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A few days ago in answer to a question from Lakeshore Limited, I stated that Via charged me over $200 to upgrade from a roomette that was over the wheels to a double bedroom in the centre of the car. As this was Via's error in providing the wrong series of sleeping car, I believed I should not have been charged for the upgrade. Via agreed, and just one week after my complaint, I was refunded the full amount of the upgrade. I wish I could say the same for Amtrak, who has still not refunded my expenses from last December after they refused to run the Texas Eagle w/b beyond Dallas just because we were over 12 hours late. Quite outrageously they told the sleeping car passengers (and coach as well) that they could take a bus to El Paso and connect with the Sunset from there. This of course was nonsense, and instead I rented a car and drove to San Antonio for the Sunset. Amtrak did offer a $250 voucher (not valid during the Christmas season) although I had over $700 in hotel and car rental expenses. Amtrak does not hesitate to talk about "service guarantees" and "customer satisfaction" and then pulls a stunt like this. I just wonder if others have had a similar experience.
Geoff Mayo Member # 153
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I was on the Sunset Ltd which was 6hrs late into LA, thus arriving pretty much after lunch. The dining car ran out of food halfway through breakfast, as did the snack car. Then the head end power failed while we were still over 3 hours away from LA. The engineer decided to press on rather than try to fix it. The whole train turned into a greenhouse, the bathrooms stank because they don't flush without power and because of the heat. Net result: an verbal apology from the conductor and that was it. Even after complaining inside LAUPT I still only got $10 for "lunch costs".
Konstantin Member # 18
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I understand your frustrations. That is the same types of things that have happened to me almost every time I have ridden Amtrak.
I love to ride on Amtrak, but when I do, I realize that I am on my own to take care of myself, and Amtrak service is almost non-existent
------------------ Elias Valley Railroad (N-scale) www.geocities.com/evrr
reggierail Member # 26
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I'm sorry for the bad service some of you have gotten on Amtrak. I do have to reply though as I am a travel agent specializing in rail travel. I have traveled almost 200,000 miles on Amtrak & VIA Rail and can honestly say that I have never had bad service. I have never had serious complaints from any of my clients with the exception of 1 complaint about Amtrak Thruway bus service. That incident involved bustitution service due to a derailment in the San Joaquin Valley. The people were bussed from Stockton to Reno & had a very rude bus driver. This was a contract move with a driver not normally assigned to Amtrak. I raised one heck of a stink & my clients & I both recieved written apologies from Amtrak & my clients recieved a travel voucher. I have seen that service has improved a lot in the last several years & sincerely believe these incidents to be the exception rather than the rule. Yours Reggie
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Geoff Mayo Member # 153
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In general, Amtrak service is good. There are just some bad eggs in the system, much like any other service. Of course, there are also some outstanding individuals.
The friendliest groups of employees seem to be the waiters/waitresses, sleeping car attendants, and the snack car attendant. The Chief of on-board services, the coach car attendants, and the head of the dining car seem to be generally less concerned about your comfort.
The worst I've experienced was a car attendant on the Silver Meteor - downright rude when I asked for a different seat. Best service I had was probably a waitress on (I think) the Southwest Chief who went out of her way to get me a slightly different meal to what was on the menu.
In comparison, here in the UK on long distance trains (in relative terms!), I would say the service is fairly similar or slightly worse.
lakeshorelimited Member # 576
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I haven't had any problems, but then again, I haven't travelled very long distances, nor had any reason to complain!! The station staff and agents on 1-800-USA-RAIL have always been very helpful and friendly to me. As far as on-board crew, I haven't had any negative experiences, but then again I haven't had any spectacular experiences. I understand your frustration, royaltrain. It would be beneficial for Amtrak to keep all of its customers happy and at least find some acceptable way to rectify the situation.
royaltrain Member # 622
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Thank you for all of your comments. Just as an update, I have made two further telephone calls to customer services 1-800 number. Although I keep records of dates, times and persons spoken to, it seems impossible to talk to the same person twice. I have been promised since the 15th of March onward that someone would contact me "soon" about my "concerns." Nobody has returned my calls, so I have now put Amtrak on formal notice that if I am not refunded within the next three weeks I will sue. My little saga reminds me of an old Doris Day movie. The character she played went to small claims court in Maine when the railway failed to deliver her lobsters to market. She obtained judgment, and when the railway still refused to pay, she had the local sheriff seize the next train that came steaming through her town. Perhaps I will have to seize the International or the Maple Leaf here in Toronto if Amtrak is as stubborn as Doris Day's fictional railway. I will post future updates.
David Member # 3
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Whilst I have no recent experience with Amtrak, I can certainly verify that Via values its regular clientele. A few years ago my son and I were en route from Toronto to Halifax when the first class car (Via 1) was bad-ordered only 33 miles into the 335 mile run to Montreal. We continued this part of the trip in a regular coach. Via offered us a full refund of the first class portion of the fare, which would be expected, and also a 50% discount on our next trip in the "corridor": anywhere, any class. Although this isn't exactly "giving away the shop" it was quite reasonable.
If Royaltrain and the sheriff have to seize an Amtrak locomotive in Toronto, I hope the press will be on hand.
jebradley Member # 606
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Sorry to hear the bad things; my wife and I went over 7000 miles in early Dec., PA to L.A. then Seattle, Chicago; Three Rivers was annulled, our tickets changed via Wash. DC to Phila. for same price. All personnel very courteous, meals fine, only 1 late train (Capitol Ltd., snow). Improved over similar trip in 1994 when at least 2 were quite rude. Give Amtrak another chance or we won't have it to choose! Remember highways and air are clogging; look at trolley systems which were torn up and now rebuilt at higher costs!
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