Amtrak

I received unnecessarily rude and aggressive treatment from the train operators aboard the train from Boston to New York on January 12th 2010 leaving South Station at 6:45pm. I was settled in sitting on the left of the train and was using my laptop computer. When I tried to plug my power adapter into the sockets next to my seat, I discovered that none of the outlets on the left hand side in my car were functioning correctly. I therefore carefully ran a wire across the car to the outlets on the right hand side. I was careful to ensure that the wire was flat with the ground, and not a hazard.

The train attendant soon stopped over and told me that this was a safety hazard and that I would have to move to the other side of the train. I had no problem with this, and began to gather my belongings to shift sides. However, I was treated in a rude and abrasive manner by the attendant and his colleague. They told me no fewer than 6 times in quick succession that I should cross to the other side, even though they could clearly see that I was already making preparations to move across. After about 10 seconds he yelled at me that he would "unplug my power adapter in 2 seconds" if I did not immediately comply with his request. This was unnecessary given that I had already started moving.

I did not expect to be treated so rudely aboard an Amtrak train, especially given the high cost of the tickets and the expectations of high quality service that I therefore expect to receive aboard the train. Neither attendant expressed any interest in finding out why the outlets were not working, or fixing them.

I do not look forward to travelling on this Amtrak service again in future, and will be taking the bus, which not only has more pleasant staff but also offers working power outlets and WiFi.

Don't ever, ever do it unless you are prepared to pay exhorbitant rates for a sleeper car room. Coach seats are hard and uncomfortable, people who made the mistake of believing Amtrak that you can sleep in those torture racks can be found all over the train looking for a place to curl up and sleep, the whole train looks and smells like the underside of a highway overpass for the homeless, the toilets are dirty and fill up in coach after about 24 hours leaving you with nothing, and the whole thing gives you the impression that you are riding on a rural bus in a third world country except for the lack of chickens and pigs in the passenger compartment, even though after about a day it smells like they are there.

I rode Amtrak from Kansas City to Houston a few years ago. On my return trip I arrived at the Oklahoma City train station at closing time (9-10pm). The Amtrak official kicked me out of the building, telling me I would have to wait on the curb outside for a bus that would come and take me the rest of the way. She then proceeded to unlock her car door and get in to go home. I asked her if she could wait until the bus arrived as I was traveling alone and was unfamiliar with Oklahoma City. She said no. I asked her what I was supposed to do if the bus did not show up, and told her I was uncomfortable being abandoned in downtown Oklahoma City late at night outside a deserted Amtrak station. She said "We have yet to come back in the morning and find the bones of a dead Amtrak customer on our steps. You'll be fine". She then got in her car and left.

The street I was deserted on was dark as several of the lights in front of the train station were burned out and there was no one around except for a rare person walking by on foot and one other passenger that had been abandoned with me. She had been dropped off by family and was trying to catch the bus that was supposedly coming to pick us up in front of the Amtrak station. Fortunately, her family did not drive off and leave us like the rude Amtrak employees. They called Amtrak to find out what we were supposed to do when our bus still hadn't arrived an hour after our scheduled departure. Amtrak, of course, was not able to give us any information over the phone. We then called information and got the phone number of the nearest bus station and were told that our bus was actually at that station (several blocks away from the Amtrak station) and that we were expected to board the bus there since they were not driving by the Amtrak station to pick us up. The bus driver told me that she had had this problem with other Amtrak customers and that the Amtrak employees were wrongly telling them that the bus stopped at the Amtrak station to pick them up.

I will never, ever travel with Amtrak again. Their employees are rude and have no problem abandoning a woman alone on a dark, deserted street so that they can get home a little quicker. They are not clear about the amount of bus riding that is involved with their train trips (and I assure you up to half of your trip will be by bus), and their stations are located in the nastiest, dirtiest part of every city I visited while I was on this hellish trip with them.

I attempted to file a complaint with Amtrak after this happened, and I specifically wanted to mention the rude and completely inappropriate Amtrak employee in Oklahoma City but found their website to be lacking a customer comment area. I'm not surprised. Given the poor service I was shown on my trip, I'm certain they are not in any rush to allow other customers to post their Amtrak experiences as they will most likely be negative.

If you value your time and safety at all, never ever ride with Amtrak.

Always seems to be late. I take it between NYC and Wilmington. It's really expensive and it's slow. Chinatown bus costs 1/5 the cost and only takes 30 min more. The only plus is it's farely comfortable if you get a seat. Sometimes during rush hour it's hard to find a seat

We boarded in Tucson (Oct 3, 2009), with a roomette. For the 38 hour trip to New Orleans, the communal bathroom was NEVER cleaned. It quickly became DISCUSTING!

The roomette seemed filthy at best. The dining room was well run but rather regimented. You will be seated with strangers. The food was better than expected, and included with the roomette. Traveling in a seat it is not, and it is very pricey. The portions were huge and mosty wasted. I'd prefer a normal serving size with a lower price.

After a layover in New Orleans, we boarded again to Memphis. Just a coach this time. Plenty of leg room, quite comfortable. However this crew was TOTALLY incompetent. The dining car was in chaos and it took more than an hour to be served, additional time to snag some silverware.

Overall, I would sum our experience as dismal and FILTHY.

I MADE A ROUND TRIP.FROM LONGVIEW TEXAS TO ST.LOUIS MO.ON THE WAY BACK FROM ST.LOUIS AROUND 3AM IN THE MORNING.WE STARTED SMELLING SMOKE.THE CONDUCTOR CAME ON THE P.A. AND SAID THERE WAS BRAKES ON ONE OF THE CARS CAUGHT FIRE.AND THAT WE SHOULD GO TO THE OBSERVATION CAR.TELL THE VENTILATION SYSTEM REMOVED THE SMOKE.WHEN WE ARRIVED IN LONGVIEW THE CREW OF THE TRAIN TOLD US TO CONTACT CUSTOMER RELATIONS.SO I CALLED.AND TOLD THEM WHAT HAPPEN.THEY VERIFIED.WHAT HAD HAPPEN.SO THEY ARE GOING TO CREDIT ME WHAT THE TRIP COST ME.AND THAT I HAVE ONE YEAR FROM NOW.TO TAKE A TRIP ON THEM.THEY WHERE VERY UNDERSTANDING.SO IM LOOKING FORWARD TO ANOTHER TRAIN TRIP.WITH AMTRAK.

My rating - zero stars, even less than what is allowed through this review system.

My family and I rode the Coast Starlight from Seattle to Portland round trip. We were in a family room both ways.

The room had been unattended both ways, evidenced by pet odors, white substance in the seat cushions, and shorts and t-shirt found on the floor of the in-room closet.

The halls of the train smelled horribly of unattended lavoratory.

The meals options were very limited, and what was available was mediocre at best.

I felt imposed upon by the waitstaff when two of my family members had elected to take dinner in the room, and the two of us whom had elected to eat in the dinning car were required to eat at a booth with two strangers (because our party consisted of fewer than four individuals). There were plenty of open booths, but we weren't allowed to use one. I refused to eat with the strangers and turned on my heel after requesting in room dining service.

