var json_comments = new Array("
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CompyPaq
July 19, 2009 11:13 PM
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Kudos to making a more pleasant alternative to flying.

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a_pink_poodle
July 19, 2009 11:19 PM
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An hour late? Boy you east coasters have it good! A one hour delay is the best we can hope for in the Pacific Northwest!

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3 replies
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kc2idf
July 20, 2009 9:27 AM
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@a_pink_poodle: For the record, trains from/to/through Syracuse are late, period. Any train that passes through the stretch of track from Schenectady to Buffalo is late. To my knowledge, there are no exceptions. This is not Amtrak's fault, but the fault of the host railroad, CSX, who have an underbuilt infrastructure, which, to my understanding, is in turn caused by the New York State taxation situation on that property that their tracks occupy.

An hour delay is actually doing pretty good.

I have learned that when traveling between Schenectady and NYC, you want to either (a) find a train that is coming from the north or (b) take a CDTA bus to Rensselaer (Albany) (bus 55, 56 or 57 to downtown Albany, then 24 or 214 to Rensselaer) and get a train that originates there.

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hmk
July 20, 2009 3:10 AM
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@a_pink_poodle: I've taken the \"Late For Sure Limited\" in and out of Syracuse, and a one hour delay would be heaven. This article is the FIRST positive thing I've ever heard about Amtrak.

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1SQ
July 19, 2009 11:32 PM
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@a_pink_poodle: In Virginia, the joke was that \"on time\" meant \"same day\" for Amtrak. It was rarely their fault, but the service was still plagued with delays.

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Julius Seizure
July 19, 2009 11:23 PM
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I hope the local agent didn't get herself in hot water for showing initiative. Amtrak: give her a raise or something - she's a keeper!

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6 replies
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Megalomania
July 20, 2009 1:17 AM
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@Julius Seizure. (the CANUCK one): Amtrak has always been great except that the trains are absolutely never on time. But, you don't have your underwear stolen so that just means trade-offs.

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Julius Seizure
July 20, 2009 3:20 PM
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@Megalomania: That's good to know - my underwear is close to being declared \"antique\".

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Eyebrows McGee (now with double the baby!)
July 20, 2009 1:34 PM
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@Megalomania: It's an old, un-upgraded set of rail lines that are virtually all shared with freight trains. Relatively small investments in rail infrastructure would vastly improve Amtrak's on-time-ness and speed. (High speed rail, FTW, and if that midwest corridor doesn't come through Peoria, sending LaHood to be Secy of Transportation will have been the worst waste of political capital in history!)

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STrRedWolf
July 19, 2009 11:52 PM
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@Julius Seizure. (the CANUCK one): Seconded, give the staff there a raise and keep 'em on the job!

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MostlyHarmless
July 19, 2009 11:52 PM
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@Julius Seizure. (the CANUCK one): From all the times I have traveled amtrak (Crescent Line) I have always had great service.

Though for that line, being late by a few hours was normal (it went from new orleans to DC. lots of things that could go wrong. though it was usually not their fault.)

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Coles_Law
July 20, 2009 12:11 AM
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@MostlyHarmless: I'll second that. Back when I rode Amtrak, their CSR's were great. Unfortunately, I rode the Lake Shore Limited line. Few hours late=normal. A friend of mine had the train be 23 hours late. Can you imagine seeing people for tomorrow's train coming in while you're still waiting at the station?

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BayardMozie
July 20, 2009 12:05 AM
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About 4 years ago my partner and I were planning on taking Amtrak from Oakland CA to Eugene OR. We called a few hours before the scheduled departure time and the recording said the train had been delayed, but not by how much, and said to call back later for updates. After calling every half hour or so and never getting an update, and being unable to actually reach a human being either, we decided to drive down to the train station and ask there. We were told it was going to be 12 HOURS LATE. We took a plane.

