Amtrak's Service Glitch

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

Tickets Issues!

I took the train for the first time last week from Sacramento to Salt Lake and back. I purchased my tickets online and when I arrived at Sac I was given my tickets (for my self and two children) for the ride from Sac to Salt Lake and told that my return tickets would be issued at Salt Lake. Guess what, they weren't. I was told at Salt Lake, at midinight, with two young children that the computer showed that my tickets had been issued. I insisted that they hadn't but I had no recourse and the Amtrak station manger in Salt Lake, Don, told me very rudely that he would not issue me a "fake" ticket. I was appaulled! I had paid for a ticket they were refusing to give me! I asked if Amtrak was going to leave and mother with two children ages 19 months and 5 years stranded in a town where I had no friends or family (I was there for a symposium) and was told "Yes!" I couldn't believe it! I had to buy additional tickets!

Ayla Serenemoon of CA @ Aug 15, 2008 00:08:21 AM

Highs and Lows

My family and I recently took the Cardinal to Washington DC, because we thought it would give the kids a unique way to see American and we felt we would save more money, versus flying. The train was scheduled to leave Cincinnati at 3:30am. We arrived at 2:15am, as we were instructed. At that time, we were told it was delayed for one hour. Then it was two hours. Then it was three hours. I suppose I just didn't realize that this is such a common occurence. I'm used to delays on planes but I don't traditionally plan to get on planes in the middle of the night that often, either. Once we passed through West Virginia into Virginia, the bathroom was gross. If we didn't have another seven hours of traveling, we would have attempted to avoid it, but with young children you can't wait seven hours. The attendants in the dining cart were rude beyond rude. I've never been treated in the manner that I was treated by someone in customer service. However, my six year old was yelled at because she dared to enter the 'fine dining cart' while we were waiting in line for nachos. We saved close to $2k taking the train but I would need to be more desperate to consider this in the future. Maybe a shorter trip and if I bring my own bathroom cleaning supplies. My kids did have a great time seeing America pass us by and the views could often be splended. Many of the porters were helpful and friendly. We were more prepared for the return trip and took blankets, as there is only A/C on or A/C off. Beware, at least in the summer...the A/C is always on.

Emily of OH @ Jul 11, 2008 15:58:39 PM

I rode the Carolinian first time ever on a train. Train was almost 2 hours late going and the same coming back. So much for my scheduled business appt. Paid for business class, only to find out that train was oversold and had to sit in cafe car the whole trip. Good Luck getting anyone in customer service unless you dont have a job and can sit on phone all day. On top of this bathroom was nasty. It stunk to the high heaven because someone decided to urinate all over the floor and it ran all over the floor. Hum let me see....good time for amtrak service to take mop in and maybe clean it up. You Think! But Oh No!!!! it stayed that way for the duration. You couldnt stand the smell to even go into the lavatory. Needless to say.I thought this might be a good way for me to start traveling but it was my last experience with Amtrak.

of NC @ Jul 01, 2008 06:40:32 AM

My positive amtrak experience

As a perpetual student in NY who lives in NH, I frequent the northeast corridor a lot. One time my regional, regular northeast corridor train was cancelled, I went to the customer service desk and asked what I could do, as I really could not be arriving into Boston when the next scheduled regional train was going to arrive. Amtrak comped everyone who held tickets at stations also served by Acela and allowed us to take the Acela without any additional charge, needless to say I was impressed.

Veronica of NY @ Mar 05, 2008 16:08:18 PM

Amtrak

Amtrak has become a rolling government entitlement program that congress refuses to kill. Even with their vaunted northeast corridor route, Amtrak carries less than one tenth of one percent of intercity travel in the US at a cost of over 1 billion dollars in tax payer money per year.

It is your local congress persons train set and woe to anyone who wants to change its operation or give private firms a chance to run it.

Its trains clog our private freight railroads and, with their low load factors, do nothing to reduce energy usage. Non-refundable tickets are the least of the problems Amtrak causes its users and the taxpaying citizen.

Ken L. Bird of MO @ Feb 28, 2008 08:28:26 AM

RE: Amtrak's lateness

There is no way that Amtrak can be as punctual as European trains.

Europe has designated, passenger rail lines. The United States doesn't. Amtrak owns a very small amount of their total track - essentially, the "northeast corridor". I use Amtrak frequently on this route and I rarely experience any significant delay. The problem isn't Amtrak, it's the commercial railroads (CSX, Conrail, etc.). These railroads are required to give Amtrak right of way on their tracks (based on the government bailout in the 1970's), but due to inefficiency, poor planning, and (in my opinion) a contempt for passenger rail service, Amtrak gets second bidding every time. The real solution is dedicated passenger rail infrastructure, but that's way to expensive for a Federal government that refuses to fund rail travel.

As far as the lost ticket, yeah, it sucks. It sucks to be robbed, period. Let's remember who is really to blame here: the person who stole the ticket at gunpoint. Additionally, the customer service worker should be axed. Your job is customer service, aside from an extreme case of a person yelling at you, you should be helpful - its your job. In 15 seconds, I went to Amtrak's website and found that you can request a reimbursement for a lost or stolen ticket.

BT Lowery of DC @ Feb 26, 2008 00:17:39 AM