The family car attendants are agressive in their expectation of tips, and are ready with the stink eye if you don't comply.

Nothing about our Amtrak experience was pleasing. I would not recommend it.

We Loved It.

In August of ‘09, my wife and I took a cross country trip on Amtrak and loved every minute. I know that on this site, there are countless whiners about Amtrak, but I look forward to another round trip on the rails. I do need to point out that we took a sleeper, not coach which is where the majority of the complaints seem to originate. You might as well take a bus trip as ride coach class on the train ... but the sleepers are extraordinary. The first short leg of our trip was in coach, so I can compare the two.

Our trip began in Rochester, NY, had a change in Chicago and then on to San Francisco. There was a bit of a layover in Chicago, but their lounge for sleeper customers is more than comfortable and offers complementary beverages, snacks, newspapers and Wi-Fi. Depending upon the length of your layover, you can venture up to the street level of Union Station to shop or enjoy a great meal in any of several restaurants. There are plenty of station and lounge attendants to assist anyone with special needs and direct the rest of us first timers to our next train.

Once we were aboard the California Zephyr, we felt like two kids (and that era is 50 years in our rear view mirrors). Each sleeper car has an attendant; our man on the westbound was “Johnny” and he was one of the friendliest and most energetic people I ever met. (I wish I could remember the name of the guy on the return trip, but it’s now lost in time. He was as good as Johnny, but Johnny was our first real contact with Amtrak, so his impression tends to stick in my mind).

Ours was not a luxury compartment, but a Roomette. I won’t say that it was spacious, but it was adequate. We’re not big people, but even above average size folks would be comfortable in a Roomette. It included two comfortable facing seats with a small table in between. At night, the attendant magically converts your little room into a sleeper and I wish my bed at home was as comfortable. Admittedly, the motion of the train does help rock you to sleep at night. Within the compartment, there are built-in reading lights, an enormous window, an electric outlet to recharge your cell phone, laptop and whatever else you might carry. There’s also a modest amount of storage space in the compartment and open storage is available in the hallway for your non-valuables or items not needed aboard the train. The larger compartments offer even more. The main reason we took the train were our luggage needs. The airlines have made a meticulous study of ways to inconvenience or anger their passengers - specifically with luggage needs. Amtrak has limits, but they are fairly generous. Ours was a two week trip, so we were packed to the max; I carried a large wheeled suitcase, a fairly large (and heavy) camera bag which was loaded with about ten grand worth of lenses, camera bodies and more, plus a fairly expensive laptop in a shoulder bag. My wife had a similar volume, although hers were lighter in weight, she did have a knitting project which included several knitting needles. Try boarding an airplane with any of that. With Amtrak there were no extra luggage fees or unrealistic rules. They do provide you with a list of what is not acceptable: firearms, dangerous chemicals, etc., but your shampoo is still okay aboard the trains. They even allow bicycles and golf clubs, but those items will ride in the baggage car. You can, however, expect to meet a K-9 unit with dog or two on various stops along the way. That keeps everyone honest and gave us a pretty good feeling of security, too. The police are from local or state jurisdictions and are friendly, but businesslike and the dogs are “strictly business” but in complete control of their handlers. It was a pleasure to watch these teams work together.

My wife and I don’t smoke, so we enjoyed the 100 percent smoke-free atmosphere of the train, but periodic short stops do allow the smokers time to jump off and puff away. These are announced well in advance. Occasionally, we also took advantage of the stops and stretched our legs. It was not uncommon for window washing crews to appear and give all of the windows a good cleaning. Nice for those of us with cameras in our laps.

How’s the food - We thought it was great. Admittedly, the food aboard the train is not going to equal your favorite little hometown restaurant, but we thought that it was as good as any of the national casual dining chains, better than many and far better than any of the fast food joints. The price of meals are included with sleeper accommodations, so you order from the menu and simply sign your name on the bill. The menu offers a reasonably wide selection, so it’s unlikely that you’ll need to repeat meal, but there are a few that you’ll choose a second or third time. Love the Flat Iron Steak. The salads are basic, but always fresh; there are countless restaurants sitting on permanent foundations that can’t get the salads right. Soft drinks, juice, coffee and tea are also included with all three meals and desserts come with with lunch and dinner, too.

The experience of eating in a dining car has its own rewards, too. Couples are seated side by side and other travelers are seated across the table from you. This was a great way to meet new people. We met travelers from Europe, college professors and ranchers, photographers and vacationers from throughout the States, even folks on golf excursions who jump off every few hundred miles, play a round and catch another train the next day. It was during our dining experiences that we came to learn that we might have been the only couple riding the train for the first time. All were repeat customers, which is quite a positive statement for Amtrak. Everyone aboard had their own reasons for being there, but all of them love rail travel.

Bathrooms - No problems to speak of. Our roomette didn’t have a self-contained bathroom, but the larger luxury compartments do have a private bathroom included. Nevertheless, we had no problems - there were two or three bathrooms including showers at each end of the car and Johnny, the attendant, was in them on an hourly basis keeping them sparkling clean and well supplied with towels and soap.

As a footnote (and before I forget), Johnny was also a big help with our luggage on and off the train, preparing the beds at night, keeping a supply of juice, coffee and snacks nearby and a variety of other services. A nice tip of $20.00 or so, near the end of the trip was certainly in order. And why not - if we had flown, the airline would have stuck us for at least that much in “extra fees”.

The Observation Car and Club Car were also nice for occasional breaks from the roomette and great places to meet some fellow travelers. Although the comfort and huge clean window of our compartment kept us “home” for most of the trip, we did enjoy spending some time in the “more social” part of the train. Just like the staff throughout the train, it’s clear that those folks enjoy their jobs, too. Snacks and beverages, both alcohol and “non”, are available and the prices are fair.

In conclusion, we’re planning another rail trip in the near future - and are very much looking forward to it. Hope to see Johnny again, as well.

kozmo

How can I start? First of all DON"T EVER RIDE AMTRAK. AND MOST OF ALL DOn"T USE THE INTERNET PAYMENT EXPECTING YOU CAN GET A REFUND.

JUST IMAGINE YOU CAN"T TRAVEL AND COURTEOUSLY CALL TO CANCEL THE RESERVATION: THE customer service rep says: no problem thanks for calling to cancel yoru reservation. Just drop the tickets to us in the mail and within ten days you'll get a refund onto your card. If not give us a call.

One call to check in turned into 15 calls: all with different answers to when I'd get a refund. from Any day now to 3-4 months no rep was able to read anything from either the webiste or their "training mmaterials to qualify a policy. "We can't transfer you to a supervisor they are for administrative purposes only." Having worked in phone centers I know what that means" avoidance and scamming!

I sent multiple e-mails, made multiple phone calls and out of all of them only two reps admitted they had no policy and it was very unfair. Only after I posted warnings on consumerboard and other websites did one rep with the name "pat" tell me she'd check in. You can't just e-mail amtrak, you have to go to their webiste where there is no "refunds" button and if you call refunds just get ready for some incoherent and avoidant "reps."

