Worst part of Amtrak?

[Palmland]

The inconsistency of on board service irritates me. Sometimes all are professional, efficient, and courteous. Other times it's anything but.

Having supplies strewn about the tables in the dining car or lounge car and employees taking their break and using tables passengers might prefer is also annoying. I hope the new Viewliners will have a designated place for both these things.

 

[reefgeek]

.... TOTAL lack of communication by on-board crew ... especially when train is running late ....

They really could improve in this area.

When my ride on the CZ ended with the engines failing in Nevada, Amtrak handled the situation pretty well, I thought. There was, however, no communication from the train crew or staff about what their plans were. A one minute status update from a conductor with a bullhorn would have been a huge improvement. You have a bunch of people whose trip has been interrupted and they are naturally going to want to know what is going to happen next. It's interesting to note that the airlines do this constantly, even if it's often BS, they get on the PA on the plane or in the waiting area and give those announcements that usually begin "Uh, folks...".

 

[rrdude]

Mediocre food, rude/uncaring/inconsistent/lazy staff.

Occasional equipment problems. (understandable. Poor on-board service is NOT excusable, under ANY circumstances. Individual employees attitudes are 100% controllable, 100%.)

Lack of frequencies on train departures. (I don't care how long it takes me to get from point A to point B. I'm choosing the train for Christ's sake!)

Amtrak's inability to "think outside-the-box" and try things that 'go against the grain", or are different from "that's how we have always done it".

Amtrak's claim in advertising and promotions about how "GREEN" they are. Yet at the same time, they continue to purchase petroleum-based manufactured PLASTIC table-ware, and then THROW IT OUT as TRASH. Great, you make FEEBLE attempts at recycling the aluminum cans, and your beverage cups are made from recycled material. Get real. Hire more staff, position them as chef's assistant/dishwasher, and use the equipment that is installed on the Superliner kitchens to WASH dishes. Everyone wins.

DISCLAIMER: There are hundreds, I bet thousands of GREAT Amtrak employees, both on-board, and on "land". However, all of their great, courteous, and caring service are overshadowed by the cadre of employees who think "the traveling public are there for them to abuse", while they collect a paycheck, and sit on their butts.

 

[dlagrua]

I voted for service density. There are 1000's of passenger train routes that have been abandoned in the last 60 years and it has been decided that Amtrak should only serve a small portion of these.

Its sad that today the very existence of US passenger rail is dependent on a railroad operated on a shoe string budget. I could also complain about the consistency of service but we cannot expect improvements without incentivizing the work force. As it now stands, the Amtrak staff tends to range from terrible to excellent.

 

[The Davy Crockett]

I voted for "Service Density" but "Service Frequency" was my initial other choice. In thinking about it though, I should have voted "Other." The "Other" being Congress. I don't think that needs an explanation.

Now, for a moment, "Onboard Foamers" did cross my mind.

 

[cirdan]

What is the worst part of traveling by Amtrak?

Getting off the train at my destination....

so true ...

 

[Oldsmoboi]

Insufficient scheduling of routes not on the NEC.

 

[NY Penn]

For me, it's when I'm told the train will show up at a certain time and it shows up a few hours late.

 

[rrdude]

For me, it's when I'm told the train will show up at a certain time and it shows up a few hours late.

Why, that's absolutely NORMAL for Amtrak, outside of the NEC.

 

[NY Penn]

For me, it's when I'm told the train will show up at a certain time and it shows up a few hours late.

Why, that's absolutely NORMAL for Amtrak, outside of the NEC.

Well, that's not supposed to be normal. If it was an airline that was ALWAYS a few hours late, people here would blast it and never ride again. This IS an Amtrak board, but still...

 

[junebug]

That they don't get enough funding. I agree with BigVal; Amtrak does so much with the little that they have. I have thoroughly enjoyed my times traveling Amtrak!

 

[Jersey Jeff]

Other than the constant parade of delayed trains, I would say that travel times are excruciatingly slow. Train travel between two points- even in the NEC - was speedier in the 1930s than in 2011.

 

[amtrakwolverine]

Rude employees and employees who just don't give a **** about the paying customer.If we stop riding the trains with the worst employees you think management would be smart enough to put 2 and 2 together?

"hmmm these trains are loosing riders yet the other trains the ridership is skyrocketing. What is it with these trains that no one want to use them hmmmm"

 

[Donctor]

I love Amtrak. That said:

1. Inconsistency

2. The way Amtrak's structure lets it make real changes only in response to the whims of those totally removed from Amtrak

 

[The Commissioner]

There should be two polls: one for corridor service and the other for long distance overnight trains. Given that, I voted for 'Price.' When the train is way late and the OBS is rude and the diner runs out of choices, et.al., I get angry thinking how much I paid for this experience.

 

[Guest]

Rude employees and employees who just don't give a **** about the paying customer.If we stop riding the trains with the worst employees you think management would be smart enough to put 2 and 2 together?

