per gallon = 172 gallons of gas. 1600 miles / 172 gallons = 9.3 miles per gallon required to break even. It was still probably cheaper to drive. Any better mileage than that and she would have come out ahead
You still have the right to complain. I’ve held that Amtrak should have comment cards available on-train, just as stores, motels and restaurants have comment cards on-site.
If that isn’t the case, you can still complain, and if you have any Amtrak system timetable it will state speficially how and IIRC offer more communications options than just e-mail.
Save your tickets and keep specifics handy. Remember the name of surly or ignorant on-train personnel. If s/he doesn’t have a name badge on, make a note of what that person looks like before you get off the train. When you complain you’ll have two complaints – bad service and refusal for them to be responsible for their action by not I.D.'ing themselves as required.
We often – not without reason – say that Amtrak is “politicized.” Yes, but there is a silver lining in that cloud: write your federal Representative! Or Senator(s)! Or all! Staffers notice if an elected official’s mail starts running to new themes. You won’t be identified as “that Amtrak crank” unless you’re really out of line. Talking to people who have run the mail-answering machines in a congressman’s office, the letter of new topic gets noticed so your complaint may stick out, but in a good way. Consider as well that there are probably other people who have complained to your federal elected officials and that yours may be the straw that broke the camel’s back in terms of getting anything done.
Don’t forget your local paper, too.
I am full of cliches today, but I hope you’ll do some of the above. This is true esp. since you have experience of good and bad trips, and therefore will have a basis of what goes right to conrast with what goes wrong (bad or sold-out food, bad help, excruciating lateness.) Amtrak keeps statistics on train tardiness – in fact, I believe they’re
I think the current IRS allowance for business use of a personal vehicle, which supposedly covers out of pocket costs as well as all the other items that Al mentions, is $0.48/mile. 1600 x $0.48 = $768, just slightly higher than the Amtrak coach fare. In any event driving wasn’t an option for her since the family owns only one car and her husband, who didn’t make the trip, needed it to get to and from work. For similar reasons and a host of others there are a lot of people who don’t have the option of driving and are dependent on public transportaion.
I failed to mention that I got the Amtrak fares from their website. I noticed an anamoly in the sleeper fares which is a mystery to me. A family bedroom (which sleeps 3 persons) on the Eagle is $352 + the $366 coach fare. Apparently family BR’s aren’t available on the Lake Shore as they only show bedrooms (which sleep 2) and the fare is $712 + the $366 coach fare. Perhaps someone will enlighten me as to why the sleeper charge on the LS (for a lesser accommodation at that) is more than double that on the TE.
I have sent several people to ride Amtrak when visiting the USA. All would do it again. But I have been quite honest in telling them what to expect, what preparations they should make, and how to cope with the most typical problems. This includes traveling as light as possible consistant with change of clothing, extra non-spoiling emergency food, finding the right person (crew chief or conductor or whomever) to sent things as right as possible, insuring one’s meal reservation even if not asked by a crew member, etc.
While you didn’t mention it, I’d be willing to bet that the station in Atlanta is nothing but an Amshack in a seedy part of the city. What a contrast to Atlanta’s Hartsfield airport, the busiest in the nation.
You still have the right to complain. I’ve held that Amtrak should have comment cards available on-train, just as stores, motels and restaurants have comment cards on-site.
If that isn’t the case, you can still complain, and if you have any Amtrak system timetable it will state speficially how and IIRC offer more communications options than just e-mail.
Save your tickets and keep specifics handy. Remember the name of surly or ignorant on-train personnel. If s/he doesn’t have a name badge on, make a note of what that person looks like before you get off the train. When you complain you’ll have two complaints – bad service and refusal for them to be responsible for their action by not I.D.'ing themselves as required.
We often – not without reason – say that Amtrak is “politicized.” Yes, but there is a silver lining in that cloud: write your federal Representative! Or Senator(s)! Or all! Staffers notice if an elected official’s mail starts running to new themes. You won’t be identified as “that Amtrak crank” unless you’re really out of line. Talking to people who have run the mail-answering machines in a congressman’s office, the letter of new topic gets noticed so your complaint may stick out, but in a good way. Consider as well that there are probably other people who have complained to your federal elected officials and that yours may be the straw that broke the camel’s back in terms of getting anything done.
Don’t forget your local paper, too.
I am full of cliches today, but I hope you’ll do some of the above. This is true esp. since you have experience of good and bad trips, and therefore will have a basis of what goes right to conrast with what goes wrong (bad or sold-out food, bad help, excruciating lateness.) Amtrak keeps statistics on train tardiness – in fa
Actually, no. The station decent and in a good part of town. There is no real parking there, though, and it’s not convenient to MARTA rail or any of the suburban bus services.
But. there are no suburban Amtrak stops despite the route running straight thru the heavily populated northern suburbs. Next stop northbound it Gainesville - about 60 miles north, which is a very seedy station, in a seedy part of town, manned by a sloppy, not very professional station attendent. But, it is easier to use than the Atlanta-Brookwood station.
You still have the right to complain. I’ve held that Amtrak should have comment cards available on-train, just as stores, motels and restaurants have comment cards on-site.
