Amtrak Rant - Part Deux

I’m currently using an Amtrak USA Rail Pass for the second time. This allows a passenger to ride the train up to ten times within 30 days at a much-reduced price. Unfortunately, there are drawbacks to traveling on Amtrak. One of the biggest is their trains are often not punctual.

This past Thursday, a train I took to Los Angeles showed up in Tucson, Arizona 3½ hours late. It was supposed to arrive at 8:00 p.m. with an 8:15 departure time. When I checked my train status earlier that afternoon, it listed the same departure time. However, an added notice stated they were three hours behind schedule due to freight train interference and unscheduled track maintenance. 

My host in Tucson drove me to the Amtrak station just after 5:00 p.m. so I could check in my two larger bags before we went out for dinner. Strangely, the Amtrak employee insisted the train was running on time despite the schedule board stating it was eight minutes late. After dinner, my host dropped me off at the train station. By then, the schedule board stated my train would be an hour late. As I worked on finishing my latest newsletter, my train’s arrival got delayed even more. It finally showed up just before 11:30 p.m.

When using public transportation, I prefer window seats. Unfortunately, I was assigned an aisle seat. It’s hard enough for me sleeping in moving vehicles. People constantly walking by my seat doesn’t make it easier. So, I mostly hung out in the observation car. A couple of people slept in there while lying across two seats. That didn’t work for me. Later, I tried sleeping downstairs in a café booth but had to leave when an employee said he was opening the café.

Not long after leaving Tucson, the train sat still on the tracks for an extended period. A derailment in California caused other trains to run behind schedule. Soon it became obvious that I wouldn’t make my connection. I had booked another train leaving from Los Angeles to Seattle four hours after my planned arrival from Tucson (the train eventually arrived in L.A. seven hours late).

To make matters worse, a toddler kept running up and down the aisle of the observation car. Her mother who sat in the booth next to mine didn’t do much about that. After a brief return to my aisle seat, the kid ran into me. I didn’t say anything while walking over to the other side of the car. Her mother and father came up and repeatedly accused me of bumping their child. At first, I mostly kept quiet but then started praying in tongues. That stirred up the demons even more. The mother continued trash-talking when returning to her booth. So I approached an employee in the next car and told him what happened. When he came over to talk to this woman, that infuriated her even more. As I returned to my aisle seat, she hurled f-bombs and other foul remarks at me.

Before the train arrived in Los Angeles, I received an email that my ticket had been changed. I had to ride two buses and two trains to get to Seattle the next night. When I boarded the first bus to Bakersfield, that couple with the child was on there. I sat in the back to avoid contact with them. Then before boarding a train to Stockton. I noticed the couple talking harshly with an employee about their luggage. It sounded so bad, I thought they shouldn’t be allowed on the train.

Later when I boarded another bus for Sacramento, it filled up to the point where the father (who had previously boarded the wrong bus) had to sit next to me. To my surprise, he was quite friendly. His daughter ended up sitting on his lap during part of the trip. When I picked up her dropped bottle, the father said, “I appreciate you.” Sacramento was their final destination. From there, I boarded the train I intended to catch in Los Angeles. This time an employee honored my request for a window seat. Despite someone sitting next to me, I managed to get a little bit of sleep. 

The next day while online with my iPhone (no Wi-Fi on the train), I discovered my rerouted itinerary resulted in my rail pass charged three extra segments. I was previously told by the conductor that my pass would be charged for only one segment. When the train made a 20-minute stop in Eugene, Oregon, I went to the ticket counter to dispute the extra rail pass deductions. The employee there couldn’t do anything about that. After making several phone calls, I was instructed to talk to someone in customer relations on Monday.

Before arriving in Seattle last night, I received an email from Amtrak apologizing for the delay and an offer to send me a voucher to be used for a future trip. It showed up hours later in my inbox but only had a value of $30. The airlines do much better than that! Although I’ll probably find a use for the voucher, I’m less inclined to get another rail pass. Train travel in the U. S. should be more flexible and dependable.

While making announcements before leaving for Bakersfield, the bus driver referred to our train to Los Angeles as a “ride from hell.” Many people are headed on a ride to hell. Please make sure you are not one of them.

“He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” - John 3:18