# Auto Train delays



## W6ORZ (Nov 1, 2019)

I'm an infrequent Amtrak traveler. But, we are taking the Auto Train to FL on Saturday, 11/1. I saw last night that 52 and 53 both left several hours late. I didn't think of the implications until today. Today (Friday) both trains showed arrival estimates about 8 hours late. That means both trains arrive about the same time they are supposed to head back the other direction. Am I correct in my assumption that when 52 arrives in LOR it is unloaded, serviced and then becomes 53 heading for SFA that afternoon? If that;s correct, then the ripple effect from yesterday's delay might take several days before getting back on schedule. Is that how train travel works? This may be a dumb question for more experienced rail travelers; but I really have no experience in a situation like this. I've spent enough years on airplanes to know how they handle delays - but lack a frame of reference for Amtrak. So, hoping someone on this forum can help with my education. 

Thanks


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## Thirdrail7 (Nov 1, 2019)

W6ORZ said:


> That means both trains arrive about the same time they are supposed to head back the other direction. Am I correct in my assumption that when 52 arrives in LOR it is unloaded, serviced and then becomes 53 heading for SFA that afternoon? If that;s correct, then the ripple effect from yesterday's delay might take several days before getting back on schedule. Is that how train travel works?



Due to the limited sets of equipment on that route, that's how it works on the Auto Train. They can chip away at the delays until it is corrected (since they can usually turn the train in 4 to 5 hours if there aren't any issues) or they may cancel a leg to straighten things out.


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## W6ORZ (Nov 1, 2019)

Thirdrail7 said:


> Due to the limited sets of equipment on that route, that's how it works on the Auto Train. They can chip away at the delays until it is corrected (since they can usually turn the train in 4 to 5 hours if there aren't any issues) or they may cancel a leg to straighten things out.



Thanks - That's what I thought.


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## RichieRich (Nov 1, 2019)

" Is that how train travel works?"
LOL - Yes! As an 8-times-a-year A/T regular...I've seen it all. At least you got out...right?. They hit a point where they will simply cancel both ends for a day to reset the schedule...and you're really outta luck. Did you get the chicken picnic dinner in the station lobby. We did in Sanford when we got out at 10:00PM. It really wasn't half bad. Rather be late then not at all.


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## Seaboard92 (Nov 1, 2019)

Welcome to the Auto-Pain I mean Auto Train


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## W6ORZ (Nov 1, 2019)

RichieRich said:


> " Is that how train travel works?"
> LOL - Yes! As an 8-times-a-year A/T regular...I've seen it all. At least you got out...right?. They hit a point where they will simply cancel both ends for a day to reset the schedule...and you're really outta luck. Did you get the chicken picnic dinner in the station lobby. We did in Sanford when we got out at 10:00PM. It really wasn't half bad. Rather be late then not at all.



We haven't "got out" yet - we're on 53 tomorrow (Sat, 11/2( I keep looking at the train status ans 52 today (Fri, 11/1) is estimated to depart now - 8:50p - and arriving in LOR on Saturday at around 1. I don't believe that one! I've been looking at the history - At seems to frequently leave early and estimate early at the other end - but end up arriving late. Hopefully 52 can arrive around 1 and 53 can get out before 8 or 9 pm. We have a 90 minute drive to LOR, so I'm concerned about what time to leave on Saturday. I'll see what they're estimating in the morning. but, no call from Amtrak cancelling 53 for tomorrow - yet!


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## Seaboard92 (Nov 1, 2019)

Can someone correct me if I’m wrong. But I believe they have autoracks on both ends. So they might still do the load out at the same time because of that. That would greatly help reduce turn time.


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## W6ORZ (Nov 2, 2019)

This is getting more entertaining! I started with a robo-call from Amtrak at 7am telling me about a delay on 53. Now we can check in cars up until 5pm, snacks in the terminal, no dinner service on the train, but breakfast and lunch on Sunday. I talked to a nice lady at LOR and she said thy will still start accepting cars at 11am. But, 52 (which left SFA at 10:30pm) is currently stopped in Florence, SC, and not due in LOR until 5:30! Looks like we may not leave until 10pm tonight. Does anyone know if there are enough seats in the LOR terminal for all the passengers? Amtrak is offering full refunds today so I assume some people will cancel due to the delay. I'm concerned about having to spend several hours in the terminal with no place to sit.