This is really bad news. There is an Amtrak Act that forbids anyone from suing Amtrak. For Any Reason, it guess put in place to keep the trains moving.

PASS THE WORD. BOYCOTT AMTRAK> Do NOT EVER MAIL IN TICKETS FoR A REFUND ESP> if you think you'll get it "in a few weeks." It's sad, but if you need to travel bite the bullet and buy the tickets on the spot and pray you'll not go through what the others on this post have endured.

AMTRAK is another reflection of America. A 10 percent "restocking" FEE ON ANY TICKETS. Yeah.. right... for what? To keep your money for as long as they want?

BEWARE AMTRAK IS NOT WHAT THEY CLAIM AND OUR TAX DOLLARS ARE FINANCING THIS NONSENSE?

Sigh..

Oh.. I forgot to be amusing like the review tips suggest: I heard oh any day now.. then, a few weeksk, the next callhung up on me, then I couldn't understand the accent of the rep, another one in Refunds said she didn't know becuause they were in another building, yet another claimed that she wasn't able to give out information (refunds and customer servide) then a guy named Chris claimed to be reading from themanual but he kept changing the information, another woman was in tears when I explained my situatino and admitted how screwed up it was and that she was afraid of losing her job if she didn't make up an answer, there are no supervisors to answer calls, write washington Dc, I don'tz got no informationa I just take calls... if you wnat witty just call AMTRAK!

Search the Internet for Amtrak Ticket Refunds to find out more! And Your input may not help the overall situation but go ahead and let us know!

So I have always heard of great things from my wife about her trips on the train. So we have a family vacation planned and it begins with taking the train up to Disneyland. So plans change and we decided to have my sister in law pick us up by her house in Irvine and go to Disneyland the following day. No big deal right just need to change the destination of the city we are arriving in. So i go down the the Amtrak station and explain to the lady what I need to do. Shes says no problem there will be an increase in the ticket price. The total increase......a big woppin 9 bucks ! No problem I pay it and go on my merry way. So a couple days later Im balancing my check book and I noticed a charge of $165.00 bucks. Well it seems that Amtrak charges the full amount of the tickets and then sends you a credit later to your account. Now this seems a bit odd to me that a simple credit cannot be done in there system and then a balance be charge. So now Im stuck with no credit and $350.00 in overdraft fees. Not good at all, so much for starting out good on our vacation this weekend.

I have just had one of my most unpleased travel experiences and I have traveled all over the world. I always thought a wonderful way to see the country would be from an Amtrak cross country sleeper car. On Friday afternoon I set out on a cross country trek from Washington DC to San Diego California, by Amtrak train. The trip from Washington DC to Los Angeles was by Amtrak sleeper car. I was going to spend 3 nights in an Amtrak sleeper car. One night from DC to Chicago, change trains in Chicago for a two night trip to Los Angeles. Change train in Los Angeles for a 2.5 hour train ride to San Diego.

The trip from DC to Chicago was uneventful. The bulk of the traveling was done at night so I was a little disappointed about not seeing lots of scenery. The upper bunk did NOT have a window so my images of falling asleep while the landscape passed were thwarted. We arrived in Chicago Saturday morning with a 6 hour layover before boarding the Southwest Chief for Los Angeles. After sightseeing in Chicago, we boarded the Southwest Chief sleeper car. Before we left the station in Chicago a fowl smell overtook the sleeper cabin. It smelled like sewage. It lingered then passed after a few minutes. Soon the train took off and the adventure was underway. Soon after leaving the station the smell of sewage appeared again, lingered a few minutes then passed. I assumed it had something to do with the area the train was travelling. Unfortunately it soon became a pattern every 15 minutes or so the entire sleeper car would be overcome with the smell of sewage. The smell would linger and then pass. The smell was coming from the vents. Yes, the vents were emitting the smell of sewage again and again. It soon became unbearable. We entered the lounge car to get away from the smell. We had paid for an expensive sleeper car, but were unable to use it because the smell of sewage was being vented into the room on a regular basis. Four hours out of Chicago, I saw the conductor passing thought the lounge car and mentioned this problem to him. He said he would get back to me since he had to attend to boarding passengers. One hour passed and I had not heard from the conductor. However I could see him having a conversation with staff in the dinning car. I asked him about the smell. Again he told me he would get back to me. Finally someone told me that no other sleeper or coach seats were available, and the lounge car closed at 10:00 PM. The problem was that when the sleeper car in front of my sleeper car flushed their toilets the smell was vented into my sleeper car. For 2 nights and 3 days the customers on my sleeper car were bathed in toilet smells coming through the vents. You can imagine the horror of the experience. We passed through many large train stations between Chicago & Los Angeles……….nothing was done. We were told they would take care of it in Los Angeles. How would that benefit passengers on the train? The train trip ended in Los Angeles. We were told to complain to 1 800 USA Rail. The problem started Saturday and did not end until the train arrived in Los Angeles Monday morning. Customer relations for Amtrak is closed on the weekend. When you called 1 800 USA Rail you are told to call back on Monday. Monday morning 9:00 AM I began calling 1 800 USA RAIL. While I could get through to make a reservation, I could NOT get through to customer relations, I was just forwarded to music. I attempted to find someone to complain to in the Los Angeles & San Diego train stations. In both places I was told to call 1 800 USA RAIL. I was told that typically there are so many calls on Monday to customer relations that you can not get through. I have now spent 6 days while on vacation in San Diego attempting to get thought to customer relations on the 1 800 USA RAIL number. I have literally spent hours listening to the music on hold and have yet to be able to speak to anyone at Amtrak’s customer relations about my experience. Not being able to get through to complain about Amtrak on the 1 800 USA Rail is either an insidious plan by Amtrak or a grand omission. Neither is acceptable. However I was able to get through to the Department of Transportation who forwarded me to the Federal Railroad Administration. They told me that while they do not regulate the toilet problem on Amtrak (they get involved in things like derailments) it is the number one Amtrak complaint. Seems my experience is far from unusual. Unless you are a fan of sewage smells, stay far away from Amtrak especially on long haul trips. During my week in San Diego every time I heard a train whistle it brought back smells of the sewer. Fortunately, I am flying back to DC.

Amtrak is the best! A 3 day rolling party/live music festival that I wished would never end. I'm always so thrilled when I hear that there is going to be a delay! The best and most relaxing and FUN way to get across the country....Thanks Miss Kennedy, for your excellent cocktail wizardry! The journey is the destination!

Amtrak: too expensive for what it offers. I wonder why it isn't bankrupt by now.

I paid 100 $ for 3/4 of the distance from Boston to NYC.
THe train arrived late 30' and there was track work on the way.
On Friday night! Why isn't the work done at noon on a weekday when there's no one traveling?
The train staff are nice, though.

