First time !

[jimmyc]

Took the train for the first time and it was an awful expierence.We had reservations for 9:30 am Wednesday morning, Nov. 27th and was suppose to get to Penn station at 3:20pm. We left Syracuse finally at 12:10pm and arrived about 7:00pm.The train was very crowded and the restrooms were very nasty and that is being kind, in saying that. Coming back was no picnic either. Trains was worst, Packed in like sardines and the seating was smaller than when we went to NYC. Rest rooms were a little cleaner though.. Some body said, taking the train, when it is not a Holiday, is a more pleasant thing. After this expierence, I don't know if I am willing to take the chance. James Cencebaugh at [email protected]

 

[WoodenMike]

Every day I thank the Good Lord I'm out west.

Thanks for the informative post, Jim. You echo the feelings of many who don't always have the best experience on Amtrak.

I think we need to give David Gunn at least a full year as President before real changes take effect.

In the meantime, I suggest you contact your elected representitives and telll them to give Amtrak the funding it needs to improve, and quit spending the money turning the United States of America into a Police State.

:angry:

 

[Amfleet]

The Northeast is known to be horrible, but trains going out of Boston always seem clean and in good working order thanks to the excellent crews in South Hampton Street.

 

[gswager]

Sounds like you're in the wrong time. It is a heavy Thanksgiving rush. That is why everything on the NE corridors are packed.

Most of the time, the schedule are not on time due to freight trains. Amtrak doesn't own the tracks except where Acela served. It is on mercy to freight railroad companies.

Best way to enjoy the ride is avoid the holidays rush and weekends during the summer on long distance trains.

Hopefully, you'll try a second chance.

 

[Amtrak Watcher]

Though I've had the good fortune to not regularly suffer the indignities endured by the new rider, even at holiday times, I have to sympathize. I've had a few myself. It seems that every time I'm on an Amtrak train suffering some kind of delay or maintenance problem, at least one of my fellow passengers who is new to the Amtrak experience and is beyond angry. What is astounding to me is that so many of my fellow travelers are, in fact, new to Amtrak. But even more astounding is the number of those (only a minority) who come back after suffering over-flowing toilets and 10-hour delays. To me, it's amazing that Amtrak functions at all, and has the large number of riders it does. Hence my screen name that illustrates my penchant for watching an amazing phenomenon. For as long as the present, ridiculous funding situation continues, the resulting equipment shortages and malfunctions prevail, and the ill-managed resource sharing with the freight railways is allowed to continue; we will hear about these kinds of unfortunate episodes. Even the small portion of those who return after an awful experience, coupled with my own tolerance for some of the nonsense that sometimes goes on, is a testament to the value some of us hold for a civilized alternative to the insulting rate race in the air and the danger and stress of the highways. It seems that this forum is only an example of the value some have in the train alternative. It's up to us to keep the pressure on. The new traveler's experience demonstrates the need to fund, manage, staff, and operate the U.S. passenger rail service realistically. The fact that so much of the world's passenger rail service is so much better than what we have in the U.S. merely confirms that Amtrak could be light years ahead of where it is today.

 

[WoodenMike]

Rule #1 (for #2);

ALWAYS grab a few toilet seat liners if they are available and carry them with you whenever you travel on Amtrak.

 

[Bill Haithcoat]

Jimmyc---I am have many train miles under my belt...trust me...usually--I say USUALLY--it is a lot better than that. As some have already said, the holidays make it worse. Consider this; It may have been just as bad at Greyhound or at the airport...and consider the crowded highways. Thanksgivng is the number one travel time of the year for all modes--it must surely the be the absolute worst time to travel as well, for all the modes.

As to the restrooms---I will not lie to you and tell you that they are always clean....and of course I ws not there and did not see what you saw....but it just may be possible the staff was too short handed, or too busy, with all the crowds to keep them up as they should be. Perhaps....the passengers kept messing the restrooms up, after they had been cleaned. But I will also admit that some employees are too sorry, too lazy, etc to do the job....as I say...I did not see what you saw....but I offer that as a possible explanation..

 

[tubaallen]

So, I'm assuming you were on a corridor train, right? I am very dissappointed to hear about your rotten experience. I know that sometimes the long distance trains are a bit better, because there are attendants to take care of the bathrooms. I do hope as the rest of us do, that you will give the train another shot sometime.

 

[scott]

Hi Jimmy,

I'm kind of new to Amtrak, having last summer completed several legs around the country. I had a few skirmishes with surly attendants and we were a bit late on a couple trains, but overall, I loved it. I think you just had some bad luck; give it another try.

I fly overseas a lot, and last summer, flying from the Middle East to Omaha was NO treat! Airports are crowded, crazy with a high level of incompetence and rudeness thrown in. Once I'm in the States (or Europe), it's trains for me!

Scott

 

[Amtrak Watcher]

I was on a very long flight (16 hours) from Australia to Frankfurt this past June. It was a crowded 747. Five hours out all but one of the toilets failed. I don't think Amtrak could have come close to the misery of the remaining 11 hours even if they tried.

Toilets (Amtrak and others) are my hot button. I'm an older person who has noticed a steady increase in the "filth and gross-out level" in public toilets generally. It seems that people don't know how to use them any more: they are not magical devices, and will generally not be able to handle news papers, toys, plastic bags, batteries, and bottles. It's is if people think they are natural formations into which you hurl things, push the button, and stuff simply disappears. Magic. I wonder if it's the fault of the self-flushing toilet; do people how to flush a toilet? Some people have lost their manners. It was the custom, until recently, to clean up after ones-self after using the facilities. I know that the toilet on Amtrak is cleaner after I use it than when I stated. I lump the dirty toilet phenomenon in with the low maintenance cars, and cash registers. Modern cars can go for 100,000 miles without maintenance. Fewer and fewer people know how to deal with a broken car; they drive them until the wheels fall off, and then throw them away. Have you ever gone to a fast food restaurant when the cash register (a simple computer) is down? The folks behind the counter have no idea how to make change by themselves. Modern things are making people helpless.

