My parents, heading from Western, Ma to Florida to visit some friends decided to give Amtrak a try.


Phase 1

Get on Amtrak in Springfield Ma to NYC where they would switch trains for the trip to Orlando. Ride was good, train was full but no issues. Arrive on time.


Phase 2

Problem one, train out of NYC delayed a hour for what ever reason. My parents decided to do coach all the way, why I don't know. Anyway trip to DC no issue, fast made up some time no problems. Ten car train is pack with families heading to WDW. This will be a problem later on.

Problem two, Once past DC and now on CSX trackage the problems begine. Slow orders galore. Line is filled with freights and it's 25 miles or less through most of the mid Atlantic states. Overnight still on CSX tracks the lines are bumpy, very bumpy. Along with the slow speed and the screaming kids my parents had a rough night.

Problem Three. All bathrooms are full and over flowing with you know what


With all that and after 30 hours in a train my parents arrived safely; they are going to try to upgrade to a sleeper for the trip back.


Now there are alot of issues here. Some Amtraks fault, some CSX fault, some US faults for lack of vision in rail passenger service. What can be done to improve service?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: superwarp1,

Could have taken a plane, and gotten a ticket on American Airlines and spent days at a terminal with the other 100,000 stranded passengers. The kids would have LOVED that. It seems like you can't get from here to there anymore.

Too bad, it takes a real sense of adventure to ride Amtrak coach for any
kind of distance. But hey, this was pretty much true even in the golden
days of yesterday, except today the parents don't know much about taking
care of their kids under these circumstances. Sleeper is way more money
but absolutely the way to go. Just did PGH to Grand Juction not long ago
and even with a few "warts" it was most excellent. Sure it could be
better, if enough people make enough noise. Instead of being reactive,
it's time to get proactive !!!

I've heard stories of bad Amtrak experiences and also of good expereinces. The NE corridor rails are all welded , high speed and maintained well. I've had nothing but good expereiences on the Acela and Metroliner.
However, the CSX trackage South of DC is not built for high speed and may even use traditional bolted rail. It was designed for freight service not high speed passenger service but Amtrak still uses it.
My brother in-law just got back from a Florida trip on the Autotrain. He's a pretty fat guy so he booked a handicapped room. He said that the food was excellent and the offering of snacks was impressive. He really enjoyed the wine and cheese hour too. He confirmed that the ride is not all that smooth so it is hard to sleep even in a private bedroom, but still far better than trying to sleep in a coach with 60 or so other people, some of whom stay up all night and decide that you should stay up as well.
If you travel long distance by train, I would say that a private bedroom with a bath is the only way to go. If you don't want to bear the full cost of a room with private bath, "Roomettes", basically a cubicle with two chairs that convert to beds at night) are available at a lower cost but you forgo the private bathroom.
We are doing the trip in June on the Autotrain to Florida in a private bedroom w bath and if security permits,( and my wife is at least in her pajamas) I will have lots of pictures to post.

I guess my coach rides have been okay. Usually no problems with kids, though there is the potential.

And yes, a roomette on a viewliner is fine. Sharing the bathroom/shower on the viewliner isn't that big of a deal as there are usually less people to use it.

One time the silver star took 15hrs to get from deerfield beach to Raleigh on a trip that we were on.

Track conditions south of DC have been horrible and probably will remain that way until some sort of high speed network is further developed....theres something being investigated now, forget the website. Until then, the passenger trains are at the mercy of csx and NS.

Update,

Talked to my parents today and they did upgrade to a sleeper for 190 bucks. Not bad.

Worth every penny on any trip beyond the eight hour limit. And then there's always the guy who wants to talk, and picks you as his seat mate... augh! It's worse than sitting next to the fat guy in coach on US Air!

Jon

Most of the trackage for CSX S-Line is in pretty bad shape if you read this post on TrainOrders.Com There's been talk about moving the Silver Star off CSX and on to NS but that been a running rumor for years. CSX now has a new plan to upgrade the S line for high-speed freight and rail service to Florida. There entire line will be triple track with some stretches have 4 tracks. Passenger speed would be in the 110's while freights would run at 70 or 80 mph.
I doubt this plan will take place because CSX wants the taxpayers to pay for all the grade separation project that will need to take place.

You asked how to fix the problems, and part of the answer is simple. The Amtrak part is the simple part: add several doses of large budget increases for both operating expenses and for capital expenditures for equipment, and voila, you can have more frequent, longer, and less crowded trains, more and less expensive sleepers and overall better service. After a budget infusion Amtrak must be granted time to implement changes, acquire new cars, locomotives, and crews, etc., and then this can happen.

The second part is not so simple, that of improved track conditions and much improved track priority for Amtrak vis-a-vis CSX or other freight lines. Neither Amtrak nor Congress can dictate under current laws how they maintain or run their railroad, though in theory there is power in the FRA and in regulatory or legislative oversight. The plain fact is that such does not and will not happen in the near future. Our current version of government believes fully in the freee market economy and that investment therefore seeks its most rational common denominator in the most profitable places. The issue is that public policy and public good come a distant second almost all the time under this philosophy, and the public good be damned unless in the rare cases where both interests coincide simultaneously (I cannot think of any examples, but there must be some somewhere).

A rule of thumb that your parents have now learned is never, ever ride coach overnight, for their experience is the norm, not the exception. You would only do this if you are using Amtrak like you would a bus, for the lowest possible cost to get from point a to point b.

My 2 cents..Since I've switched from the Delta shuttle to Amtrak to DC I can not complain at all. Latest train has been 25 mins tops. I've taken this route 30+ times. Can't comment on the other track sections.


