Unfortunately, the first half of your statement seems to be correct. However, the second half sounds like something from the mainstream media. In statistics, by definition a "statistical outlier" is perfectly abnormal.
The relevant question is what failure rate is acceptable. Seems there was a thread last summer discussing a change in locomotive maintenance policy; and someone said that only time and statistics would tell whether it was for better or worse.
For what it's worth, I rode the EB last July and we encountered a broken locomotive, lounge left in Portland, dining car with refrigeration problems, and no AC in the bedroom half of the Portland sleeper, all on one train.
Unfortunate or not, it's a fact of life. Bemoaning it is must like bemoaning the sun rising in the east - you can do it if it makes you feel better, but it isn't going to matter a whit in the grand scheme of things. I'm not really sure what the mainstream media has to do with this, but yes, by definition statistical outliers are by definition "not normal", but the fact that they occur certainly is a perfectly normal thing. Not expecting there to be statistical outliers would be foolish.
As for failure rate, until someone is actually able to produce data to back up their claims, wild assertions that "amtrak is not a professional operation" and "has to point to inadequate maintenance" are off the mark (and no, the single anecdotal data points in this thread are not "data").
Frankly I hardly would know where to begin. One thing is clear.. There are those who support poor shoddy quality service at extreme prices and there are a few here I see that feel its totally unexceptable.
I stated that I would probably never see major improvements, I hope I am wrong. Money has played a part in this situation without a doubt. But to close ones eyes and settle for what ever rattling, beat up, short, uncomfortable, cold, hot, or broken toilet consist that is provided while asking thousands of dollars for the experience is obviously not what one paid for.
As some said, in an ideal world, which this is not, we would not be in a position to have no cars available for emergencies. When your accepting peoples money for transportation your contracting to get them where they expect to be farseeing any totally out of control situation. Thus the idea that absolutely no cars should exist as "backups" in case of situations such as we are experiencing shows a total disregard of reality. You can't justify running a system on a shoestring and have any no way to maintain service as "sold" when things get a bit out of sink. What if a train has a major accident, are we to just have a total mess until new cars can be produced.. No, you should have at least one set, I would think more, for emergencies so that things will run as expected. Not though up your hands as is happening now and leaving passengers who after all, are the reason your running a train, left to fend for themselves. That is proof enough to me that things are not professional. But I will go on sense evidently you have been able to totally overlook the realities of todays rail system.
From two chicago to west coast trips and one to the east coast, and a number of local runs over the past year, I will state some of the things that I have personally experienced that should someone really be in charge would not be as they are;
Toilets that didn't work in the Mountains in either direction of both the Zephyr or the Chief. There is no question that poor management decisions have prevailed as that situation has existed for many years and continues to this day.. If I were in charge it would have ended after the first experience that showed they did not work.. What the heck is more basic than toilets that flush? How can you justify ignoring that while charging the rates Amtrak does?
The Empire Builder had a broken dishwasher from Chicago and no way to repair or replace the car in the reverse trip. Thus the nice china place settings as advertised were plastic plates.
As the toilets situation, the heating in nearly any car can extreme from freezing in summer or winter, to over heating on one end or the other.. Again, there is no real fix too it, just keep running them and excepting the fares, who cares if people are totally uncomfortable for days on end.
A basic and yet continuing problem is food running out on trips while leaving the commissary end of the trip. And worse, no way to replenish at the turnaround point in many cases. Does no one know how much food is used on a train after 30 years?
Dirt, well that is obvious. Who ever is in charge of seeing that things are truly cleaned properly can't see in the corners any better than the people hired to clean.
Torn and damaged seats in Business class cars. Nearly every seat on the Chicago run to Centraila last trip was coming apart at the seams, that could only happen over a long period of neglect.
Sleepers that rattle.. Well that is an unending story.. No one has evidently attempted to stop the doors from banging while stuffed cardboard, duct tape and cheap replacement latches are in evidence on nearly every trip.. Who is in charge here!
On the Lakeshore, the center table is removed and cartons and plastic boxes are stacked in its place. Not what I would consider appealing surroundings for dinner, and again should never have been started or allowed.
Water pouring in the vestibule of the lounge car on the Lakeshore.. I would bet its still doing it..
Lake Shore roomettes, none of the curtains matched up with velcro and closing the window for privacy or using the toilet was very difficult. Its not rocket science to have them made the same so that they work.. Only people that are unconcerned with the paying public's experience could tolerate that. How many years have they run them that way with on one doing anything?
Lake Shore, reading lights fell out when you tired to get them to work and neither did.
Acela seats after just a few years are poor quality and uncomfortable.. Poor planing.. Same with the CCC cars seats. After being stuck for two hours in the Capitol Limited Diner while the crew was totally lost, the seats were nearly unbearable and they are brand new.
Lake Shore.. They call that a Lounge? Only the most apologetic amtrak fan could say that is a lounge in the true sense.
Crews that treat you as cattle.. As per the Steward on the CZ and the attendant at the Acela Lounge who gave us no chance to say we were traveling by sleeper out of new york before tossing us summarily out of the lounge and telling us to wait in line outside the door of another loading area. Again they had seats available in that waiting area, but we were told you couldn't enter it till the train was boarding.. So much for spending half an hour standing with your luggage and your 85 year old mother.
Well the list is long enough, but it wouldn't be hard to increase it and I am sure others could easily do so. Here again were talking a Transportation Company who is charging premier prices in many cases. Maybe I grew up in the wrong era, but I would bet the Santa Fe wouldn't have allowed one of the above things to exist longer than the next turnaround point.
Don't get me wrong, I love rail travel.. Thats the problem. I can't cover for the poor quality or service one often received. I want people to have a great trip without wondering why they ever considered taking the train.. And more than a few come away with the "I will never take the train again" attitude due to issues such as above. We forget that the paying passenger is the reason for the whole thing. Making their experience one that pleasant and timely is a must. It often doesn't seem that people at Amtrak have much more than maintaining there jobs in mind.
I could also write about all the great people I have had as attendants and waiters and some very pleasant meals.. But you always remember the problem trips more. Probably because of the great disappointment of things that could be so easily fixed by aren't..
Sorry for the long post.
