Missed Guaranteed Connection Question

[Amfleet]

Lets say I was arriving into New York’s Penn Station on train #92, the Silver Star, and it is supposed to arrive at 3:50pm. I'm connecting to train #94 leaving New York at 5:40pm to Boston. That means there is a total of 1 hour and 50 minutes connection time between the two trains, a guaranteed connection. Now lets say #92 is just over 2 hours late arriving in New York a 6:00pm. There's an Acela Express that departs at 7:00pm and a Regional train that departs at 7:30pm. I want to be in Boston the earliest possible. Will Amtrak put me on the Acela Express at no additional charge or since I'm already holding a ticket for a Regional train I would have to pay the price for the quicker trip? If I really tried to push things do you think I could even get the Acela Express trip in First Class. This is just in curiosity as to how good Amtrak's guaranteed connection service really is and in regards to a possible trip I will be taking in the future.

 

[jccollins]

I think it really depends on the agent you speak with and what "mood" they are in, as well as other factors such as how full the 7:00 Acela train is. They should definitely put you on the earlier 7:00 departure no matter what TYPE of train it is if possible since they already have you running late and out of good faith should make every reasonable effort to get you to your destination as early as possible. I highly doubt that they would ever upgrade a passenger from Regional all the way to Acela FIRST CLASS though, even if you missed your connection. The only way this might ever happen would be if the bus class was sold out on that particular Acela and all that was available was the first class.

If you are considering this trip and worried about the connection, you should really call Amtrak and ask them how you would be accomodated in this particular case. I am sure they would be happy to "research" it for you.