Friday 4/11 to fly from JFK to Las Vegas took me 17 hours...couldn't change planes thanks to American. 6 more hours I could have driven it.

rat

Last year I rode Amtrak from NYC to Pittsburgh for a convention. NS let us out of Harrisburg ahead of a couple of their freights and we got into Pittsburgh 15 minutes early. Return trip was uneventful the year before (the second year I missed the train by mere minutes and had to take Greyhound back to NYC. Luckily they had an agreement in place that allowed them to accept the Amtrak tickets)

I'll be making the same trip at the end of June this year. I'll see how it pans out.

---PCJ

quote:

Posted April 17, 2008 02:53 PM Hide Post
Last year I rode Amtrak from NYC to Pittsburgh for a convention. NS let us out of Harrisburg ahead of a couple of their freights and we got into Pittsburgh 15 minutes early.

The big variable here. What railroad you are traveling on and how nice they are to Amtrak.

Put a mail storage car on the train.

Perhaps the railroad with the blue and yellow diesels should reletter them to SUX.

Update,

I'm parents are returning on Amtrak tonight. Train left Orlando on time. The sleeper was clean and they are well rested. I'm picking them up at the station tomorrow night. I'll take a video.

Just spoke to my parents. The night was good. Dinner was great. They slept, and breakfast was also great. 45 min late into DC, not bad in my opinion. With a three hour layover in Penn central, they are now in New Heaven switching motive power.

With a three hour layover in Penn central, they are now in New Heaven

...as compared to old heaven?

Penn Central?!?!?

Gary, you shouldn't be driving to the station in that condition!

Jon

Ok Penn station, slakdf;lakjsdf;laskjdf

FWIW, I have been reading this thread and feel I should share with all interested a recent rail trip south, having traveled over CSX and NS mains. Here is a brief rundown with scheduled times and actual times:

Ashland, VA
Scheduled Dp: 1112 hrs
Actual Dp: 1128 hrs

Washington, DC
Scheduled Ar: 1325 hrs
Actual Ar: 1321 hrs

Washington, DC - SB Crescent
Scheduled Dp: 1830 hrs
Actual Dp: 1832 hrs

Clemson, SC
Scheduled Ar: 0539 hrs
Actual Ar: 0536 hrs

As can be seen above, passenger train travel can work effectively and efficiently, when all parties concerned work together; in this case, Amtrak, CSX, and NS. I will update this later with a summary of the northbound leg. Right now, I have to go to work.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: hoghead,

I have taken the auto-train (roomette or bedroom) several times, without major delays. About a month ago flights out of Jax were delayed & I caught the aftenoon train to DC. First time I was in a Slumberliner (?, & was ina roomtette; I found it rode much smoother than the newer double deckers used on the Auto-Train.

Walking thru the train I did notice that the Amfleet cars were really bouncing.

I agree the CSX track is rought.

Other than the hard as rock beds in the sleepers. My parents plan to do it again someday. Now if the Feds would stop spending money on highways and transfer a little of that money to passenger trains. Things would be so much better. My parents asked the conductor how old the equipment is. The answer was around 30 years. Now that's sad, really sad

My wife, son and I took the Silver Meteor down to Orlando, Florida on December 21, 2008 for our Christmas vacation. The Dining Car was nice but the service personnel were gruff - we felt like we were imposing. Compared to the 1st class rail service we have had in Europe and Japan, the amenities for paying for sleeping car service with Amtrak (1st Class???) were few (free dinner/breakfast/lunch in the diner) -- we had 2 roomettes -- and we really like the privacy of the rooms versus coach. The Viewliner sleeping cars need to be replaced - they are old. Even on the NY to Wash leg (NEC) they were not smooth. And the track south of DC was absolutely terrible. Only my young son slept soundly. And the sad thing was that the Amtrak engineer was highballing as best as he could to get us to Orlando on time. It's a shame, when the airlines give such terrible service, you would think Amtrak would take advantage of the marketing opportunity and stress the "sleeping car service". NY to FLA can be a "great family experience" (my son loved the Train and Disney and Universal Studios) if Amtrak focused on delivering the type of service that we are use to receiving in Europe and Japan for sleeping car service (FIRST CLASS). The Silver Service could indeed be stellar but unfortunately the service does not live up to its billing.

quote:

Originally posted by superwarp1:
Other than the hard as rock beds in the sleepers. My parents plan to do it again someday. Now if the Feds would stop spending money on highways and transfer a little of that money to passenger trains. Things would be so much better. My parents asked the conductor how old the equipment is. The answer was around 30 years. Now that's sad, really sad

Several years ago I had the opportunity to ride a 60+ year old heavyweight Pullman. It rode like a Pullman! Those old 12-wheelers were designed to absorb the bumps.

KL

Don't blame Amtrak completely. The federal govt pours billions into the airlines, but Congressman scream about any subsidy for Amtrak. The European RRs are heavily subsidized. SO AMtrak does the best it can.

I ride Amtrak frequently. I've taken the Auto-Train about 5 times and take the ACela Express 1st class to Boston from DC monthly. I have never experienced a grouchy person, although some are happier than others (we all have bad days). I rode the Silver Meteor once, and the car attendent was excellent; I also felt the old SLumberliners road better than the double deckers on the Auto-Train.

The rails south of Washington towards Richmond and Florida are CSX. The roadbed is lousy, and the route is mostly single-tracked with passing sidings. Again, AMtrak has no control over roadbed or traffic priorities.