If that isn’t the case, you can still complain, and if you have any Amtrak system timetable it will state speficially how and IIRC offer more communications options than just e-mail.
Save your tickets and keep specifics handy. Remember the name of surly or ignorant on-train personnel. If s/he doesn’t have a name badge on, make a note of what that person looks like before you get off the train. When you complain you’ll have two complaints – bad service and refusal for them to be responsible for their action by not I.D.'ing themselves as required.
We often – not without reason – say that Amtrak is “politicized.” Yes, but there is a silver lining in that cloud: write your federal Representative! Or Senator(s)! Or all! Staffers notice if an elected official’s mail starts running to new themes. You won’t be identified as “that Amtrak crank” unless you’re really out of line. Talking to people who have run the mail-answering machines in a congressman’s office, the letter of new topic gets noticed so your complaint may stick out, but in a good way. Consider as well that there are probably other people who have complained to your federal elected officials and that yours may be the straw that broke the camel’s back in terms of getting anything done.
Don’t forget your local paper, too.
I am full of cliches today, but I hope you’ll do some of the above. This is true esp. since you have experience of good and bad trips, and therefore will have a basis of what goes right to conrast with what goes wrong (bad or sold-out food, bad help, excruciating lateness.) Amtrak keeps statistics on t
Al in Chicago, what we ought to do is insist Congress get rid of Alex K and put you in the job. For serious, you might have to take a brief strike before everyone realized it was really happening, but Amtrak would come out of that quickly and with attitudes adjusted, not only the employees but also the current management.
You still have the right to complain. I’ve held that Amtrak should have comment cards available on-train, just as stores, motels and restaurants have comment cards on-site.
If that isn’t the case, you can still complain, and if you have any Amtrak system timetable it will state speficially how and IIRC offer more communications options than just e-mail.
Save your tickets and keep specifics handy. Remember the name of surly or ignorant on-train personnel. If s/he doesn’t have a name badge on, make a note of what that person looks like before you get off the train. When you complain you’ll have two complaints – bad service and refusal for them to be responsible for their action by not I.D.'ing themselves as required.
We often – not without reason – say that Amtrak is “politicized.” Yes, but there is a silver lining in that cloud: write your federal Representative! Or Senator(s)! Or all! Staffers notice if an elected official’s mail starts running to new themes. You won’t be identified as “that Amtrak crank” unless you’re really out of line. Talking to people who have run the mail-answering machines in a congressman’s office, the letter of new topic gets noticed so your complaint may stick out, but in a good way. Consider as well that there are probably other people who have complained to your federal elected officials and that yours may be the straw that broke the camel’s back in terms of getting anything done.
Don’t forget your local paper, too.
I am full of cliches today, but I hope you’ll do some of the above. This is true esp. since you have experience of good and bad trips, and therefore will have a basis of what goes right to conrast with what goes wrong (bad or sold-out food, bad help, excruciating lateness.) Amt
My question is why this woman didn’t fly to NYC if money is tight for her family. A quick check of Orbitz showed round trip fares from Dallas to NYC as low as $315 per passenger if booked well in advance (I used 2 months advance). Assuming her husband could drop/pick her up at the airport on a weekend, that would have resulted in quite a cost savings. (That also says something about LD Amtrack coach fares.)
I rode for the first time of my life April of 2008… I am 19 years old and I HATED traveling before amtak … Im afraid of flying and i dont know why because ive never flown … anyways… I was forced to take this trip from Jackson , MS to Chicago , IL with my family to see some more family … From chicago i would ride the Hiawatha to Milwaukee then drive on to Green Bay … My family included a 2 yr old niece for this 15 hour trip to chicago … I dreaded this worse than the dentist … Turns out I had the time of my life … I met people whom i exchanged numbers with and made friends for life … The lounge car is the greatest invention ever ! The ride was a little bumpy and a little long but I found that very relaxing ! No rush to get ur stuff together and get off at the next stop … I had all evening to talk about sports with my newfound buddies … The ride back was even more eventful … My dad , girlfriend and I were all in the lounge car talking with a fellow from Chicago headed to memphis for the weekend … He talked and talked of how he played the guitar … So after a few adult beverages he walks to his seat and comes back with a guitar … He played for us untill about 2 am in the morning … That was the best experience ive ever had … He was very good as well !! So I would have to say my First amtrak trip was the greatest ever ! i just took the same trip last weekend with Amtrak again . It was just as good as the first time !! Im already planning a Nationwide trip in the sleeper cart !!
I agree with your thought that more equipment would be profitably utilized right now, and any time you turn a potential customer away you are risking long-term alienation.
Rosters of the Amtrak equipment in service are available. For example, On Track On Line has one by car number and type. You can review it on their web site – it’s under the tab “Amtrak Rosters”.
However, I have never found a list of the Beach Grove cars awaiting repair. Others have said that some of thei Beach Grove cars are destined for the scrap yard and are there awaiting insurance payments and/or the finalizaton of lawsuits. I’ve taken a look at Beach Grove on Google Earth, and there did not appear to be any large number of cars there.