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## Thirdrail7 (Nov 2, 2019)

It really depends on how many people are travelling on the train. It is  pretty spacious. 

However, I'm losing hope for the 5:30pm arrival. 79 and 89 are now heading right towards it and someone will have to take the siding....and that is without knowing what freight traffic is out there.


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## mmatarella (Nov 2, 2019)

In situations like this almost every seat is taken but it should be just enough. See you there, we are on today’s too. Looks like is just south of Rocky Mount now.


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## Dakota 400 (Nov 2, 2019)

Thirdrail7 said:


> It really depends on how many people are travelling on the train. It is  pretty spacious.
> 
> However, I'm losing hope for the 5:30pm arrival. 79 and 89 are now heading right towards it and someone will have to take the siding....and that is without knowing what freight traffic is out there.



Thanks for posting a photo of the Lorton Auto Train terminal's interior. I wonder if anyone has a photo of the interior of the Sanford terminal for Auto Train.


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## Thirdrail7 (Nov 2, 2019)

Dakota 400 said:


> Thanks for posting a photo of the Lorton Auto Train terminal's interior. I wonder if anyone has a photo of the interior of the Sanford terminal for Auto Train.



This should help

It would be nice if you departed by 10:30pm. CSX traffic is usually lighter on Saturdays and Sundays. Additionally, the clocks go back an hour. Perhaps you can make up 2 hours on the run.


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## mmatarella (Nov 2, 2019)

Still waiting to board. A further delay came when they apparently switched out and misplaced some car carriers from the arrived train. Took at least an hour and I believe two blocks of car carriers brought up to the ramps before they found them. The train arrived at 6 and the last batch just got their cars.


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## lordsigma (Nov 2, 2019)

I’ve been quite early with auto train in the past on a good run with few bottle necks. However there’s currently some slow orders on the A line in Florida so even when it’s not in the dead zone it’s in now it’s usually running a little bit behind by the time it gets in. On my trip a couple weeks ago also had to flag a couple crossings in the slow order area on my southbound trip. And further north in Virginia just after departure if I recall there was something going on with a couple of the track circuits they kept getting a restricting on the cab. At one point I think they found an obstruction on the tracks that had to be cleared. Lost a little time in that area too.


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## lordsigma (Nov 2, 2019)

Speaking of the auto train does anyone know if the entire auto train route has I-ETMS active now?


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## mmatarella (Nov 3, 2019)

We finally boarded at 10 pm, train pulled out at midnight. But hey, coming north the day before Southwest cancelled my 9am flight less than 12 hours before boarding. I had to switch to a flight that required me getting up at 3am so it has just been one of those trips!


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## Thirdrail7 (Nov 3, 2019)

mmatarella said:


> We finally boarded at 10 pm, train pulled out at midnight. But hey, coming north the day before Southwest cancelled my 9am flight less than 12 hours before boarding. I had to switch to a flight that required me getting up at 3am so it has just been one of those trips!



I everyone is still chugging along and you didn't make up as much time as I hoped. This, of course, reminds me of a post I made in the Auto Train Coach Food Being Removed 1/14/2020? thread:



Thirdrail7 said:


> There is a maximum length but steps have been in the works over the last couple of years to extend the length by a handful of cars.
> 
> The things that are on my mind:
> 
> ...




Assuming you have to check-in at 6p, will the food trucks be around to offer food? After all, they've taken your car and snacks aren't going to cut it. Now, you've eaten from the food truck at 7pm and the train doesn't leave until 1130pm, will the cross country lounge remain open later? 



lordsigma said:


> Speaking of the auto train does anyone know if the entire auto train route has I-ETMS active now?



Not quite.


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## Flotsam (Nov 4, 2019)

Funny, I was also on this cursed train on Saturday. (My second Amtrak trip in 20 years)

This was really a comedy (tragedy?) of errors. I was flying to VA to buy a new car Saturday morning, and taking the train back to Orlando where I needed to be on monday. Luckily I wasn’t “in a hurry” but it felt like so many things were done poorly.