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veg-o-matic
July 20, 2009 12:23 AM
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Love Amtrak, delays notwithstanding because staff treat you like a person, not a head of cattle. Snack car staff are usually lovely and helpful with an extra cup of ice or two or letting two non-food-purchasing vegans use the microwave for our weird treebark food.

And the conductors have always been more than happy to help us get two seats next to each other on full trains..

Good people. They need more funding.

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jamar0303
July 20, 2009 12:23 AM
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Now if only taking to the rails was a viable option in most of the rest of America... But seriously, this is above and beyond practically any American airline.

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RickScarf
July 20, 2009 12:32 AM
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I'll never use Amtrak again as myself and another young rider were stranded overnight at a train station with homeless folk wandering around offering to sell me drugs. I called repeatedly throughout the night only to be told \"don't worry a train is on the way\" and when I called yet again to let them know nothing ever came, they called me a liar and would not try any further to help me in any way.

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atashida
July 20, 2009 1:57 AM
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@RickScarf: Were you in the Midwest? Midwest Amtrak is horribly ghetto. The one time I took it I had to get on at an unmanned station in the middle of the ghetto. (Said station isn't even available anymore.) If you're on the East/West coast it's a lot better. They tried to push to get a train station at my rural Ohio college, because kids without cars would use it - yeah right, of course it didn't happen, Midwestern people would rather drive their SUVs and to hell with anyone who doesn't want that lifestyle.

I'm glad there's a push for new funding because it seems like the Midwest corridor might actually be somewhat worth riding if so.

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korybing
July 20, 2009 1:58 PM
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@atashida: God, no joke. They've been talking about getting an Amtrak line from Springfield, Missouri to St. Louis for YEARS now and it's never happened. We have all the infrastructure here already since this town was founded on rail-travel, but they're just concerned that nobody will ever ride the thing.

I've ridden the St. Louis-Chicago line my entire life and I love it to death, but it is definitely not the most efficient way to travel. However, if you need to get to St. Louis or Kansas City and you live in the middle of the state, there's no cheaper way to travel.

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HogwartsAlum
July 20, 2009 8:26 PM
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@korybing:

Nobody will because it never WILL happen. It would be nice, because I've always wanted to ride the train, and I could visit my mom without driving. She always ends up driving when we go anywhere over there anyway.

I can get to St Louis in three hours by car. Of course, that's because I drive like Batman. :)

What they need to do in Springfield is put in a few more freaking sidewalks, and some bike lanes. There's nowhere to ride or even walk!

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korybing
July 20, 2009 8:50 PM
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@HogwartsAlum: Hell, I'd just be happy if they engineered the streets in a way that didn't turn them into raging rivers whenever it rained.

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HogwartsAlum
July 21, 2009 1:30 AM
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@korybing:

How about this...make streets that actually GO somewhere!?!

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RickScarf
July 20, 2009 2:31 AM
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@atashida: Yeah this was at the Lafayette, IN station.

And regarding the homeless drug dealer, he was trying to get me to meet him in the bathroom to buy a nickel bag of weed. So looking back in hindsight he may not have been a drug dealer!

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veg-o-matic
July 20, 2009 12:12 PM
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@RickScarf: Homeless people in the station is not Amtrak's fault.

That's Lafayette's fault.

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mac-phisto
July 20, 2009 12:53 AM
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@RickScarf: i've never met homeless drug dealers. i guess the business just isn't what it used to be anymore, huh?

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HiPwr
July 20, 2009 12:38 AM
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@RickScarf: You should have told them that you know Joe Biden.

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farmerjeanh
July 20, 2009 12:41 AM
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I recently flew from NC to Cleveland, on the way back I cancelled my return flight and took Amtrack. It was wonderful. The plane had been filthy and had frightening mechanical problems (including the bolts coming out of one of the seats and the toliet overflowing into the aisle). Amtrack was clean, comfortable and had endless juice and coffee. I got a sleeper and rested peacefully. Love Amtrak.