 

[AlanB]

Have you ever gone to a fast food restaurant when the cash register (a simple computer) is down? The folks behind the counter have no idea how to make change by themselves. Modern things are making people helpless.

Amtrak Watcher,

You are partially correct, that modern things are certainly making people helpless. They also are encouraging people to take things for granted. People just seem to expect that someone is going to run into the bathroom after every person, and clean it top to bottom.

However in the case of your particular example, the cash register, it's not just that they don't know how to make change. Yes, I'm sure that there are many who don't know how to do that. But part of the problem is also the fact that we just become dependant on the register. I speak from experience as over 20 years ago I worked for JC Penny.

While I do know how to count backwards, I was just so stunned for a moment that the answer on the screen was wrong, that it took me a minute to get my brain into gear. Once I got over the initial shock, I was able to easily make change. It just takes a minute to get your brain in gear, when the answer is wrong. You’re expecting to get the right answer and when you the wrong one, you start by wondering “how come it’s wrong”? "What happened"? Then you realize, hey I’ve still got the customer standing there waiting for their change.

 

[WoodenMike]

Have you ever gone to a fast food restaurant when the cash register (a simple computer) is down? The folks behind the counter have no idea how to make change by themselves. Modern things are making people helpless.

AMEN.

We're living in an ELECTRONIC POLICE STATE. A subtrafuge of Orwell's 1984.

Don't you just love America?

Don't you just hate the government?

 

[seajay]

Don't you just hate the government?

And what, WoodenMike with rifle in hand, do you propose that we have as an alternative?

Just curious.

seajay

 

[WoodenMike]

I propose we install, through legal elections, honest politicians in office instead of the lying scum that's in our government now, seajay.

"The price of liberty, is eternal vigilence" Thomas Jefferson

Please don't get me wrong, I fully support the United States Constitution.

I do not support war on Iraq. It's about money, power, and oil, not about freedom.

I do not support the Department of Homeland Security. It's an American *****, and a disgrace to all men and women who served to keep America a free nation.

"They that can give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." - Ben Franklin, 1755, to the Pennsylvania State Legislature

"We, the people, are the rightful masters of both congress and the courts - not to overthrow the constitution, but to overthrow men who pervert the constitution." - Abe Lincoln

We should be spending more on DOMESTIC items, such as Amtrak, and less on FOREIGN AID on such things as the Zionist occupation, and using our military to enforce foreign policy.

Since Amtrak is FUNDED (quite poorly, might I add) by the government, it is a political issue.

I hope that answers your question!

Mike

 

[seajay]

Yes, that answers my question.

Like I said, I was just curious.

seajay

 

[gyuri_ft]

WoodenMike,

1) Don't worry - the current level of utter incompetence and stupidity in the federal and local goverment on all levels does ensure, we won't have a funcioning "Police State" in the next 200 or so years. Monica Lewinsky is a good example of what was done wrongly from begin until end on all levels of govermnet and the public life. The rest of the world laugh on this - and THEY (i.e. all branches of the goverment) didn't get it. As long as they don't get it - don't worry. :-(

2) Regarding the "Zionist Occupation" - for some people it is not a "Zionist Occupation" but the very much the fight for the freedom they crave for in the last 2000 or so years. BTW: To them the "freedom" is much easier to define than to lucky us. It simply means that they do not want to be gased in the gas chambers anymore. That's so simple. The freedom to be just alive: eat, sleep and love.

3) Unfortunately the foreign policy became pretty much a domestic issue after 9-11. It should be mentioned, America does aid the ones who oppose the "Zionist Occupants" - and significantly. I am not in the position to judge does one or the other make sense and I do not ahve any exact number. However, since you mention the "Zionist Occupation", it is just fair to mention this fact as well.

Therefore your enemy is not the "Zionist Occupation" or a "police state" (i.e. Department of Homeland Security and other organizations) - but the poor management, inflated bureaucracy and brainless execution of stupid decisions. The fact is, too many people want to do the work with the goverment - and there is simply no need for their inflated and useless service. (I.e. do we really need so many car attendants on that train?)

------------------------------------------------------------

As long as you don't get your automatically issued "Platzkarte" with the ticket and as long as if you see the on-time Coast Starnight only if it is 24 hours late - don't worry. The "Police State" is not functioning.

------------------------------------------------------------

Last but not least. Having war-like conditions in the country, the "Zionist Occupants" railway is surprisingly functional:

http://mercurio.iet.unipi.it/pix/ne/Israel...JT42BW/Isr4.jpg

 

[scott]

Well, of course we've gotten away from the topic, but I've got to add--being an American having lived in the Middle East for six years--that Israeli's are NOT simply fighting for freedom, but have gone on to deny any basic rights to the indigenous population. You mention 2000 years? of what? Any Jew living in America has the same rights as others. There is not right of inheritance in the Middle East. On the other hand, they have a right to be there (Simply because they pioneered a part of it) and i support Israel. I lived there an have friends there. Nice place. BUT many Israeli young people are fed up with THEIR government's failure to keep international accords and to give the Palestinians their state.

just to make this "train" connected--I too abhor how many Amtrak employees simply cannot be responsible, agreeable people. How hard is it to clean up the damned toilet??

Scott