Alpha Consumer

Amtrak's Service Glitch

By Kimberly Palmer

Posted: February 22, 2008

Last weekend, my friend Karen was robbed at gunpoint while traveling in New Haven, Conn. Her wallet, which included her Amtrak ticket home, was stolen, along with her credit cards and identification. When she called Amtrak to replace her ticket (she had her reservation number), she was told that it was impossible and that she would have to purchase a new ticket. When she explained that she had no cash or credit cards because her wallet had been stolen, the customer service representative rudely told her to call her parents and have them buy her a new one.

Karen's experience made me wonder: Why doesn't Amtrak offer the same kind of E-tickets as airlines? At the very least, why couldn't it cancel the old ticket and issue her a new one?

I called Karina Romero, Amtrak spokeswoman, to find out. She says Amtrak is simply unable to replace lost tickets. "Our tickets are like money," she says. "We can't reprint them like airlines can." When I told her about the "call your parents" comment, she acknowledged that it was inappropriate and said that Karen must have caught the customer service representative on a bad day.

Bad day or not, this level of customer service seems a bit lacking to me. Readers, have you had better (or worse) experiences with Amtrak?

Wallet stolen on Amtak

My primary concern with Amtrak is safety. Last weekend my wallet was taken from my purse while the train was boarding passengers in Penn Station NYC. I had just boarded the train and had settled in my seat. I put my purse on the floor next to my foot, between me and the window. A man sat down in the seat in front of me, reached under the seat and pulled my purse under the seat. He removed the wallet and quickly jumped off the train. I felt the purse move and looked to retreive it, but it all happened in a flash. The conductor called the police and they arrived quickly, but basically I had to get off the train to file the police report. There were witnesses who saw the man get down on his knees and reach under the seat. However, in order to keep the train running on time, the police didn't even take the time to talk to them. People should not be able to get on and off the train while at the station. There should also be security on the tracks, especially in an underground station.

Sharon of MD @ Apr 11, 2009 17:39:43 PM

How would you have e-tickets on a railway?

E-tickets only seem to work if you have completely inflexible tickets. This is not really adequate since people often miss trains or don't know which train they'll need (they might miss a connection, or not know how long a meeting or hike or whatever will last). Mobile phone coverage is patchy to say the least, so cancelling e-tickets when presented is no solution either (especially since they will of course be valid for onward connections, and perhaps even for later trains on the same route depending on the rules for "breaking and resuming"; even if it can be cancelled, there's no guarantee that other ticket checkers will be able to see this). So we sadly have to stick to paper tickets, and replacing them has to be either cumbersome or impossible as anything less is an invitation to fraud. I do know (from bitter experience) that this is distressing (losing an irreplaceable £40 or £100 piece of paper or cardboard is annoying, especially if you have to pay again), but I don't see any other way of preserving a "walk-up railway" that is easy for casual travellers to use. (The issue of commuters with season tickets of various sorts is different.)

It's not reasonable either for a railway to insist on ID to travel; what happens if you forget it? They can't really stop you from boarding (not without causing huge queues at the entrance to the platform) and any nefarious deed that could be done by someone can be done in the time it takes the conductor to come round (not to mention the time it takes to get to the next station).

I'm impressed that you do at least HAVE late night trains. There are far too few of them in Britain, and far too many routes where trains start VERY late (sometimes after 1100) on Sunday mornings!

@ Nov 24, 2008 08:29:50 AM

No Food

Due to a derailment of a freight train we were left in Libby Montana for six hours then bused another six hours to board an in-coming train. During this time we were given a bottle of water and a smushed sandwhich. No bathroom break. There were old and disabled people in this group who suffered more. Finally, after 13 hours we were on our way again only to find there was limited food on board, very limited. The derailment was not Amtrack's fault and crew did there best, but if it was a crucial emergency we would have been in dire straights. If you pay for a full-meal ride and do not receive the services paid for in advance is a refund due?

Yvonne of @ Aug 18, 2008 11:40:11 AM

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Alpha Consumer

Alpha Consumer

Kimberly Palmer, senior editor for U.S. News & World Report, writes about how to save money, avoid scams, manage debt, and be a savvy shopper. Send your personal finance questions to her for expert money advice.


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