The Fung Wah bus is $15 and MUCH better.
I took that bus at least 10 times and it's on time, they stop for food etc.
I am Eastern European.

we recently took an amtrak train from cleveland to chicago. Seven hours of hell on earth. I would have rather been on the Titanic. at least then i would have been comfortable before i died. I swear i died on the freaking train. my soul left my body because it couldn't stand it any longer. Amtrak is the worst means of transportation ever. the guy sitting next to me was on the run from the law i think. he stunk like a trash can. and the noise, jeez-o-man. I learned my lesson the hard way. from now on it is airline for me. a little extra dough up front makes the trip a lot more enjoyable on the back end.

I was charged a horrendous $15 so-called refund fee when I had to return a ticket because of Amtrak's own fault: the first Amtrak train I took was an hour late so I missed the connection train. An Amtrak employee said, "I understand your situation, but I still have to charge you for the refund." He tried to convince me that I should just keep that ticket and travel with Amtrak again because I could only get $4.50 back after he deducted the fee from the refund. Not a chance. I would not take Amtrak again.

Although the train was an hour late, the crew members didn't even try to pretend that they were willing to help the passengers who had missed their connection trains due to the delay. In fact, they pretended nothing had happened. There was no announcements, no advices, no hints regarding what to do if one missed the next train. If you are not an experienced traveler and do not know how to survive Amtrak's poor, almost non-existant service, you are on your own.

Amtrak could be used as an effective alternative to Water-boarding by the CIA
My wife and I took the Lake Shore Limited from Pennsylvania to New York City in late June 2009. Limited is a much to positive term to use in describing this mess. Our trip took almost 14 hours to reach the city. During that time all but one restroom on the train failed, an airhose broke and needed to be replaced and almost all the train staff remained as stoic and unhelpful as your average DMV worker. The restroom problem was blamed on paper towels that were put in the commodes. The towel dispensers coughed up hands full of tri-fold towels when only one or two were needed and the waste recpticles were soon full. The toilets were the only logical place to dispose of the towels. The crew made no attempt to fix the problems they just locked the doors. The last remaining restroom was a real mess by the end of the trip.
Amtrak could improve their financial situation by simply selling Immodium in the caf'e car for some outrageous price.

Avoid at all costs. Take regional
Trains, drive, fly, inconvience yourself to avoid taking amtrak.
Truley the worst I have been treated by anyone in a customer service role.
We were stopped for two hours with no communication and when I asked if they could let us know
How long it would take the man swore at me, mocked me, and got so close to my face yelling at me I was terrified. He was 200 lbs and I am a small 100 lb female!
Amtrak didn't seem to concerned about the delay or the harrasmenet even when myself and multiple witnesses disucssued it with them.
If you want to get from point a to b ontime, or atleast know what time you'll arrive, don't take amtrak. You'll overpay to be verbally abused by an incomptent staff and a
Company that could care less about their customers

Awful in many ways though it still beats driving, especially if you're going into a major city where a car would be a nuisance. The service, though, is terrible, at least on the Crescent between New Orleans and DC. We rarely saw the attendant in our "1st class" car after we were shown our room. He never mentioned the fact that there is a shower on the car, a feature my son later discovered later on his own. The attendant was not around to help us with our beds, though we managed to figure this out. The door was broken, and the thermostat was not functional, but the attendant was nowhere to be found so we just lived with these things. On the way back the door of our compartment worked but the toilet would not flush. Again, no attendant, so we just managed.

Service in the dining car was somewhat better since I guess there's no place for the staff there to hide. They worked hard, though I would have been unhappy if I had been served this meal in a restaurant; undoubtedly it was all prepared in a microwave, and since our plates never seemed to match our orders we joked that they served us what they had - rice instead of potato, bacon instead of sausage, etc.

All in all it was pretty disappointing, especially given the cost. We were looking for a relaxing ride with maybe a little pampering. It would have been relaxing if not for the annoyance of so many things being broken - I mean it really felt like Amtrak just isn't maintaining their equipment - and there certainly wasn't any pampering.

AMTRAK is a (usually) quick and fast way to get from point A to point B -- well.. it's faster than the bus and runs even when there is snow on the ground (unlike planes, who usually get grounded). It's usually quiet (and I like the idea of the Quiet Car too) and efficient. But after riding it for more than 38 years, I have a few gripes -- and this stuff I mention constantly happens, so here goes:

OK-- first of all, AMTRAK-- WHY does it cost MUCH less to book a trip a few weeks in advance and SO MUCH MORE to book a few days in advance? This is highway robbery! Fares should remain the same, no matter what the time of year or how far in advance you book.

Second- CLEAN YOUR RESTROOMS!! Man do they stink!! I usually rush to use the restroom in the train when I get on at the originating station, so the bathroom is usually pretty clean then -- but it sure stinks after a while -- as bad as some of those Greyhound bathrooms. I try to hold it in until we reach the destination -- if I don't drink anything -- but why should I have to go through this??? AMTRAK -- You can do MUCH better than this!! (PS -- The bathrooms on the NY to Florida trip are even more horrendous. Are we cattle in a cattle train? Put on the train and then left to fend for ourselves?)

The Florida trips have too many "quiet" delays-- we sit there at a station or in the middle of nowhere for a LONG time, and NO ONE tells us what's happening. Or if they do-- you can't always hear it becuz the intercom system is lousy. No conductors walk thru the Florida train after 11 pm -- so if you are trying to sleep and the yakkity yak person in the seat near you is gossiping with a friend, or talking loudly on a cell phone at 3 AM while you are trying to sleep -- it's up to YOU to shut that person up.

Then- I took a long trip from DC to Ohio -- I went to the dining car to eat.... and the attendant, a biig woman of mighty stature -- didn't even bother to TALK to me-- she pointed to my seat at the table -- a seat facing backwards-- I told her "I can't eat when I'm traveling backwards! I'd like a forward-facing seat" She gave me a dirty look and pointed again to the backward-facing seat-- SO.. I walked out and had to skip my meal (there was nothing in the cardboard food menu of the snack bar that appealed to me)

As for attendants, they range from super great (and I applaud them for doing a great job!) to super rotten -- once I overheard a male and female conductor talking about going to an empty car and getting cozy together. Another time I overheard two male attendants joking and laughing about wife-beating -- one of those same attendants had already yelled at me to move my lugagge -- well---duh.. I was getting off at the very next stop and had taken it from the overhead....

Ticket sellers at the terminal have laughed at me for buying a one-way ticket, and once during a phone transaction, one of them coughed loudly into the receiver. I hung up on him for that.

AMTRAK-- 1) teach your conductors to communicate better with the passengers, 2) fix your on-again, off-again PA system, 3) sell better quality food at your Cafe Car, 4) send your personnel to charm school and 5) hire a bathroom attendant for each train.