- I also received an automated voicemail and email around 7:30 am Saturday telling me the train would be delayed, and that I needed to check in by 5:30, not 2:30. This actually worked out great for me as I had time to meet a friend in DC for lunch, so an extra 3 hours in my day was a win.

- Around 11 am I called Amtrak’s customer service line to try to verify the situation. The guy who answered clearly had exactly as much information as I had gotten in that email. I asked specifically when the train would arrive in Orlando, and he said “oh probably by 9 or 10 am Sunday” (HAHA)

- I arrived at Lorton at 4:00 on the nose and was told they had no more room to accept cars as their lot was full. So I got my # and sat in the incoming parking line.

- I will say all of the staff at Lorton were friendly enough - but either didn’t have any real information, weren’t willing to share real information, or just didn’t know what they were doing. For example, at 4:15 I asked if I could leave - they said sure, but to make it back into the car line by 5:30. I also heard them tell someone else 3 times “not to leave the property” as if the train could show up at any moment. In retrospect, this made no sense whatsoever. 

- The incoming train arrived around 6 pm - so I’d been waiting at the station for 2 hours at this point and felt like real progress, surely we’d board soon enough. (HAHAHAHA)

- As mentioned above, the car unloading was a bit of a zoo, passengers were angry, and by the 2nd time they pulled up an empty set of cars to unload, they actually had to call in the Amtrak police as one inbound passenger was yelling at the staff. (Keep in mind, their trip from station to station, as mine was, was effectively 25+ hours)

- Sometime around 7pm, what must have been a hundred cheese pizzas were delivered to feed the 300 people in the station.

- What was most frustrating is that everything felt like it was happening incredibly slowly. If you’ve ever watched a late plane arrive, there’s a flurry of activity to turn it around. For whatever reason, it took SIX HOURS to prepare the train. Why? I have no idea. The same people cleaning the train weren’t the ones loading/unloading cars. The people in the station would pop in and out with status updates but it was always “well hopefully” this will happen and “soon” was heard a lot.

- 7 turned to 8 turned to 9:00 with the process just slowly grinding along. They finally unloaded all the cars, and started loading new ones. Again - once this was done we STILL found ourselves standing around for over an hour. This made no sense. 

- Finally around 9:30 I found myself on the train. This STILL felt salvageable - maybe they’d be able to go faster. Maybe travelling overnight on a weekend, we could avoid some stops on the route. Maybe I’d only be a few hours late. (HAHAHAHAA)

Nope. As far as I could tell, the train started rolling around midnight. And at 7 am, I was woken up by a 3 minute rambling discussion of times. Breakfast, they said, was going to be served at 7:30 am. Train time. But it was daylight savings last night. So 7:30 really meant 8:30 on your cell phones. But the train doesn’t change times, so it was 7:30 train time. And it would be available until 8:30 train time, which was really 9:30 on your cell phone. Wait no 7:30 on your cell phone. Whichever it was, breakfast was starting in 20 minutes and would be available for an hour. Repeat 3x in confusion.

Anyway, now I’m up at 7:30 train time, or real time, I don’t even know which and I check my GPS thinking surely we’d be in florida by now and make it by lunchtime. Not even close. I think we were in the middle of South Carolina. Actually maybe not even that far, because at 8 or 8:30 we stopped for the crew change/resupply.

To make a long story short(er) the rest of the trip was uneventful, but we rolled into Sanford at 5pm, so a solid 7-8 hours late, and for people who had followed a reasonable schedule, that meant from station to station they were probably on the journey for 27 hours.

Why? I have no idea. If that very first email had said “you know what, we’re not gonna make it on time, please show up at the station at 7pm and plan on arriving in Orlando late afternoon” it still would have been miserable but not AS miserable. I can’t come up with any excuse for the train turnaround to have taken so long - that feels like it could have been reduced to 3 hours with just a little bit of hustle. 

Most people on the train lost an entire day of their itinerary at whichever end. The folks arriving in Lorton were hopping mad, the ones on my train seemed to be in slightly better spirits, but I imagine there were a LOT of unexpected hotel rooms booked etc etc.

To be clear - even if I had driven down to Lorton at 4 pm and AT THE GATE they told me the actual schedule of events that was going to unfold - I would have had time to go back to DC, see the monuments, buy a tee shirt, see a movie, and then drive back to Lorton to still catch my train on time.