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mac-phisto
July 20, 2009 12:55 AM
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LIE! LIE! LIE! we all know public institutions cannot provide better service than private enterprise! move along; it's a farce! nothing to see here!

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MooseOfReason
July 20, 2009 2:09 AM
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@mac-phisto: Also, we don't have a private company offering passenger rail service.

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TVarmy
July 20, 2009 1:58 AM
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@mac-phisto: Actually, Amtrak is a publicly-funded (via subsidies) private corporation. Thus, when it does bad, conservatives can trash it, and when it does good, they can thank it on free enterprise.

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mac-phisto
July 20, 2009 2:25 AM
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@TVarmy: it's not a private corporation. it's a public corporation.

@MooseOfReason: we don't have pricate companies offering rail service b/c amtrak was a government bailout of private enterprise that chose to exit the marketplace. read a little history on the demise of rail travel in the US & you'll understand why amtrak exists & why it sucks so much. here's a hint: you don't sell as much oil, tires & cars in a country that has a viable rail system.

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Wombatish
July 20, 2009 7:54 AM
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@mac-phisto:@TVarmy: Amtrack is government owned, and has a mixture of public funding, private funding, and profitability.

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Bahnburner
July 20, 2009 12:54 PM
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Amtrak loses hundreds of millions of dollars per year, but that's ok, because it's funded and controlled by the U.S. Govt. Educate yourselves, folks.

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MooseOfReason
July 20, 2009 3:23 AM
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@mac-phisto: Wouldn't that mean the government doing a sucky job on purpose, to help out the oil companies? Since we went into Iraq and Afghanistan for oil.

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Brian James Schend
July 20, 2009 3:49 AM
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@MooseOfReason: Exactly right, Moose. In the WA, OR, CA and on the east coast, state governments have invested money to improve the tracks - there the trains generally run 80 in rural areas and 50 in urban areas. This has attracted enough passengers to the lines that the trains run at a profit.

In CA, they make this profit even though there is no high-speed connection from LA to SanFran/Sacto.

This makes Obama's high-speed rail program understandable. High-quality tracks could eliminate the need for subsidy.

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Eyebrows McGee (now with double the baby!)
July 20, 2009 1:37 PM
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@Brian James Schend: I can't wait for high-speed rail in the Midwest, which is full of cities that are juuuuuuust far enough apart to be annoying to drive between, but too close together to make flying a real time savings (or worth the hassle). Regional planners for YEARS have been saying it would be a massive economic boon for the midwest, linking up our many research universities (and their towns) with our major urban areas, and the urban areas to each other.

Plus then I could go visit my parents without having to drive I-55 and the tristate, and I could read a book on the way!

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korybing
July 20, 2009 2:01 PM
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@Eyebrows McGee (now with more baby!): God exactly. They're talking about a high-speed train between St. Louis and Chicago, making a previously 9-hour trip into a 2-hour trip. How amazing would that be? Nobody uses trains in the Midwest because unless you just happen to live next to a line (unlikely) it's impossible to take the train anywhere you need to go. But instead of expanding the rails, they're closing them. I grew up riding the train to Chicago, and it's my very favorite way to travel.

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HogwartsAlum
July 20, 2009 8:30 PM
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@korybing:

That would be AWESOME because then I could visit my sister in Bolingbrook. It's too damn far to drive.

Maybe she could get her butt down here and visit me for a change!

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MooseOfReason
July 20, 2009 1:57 AM
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@mac-phisto: I wouldn't think of an hour delay as \"better service\".

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CrazyTrain
July 20, 2009 4:18 PM
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@MooseOfReason: Just try to fly thru Ohare, ATL, any airport on the east coast, or Dallas. Only an hour delay at the airport would be a blessing.

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MooseOfReason
July 21, 2009 5:14 AM
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@CrazyTrain: Touche; then again, you don't have to get your luggage checked, or get patted down before you get on a train, do you?

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I Love New Jersey
July 20, 2009 1:20 AM
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But Amtrak is overpriced to begin with.

