What should we expect if we miss our connection?

[snake]

We recently booked a trip from Arizona to Washington DC, this will be my first cross-country train trip since the days of the El Capitan and the Phoebe Snow. We're looking forward to the trip.

I converted a bunch of Continental Airlines frequent-flyer miles to Amtrak points for deluxe sleeper accomodations.

We're booked on # 2, the Sunset Limited connecting with # 92 at Jacksonville to Washington. We're scheduled to arive at 4:40 PM and depart at 7:45 PM.

I've checked the status of the train on the Amtrak website and observed that it seems to miss the connection as often as not. It's a vacation trip, and arriving a day late wouldn't be a big deal, but I'm curious as to how they handle these situations. It looks like the sleeper accomodations are pretty much booked solid more then a month in advance. We have planned to overnight at Washington before picking up a rental car to drive to North Carolina to visit some family.

I had thought about overnighting at New Orleans, but we'll be there during the Jazz Festival and hotels in town are had to get, expensive, and many require booking 2 or 3 nights1

The return is Washington-Chicago seems much less likely to be a problem.

Thanks in advance for your information!

 

[AlanB]

Snake,

I'm not real sure just what Amtrak does when that particular connection is missed. They have different procedures for different connections. Plus it is also based upon how many people missed the connection, how badly was the connection missed, and what alternatives there are. It is however a guaranteed connection which means that Amtrak must get you to your destination.

Typically this could mean any of the following, depending on how late your train is:

If there are enough people including you, who are making that connection, you could be taken off the Sunset early. This could occur at either Tallahassee or Madison. From there you could be bused to either Jesup or Savannah to catch up with the Silver Star.

If it's just you and your significant other missing the connection, then they probably won't bus you.

Next, they could put you on the Palmetto when it comes through Jacksonville around 2:30 AM. Mind you there is no sleeper on this train, so they would refund you for the sleeper fare you had paid.

If there is space on the next days Silver Star or Meteor, they could put you up in a hotel for the night and then place you on one of those trains.

Finally they could just offer to fly you from JAX to DC.

As I said at the start, one can never be quite sure which method Amtrak will use; as it is based upon how bad the delay is and how many people missed the connection.

If you are running more than 2 hours late once the train departs New Orleans, then make sure that you find a conductor and make him aware that you may miss the connection so he can start finding out what should be done for you. Also inform your car attendant from New Orleans about the connection, you'll get a new attendant at New Orleans.

If you are more than 5 - 6 hours late coming into New Orleans, then I would talk both with the conductor at that point and probably would go inside and speak with a ticket agent at the counter. They might just take you off the train here, put you up for the night in a hotel and then send you to DC on the Crescent the next morning. This would involve no extra charge to you.

However as I pointed out in the beginning, Amtrak is obligated to get you to your ultimate destination no matter what.

 

[Amtrak Watcher]

I miss connections rather frequently on the long distance trains. Nevertheless, Amtrak always seems to make things happen through a wide variety of means. Amtrak is much more accommodating than the airlines. My rule: when in doubt, ask the conductor, and keep your ears open for announcements on the train's intercom.

 

[battalion51]

The Sunset Ltd crew from PNS-JAX is very accomdating, I would ask your attendant to ask the Conductor to speak with you about your situation. It is also likely that the Star will be late so you may be able to make. But above all BE FLEXIBLE!

 

[snake]

Thanks for all the information, I'm sure we'll get to our destination and have a good trip. Like I said before, it's a vacation trip, and getting there a day late wouldn't be a big deal.

I'll come back later and let you all know how the trip went.

p.s. According to the Amtrak website the the Sunset Ltd. arrived JAX at 11:30 PM, not long after the departure of the Silver Star at 10:47 PM last night.

 

[battalion51]

has been notoriously late in the past few weeks due to Double Track Construction on the South Florida Corridor. Most of the heavy work occurs around mid-day, which means lots of conditional stop orders, as well as severly reduced track speeds.

 

[snake]

I got a call today to let me know that we've been downgraded from a deluxe to a standard sleeper on the JAX-WAS leg of out trip next month. I was told that our scheduled car, # 9212 was going to be out of service.

Oh well, at least it's just for one night, and it will be interesting to compare the two.

That's if we make the connection, which 2 of the last 3 trains did.

I was told that we could expect a refund for the fare difference, however since our tickets were in exchange for Guest Rewards points, not money, I'll have to wait until next week to call to find out what their policy is for involuntary downgrades on part of an itinerary.

 

[Amfleet]

I was told that our scheduled car, # 9212 was going to be out of service.

The car will not be going out of service, but will become the second sleeper on the New York section of the Lake Shore Limited 48/49. This is done in the spring and summer months as ridership increases on East Coast to Chicago routes, but decreases on Atlantic Service routes. The Standard Bedroom should still be accomodating nonetheless.

 

[AlanB]

I was told that we could expect a refund for the fare difference, however since our tickets were in exchange for Guest Rewards points, not money, I'll have to wait until next week to call to find out what their policy is for involuntary downgrades on part of an itinerary.

What should happen is that you will find 5,000 points returned to your Guest Rewards (GR) account. That's the difference between a standard room and a deluxe room for that part of your journey.

If you don't see it show up within two months make sure that you followup. Additionally make sure that you save those ticket stubs. Plus if you already have your tickets for the deluxe room then make a xerox copy of them if at all possible. Amtrak should get this right, but just in case protect yourself and save and/or copy everything so you can prove to GR what happened.

 

[snake]

The Standard Bedroom should still be accomodating nonetheless.

Our last overnight train trip was in coach between Arequipa and Puno in Southern Peru. I remember that I rolled up my jacket and used it as a pillow, and it became frozen to the window during the night! My wife did complain about feeling a little dizzy at the 14,000' altitude.

I'm sure that we'll be fine on the trip, even if we miss the connection and catch the Palmetto.

 

[snake]

Just thought I'd update this thread, I called Amtrak Guest Rewards about credit for the JAX-WAS sleeper downgrade, and they credited my account with 10,000 points, which I thought was more then reasonable.

I've noticed that the Sunset Limited has been running remarkably on-time this past week, even arrived early one day, which raises another question, What to do at or around Jacksonville station if we have some time to kill. Is there anywhere to get dinner at or near the station?

My thanks to all for your informative replies.

 

[AlanB]

Just thought I'd update this thread, I called Amtrak Guest Rewards about credit for the JAX-WAS sleeper downgrade, and they credited my account with 10,000 points, which I thought was more then reasonable.

Snake,

That was more than reasonable, as the point difference between a deluxe and a standard bedroom on the Silver Star is only 5,000 points. So it sounds like you got a nice bonus for the inconvenience.

I've noticed that the Sunset Limited has been running remarkably on-time this past week, even arrived early one day,     which raises another question,  What to do at or around Jacksonville station if we have some time to kill.   Is there anywhere to get dinner at or near the station?

Sadly there isn't much near the station; you would have to venture into town. If you are early enough and willing to pay for a cab, then you may well be able to get into town and back in time. However you probably would not have time to ride the local bus into town, as it takes almost 40 minutes one way, eat dinner and back for your train. Unless of course the Sunset Limited gets into Jacksonville extremely early.

Just in case you are really early, you can find the local bus schedule here.

 

[Chatter163]

I would not advise leaving the Jacksonville station. It is simply not near anything you would wish to see.