Craziest Drama on Amtrak you've seen?

[BCL]

Never really saw anything that dramatic. But if you ride long enough there's always going to be a suicide or at least someone getting run over on the tracks.

I mentioned it before, but I did see a woman with a child, a stroller, and a lot of stuff looking to board a Capitol Corridor train in Fremont, CA. She was yelling and screaming for some help, even though it was pretty obvious that she could do it all herself. Eventually she just shoved everything into the door and the conductor from the next car called in to close the doors.

 

[Rambling Robert]

Yes dogs, Doggos the same.

But I usually address a dog as “pup” - it might make them feel younger.

 

[Exiled in Express]

California Zephyr, SAC to RNO. An elderly woman traveling solo boards with me at SAC, I notice that she has provisioned herself with a bottle of cheap vodka and is taking hits from it in the station and I end up a few rows from her in coach. She continues imbibing throughout, good for her. I get back to scenery and my book and I hear another passenger loud with concern, the woman started undressing. The conductor comes by and politely tells the woman she needs to get dressed if she wants to remain on the train. She complies for about 10 minutes and strips again. The train is now stopped on the mountain for traffic and the conductors are less gentle in this reminder. She then asks to get out for fresh air which is strongly denied. To my surprise that is the end of it, RNO is her stop as well as mine and she is offboarded with only a heads up to the station agent, no law enforcement.

 

[me_little_me]

I believe this is one of those cases where a little bit of customer service training could go a long way but we choose to focus on bureaucracy instead. Nobody expects Amtrak staff to get a toolbox and start repairing the vending machine but maybe they can express a bit of no-cost compassion and offer to make a call when they're done with their other tasks. If they cannot handle basic expectations like this then maybe they should avoid front line service work.

I agree except it shouldn't take training (except by parents to a child) to be nice because if a child can't be trained, it is too late as an adult for them to be nice without that training and it probably wouldn't last. Common courtesy is so "un" to some.

 

[jis]

I agree except it shouldn't take training (except by parents to a child) to be nice because if a child can't be trained, it is too late as an adult for them to be nice without that training and it probably wouldn't last. Common courtesy is so "un" to some.

Part of the problem is that a lot of negative training is imparted by highly paid consultants in the corporate world on how to give primacy to the almighty dollar and related accouterments at the cost of the very humanity that society depends on to survive.

 

[user 6862]

I know this thread has Amtrak in the title, but does the Hula Hoop lady on the Trans Siberian Eaxpress sort of count?

Alert! have written about this in a travelogue so some will recognise this story.

Although no drama a quite awkward moment on Amtrak came on the Sunset Ltd heading east. Eating lunch on the first day out with a stranger siting across the table, he was very affable and after about 20 minutes it felt like there was something 'different' about him although not sure what that could be.
No idea why it happened but I suddenly blurted out, "Are you famous or something?" He smiled and said he had made a few movies with a little success and currently he was on his way to Atlanta to record a tv series.

Me "I'm really sorry but I don't know who you are, don't watch much film or tv, who are you?" At this point it gets worse. He says he's Mathew Modine, I shake my head and apologise again to say I have never heard of him (I'm not known to be diplomatic).

He says "I'm currently in the most watched Netflix/tv series ever, 'Stranger Things'." Oh dear, I had barely heard of Netflix and have never seen anything from them.

He saw my embarassment and laughed, he said it was refreshing to spend some time with someone who didn't recognise him.

At this point Rosie arrived, she had skipped lunch to sleep. The SCA had woken her to tell her her husband was lunching with a movie star, perhaps she would like to join us.
It all got smoothed out, we all laughed about it and Mr Modine, Rosie and I plus two ladies we had eaten breakfast with ate every meal together from then on 'til New Orleans, we sat in 'Politics Corner'.
The two ladies were really interesting characters too, perhaps even rivals to the genuine and pleasant Mr M, that was a wonderful train ride.

 

[The Commissioner]

#1 When I was preschool/Kindergarten age my father was a Trainmaster for the Pennsylvania Railroad in Indiana. One day he got a call from work and said he had to go to the station. He asked me if I wanted to go with him and I jumped at the chance. When we were in the car heading to the station he said he had to meet a passenger train coming in from St. Louis. Apparently one of the passengers died enroute and had to be removed from the train. Upon hearing the reason we were going to meet the train, I about panicked. The thought of being around a dead person scared the crap out of me. Much to my relief, when the train rolled in, Dad said the corpse had been taken off at a station in Illinois.

#2 Once I was waiting for a Septa train out to the Philadelphia Main Line at the upper platform in 30th Street Station. A commuter train rolled in and right before it stopped there was a tremendous lightning strike in Penn Coach Yard and subsequent huge crack of thunder. When the train stopped and the door opened, a young man got off and he was bleeding like a stuck pig from his hand. Somehow, he'd badly injured his hand and it wasn't bandaged. Certainly the lightning strike and the bloody hand were unrelated but it was quite the coincidence. I don't think the train crew paid any attention to him. Back then it would have been either a Penn Central or Conrail crew.