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korybing
July 20, 2009 8:52 PM
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@I Love New Jersey: It depends on what line you're going on. It costs me 20 bucks to go from St. Louis to Kansas City. You can't drive for that money, and you don't have to deal with the roads for either cities either.

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Jim Topoleski
July 20, 2009 3:37 AM
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@I Love New Jersey: Actually not really, the problem is you have to go outside of the country to compare it to other train services.

But we pretty much pay less than other nations who are more heavily invested in travel by train.

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Quill2006
July 20, 2009 7:49 PM
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@Jim Topoleski: I've paid $13 one way on Amtrak from Chicago to Urbana Champaign. It would cost me way more than that in gas to drive it. That's not overpriced. The cost does increase depending on which train I want to take or how close it is to the departure date, but it's still usually cheaper.

The fact that the train usually takes an hour longer than they have scheduled because it has to stop for every freight train on that line is a bit annoying, though.

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The Black Bird
July 20, 2009 2:19 AM
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I use Amtrak and while the trains are not always on time I find their service to be much better than airlines. The people I've met at the stations and those spoken to on the telephone have always been cordial and helpful. There have been occasions when they have gone way beyond what I would have expected them to do.

When flying I never know what to expect. When riding Amtrak I've come to expect great service and so far I haven't been disappointed.

There definitely needs to be more funding for them. If Congress was able to find all of the money for the banking and auto industry they should be able to come up with some for Amtrak.

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RvLeshrac
July 20, 2009 9:04 AM
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@Bogart's Falcon aka Philly Falcon:


In fairness, it must be pointed out that \"compared to flying\" is the lowest possible bar you could set.


Well, OK, I suppose you could take a canoe up the coast. You'd probably still have better service, though. You'd have the same amount of space for luggage *AND* could carry as much water as... well... you could carry.

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The Black Bird
July 20, 2009 12:35 PM
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@RvLeshrac: In looking at the different ways to travel, I believe that flying on any airline gives you the greatest chance to get the poorest service if/when problems happen. I say this from personal experience.

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gnimsh
July 20, 2009 2:33 AM
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Ya Syracuse! (Its my hometown, so I pretty much had to write this).

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Michael Plasmeier
July 20, 2009 2:51 AM
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I overslept once for a really early (5AM) train. I called and they rebooked me at no charge. (If it would have been a pricer train I would have to pay the price difference, but no \"change fee\")

Try that on an airline and its $250 fee + price difference or nonrefundable!

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hmk
July 20, 2009 3:14 AM
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@Michael Plasmeier: THey were nice to me once when I missed my train due to poor planning and bad traffic. Customer service gave me a refund for that portion and I decided to fly home for that half of my trip. The sad thing is that I chose United out of O'Hare (more convenient) when in hindsight I wish I had gone completely out of my way to fly Southwest out of Midway. Sigh...

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slickdealer
July 20, 2009 3:29 AM
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Personally, I always liked Amtrak. I used to use them all the time in the North East Corridor. I remember one time I was late arriving at Penn Station, and the line was rediculously long. I was going to somewhere in VA, with a connection in DC. I had a reservation and already paid for my ticket, but by the time I got to the ticket window, the train had already left. The women explained that if I was late in the future, to just go to ticket window 16 (or something like that) to be taken care of before it was too late. She put me on a metroliner that would make it to DC before my connection, and didn't charge me anything extra, even though the metroliner was more expensive normally. Ironically enough, my original train had mechanical problems, and while I made it to DC with more than enough time to make my connection on the metroliner, if I had taken the original train, I would have missed my connection and been stuck in DC overnight.
Another time, I had a car accident in Delaware going to up NYC for a job interview. I got a ride to Philly and asked for the next available train, regardless of price. They gave me my ticket, and I went to the track. Apparently I had bought an Acela Express (the high speed train) ticket, but it was broken down (apparently this is/was a frequent thing), so they put us on a metroliner instead. They announced that because of the inconvenience, they were refunding 100% of all Acela tickets. Wow.
So while many people might hate Amtrak, I always found their customer service great. NEVER had a bad experience on my countless trips.