Well, I have had a number of experiences on Amtrak, and all have been quite enjoyable. I am going to share with you a few stories about not-s-enjoyable, but in hindsight funny, experiences with Amtrak. Bear in mind that this has been on 6 separate trips on Amtrak, so i would say its pretty good.
The first happened on my second trip with Amtrak, something like 6 years ago on the California Zephyr. At about 7:30 AM, as the train was passing through Lincoln, NE, eastbound toward Chicago, we were eating breakfast. Suddenly, the train just stopped. We remained that way for several hours, with no explanation. Turns out, a driver had been looking through a file box and trying to drive at the same time. He did not see the train and his pickup truck struck the side of the second engine at a level crossing (he ended up surviving. The file box in his lap actually saved his life; it lessened the impact against the steering column [no airbags]). The reason we did not hear any announcements was that the conductor and engine crews were outside, speaking to local police. we ended up arriving in Chicago about 5 hours late, in the middle of the night. Actually,the crew was very good in this particular situation. Even though the dining car was not stocked to do another dinner (The train was supposed to arrive before dinner time), they managed to put together a pretty good stew for us. This is a perfect example of my point that your schedule needs to be relaxed on a train trip.
More recently,this next story happened last Summer on the eastbound Empire Builder. We were riding from Seattle to Minneapolis. My dad and I had a bedroom in the sleeper cars- the one with a bathroom in the room. We had the last bedroom in the car, room A, which is always a little smaller due to, you know, the car, well, ending. Well anyway, this posed a problem for my dad, because he's big. He's 6'3" and 280 lbs. The room was fine for me, but he was griping about it the whole trip. Another problem was the bathroom. All the bathrooms in the car stunk. bad. What the problem was turned out to be that if you put a little weight (say, the weight of a turd)on the flap in the bottom of the toilet (that leads to the waste tank), the flap would open and all those great waste-tank smells would come out! great, huh? The problem turned out to be unique to our car, and they said they'd fix it. On the flip side, it was on this trip that we had the best car attendant I have ever had. His name was Tashi. He was always around and easy to find. He was very helpful.
And the last story is also about a car attendant. This happened on the Westbound Cal.Zephyr, on the Denver -> Reno leg, just last week. Our attendant (can't remember her name) was a real jerk. First, she came in and wanted to put down our beds at 8:00, too early for me and just about everybody else on the train. then, she said she would be available to put down beds for another 2 hours. 10:00, OK, I can live with that. Well then at 9:00, we decide to have the beds put down. We press the attendant call button, and then we wait. And wait. And wait some more. Bet you can't guess what we did next! Thats right, we.......waited! We waited for about 15 minutes, figuring she might be making somebody else's bed. Then we figure she'll get there eventually, and, with the attendant call light still on, we went to the lounge car to read and wait for our beds to be put down. About a half our later, my dad sends me back to see if our beds are down. No such luck, and still no sign of the attendant. Then, as I'm leaving the car to go back to the lounge, I see one of the dining car employees. I ask her if she's seen the 531 car attendant. nope. But she does press our button again, and then I go back to the lounge car. Another half hour passed, and still the beds were not made. This time, on my way back to the lounge, I see the conductor. I ask him, and he eventually finds that the attendant dozed off in a chair in the crew car. He sends her to make our beds, and she never said anything to us about the incident.

My husband and I just returned from a trip to Arizona on the Sunset Limited. We boarded in New Orleans and had a roomette. They are small, but adequate for two people. An obese person might have difficulty. Our trip out was fine, other than arriving a couple of hours late in Lordsburg, NM. There is no station there, so you get off and wait to board at the side of the tracks--it's night and dark. On our return, the train status toll free number gave us completely false information, over and over, stating the train was delayed by nearly 2 hours into Lordsburg. I finally talked with a human who verified that. My husband didn't believe it, so we went on down to the tracks about 10 minutes after the scheduled arrival and waited two hours. After numerous phone calls, one in which we were assured we hadn't missed the train and it was on the way to us--we finally got someone who admitted that we had indeed missed the train. It was on time. We were booked on the next train, two days later. My sister was not able to take us back to Lordsburg, due to a doctor's appointment in Tucson, AZ on Monday, so I called Amtrak again and got a very helpful lady named Sandy. She arranged for us to get on the train in Tucson, AZ (two stops before Lordsburg) with a very reasonable rail charge between Tucson and Lordsburg. A roomette was available and other than having to board the train in the wee hours of the morning (there is a station with a waiting room in Tucson, which was a relief) the rest of the trip was very enjoyable. Our bunks were made up when we boarded and we went to bed right away. The train pulled out on time at 2:20 a.m. All the employees on the trip were very helpful and friendly and except for the delays and bad information at the train status phone number, we had a very good trip. We arrived in New Orleans about three and one half hours late, due to a bridge fire in TX which meant we had to take a detour and at one time, crews were working on the tracks and we were parked for 2 hours. I would recommend Amtrack if one is not on a tight schedule. I felt we got good value for the money. The dining car had to serve a few extra meals because of the delays, but they coped quite nicely, although the menu was a bit limited. The meals were not five star quality, but were good and included in the roomette price. NEVER depend on the "train status" phone number is another lesson we learned. Be there when the train is scheduled to arrive, you may have a long wait, but you won't miss it. We will definitely travel with Amtrak again and are looking at other routes.

was wondering if anyone has taken amtrak from Raleigh nc to orlando fl lately and how was the trip?

Thanks,
Liz

I gave 1 star because of my horrible experiences with abusive and rude conductor who insulted me. No matter how clean or nice the train is, as long as there is no procedure to protect customers from getting insulted from the conductors, I will try to avoid using Amtrak at all cost.

On September 13,2008 , I took the train no. 169 - From Boston Bak Bay 6.45 pm to New York Penn Station. My seat was in the second car after the cafe car. I had one 12 x 19 inches luggage. I'm a woman and the luggage was too heavy for me to lift and put in the compartment above my head. However, it fits the space underneath my seat perfectly. Every time I travelled by Amtrak ,I usually put it underneath my seat and never had any problem. I made sure my luggage didn't take the space underneath the seat of the seat next to me too. I had 2 shopping bags, and put them on the floor in front of my feet ( they don't take the space of the seat next to me at all ). There was nobody sitting next to me, and i didn't have any of my stuff on that available seat. When the conductor came in, he told me I needed to put the bags in the compartment. I told him my luggage was too heavy but it fit the space underneath the seat and I always do this every time I used Amtrak without any problem. Then he said" The reason you need to do this because I SAID SO". I moved the 2 shopping bags to the compartment but I could not have my luggage moved to compartment because it was too heavy. Especially I am a woman and travelled alone and when I need to get off the train, there is usually nobody offering help and the conductor is usually not around to offer any help. The conductor left and while I was focused on reading a book, he came back and put his face so close to me and said " Thank you". It scared me because his face didn't need to be that close. I didn't want to have a problem with him so I didn't respond. I just wanted him to leave me alone.
Then I took a nap. And all in the sudden this conductor woke me up and raised his voice saying" This is the last time I'm going to tell you. You need to move your luggage ". I was confused because 10 mins ago, he came to thank me and this minute he yelled at me. I think he was upset that I didnt respond anything when he thank me. Then I told him it was too heavy to be lifted", then he raised his voice and got angry . He said " DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM ? He pointed his finger to his ID while saying that and continued saying " DO YOU WANT TO GET OUT AT THE NEXT STATION ? " I said " No, because I purchased a ticket and i had a full right to my destination " Then, he grabbed my luggage ( with out asking me) to the space next to the bathroom. I had a concern because I had a laptop , money and valued properties in that luggage . By moving my luggage away to the spot that I could not have my eyes on , who is going to be responsible if someone took my luggage? So, I told the conductor that I wanted to move to another car ( so that I can find a spot that I keep my eyes on my luggage). The conductor told me that " NO YOU CAN NOT MOVE ANYWHERE ELSE . I'M TELLING YOU THAT ALL THE SEATS ARE FULL ". I didn't want to believe but because he raised his voice and it already frightened me enough , I didn't argue. I waited until he left then I carried my luggage and bags with me to find a better spot to sit. I walked toward a cafe car. Then, I bumped into him again. He used his body to block my way. And he said " Where are you going ? " I said " I'm moving to a new seat " . Then he said " You can not because I have all the seats of the next car reserved for a big group of customers ". I replied "I'm going to find a seat in the car prior to the next car then " . While I walked away from him. He said" go wherever you want but you can not put your luggage underneath the seat" So, I walked passing the cafe car. The whole car prior to the cafe was empty. I went to the next car and there were only 4-5 customers in the whole car. So, why the conductor stopped me from moving at the beginning and even told me " all the seats are full " ? He lied and just wanted to play the game and showed off his power. Also, what is such a big deal of me putting a luggage that fits the space underneath my seat ( no one was sitting next to me too) ? This conductor definitely has an attitude problem or he hates asian girl .Whatever it is,he has no right to raise his voice at me and said " DO you want to get off next station " just because he is a conductor . While I walked passing by other cars, I saw some people having their bags underneath the seats. Some have their belonging on the seat next to them. Some even slept on 2 seats. I'm not saying that just because other people can go against the rule, then I can. THe point is I didn't do anything wrong. The luggage fits the space under my seat but the conductor wanted to give me a hard time. If the luggage is not allowed to put underneath the seat, why he let other