The Amtrak folks were handing out customer service numbers for irate people to call, claiming they’d “take care of you.” I’m curious if anyone went down this route and what you’d get? I just don’t have it in me to call them today.

PS: Do folks on the train itself really have no idea what the status is? Even as the journey was wrapping up they were announcing things like “we’re passing Jacksonville, this IS A SIGN that we may have about 3 hours to go” - like there was no one in charge who had an actual ETA that could share it with the staff?


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## MikefromCrete (Nov 4, 2019)

The progress of the train is under the control of the CSX dispatcher. All kinds of things could impede the progress of the train, i.e., a car or pedestrian could drive or walk in front of the train or a previous train shutting everything down. The train really can't run any faster, since it probably scheduled at the maximum operating speed. There's only one scheduled stop for the auto train, Florence, N.C., to change operating crews, so not a lot of time could be saved there. As far as how long it takes to turn the train, I suppose there isn't a lot of leeway in that. Unfortunately, every thing takes time. I'm not sure why the previous train was so late. The could have an effect on the turnaround time.


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## Flotsam (Nov 4, 2019)

Hey Mike - I understand some things you just can’t control. But I don’t know why it took 3+ hours to prep the train for passengers and leaving at midnight (SIX Hours after inbound arrival) was insult to injury. 

To make matters worse it just felt like everybody working at the station was along for the ride. They were all nice enough and were dealing with the situation professionally but didn’t see a single person who looked like they were in charge and coordinating the events, and certainly didn’t see anybody hustling to get things done faster. 

Thankfully I wasn’t in a hurry but the folks who were, had their weeks pretty badly disrupted.


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## mmatarella (Nov 4, 2019)

[QUOTE="Flotsam, post: 822818, member: 15287"

- As mentioned above, the car unloading was a bit of a zoo, passengers were angry, and by the 2nd time they pulled up an empty set of cars to unload, they actually had to call in the Amtrak police as one inbound passenger was yelling at the staff. (Keep in mind, their trip from station to station, as mine was, was effectively 25+ hours)[/QUOTE]

Yes, I saw one passenger getting pretty upset yelling at the fellow who keys in the car numbers as they come off the carriers. I went in and suggested to the Amtrak Police they might want to make the presence known out there near that employee. The fellow was getting a bit over the top and I was concerned he might escalate. 

I've been riding the Autotrain for decades. I've had similar length delays on the Autotrain before, but more often when flying. I fly between DCA & Tampa on American a few times a year too and I've 6+ hour delays and cancellations in fair weather which feels worse because they have several non stops a day between the two. I expect such things I just wish they (both) would communicate more.


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## Thirdrail7 (Nov 4, 2019)

***Disclaimer***

The following is an operational tidbit that may or may not shed light on the situation. It is not meant to assuage the length of the delay but hopefully, it will help people understand some of the things that can occur with a train. If you are offended or these types of posts rub you the wrong way, please do not continue reading. 




Flotsam said:


> Hey Mike - I understand some things you just can’t control. But I don’t know why it took 3+ hours to prep the train for passengers and leaving at midnight (SIX Hours after inbound arrival) was insult to injury.
> 
> To make matters worse it just felt like everybody working at the station was along for the ride. They were all nice enough and were dealing with the situation professionally but didn’t see a single person who looked like they were in charge and coordinating the events, and certainly didn’t see anybody hustling to get things done faster.
> 
> Thankfully I wasn’t in a hurry but the folks who were, had their weeks pretty badly disrupted.



There is only so much the station personnel (the people that are inside the station) can do until the train is ready for passengers...and that doesn't happen until mechanical releases the train. There isn't much hustling in the station since there is nothing they can do. 

Mechanical, on the other hand, has quite a bit to do. Once the train gets spotted (and the T&E crew apparently loses two drafts of cars), the engines are cut off and serviced. Car inspectors begin their work and perform the various federally required tests for this particular type of train. That means they have to work underneath the train, without power, so the train sits in the dark. Brakes and other undercarriage components are inspected and if necessary, changed, replaced, swapped out, etc. The interior crew probably does as much as it can while the HEP is down, (such as dumping the toilets, getting the old linens out, etc) but some of the serving will generally occur under power (such as loading the food.) The auto train usually has 40+ cars so it will take time to perform these tasks. It typically takes 4 to 5 hours to turn this train. This is why it takes time to load the train and get it underway. 