 

[AmtrakBlue]

#1 When I was preschool/Kindergarten age my father was a Trainmaster for the Pennsylvania Railroad in Indiana. One day he got a call from work and said he had to go to the station. He asked me if I wanted to go with him and I jumped at the chance. When we were in the car heading to the station he said he had to meet a passenger train coming in from St. Louis. Apparently one of the passengers died enroute and had to be removed from the train. Upon hearing the reason we were going to meet the train, I about panicked. The thought of being around a dead person scared the crap out of me. Much to my relief, when the train rolled in, Dad said the corpse had been taken off at a station in Illinois.

#2 Once I was waiting for a Septa train out to the Philadelphia Main Line at the upper platform in 30th Street Station. A commuter train rolled in and right before it stopped there was a tremendous lightning strike in Penn Coach Yard and subsequent huge crack of thunder. When the train stopped and the door opened, a young man got off and he was bleeding like a stuck pig from his hand. Somehow, he'd badly injured his hand and it wasn't bandaged. Certainly the lightning strike and the bloody hand were unrelated but it was quite the coincidence. I don't think the train crew paid any attention to him. Back then it would have been either a Penn Central or Conrail crew.

Maybe he hurt his hand while reacting to the lightning/thunder???

 

[Seaboard92]

This is common where services are contracted out.

The old " It's not my job!"

Unfortunately it comes into play whenever situations like this arise.

I've never understood this mentality to be honest. Like in the Charlotte Airport I'm not being paid when I'm walking around in there and yet I still find the time to help people when they need it. It isn't my job to provide help getting rebooked after they missed a connection due to the sprawling nature of our airport and some analyst saying you can make an A11 to E38D connection in under thirty minutes (news flash you can't). Or helping them find a restaurant in the airport that is open and serving (God Help you after 6 PM).

I'm also of the same mind if it wouldn't create such a large union stink (Yes I'm pro union believe it or not) I would push the wheelchair for passengers with a tight connection when the wheelchair contractor doesn't feel like coming timely. The amount of connections that are missed because of the lackadaisical care our contractors put towards their jobs annoys me.

It isn't my job to provide any of this help, but it is my job to care about our customer. And I care for them before, and after their first and last flight.

 

[MARC Rider]

In my view telling customers to essentially "call someone who cares" is poor service. Calling a third party vendor as a passenger won't actually solve anything before it's time to depart anyway. In fact that call is unlikely to reach anyone when the station is only open in the middle of the night. I tried calling when the orange juice I purchased smelled putrid but never reached anyone. I know this station pretty well and even if you walk in as the first customer of the day the restroom may have a disgusting present from the previous day in a stall that never gets cleaned. Or maybe it gets cleaned when the clerks tell customers where the supplies are and wait for them to do it. I don't expect the staff behind the counter to fix the vending machine but a simple statement of commiseration and posting a warning note until the staff can get the vending company out seems perfectly reasonable to me.

In this particular situation, what can you reasonably expect from the "person behind the counter?" It's the middle of the night. The vending machines are broken. Even if someone called, it wouldn't be fixed in time to solve the problem. This is exacerbated by the fact that the whole train is deboarding and pouring into an Amshack that, to be honest, is not designed for crowds that size. Yeah, it's the fault of Amtrak management that the vending machines aren't working, but given that it happened, there's not much that can be done at 2 AM, and it's silly to start piling blame on some poor grunt behind the counter who is all of a sudden faced with an unexpected crowd demanding stuff he can't deliver.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

In this particular situation, what can you reasonably expect from the "person behind the counter?" It's the middle of the night. The vending machines are broken. Even if someone called, it wouldn't be fixed in time to solve the problem. This is exacerbated by the fact that the whole train is deboarding and pouring into an Amshack that, to be honest, is not designed for crowds that size.

To the passengers it's the middle of the night but to the station staff it's the middle of a routine workday. The amount of time it takes to tell a customer to call someone who cares is the same as it takes to say you understand their frustration and will let the vendor know when you get free. When I call about a problem with the vending machines at work the vendor asks questions workers can answer but guests would struggle with. Why make this the customer's problem?

Yeah, it's the fault of Amtrak management that the vending machines aren't working, but given that it happened, there's not much that can be done at 2 AM, and it's silly to start piling blame on some poor grunt behind the counter who is all of a sudden faced with an unexpected crowd demanding stuff he can't deliver.

What is being demanded that cannot be delivered? Did you even read my post before responding? Amtrak staff enjoy pay and benefits well beyond most Americans and these "poor grunts" represent the top 1% of front line service staff so can you stop apologizing for their lack of basic customer service skills?