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josquin021
July 20, 2009 3:43 AM
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I take Amtrak twice a week in the Northeast Corridor, and this story very much rings true. Their agents and train staff are exceedingly nice, and their trains are always late.

This week, I took Amtrak for the first time outside the Northeast, for a trip from Seattle to Vancouver, BC. Their train was a bus, and it was 25 minutes late. Different vehicle, same timetable. And the bus company they contracted with was Cantrail. Should that be read as Can-trail or can't-rail? You decide.

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Dansc29625
July 20, 2009 3:45 AM
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Go Amtrak.

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yevarechecha
July 20, 2009 5:36 AM
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I took Amtrak to Boston and back and did not like it at all. But it wasn't really their fault. It was the fault of the people in my car, whose cell phones kept going off all night (it was an overnight train). I should have gone to the quiet car, but I wrongly assumed that no one would have anyone they could talk to loudly in Creole for an hour at 3AM. I learned my lesson.

On the way back, the lady in front of me threw up all over herself and the floor, then slept in it from Stamford to Wilmington. She was supposed to get off in Philly but missed it. It was so, so gross. And then an entire Model UN team got on at Penn Station.

Now that Southwest is flying from BWI to Logan for some really cheap price, I can't see myself ever doing that again.

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veg-o-matic
July 20, 2009 1:45 PM
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@yevarechecha: Yeah, while I've never traveled from DC to NY/Boston, I have made quite a few trips from NYC and Albany-Schenectady area to Boston/Springfield and nothing like barf-fest '09 has ever happened.

Something strange must happen to people south of Penn Station.

Although, the quiet car makes itself pretty apparent. It's very easy to move once on the train. Creole or not, passenger noise isn't really a valid complaint. There are loud people and fussy babies on planes and in life generally, so...

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The Black Bird
July 20, 2009 12:44 PM
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@yevarechecha: As you said, none of the things that happened was the fault of Amtrak. I've run into loud, obnoxious passengers on airplanes more often than I have on trains (although I don't ever remember anyone vomiting). Also, on trains you can more easily, most of the time, change your seat or go to another car, if you want or need to.

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kolacek
July 20, 2009 5:51 AM
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I generally take Amtrack for three reasons:

1) \"Security...what security?\" I get on at my departing station, I get off at arriving station...the end.

2) Plausible deniability for tardiness, etc.

\"Aw man...the train was running late. And there was no phone service. Oh...and there was no outlet for my laptop.\"

Honestly, thank God for that.

3) Price.

I love Amtrak and recommend it to everyone.

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korybing
July 20, 2009 8:57 PM
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@kolacek: I like it for those reasons too, even though some would consider those downsides.

I really love how easy it is to ride the trains. You don't even have to get a ticket in advance (or at least not on the line I ride). You just show up, hop on, pick a seat, and the engineer comes in later and you pay for your ticket. Easy peasy, no problem.

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syr2012
July 20, 2009 6:24 AM
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@kolacek:

I take Amtrak pretty often, and considering that I have to choose between the train, the bus (I can't stand lengthy bus rides), or a plane (too pricey, and I don't exactly like removing my shoes, belt, and everything in my pockets), they win. Call me crazy, but I actually like the fact that phone service tends to be spotty for the whole trip, and that there's no internet. It's good to spend a bit of time disconnected from the outside world.

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MightyCow
July 20, 2009 6:14 AM
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The airlines are such a clusterf*** lately, it's not worth it to fly unless you're going overseas or you have a short timetable. Taking the train is such a pleasure. Comfortable ride, no security checkpoint BS, no crowded terminals (even the big terminals are less crowded than most airports), take as much food and drink on as you like, pleasant station agents and cabin staff, comfortable sleeping accommodations.