I'm giving Amtak 1 star only because of the fare price. Otherwise they would get no stars! To start with there is no service in ID. I had to travel by Greyhound to Salt Lake City. And of course they couldn't schedule a bus to arrive close to the departure time. I had to reserve a motel room for the 10 hrs I would have to wait for my connection. I arrived at the station by 3:30 am for my 4:30 departure time. That went rather smoothly, at that hr the station master was relatively friendly. I didn't know it then but that would be the last friendly employee I would meet. The conductors and other personnel on the Ca Zephyr were rude and curt. The only passengers that were treated with anything resembling courtesy were the handicapped. And I wouldn't rate that as really friendly. My grandson & I were assigned seats and then ignored. I had traveled by train as a child (remember the Wabash Cannonball? Wonderful memories). This trip was nothing like that. While there was lots of leg room and overhead storage they did not provide blankets (the coach was cold)and the pillows were a joke! Maybe for a doll bed but not for humans. Restrooms were extremely dirty and smelly. Ours broke down and we had to go to the car ahead. This lasted for over 8 hrs. The train rocked, rolled and bounced so hard it was impossible to sleep. I remember the soothing motion of trains long past. This was more like a roller coaster ride. While the view was fantastic from SLC to Denver it was impossible to get a seat in the observation car. Certain passengers would get there early and stake out a seat. Train personnel could have done something about this but apparently had other more important jobs to do than take care of passengers. Train staff were discourteous and surly at times. Food was ok but overpriced and portions were very small. Impossible to enjoy a meal due to the rocking, bouncing and jerking of the train. Meals were always late. Some passengers were still being called to dinner at 9:30 pm. I don't know why they bothered with reservations since you were never called at your reserved time. Our train was 3 hrs late getting in to Chicago and we missed our connection. We had to be bussed to Indianapolis where we caught our train (the Cardinal) which was also late. The Cardinal was freezing and smelly. They did have newer, cleaner restrooms however, and the staff was relatively friendly. Arrived in Cincinnati 4 hrs late. By this time my grandson had been traveling for 50 hrs + and were dirty, tired and disgusted. Oh yeah, the website states there are showers on the train. Yes, maybe, if you are first class or have a roomette or bedroom. I guess common passengers don't need to bathe. They probably think we are used to bathing only once a week. As horrendous as the trip to Cincinnati was, the trip back was even worse. Every train was late but fortunately the layovers were long enough that no connections were missed. We were supposed to have a 3 1/2 layover in Chicago but barely had time to detrain, grab a bite to eat and get to the next gate. There we were herded to our train. I am 62 so I got to board first. We were not assigned seating so my grandson and I found seats together but moved when a family with 3 children sat across from us. We should have stayed there because in our new seats we were surrounded by 2 families all with small unruly children. One mother traveling with her mother had 4 children under the age of 7, one was a baby. The children were loud and the baby cried most of the trip. Another mother with 2 small boys sat in front of us. She was traveling with another family member. This mother believed if she repeated a command often enough eventually her small son would obey. Not only did he not obey, he repeated continuous demands of his own. This child would throw himself down in the middle of the aisle and refuse to move. His mother continually requested he get up but did not physically remove him. Staff and passengers had to climb over him. For the entire 34 + hrs of the trip I had to listen to crying, whining, loud children. Once I went to the observation car to get away from them but they followed me. Why didn't I change seats? I tried but was told to return to my original seat. I asked for a change and was refused. I was so sleep deprived and upset I cried for over an hour. Several staff went by but no one stopped to ask if I was ok. We finally arrived in SLC and I was actually looking forward to the bus ride to Boise. The attendant in the SLC station was rude. I called several hotels and finally got one that had a room. They neglected to tell me they were 25 miles from SLC. I had the station attendant call for a taxi and the taxi driver informed me of the distance. He was pissed when I told him never mind. Went back to the station, found a room in town and asked for another taxi to be called. The attendant actually chastised me for dismissing the first taxi!! He reluctantly called a second taxi for me and I gladly

One word to sum up my trip on Amtrak: NIGHTMARE!
I was interested in saving money to travel from Iowa to Colorado. I found a great deal, or so I thought, by purchasing a ticket for a train ride with Amtrak.

On July 13, 2008, I boarded the train in Osceola, Iowa--which was 1.5 hours late. They had to wait for 2 freight trains to pass by. You see, Amtrak doesn't own their any rail lines--they are at the mercy of the freight trains and have to move over when needed--thus slowing up the Amtrak lines.
I had a great time in Denver, but when it was time to head home, it was a mess!! My train was supposed to depart Friday evening, July 18, 2008 at 8:10 pm. I was notified by an Amtrak Rep. that it was over 4 hours late, so our new departure time was 12:30 am--Saturday. I checked the internet around 11 pm that night and it had been even further delayed until 1:30 am. My friend dropped me off at Union Station in Denver around 1 am. At 1:15 we were notified that it wouldn't be until 2:15 that we would depart. Groans echoed the walls of the station. After boarding--which by the way--you have to find your own seat--that's not much fun when people have been on the train since California and they are taking up both seats.
Anyhow, we pulled out of Denver around 3 am!! My trip was supposed be about 12 hours. I didn't arrive in Osceola, Iowa until 6 pm that day-July 19th-15 hours on the train. I felt especially sorry for the guy sitting next to me who had been on the train since noon Thursday--July 17th!! He hadn't showered in 52 hours PLUS!!! He still had his wits about him, but others were getting extremely irritated and rightfully so!! Amtrak was supposed to put up all of the people on the train in hotels and provide food coupons because the rest of the people on the train were headed to Chicago and wouldn't get in until midnight or later. They had all missed their connections. It was ridiculous. We were constantly stopping and starting. It was my first and last time on the Amtrak. My time is worth more to me and I will pay the high price of flying instead of wasting my time waiting around. My advice: do not travel with Amtrak--until they get their own lines.
I gave them one star because of the price....that's the only good thing and it's not good enough.