 

[jis]

What is being demanded that cannot be delivered? Did you even read my post before responding? Amtrak staff enjoy pay and benefits well beyond most Americans and these "poor grunts" represent the top 1% of front line service staff so can you stop apologizing for their lack of basic customer service skills?

Indeed! I would point out that even an agent at baggage drop counter of the much maligned United took in the information about a similar thing and said she will call it in in the middle of a typical Orlando Disney driven random rush hour. I don't see what makes Amtrak agents so different.

It is indeed true that at 2am it won't get fixed until next morning, but at least the customer would get the feeling that they are being listened to and someone is doing something about it. Indeed, the agent could even give a friendly one sentence rundown of what will happen after it is called in, and at least I the customer would appreciate that even though I may not be the recipient of the ultimate fix.

 

[Bob Dylan]

We've been talking about Amtrak Employee " Attitude" for years, cases in point, the Infamous Dragons in Chicago,the Invisible Sleeping Car attendants, and some of the rude and yelling OBS and Conductors aboard Trains.

The consensus seems to be that the main causes of this poor Customer Service is a Lack of Management Oversight, and a Company Culture that stresses " if you want to get along go along" no matter what an Amtrak employee does to the Customer!

 

[Rambling Robert]

That’s good imagery but the Amshack was really not that full of people - it was even hotter inside and as humid. Forget I mentioned the counter guy. Instead of the comfort of the train - for a four hour layover we stood outside in the heat of the night. Nothing to drink until three hours later I finessed (begged) a cold sprite.

I’m fairly certain that there were several cases of water or something (bud light - haha) that could have been offered by the train.

But all and all I was impressed how Amtrak handled, in a timely way, the situation of a passenger dying on board and how the body was transferred discreetly to the coroner’s car out of site at the far end of the train.

The fellowship between two Coach passengers - formerly strangers - the very nice woman to accompany the deceased, including to ride in the back of the coroner’s car - was a very special fellowship.

 

[jis]

Not all Amtrak station agents are bad, and some are actually very good....

One time when we got stuck in Jacksonville on the Star because some clueless busybody decided to call 911 claiming the train was being hijacked, and that caused the famous VIPER squad to descend upon the train and sit around with thumbs up their you know what's for five hours before releasing the train, the station agent managed to get in touch with the Fire Department who arranged to get soft drinks and Dunkin' Donuts for all in the middle of the night, apparently funded by Amtrak. I suppose considering the situation, a good time was had by everyone under the stars at JAX, since the station building is nowhere big enough to hold the full complement of a Silver Star inside. Finally we left early in the morning, none the worse for a bit of no sleep all night. I just crawled into my bed and slept until lunch time.

 

[Cal]

One time when we got stuck in Jacksonville on the Star because some clueless busybody decided to call 911 claiming the train was being hijacked

 

[Amtrak709]

I am not sure if this classifies as "drama" but it WAS drama to me. This was on #27 CHI-PDX in April, 1997. I was travelling alone in a Superliner sleeper Bedroom E. While I went to the diner, the movable wall that allows Bedroom E to adjoin Bedroom D apparently became unlatched and opened about three quarters. I found the couple that was travelling in Bedroom D in various stages of dress and undress, about 10 lit candles, and some "paraphernalia" that I am not sure I have ever identified.
After they invited me in, I had no choice (I guess I DID have a choice) but to call the SCA since I could not get the door (wall) reclosed. He called the Conductor; I just left and went to the lounge car. As best I recall, the wall got fixed; the next-door couple was escorted off the train in Minot ND; and I continued on to Portland. You can believe in my subsequent travels in 375,000 miles of train travel in my life, I always check the adjoining walls in sleeping cars.

 

[pennyk]

I am not sure if this classifies as "drama" but it WAS drama to me. This was on #27 CHI-PDX in April, 1997. I was travelling alone in a Superliner sleeper Bedroom E. While I went to the diner, the movable wall that allows Bedroom E to adjoin Bedroom D apparently became unlatched and opened about three quarters. I found the couple that was travelling in Bedroom D in various stages of dress and undress, about 10 lit candles, and some "paraphernalia" that I am not sure I have ever identified.
After they invited me in, I had no choice (I guess I DID have a choice) but to call the SCA since I could not get the door (wall) reclosed. He called the Conductor; I just left and went to the lounge car. As best I recall, the wall got fixed; the next-door couple was escorted off the train in Minot ND; and I continued on to Portland. You can believe in my subsequent travels in 375,000 miles of train travel in my life, I always check the adjoining walls in sleeping cars.

Something similar has happened to me (adjoining door between E and D opening) but with no drama. Everyone was dressed when the train hit a switch and jolted, opening the door. I and the couple in D all looked at each other in shock and then laughed. The SCA immediately locked the door.