Until the airlines get their act together, I'm taking the train every time I'm able.

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TD0gg
July 20, 2009 7:25 AM
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Anything under 2 hours late is really 'On Time' for Amtrak between Kansas City and St Louis because its consistently 2 hours late or more. Frequently, its 4+ hours late. I remember picking up my brother who took Amtrak and was suppose to get to the Kirkwood station at 8.30PM, but instead arrived at 2-freaking in the morning-AM.

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korybing
July 20, 2009 9:00 PM
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@TD0gg: The Kansas City/St. Louis Mule is the line I usually take, and you're right. If you want to get anywhere on time Amtrak isn't really the line for you. If you're continuing up to Chicago there's a multi-hour layover in St. Louis just so the two trains that combine up there can meet on time.

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David in Brasil
July 20, 2009 10:31 AM
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If you live in the NE corridor, Amtrak is great. If you live in the south or midwest, Amtrak service is something that you just read about and yet pay taxes to support. If those of you who rave about Amtrak's service ever took a train from Chicago to, say, Texas, you'd swear it off forever and urge congress to pull the plug on Amtrak unless it provides service equal to that which others get.

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veg-o-matic
July 20, 2009 12:10 PM
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@David in Brasil: \"If those of you who rave about Amtrak's service ever took a train from Chicago to, say, Texas, you'd urge congress to give Amtrak reasonable funding so that it can provide service equal to that which others get.\"

Private railroads in the midwest and west are to blame for poor on-time stats, not Amtrak.

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David in Brasil
July 20, 2009 12:19 PM
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@veg-o-matic: That may be so. But the last ticket I bought said \"Amtrak\", they left Chicago 6 hours late, the private car I reserved was filthy (and I mean 'filthy'), their personnel rushed and rude, I got none of the amenities that were advertised, and we arrived in TX 18 hours late. Never again.

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The Black Bird
July 20, 2009 12:47 PM
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@David in Brasil: Did you voice your concerns while you were on the train or complain to Amtrak later?

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bonzombiekitty
July 20, 2009 11:30 AM
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I used to ride Amtrak regularly between Philadelphia and New Haven. I hated it because it took so darn long. Going Philadelphia -> New York would be really quick, but going New York -> New Haven would take forever.

It's really not entirely Amtrak's fault though. The lines on that part of the corridor are old and really busy, they can't go very fast a lot of the time.

The worst time was when I was going to New Haven -> philadelphia. I got to the station and the trains heading towards Boston were all several hours delayed. My train was listed as \"delayed\", which in my experience is a really bad thing. So I asked an Amtrak agent if my train was delayed or if there were any problems between New Haven and Philadelphia that's causing all these delays. I figured if the delay was going to be bad, I could walk over and get a bus instead. She gave me a curt \"no, there's nothing wrong\".

My train did arrive on time*, and we set off. We get a little past Stratford and stop at some commuter rail station. They then tell us that there had been a train that derailed earlier in the day (so much for there not being anything wrong) and there's no power, so we have to wait for a diesel engine to pull us through and it would only be a twenty minute delay. We sat for a half an hour and then pulled up so that we were slightly passed the station, and proceeded to sit there for several more hours. That 20 minute delay turned into over 5 hours.

Now, I understand that accidents happen and long delays like that are inevitable. But my issue is that I asked if there were any major problems, and was told no, when there obviously was a big problem. Also, they had no clue how long the delay was going to be they kept telling us \"10 more minutes\" etc... If I had known it was going to take hours, I would have called someone to pick me up at the station we had been stopped at and gone to take a bus.

*Side note: What the hell is it with the New Haven station and going from \"On Time\" straight to \"All Aboard\" on the board, skipping \"arriving\" and \"boarding\".

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David in Brasil
July 20, 2009 12:21 PM
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I meant \"private cabin\".. I'm not rich enough for my own car. Yet.

