New Marketing strategy at AMTRAK

[AntonioFP45]

Amtrak had some very cool tv commercials with song “jingles” from the 70s thru the early 90s. Sad that Amtrak’s budget is so “squeezed” by congress that commercials outside of the NEC are far and few in between. Those of you over 30 might remember them:

1. “We’re making the Train fun to ride again!”

2. “See the Country! Travel Amtrak!”

3. “America is getting into Training…More and More everyday…Training the Amtrak Way!”

4. “Take the “A” Train!” (Auto Train)

Amtrak is killing it’s self to an extent, eliminating small town service to the point that the Greyhound is the only form of long distance transportation that many of them have.

I looked into train travle about 18 months ago, for the family vacation, and the only way to get back home had a 12 hour lay over in Sacramento - 12 Hours of sitting around in a station! Please, that’s not something people riding solo are going to put up with, let alone a family with kids.

Until Amtrack become more rider friendly they are going to continue to lose riders.

Greg,

It’s not that Amtrak is trying to do this deliberately. Because of very poor, politically laced funding system Amtrak is forced to provide the barebones service (outside of the NEC and California) that we have today.

Until congress and the rest of us get really serious and put pressure on our leaders to invest into passenger rail…we’re stuck with what we got. Sad to say that service was superior back in the early 1980s.

[Greg_H]

Greg,

It’s not that Amtrak is trying to do this deliberately. Because of very poor, politically laced funding system Amtrak is forced to provide the barebones service (outside of the NEC and California) that we have today.

Until congress and the rest of us get really serious and put pressure on our leaders to invest into passenger rail…we’re stuck with what we got. Sad to say that service was superior back in the early 1980s.

I wonder about that at times, I truely do.

With the way that Amtrak has treated it’s customers in the past, I’m not so sure that poor management isn’t the real problem.

Last time I was on a train trip, it was with my wife ( wile we were engaged ). We went from Denver Co to Portland OR her to see her family and me to meet them just before Thankgiving, and the trip out was wonderful.

We had an early Thanksgiving, and actualy departed 3 day’s before Thankgiving, and the train was packed. There was a large block of people going from Portland to Denver, and instead of adding another car Amtrak cramed every last one of us into the old car at the back of the train ( behind the dinning car ) normaly reserved for employies. At the very least, Amtrak should have put the people with the furthest to go, in the better cars, and the people that didn’t have to go as far in to the older cramped car.

When they are treating people like that, I don’t blame customers at all for not taking the train more often, and can understand why Amtrack is loosing business.