Riding Amtrak -- Trainful or Painful?

[trainfan1221]

I have ridden Amtrak in the past, with little trouble. When I tried to get a train to Florida over the summer for an important event they tried to screw me out of an extra 150 dollars when I called to book! Not only was it not worth it, but all but unaffordable. I had to miss my reunion,and was none too pleased. They also weren't very helpful when I went to the station in New York to try to talk to them. I currently will neither ride nor support them. Being a train fanatic, I find this to be ironic, but If this is what they pull, no wonder they have problems. It will be a long time before I ride Amtrak again.

[siberianmo]

[2c] On the subject:

I travel Amtrak from the St. Louis area (Kirkwood, MO) to KCity, MO about 5 or 6 times a year for a daytime round trip. Been doing that for 15 years plus. Someone alluded to a 5 hour trip taking 9 hours. Well that may have happened - but it surely isn't the norm. Unfortunately, being late is.

UP owns the track - say no more. I have not experienced one delay where the fault could be reasonably laid at the feet of Amtrak. Accidents at crossings - sitting in sidings while slow moving freights rumble on through - track repair and flooding have all been the situations I've encountered.

There is one aspect of Amtrak travel that turns me off and it has to do with some of the personnel staffing the cars. Motivation is a bit lacking as is knowledge of what passenger trains are all about. The route used to be staffed by some very outgoing guys - people who would get on the intercom system and let you know about this 'n that as the train passed through some really pleasant countryside, not to mention the great stretch of Missouri river where Eagles may be seen quite often diving down for their catch. Those people have gone elsewhere and for the most part we now are treated to the rather stoic and disinterested lot who do more to turn off than on - especially one or two of the attendants in the Cafe car. Some could care less about ensuring an adequate stock for their passengers, while others seem not to be interested in providing the services paid for by the Business Class customers who pay a bit more to sit in the semi-private section of that car.

So, trainful or painful is pretty much based on what you are looking for. I love riding the trains - so I'm in no hurry. I expect delays and try to maximize whatever I can from them. For me, I plan my trips now around the known maintenance schedules that UP is following and avoid weekends. It works out pretty well, over all.

Hope this helps .......

[grandeman]

QUOTE: Originally posted by twhite
I can tell you one thing, the scenery from Denver to Grand Junction is just jaw-dropping!

Tom, that sounds fantastic. I looked into a round trip to Colorado for the whole family. Total travel time was 6 days for $3000 dollars.[:0] I'd love to go back to Colorado (I used to live there) but that's a bit steep. If we ever do go, maybe a ride from Denver to GJ and back would be in order. [8D]

[TomDiehl]

Just having returned from my trip, I definately have to say Trainful (not sure what that means, but it certainly wasn't painful). The bedroom on the newly refurbished Empire Builder was a real joy. The meals were fantastic, thank God it was only two days, or I'd come off the train and none of my clothes would fit. Most of the trip was on the BNSF, and most places we seemed to be going at track speed of 79MPH. We arrived in Seattle only about 30 minutes late. Not bad for a 46 hour journey. The "on time" thing may be in a large part due to the host railroad. Recall that the UP had some severe problems getting their freight trains movin after some of their mergers, and the Amtrak trains are just thrown into that mix.