 

[jis]

Something similar has happened to me (adjoining door between E and D opening) but with no drama. Everyone was dressed when the train hit a switch and jolted, opening the door. I and the couple in D all looked at each other in shock and then laughed. The SCA immediately locked the door.

There is something to be said about Roomettes and solid walls

 

[The Commissioner]

One of the engineers operating the Robert F. Kennedy Funeral Train in 1968 told my father, a former Penn Central manager who was a key figure in mobilizing the funeral train, the following story:

Somewhere in New Jersey the engineer noticed a man along the tracks place what appeared to be coins on the head of the rail ahead of the lead GG1 locomotive. The train was moving slowly because of the trackside crowds. The man then backed up to a position inside the gauge of adjacent track, knelt down on the ties, and then rapidly bent over striking his forehead on the rail. He opened a big gash on his forehead and blood was pouring from the wound down his face. Quite the graphic sight! He stayed in his kneeling position, with his hands clasped at chest level as he was praying, and watched the train pass by, blood covered face and all.

You just never know what you are going to see along the railroad! Incidentally, I watched the funeral train pass by at the Linden, NJ station but didn't see any shenanigans from the crowd.

 

[MARC Rider]

To the passengers it's the middle of the night but to the station staff it's the middle of a routine workday. The amount of time it takes to tell a customer to call someone who cares is the same as it takes to say you understand their frustration and will let the vendor know when you get free.

That's true, but in the end, the customer is still not going to have his or her problem solved.

 

[Amtrak709]

One of the engineers operating the Robert F. Kennedy Funeral Train in 1968 told my father, a former Penn Central manager who was a key figure in mobilizing the funeral train, the following story:

Somewhere in New Jersey the engineer noticed a man along the tracks place what appeared to be coins on the head of the rail ahead of the lead GG1 locomotive. The train was moving slowly because of the trackside crowds. The man then backed up to a position inside the gauge of adjacent track, knelt down on the ties, and then rapidly bent over striking his forehead on the rail. He opened a big gash on his forehead and blood was pouring from the wound down his face. Quite the graphic sight! He stayed in his kneeling position, with his hands clasped at chest level as he was praying, and watched the train pass by, blood covered face and all.

You just never know what you are going to see along the railroad! Incidentally, I watched the funeral train pass by at the Linden, NJ station but didn't see any shenanigans from the crowd.

Thanks for reminding me of an interesting day in my life from many years ago. On the day of RFK Funeral Train, I happened to be a regular passenger on a northbound somewhere between WAS and NYP when the trains met. We pulled into a siding, stopped, and watched the RFK funeral train pass.

 

[drdumont]

I am not sure if this classifies as "drama" but it WAS drama to me. This was on #27 CHI-PDX in April, 1997. I was travelling alone in a Superliner sleeper Bedroom E. While I went to the diner, the movable wall that allows Bedroom E to adjoin Bedroom D apparently became unlatched and opened about three quarters. I found the couple that was travelling in Bedroom D in various stages of dress and undress, about 10 lit candles, and some "paraphernalia" that I am not sure I have ever identified.
After they invited me in, I had no choice (I guess I DID have a choice) but to call the SCA since I could not get the door (wall) reclosed. He called the Conductor; I just left and went to the lounge car. As best I recall, the wall got fixed; the next-door couple was escorted off the train in Minot ND; and I continued on to Portland. You can believe in my subsequent travels in 375,000 miles of train travel in my life, I always check the adjoining walls in sleeping cars.

I carry a small roll of Gaffer's tape and a couple of rubber doorstops. The dividing walls often rattle and sometimes there is a crack. I don't care to see what the neighbors are doing and don't wish them to see me. (I charge people to gaze upon my Adonislike magnificence).

CANDLES? in a SLEEPER? I'd of notified the SCA or Conductor instanter. It is a wonder they didn't set off the smoke alarms. (If they were working).

 

[Amtrak709]

I'm pretty sure they were real candles--small votive type candles. This was probably before electronic candles I suspect. I did not stay around too long after the SCA and Conductor came to reassess the scene.

 

[Seaboard92]

We've been talking about Amtrak Employee " Attitude" for years, cases in point, the Infamous Dragons in Chicago,the Invisible Sleeping Car attendants, and some of the rude and yelling OBS and Conductors aboard Trains.

The consensus seems to be that the main causes of this poor Customer Service is a Lack of Management Oversight, and a Company Culture that stresses " if you want to get along go along" no matter what an Amtrak employee does to the Customer!

I've been saying for a long time you need people who take pride in their jobs and their company. Part of it is a poor adversarial nature between Amtrak Management and the workers on the ground. Naturally that builds into distrust and into disgruntled attitudes. It is really a self defeating circle. I could discuss this a thousand times a week but it won't do any good unless someone at management calls me and asks how to fix their issues. Please someone at management call me I will happily show you examples around the world that work.