@Mellow Hudson Mike posted:I'm happy to live in a country where we're all welcome, and in fact many people believe obligated, to say what you believe. However in addition to the emotion that all of us are throwing into our comments, please add some facts.
Ray, what I hear in your comment is something I hear very often, but is not based on fact. Do you look at Amtrak's on-time performance figures? Region by region? They're posted you know. Are the airlines on time? What do their on-time figures say?
Manny, with all do respect what happened 30 years ago has little bearing on today. Things change, and they do so rather quickly, even with railroads. Buy tickets. Try it out. You might enjoy it. Then come back with your comments. We'd welcome your observations.
I normally take a trip that's about 4 or 5 hours long, several times a year, and have gone cross-country a few times as well. The shorter trips are mostly on time, or at the worst rarely more than an hour off, and the most-extended long trip I've been on was two-hours late coming in after a 33 hour journey. The equipment is always clean, although worn at times.
In my experience going back thirty years Amtrak's treatment of its passengers has definitely not been as sub-humans, especially when compared to the airlines -- and there are too many instances where the airlines don't keep their treatment of passengers brief.
A couple of questions for both of you:
1.) When was the last time you took a trip on Amtrak?
2.) How often do you take it?
"Bellyaching-without-backup" has become a career -- on many kinds of forums. It pays to know what the data says before adding your two-cents worth on any topic.
Finally a comment about Post-COVID: We are not now, and will likely never be, "post-Covid" because the virus is mutating and strengthening. If we don't smack it down hard via vaccinations it will be back, and soon. Have you ever thought about why we can't cure the common cold?
We may never be able to because it mutates faster than we can keep up with it. COVID-19 is not much different, and making the situation worse is that COVID-19 is much more deadly than the common cold. If we allow COVID-19 to mutate, and return stronger, we'll be shutting things down again soon.
"Just my $0.02".
Mike
I'm so tired of the apologists for Amtrak.
My friend and I did a railpass trip last year. As railfans, we had realistic expectations of what to we were getting into. Even at that, we were dismayed and appalled by some of the rotten service that we received as so-called first class passengers.
The average Mr. and Mrs. Joe Blow and their children have unrealistically high expectations, based on Amtrak's brochures and other advertising. Imagine them going through some of the things we were subjected to.
While sitting in Hartsfield Airport (ATL), preparing to board our flight to Denver, we received texts advising us that our first train, #5, was cancelled due to fire in Glenwood Canyon. (The previous day's #5 went through on UP across Wyoming.) the message concluded with "No alternate transportation will be provided". Nice way to leave people high and dry.
Being savvy, we got up the next morning, booked a flight to ABQ, and went to the Amtrak Ticket Office in DEN, before the angry mob arrived.
The very helpful agent thanked us for having our itinerary changes written down in an organized and concise manner and proceeded to change our booking to #3 ABQ-LAX, and #14 LAX-EMY. We thanked him and wished him luck, as we knew the other stranded passengers were not going to be as easy to deal with as we were. He was in for a real lousy day. We asked him if we could have an upgrade to first class on our second to last train (Capitol Limited CHI-WAS), to make up for our inconvenience and the cost of our airfare to salvage our trip. He told us that he could not make that happen, but that Amtrak Philadelphia could and probably would. (They did).
So far, so good, however missing #5 through the Rockies and Sierras was a major disappointment. For my money, that is Amtrak's most scenic route. No I'm not blaming Amtrak for the fire, but the stranding is unconscionable.
Fast forward to #14, a few days later, from EMY-TAC. The conductor visited our roomette three times, twice after we had gone to sleep, because our sleeping car coupons were prepared incorrectly. WE DIDN'T PREPARE THEM, AMTRAK DID, but we were being treated like we did something wrong and having our sleep interrupted to boot. A much nicer and exceedingly more competent conductor, the next morning, apologized for the other jerk's behavior and advised us to visit the K-Falls ticket office during the extended stop and they would fix the clerical mistakes. We did so, but the crummy sleep from the night before caused my to doze and miss some of the scenery in the Cascades.
Two days later, we arrived at SEA, to find the platform elevators out of order. After dragging my bags up an extremely long staircase we found ourselves on a street corner across from the station. There were only two ways into the station, a long staircase down or an elevator which, you guessed it, was out of order. When I inquired as to why all the elevators were out of order I was told that was the only way that they could keep the homeless and drug addicts out of them. So once again, screw the people who pay the freight and, instead, kowtow to the dregs of society.
To be fair, most of the on-board personnel on the various trains worked hard to accommodate the passengers, with the exception of the one dining car attendant on the Empire Builder and the entire D.C. based crew on the Capitol.
The dining car attendent on #8 asked us if we were eating in the diner or taking our meals to our roomette. We chose to eat in the diner and told him so. He returned a few minutes later and literally dropped a bag with our food on our table and walked away without comment. The meal was only halfway heated.
The Capitol crew was utter garbage, from the surly, imperious conductor on down. Our sleeping car attendant was MIA when it came to setting up the room and never answered the call button. When I finally found him over an hour later he was trying to chat up a female passenger. In the morning I had to cool my heels at the snack bar while the female attendant was flirting away with a male passenger at one of the tables. These people should get their nookie on their own time, not mine.
Adding more trains and shiny new equipment means nothing if you don't provide a pleasurable travel experience.