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erratapage
July 20, 2009 1:26 PM
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We had an amazing trip from St. Paul to Glacier Park a couple years ago. It was SOOO much better than flying and driving that I look for that option now as a matter of course.

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Stephanie Khuu
July 20, 2009 1:32 PM
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I took the train once from Pittsburgh to NYC and back. While it was a peaceful ride, I would never take it again because it was such a LONG ride, about 10 hours long. While the airlines are a bit more expensive, even with getting to the airport early and going through security, I save myself at least 5,6 hours by taking the plane.

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Eyebrows McGee (now with double the baby!)
July 20, 2009 1:42 PM
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Has anyone ever taken the Southwest Chief (Chicago to LA, many of the stops along Route 66)?

I sort-of want to take it from Chicago (well, Galesburg) to Santa Fe, since getting from Peoria to Santa Fe is an all-day proposition by air full of hassle, annoyance, and expense; Galesburg to Santa Fe is overnight and costs about the same and if it were on time, it'd probably be a way better experience overall. (Especially in a private room on the train with a baby rather than two long car drives, two long plane rides, and a freaking annoying layover where the timing never works right.)

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chris_d
July 20, 2009 2:34 PM
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@Eyebrows McGee (now with more baby!):
Yes, I've ridden it. Several years ago. The train was on time, even arrived early at some stops. The interesting thing about this train is that it is the fastest train outside the Northeast. The route is equipped with Automatic Train Stop, which is required by the federal government if you are to exceed 79 mph. Southwest Chief usually cruises along at 90 mph.

The only thing I will say is that since the Bush Administration got its people on the Amtrak board, the food has gone downhill (in order to cut costs). The last time I rode Amtrak, I got a \"salad\" for lunch, which was a plastic plate full of iceberg lettuce. Breakfast is still pretty good, and dinner is ok.

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Eyebrows McGee (now with double the baby!)
July 20, 2009 5:05 PM
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@chris_d: Sounds like it's definitely an option, then, especially with kids under 2 (who ride free).

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edguitar
July 20, 2009 2:32 PM
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I started riding the tracks about 2 months ago and i have to say Amtrak ahs been great so far. Especially with the Auto Train service. you go from Orlando FL to Washington DC non-stop and you can take your car with you. Beat that airlines. Now I take ina regular basis the albany-PennStation train and I find that going north to south is generally faster than going south to North don't know why but it always takes an extra half hour to get to Albany. For 72 round trip is better than dirving to the city

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woolygator
July 20, 2009 4:51 PM
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I live in the northeast and Amtrak is always at least an hour late. You would think that they would change the time by an hour so they would be on time. But that requires you to think. Something the gov't can't do.

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cordeliapotter
July 20, 2009 5:03 PM
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Is this for real? Last time I took Amtrak it was Chicago to Indianapolis, it was 4 hours late, none of the toilets worked (one actually overflowed so badly there was shit on the floor outside the bathroom and the entire car stank so badly, it was empty), and the temperature was 55 degrees and could not be raised...I called Amtrak to try to get a refund, or at least an apology, or even a promise to never have feces on the floor, but nothing doing.

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jh
July 20, 2009 5:24 PM
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Well, that's among the headlines I never thought I'd see. This agent needs to find a job with a real company...she's clearly overqualified.

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Michael Hollifield
July 20, 2009 6:56 PM
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I take the Crescent from ATL - Spartanburg, SC about 2-3 times/year when I go visit family. I LOVE it. Combined with the fact I can walk to the station/my job, Zipcar and MARTA, it saves me from the hassle of car payments.

It only takes 30 minutes longer than it would to drive. Seats are actually spacious.

Only downfall? The train leaves Spartanburg for me to get home to Atlanta at 4:14 AM. BUT I get home by 8 AM and can start my whole day!

The staff is always friendly, I just get drunk in the Lounge Car and get to Sptbg just in time to catch my crew at the bar.

That being said, if I had to take that train from ATL to WAS or NYP, I'd cut a bitch. It'd get boring, FAST. Not to mention, those sleeper cars are more expensive than flying and take 10 times as long!