My wife and I took the Empire Builder from Chicago to Seattle and back. Although we ran into some major delays on the return trip due to the flooding in Wisconsin, the entire trip was very enjoyable. The staff was very friendly and helpful. They apologized for being 5 minutes late getting to Seattle because normally they get there early! Try getting that service on the airlines! We did not have to shove our luggage through a scanner, take off our shoes or otherwise be treated like an inmate in a prison like you are treated at the airport. Although the sleeper cars are a bit pricey, I figured that driving with motels would be more expensive (and tiring). For the sleeper (first class passengers) there was a wine and cheese testing session on part of the trip. The scenery was spectacular from the train windows and there were National Park volunteers explaining some the sights we passed through. I hope AMTRAK service can be expanded and improved and I hope Congress is listening. We need more train service in this country.

So far I have been happy with my experience. Hopefully I don't jinx it by writing a good review. It is better than flying. The kids are not stuck in a seat. If you have kids with you get the family room that way you can have some space for the kids to stretch their legs and be contained away from other passengers. Also a place to do time out. I took the autotrain three times so far. And I took the train from schenectady to Chicago and then to Milwaukee. I like train travel better than airplanes and driving. I think that some improvements can be made. But overall I think that not only is it good to save gas. It is a good way to relax, have a glass of wine and sit back and watch a movie. Or look out the window and see the scenery. (you can't enjoy that when you are busy driving. Though some things about flying are coo (like looking at things from above) You have to remain seated in the airplane. You can stretch your legs on the train. The food is decent too. I like the food. And I am a picky eater, I like quality. I think that improvements do need to be made and more money needs to go into the upkeep of the trains. The Autotrain is probably the best kept of the trains. I love train travel.

Took Amtrak from NYC to Orlando to save money. Positives: Seats were comfortable. Plenty of leg room. My children didn't mind the 24hour ride. My mother liked it (she has a fear of flying). Coach class fare was excellent (I saved nearly $2000). No need to show up 2 hours before. Overhead compartments are roomy. Negatives: The coach car was oppressively hot (over 80 degrees). After numerous complains from the passengers,8 hours later, it was fixed. (We were fanning ourselves with the passenger safety manual). Amtrak overbook the trains I was told by 5% and in this case, everyone showed up. No one came to our car to make reservations for dinner (first class and sleeper are first priority and there was no more space for us). The food at the snack bar was over-priced so if you didn't bring your own food, you were ###t out of luck. Two infants crying for 18 hours (out of the 24) was not pleasant. (Bring your iPod). After 2 hours, the toilet in the car had to be locked because of "blockage". The toilet in the other car had a horrible smell. One the trip back, we asked that the toilets be cleaned--3hours later, one of the passengers took it upon herself to clean them because they were so unsanitary (I suggest refraining from drinking fluid so you don't have to go as often & bring handy wipes). The PA system, did not work (on both trips). All we heard was loud static. God forbid there was an emergency. The worst was on the trip back to NYC when the static came on and wouldn't shut off (AT 3AM)!!! I was told by a friend that she took Amtrak, upgraded to a sleeper and she loved it. My thing was saving money and based on my calculations, 24 hours in an Amtrak sleeper vs. 2 hours on JetBlue. JetBlue won (similar price and shorter time).

My wife and I traveled on Amtrak from Harrisburg, PA to NYC for vacation on the first week of July '07. An overall pleasant experience. On-time both ways, due to the fact that Amtrak owns the rail lines between the two points (so I'm told), so they don't have to compete with the freight trains. Staff was very friendly. Red-Cap service at Penn Station was first-rate, very accommodating in assisting with our luggage! This was our first experience with rail travel and we will definitely travel with Amtrak again!

I travel quite frequently on Amtrak between Jefferson city and St. Louis MO, and I have to say that, for the most part, the trip is extremely pleasant.  I travel bussiness class which, for only 40 bucks more round trip (way less than airline upgrades and still costs less than gas) gives me very nice seat with lots of legroom, a traditional power outlet, an included drink and snack, and large overhead luggage racks.  The staff is always friendly and I have never had a problem with them.  My only grip is that the train is not on time both directions.  From St. Louis to Jeff City, the train is always on time, the other direction though, the train is always at least one and a half hours late.  Other than that though, I would highly recommend Amtrak.

ha ha ha...... check this out.. i have to go from san antonio(TX) to san jose(CA) on dec 2nd week, i thought of taking the amtrak and searched for the route. voila!!!! it gave me a route to go to springfield(IL) for 27hrs and then to san fransico for 57hrs and after that to san jose. the humour is here, i searched for a train from san antonio to san fransico, it showed me a train route straight from san antonio through NM and AZ which took only 33hrs in total.. try it out yourself.. hope i wouldnt have to travel to new york next time i go from san antonio to dallas. LOL :D

I started taking Amtrak in March of 2006 as my way of "giving the finger" to the airlines. My trips on Amtrak (though not on time and not their fault) have been alot better experiences than the hell of air travel now. I can doze, sleep and nap comfortably, the food is alot better than on an airplane, I haven't had one rude employee and the whole experience is so much more pleseant then flying has gotten to be over the last decade. To this day, the latest I was arriving on Amtrak was 11 hours and it didn't cost me a dime for the lateness. United Airlines got me to my arrival city 14 hours late, made me pay %50 on a hotel room I slept in for two hours for a conference that is once every 5 years. I was also two hours late coming home due to United Airlines so my total "lateness" by United for that one weekend trip was 16 hours. Do the math! And you want to talk about rude employees?!? I was in line for 3 hours at United Customer Pimping desk to be bitched at and treated like crap for a flight that they made me miss and I never even raised my voice once. I just wanted my %50 off hotel voucher so I could sleep that night. Oh...it took 30 minutes to get to my hotel as well.

Just recently finished a trip with AMTRAK, the Empire builder from Milwaukee to Saint Cloud MN. Travel time was supposed to be Eight hours forty five minutes. Well twelve and a half hours later I arrived. Massive unexplained delays and power outages were the norm for the trip. Seats were comfortable. Staff courteous. On the return trip the delay was about a hour and a half, I was tickled. They have to fix the delay problems. The price was fair. The stations were old and not to clean, but I expected that. The two star rating was for the delays. Bring your own food and drink for short trips as onboard food is super pricey.

unrealiable!! no re-imbursements. 4 out of my 4 trips on amtrak trains have xperienced at last an hour delays because of reasons like a person jumping in front of thetrain (!), broken nsignal system, train will not go any more *(with half the route left), etc. terrible, and unfriendy officials.

