York1 This happened in 1989 on Amtrak, so I'm sure things may have changed... We pulled through a Mississippi town and stopped several miles later. After sitting for a while, the train backed up into town, and the crew came through and took orders from everyone for Kentucky Fried Chicken. It was all paid for by Amtrak. Later, the train proceeded for several hours, but stopped in a rural area. Eventually, the entire crew left the train, and the passengers were left with no one to talk to, no food, and no idea how long the delay would be. Angry people broke into the lounge car locked food and drink cabinets, and also looted what could be found in the dining car. We families with children huddled in a coach car, with our children stashed behind us, as angry, hungry, drunk passengers roamed the train. We got to New Orleans about 15 hours late. No word from any Amtrak employee. No apologies, no information, nothing. That was the last trip my wife would ever take on Amtrak.
This happened in 1989 on Amtrak, so I'm sure things may have changed...
We pulled through a Mississippi town and stopped several miles later. After sitting for a while, the train backed up into town, and the crew came through and took orders from everyone for Kentucky Fried Chicken. It was all paid for by Amtrak.
Later, the train proceeded for several hours, but stopped in a rural area. Eventually, the entire crew left the train, and the passengers were left with no one to talk to, no food, and no idea how long the delay would be. Angry people broke into the lounge car locked food and drink cabinets, and also looted what could be found in the dining car.
We families with children huddled in a coach car, with our children stashed behind us, as angry, hungry, drunk passengers roamed the train.
We got to New Orleans about 15 hours late.
No word from any Amtrak employee. No apologies, no information, nothing. That was the last trip my wife would ever take on Amtrak.
Holy crap! I think at that moment I might have detrained and started hiking down the tracks.
Then I would have contacted an attorney.
CMStPnP Amtrak had the opportunity to use older cars as backup but they always sell surplus equipment or scrap it right down to having almost nothing on standby. I wonder if this will change now that they have a funding infusion or if they will continue to operate this way.
Amtrak had the opportunity to use older cars as backup but they always sell surplus equipment or scrap it right down to having almost nothing on standby. I wonder if this will change now that they have a funding infusion or if they will continue to operate this way.
I tend to agree, For Superliner equipment a spare train set could be based in LAX, SEA, CHI. EMY as well if enough equipment available for CAL Z and maybe Starlight.
For single level SSY & MIA. New Orleans might carry a single level set for Crescent. CNO, & Sunset/
IMO it will be at least 5 years before enough equipment will be available even in slow times for having this standby equipment.
York1 John
Pretty sure Amtrak will find new ways to screw up.
BaltACDAmtrak's biggest issue in On Time performance is that they don't have sufficient resources (cars, power, crews) to start their schedules On Time whenever any of their trains gets seriously late. In the days of private passenger service, between the carrier and Pullman there was sufficient equipment and manpower to at least start the train On Time. Amtrak's only means to get their trains On Time is to either 'run them back' or to cancel a trip. Running them back on time normally takes a week or more - even under ideal operating conditions. Add Quote to your Post
They had the opportunity to use older cars as backup but they always sell surplus equipment or scrap it right down to having almost nothing on standby. I wonder if this will change now that they have a funding infusion or if they will continue to operate this way. Another of my questions of how Amtrak will transform now that it has a chunk of the infrastructure bill. Very happy they picked a German company for rail passenger equipment (Siemens), hope that relationship expands. I think the Germans are at the top of the rail passenger game in equipment capability and quality of build.
Amtrak's biggest issue in On Time performance is that they don't have sufficient resources (cars, power, crews) to start their schedules On Time whenever any of their trains gets seriously late. In the days of private passenger service, between the carrier and Pullman there was sufficient equipment and manpower to at least start the train On Time.
Amtrak's only means to get their trains On Time is to either 'run them back' or to cancel a trip. Running them back on time normally takes a week or more - even under ideal operating conditions.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
I can't tell you what Amtrak's official policy is, but I can share one recent example of free meals being handed out.
A friend's wife and son were booked on No.8 that was scheduled to depart Spokane, WA, at 1:25am on Dec 31. It actually departed Spokane closer to 10:00am due to a nine-hour delay in No.8 launching from Seattle the previous evening. (No.28 from Portland made much better time to Spokane.) From Havre, MT, eastward, it kept losing more time, eventually falling 16 hours behind schedule upon entering Minnesota.
My friend's wife said that Amtrak staff who boarded at Minot, ND, served beef stew and cookies to anyone who wanted it. Don't know if that was limited to coach passengers or what.
Most of the reporting in the mainstream and rail enthusiast media has attributed the horrendous delays of long-distance trains to personnel shortages and extreme weather. There's been more to it than that.
My daughter rode No.8 from Spokane to Minot right after the Christmas weekend. No.8 was about two hours late out of Seattle (No.28 arrived Spokane close to on-time), and maintained that two-hour down time across the busy Funnel to Sandpoint, ID, and over Marias Pass. But once past Havre, the ambient temperatures plummetted into the negative 20s. Around Wolf Point, MT, my daughter's train stopped intermittently due to problems with the lead unit, finally coming to a standstill for an hour or more waiting for mechanical to drive out from either Havre or Minot to assist. Ended up closer to five hours late into Minot.
The domino effect of late Empire Builders in both directions for several days in a row resulted in late turns at their endpoints, where even the most sped-up servicing process still resulted in late launches for the next trains out of Seattle, Portland, and Chicago. This was amplified in Seattle during the couple of days around Christmas when a wave of heavy snow and sub-freezing temps hit that city, which is not as prepared for those conditions as cities further east along the Empire Builder route.
What is Amtrak's policy on giving customers free or 1/2 price meal on LD trains over 12 or so hours late?
Does the train crew or car attendance recieve a stipend for their meals?
Ed Burns
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