"hmmm these trains are loosing riders yet the other trains the ridership is skyrocketing. What is it with these trains that no one want to use them hmmmm"

A foamer boycott of bad trains isn't going to work as long as the TSA is driving up demand with their sexual deviancy. The crowd that doesn't want their junk touched far outnumbers the foamers.

Rude employees is my biggest problem. New cars are expensive, but teaching employees to act civilized is cheap.

 

[Gingee]

I wish they would get tracks that you can go from Illinois to Florida without taking a train out to Washington DC and then down.

 

[Everydaymatters]

I wish they would get tracks that you can go from Illinois to Florida without taking a train out to Washington DC and then down.

Ditto. I believe I read somewhere there was a direct train at one time. With the theme parks and cruise lines it would seem they'd get a lot of passengers.

 

[NorthCoastHiawatha]

I wish they would get tracks that you can go from Illinois to Florida without taking a train out to Washington DC and then down.

Ditto. I believe I read somewhere there was a direct train at one time. With the theme parks and cruise lines it would seem they'd get a lot of passengers.

There was, The Floridian ran between Chicago and Miami (with stops including Louisville and Nashville) from November 1971 until October 1979. As far as I know there really has not been much talk about restoring it either.

 

[The Davy Crockett]

I wish they would get tracks that you can go from Illinois to Florida without taking a train out to Washington DC and then down.

Ditto. I believe I read somewhere there was a direct train at one time. With the theme parks and cruise lines it would seem they'd get a lot of passengers.

There was, The Floridian ran between Chicago and Miami (with stops including Louisville and Nashville) from November 1971 until October 1979. As far as I know there really has been much talk about restoring it either.

There has been talk here at least, but the costs of rehabbing tracks to passenger train standards to make this viable, even if there was equipment available, are very high. In addition, IIRC, part of the line that the Floridian used has been abandoned. So while it would make a lot of sense, there are some serious hurdles.

 

[eagle628]

I wish they would get tracks that you can go from Illinois to Florida without taking a train out to Washington DC and then down.

Ditto. I believe I read somewhere there was a direct train at one time. With the theme parks and cruise lines it would seem they'd get a lot of passengers.

There was, The Floridian ran between Chicago and Miami (with stops including Louisville and Nashville) from November 1971 until October 1979. As far as I know there really has been much talk about restoring it either.

There has been talk here at least, but the costs of rehabbing tracks to passenger train standards to make this viable, even if there was equipment available, are very high. In addition, IIRC, part of the line that the Floridian used has been abandoned. So while it would make a lot of sense, there are some serious hurdles.

At some point in most every multi-page thread, the Floridian seems to come up somehow.

 

[junebug]

I'd love to be able to visit my friends in East Tennessee leaving from Chicago. The Floridian sounds great!

 

[rrdude]

I'd love to be able to visit my friends in East Tennessee leaving from Chicago. The Floridian sounds great!

Sadly, unless something close to a miracle happens, waiting for the Floridian to make a comeback would be like waiting for the sun to rise in the west. It just ain't ever gonna happen.
Major segments of track are gone today, forcing (assuming they didn't relay track) a most odd routing, and adding hours and hours.

Traveling public has "forgotten" about taking the train between the midwest and Florida.

Host RR don't want anything to do with adding PAX trains over their tracks.

Stations and PAX amenities would need to be drastically upgraded at many points.

The only concept I could see that might ever make it off the drawing boards, would be some type of Auto-Train / Land Cruise, with limited stops.

Of course, there is no Amtrak $$$$ for ANY of this, so Disney, Paramount, Marriott, or some other entity would have to step up to the plate.

Sadly, again, we just have accept that for the near and foreseeable future, those obvious GAPS in the Amtrak map are going to remain just that, GAPS.

 

[scientist]

Although in my heart I fully agree with fredevad that getting off at my destination may be the worst part of an Amtrak adventure, I had to vote for limited service frequency. It would be wonderful if all long haul routes could run twice a day rather than once per day. A pipe dream I know, but there are parts of the country that are nearly always in "the dark" that I would enjoy seeing in the daylight. Having two runs a day in each direction would shift the light and dark zones. Also, for folks living in those dark zones it would make catching the train a little easier. While living in Lincoln, Nebraska, I could board the California Zephyr a little after midnight or about 3 am, depending upon the direction I was headed. Offsetting by about 12 hours would have made life much better while living there.

Admitted, if you have no Amtrak service, I fully understand why you would like to see Amtrak have greater density. I'd like greater density, too. Rude employees? I've run into very few, and one can certainly find rude airline employees. For the most part, I've very much appreciated the Amtrak staff. Rude passengers? You bet, but … You every fly? Ride the Metro? Drive in rush hour? Unfortunately, just a part of life these days is that some folks seem a little uncivil. Overall, the Amtrak experience is so much better than the flying experience (which I do too frequently for work) that Amtrak, even at its worst, is far better than the flying experience at its best. I just wish I could enjoy the Amtrak experience a little more frequently.

 

[WICT106]

greater frequency.