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RabidWombat
July 20, 2009 7:39 PM
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I have my own Amtrak story that could practically be its own post, but I'll just relate it here in the comments:
Anyone who's had any association with the boy scouts has probably heard of Philmont. For those of you who don't, it's a huge expanse of pristine land in New Mexico owned by the scouts. Crews of scouts from all over the country come there for the backpacking. On any given day, you have about 50 crews of 10-12 scouts entering and leaving Philmont.
Like many other crews, ours decided to take Amtrak to and from NM. While it took a little longer, it avoided some of the hassle of airports, and gave us a chance to do a little sightseeing out the windows while in transit.
The trip going out was relatively uneventful, as 2 days on a train are wont to be. Coming back, however, was a different story. When we arrived at the station in Raton, NM, along with a few other crews (probably about 50-100 people in total), there was a sign saying that our train was going to be delayed for a few hours. The time it was supposed to arrive kept getting later and later as the evening went on, and eventually the train that was supposed to arrive at 3 PM ended up arriving at 3 AM. This lead to the somewhat amusing sight of 50-100 people camped out outside a small train station, since everybody had camping gear.
It turns out that there was a very good reason for the train being late - apparently it had run over an axle lying on the tracks, which had lodged itself in one of the cars. Luckily, nobody was hurt. Unfortunately, this also lead to us missing our connecting train in Chicago, and having to take the next one out, which was the same time the next day.
Here's where Amtrak's service really came through. They not only put us up in a hotel for a night, but actually gave us money for food and entertainment in Chicago for the day we were stuck there waiting for the next train. There's nothing better than real Chicago deep dish pizza after having eaten backpacking food for two weeks straight. So, I guess this is another case where Amtrak actually demonstrated good service and an entirely reasonable handling of delays

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HogwartsAlum
July 20, 2009 8:37 PM
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It's my understanding that they have to share the tracks with the freight trains, and the freight trains have priority over passenger trains. If we had some more tracks and some faster trains, well, they could make a bundle of moolah.

But that would be too easy!

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Raymond B. Hamilton
July 20, 2009 9:31 PM
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Hy gys wnt t knw wht th nw bzz s ll bt? Ths sldr wrt prtty gd bk n th cnmc mltdwn rd \"TH RD T MRC'S CNMC MLTDWN,\" by RYMND BRSFRD HMLTN. W lwys wnt wht th gys n th frnt lns r thnkng bt. Hr t s n blck nd wht. Ths gy s n mrcn sldr nd h nls t dwn fr s n ths bk. H hmslf ws cght p n th crss nd dcdd t d hs wn nvstgtn nt th css f th crss nd th gvrnmnt's nvlvmnt n t. lrnd s mch bt mrc frm rdng ths bk, hv t thnk Mr. Hmltn fr hs ffrts nd f ths bk s nt n th bst sllrs lst by th nd f ths yr thn th mrcn ppl r nt rdng th rght bks. Ths bk tlls t lk t s.

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veg-o-matic
July 20, 2009 1:37 PM
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@Raymond B. Hamilton: Now, see, it makes your spam so much less effective when you pretend that you're not the author of this claptrap.

You really must try harder.

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HogwartsAlum
July 20, 2009 8:34 PM
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@veg-o-matic:

Should be posted in Writer's Digest - Here is an example of how NOT to promote your book!

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RandomHookup
July 20, 2009 1:37 PM
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@Raymond B. Hamilton: You might want to get a Consumerist acccount to do your self-promotion, rather than a Facebook account with your own name on it. I like to use of first person to make us think you aren't Raymond B. Hamilton.

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thomwithanh
April 7, 2011 5:36 PM
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I accidentally left my bag in the Albany, NY station, and didn't realize it until after I had boarded my train to Buffalo. Not only did Amtrak staff go out of their way to locate the bag for me, they shipped it to me free of charge.

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