Amtrak needs all the help it can get, and I have never had a bad experience on Amtrak. And ive ridden Amtrak at least half a dozen times.

Excellent service on every trip that I had taken on Amtrak.

The site is comprehensive and provides 99% of the needed information. Amtrak can be a lot of fun so long as you recognize it is more of a travel experience than quick transportation. Plan on delays. As to the staff, I have rarely had bad staffing experiences. At least no worse than airline flight attendants.

Amtrak used to be a great way to travel and an excellent alternative to air travel........ No more. I spent three days on this crazy train........ California Zephyr........ from California to Ohio in August of 03. The experience was mediocre at best. Not only are the Amtrak employees rude and unfriendly but also downright hateful and hostile to say the least. They all behaved like Nazis. The train at night was below freezing, probably so they could sell those bogus felt blankets of theirs. The food in the dining car was subpar, and the food in the snack car was very expensive.......... $2.00 for a cup of Noodles... HELLO!!! I guess they figure since you are trapped on the train, you really have no other choice than to go hungry. The only redeeming quality for the over glorified Greyhound could be the awesome views you see on the way to your destination, that you would probably miss if you were in a car or a plane. If you ever find yourself in the Chicago Union station........ FORGET about encountering any helpful employees, Especially the bitch at the information desk. She was very venomous and almost physical about it....... a very unpleasant woman......... Should be fired immediatly. In conclusion......... Stick with flying, it is about the same cost now as Amtrak but you will get there in half the time, and probably not have former welfare recipients as employees.

Disgruntled employees. Don't expect friendly service aboard a train! Those days are gone I'm afraid to say. I have tried to do my part and be a loyal Amtrak traveler to help save this dying form of transportation. However, clearly the management and train employees don't care for their future, then neither should I. I'm back to air travel!

My husband and I traveled on an AmTrak train for our honeymoon. We had booked first class tickets in advance, but when we boarded the train we were told our room was occupied. We finally got a room, but the lights did not work and it was not clean. To top off our trip, they lost some of our luggage, which had honeymoon souviners and Christmas gifts for our families. Over one month later, I still have not heard a thing from AmTrak about my luggage.

I have always enjoyed train travel, and Amtrak is no exception. I recently boarded the Capitol Limited (Train 30) From Chicago Il, to Washingon D.C. The only problem was that it was about a half an hour late leaving Union Staton. Once I boarded the train the helpful car attendant directed me to my deluxe bedroom sleeper. The room was very comfortable, clean, and scenic. The Complementary meals in the first class portion of the diner were great. I watched a movie at night, had a nice breakfast in the morning, then took a rest in the sightseer Lounge with a cup of hot coffee. We arrived in D.C. about an hour late, and was told by the Amtrak Staff to have a wonderful stay. The trip back was equally pleasant.

I have traveled on several amtrak trains in California and liked them all. I especially liked the trip I took on the Coast Starlight in a sleeper, it had really great food, service and comfort. However, almost every train I have been on has had delays, and I can't remember a single time that the train was on time. Amtrak needs to address this problem and work it out with the freight railroads which are the main cause. Even though amtrak has a ton of problems, I think that if it was given a clear directive, good leadership, and full financial support it could really be a first class transportation system.

The website is clunky. The fares are too high. Yes, I enjoy riding the train but the public transportation system is just horrible in the USA. The country is just too big. I've wanted to ride the train but I've had instances where an airline fare was cheaper than a train ticket. Nonsense.

With aldo respect to Amtrak, they have bigger problems then there website. They are in big financial trouble. Unfortunately, Americans arent big train travelers, as opposed to, say, Canadians.

I will give them 3 stars only because I think it's great that Amtrak is managing to improve their website. Any business worth 2 cents these days has some kind of web presence and it is always wise to keep it fresh, dynamic and user friendly. I've been to their site so I have no doubt they are managing to do this very well these days. HOWEVER, to me the big mystery with them has nothing to do with technology but rather why they can't seem to apply this very simple "fresh, dynamic and user friendly" philosophy to their service as well? As little as one year ago, I would have still described myself as one of the last of a dying breed of people still enamored by train travel. And, I always had a lot of really nice things to say whenever the subject would happen to come up. But, I am sad to say, my last trip to Chicago in December ended this very long love affair. Not long ago (5 years or so) there were at least two trains per day going to and from Chicago from my town. When I tried to make reservations for this trip, I was told that the only train now going to Chicago at the time would be leaving at the ungodly hour of 4:48 a.m. Actually, I think that was a "special" holiday schedule since before that the departure time was about an hour earlier. Reviewing all my fond memories of train travel that go from fairly recent all the way back to some great coast-to-coast trips of my childhood, I decided not to let the odd time factor stop me. On the day of the trip I was there bleary-eyed, but bright and early. Unfortunately, the train was not. In fact, it arrived at least an hour late. This, I found out, was not unusual, but now apparently the norm. The attitude of the Amtrak personnel about this was pretty ho hum to say the least. Then, I get on the train expecting once I'm settled in, to be able to go to the dining car and buy a cup of coffee and breakfast sandwich as I always had on these early morning trips. I soon found out there was not only no dinning car or snack bar, but actually no other car (that we could enter) at all. The only thing available now was a sorry little collection of vending machines - in which several of the selections were not even available! I also found the car was completely different than the ones they once had. Now, a big factor in my on-going good opinion of train travel was the fact that the seats and legroom was on the level of the first class section of an airplane. On top of that, you also had plenty of room to keep your luggage just above or near your seat - which made detraining quicker and more convenient. Well, I guess the tradeoff for newer and smaller seats was a much more cramped and stuffy space. In addition, luggage had to be stored in the compartment on the level below the passengers - another new, idiotic design feature is that the car is now double-decker making it much less accessible to the handicapped passengers - talk about a giant step backward. Even the conductor - who answered my questions in a dull monotone - seemed to have no personality, in contrast to the friendly guys who once worked this route. I don't expect a floorshow, but you would think he might have put up some pretense that he was not just there waiting for the dead lice to fall off him. It was just so weird that in such a short period of time between my last trip and this it had gone from a well packed two or three cars of people heading off to Chicago to do their holiday shopping, etc. to less than ¼ the amount of passengers. If anyone out there has had a better experience with train travel lately, I would love to hear about it. This is one of those times I really hope I'm wrong, but, the way I see it now, at the rate Amtrak appears to be sinking coupled with their obvious death wish, it's going to take much more than an up to date website to keep them going much longer.

Just even a year or so ago the Amtrak site was super lousy, I'm talking bad but recently they've really cleaned it up. Not to mention that they are touting their new Acelo train, the high speed service, that will be travelling the east coast routes as up to 150 mph. They also have lots of specials for purchasing on line, for students, passes, seasonal etc. It looks like Amtrak is finally trying to catch up!!