When you lose two drafts of cars and have to find them....it will naturally take longer


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## Flotsam (Nov 4, 2019)

Hey Thirdrail -

I appreciate the commentary. I suspect you’re well informed and the truth is somewhere between your description and my frustrated observations. I can say that I was watching the whole process, much like I’d watch an aircraft ground crew while waiting for a late flight, and from my vantage point it looked like a lot of room for improvement but there were doubtless also things going on behind the scenes.


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## jis (Nov 4, 2019)

As a matter of full disclosure Thirdrail works for Amtrak. He usually does not post random railfan style speculation without identifying them as such. Usually the information that he posts about operational matters is quite accurate.


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## daybeers (Nov 4, 2019)

I believe the main overarching issue here is communication. Many public transportation companies in the U.S., including Amtrak, are absolutely terrible at it. They create many more "never again" riders than they need to if they would just give a little bit of communication, even if there is no update, status, or progress. People talk, especially if they have had a bad experience.

This, along with customer service consistency closely followed by on-time performance, is the issue that should be of utmost importance and priority to Amtrak. Unfortunately, even with the new regime, it seems that is not the case.


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## Anderson (Nov 5, 2019)

daybeers said:


> I believe the main overarching issue here is communication. Many public transportation companies in the U.S., including Amtrak, are absolutely terrible at it. They create many more "never again" riders than they need to if they would just give a little bit of communication, even if there is no update, status, or progress. People talk, especially if they have had a bad experience.
> 
> This, along with customer service consistency closely followed by on-time performance, is the issue that should be of utmost importance and priority to Amtrak. Unfortunately, even with the new regime, it seems that is not the case.


One saving grace that Amtrak has is that pretty much everyone else sucks at communication. As a handy example, I was on a delayed Delta flight out of DTW last week. I ended up puttering around the gate area for about half an hour more than was really necessary because there was no reliable way to know when the flight was going to "go", even though the lounge was about 15m/45ft from the gate (and since it was a smaller plane, when it was going to go I expected it to load pretty quickly...if it had been a 320 or anything bigger I would've been rather more relaxed in the same circumstances).


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## seat38a (Nov 5, 2019)

Anderson said:


> One saving grace that Amtrak has is that pretty much everyone else sucks at communication. As a handy example, I was on a delayed Delta flight out of DTW last week. I ended up puttering around the gate area for about half an hour more than was really necessary because there was no reliable way to know when the flight was going to "go", even though the lounge was about 15m/45ft from the gate (and since it was a smaller plane, when it was going to go I expected it to load pretty quickly...if it had been a 320 or anything bigger I would've been rather more relaxed in the same circumstances).


This is where United really excels at. Their App has made flying less painful. You can track your aircraft realtime and get notified instantly when it lands and when boarding starts. As I understand it, as soon as the first boarding pass is scanned for ones flight, the notice goes out that your flight is boarding.


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## Seaboard92 (Nov 5, 2019)

This is where flightaware comes in handy. Just know your flight number and click “where is my flight now”


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## Anderson (Nov 7, 2019)

Seaboard92 said:


> This is where flightaware comes in handy. Just know your flight number and click “where is my flight now”


In this particular case, it wasn't helpful since the plane was on the ground but since the previous flight at the gate was delayed it was holding on the ground. My _real_ fear was that we were going to get assigned to a new gate at the proverbial last minute and I'd be stuck reenacting part of the ending of _Airplane_.


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## BLNT (Nov 7, 2019)

How often does the Auto Train run behind or, perhaps I should ask, how often does it run on time?? !

Giving the Auto Train a try (first) on 12/20 --- fingers crossed !


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## keelhauled (Nov 7, 2019)

seat38a said:


> This is where United really excels at. Their App has made flying less painful. You can track your aircraft realtime and get notified instantly when it lands and when boarding starts. As I understand it, as soon as the first boarding pass is scanned for ones flight, the notice goes out that your flight is boarding.


You don't even need the app; when I flew United a couple months ago they texted me when it was time to check in, two hours ahead of departure with the gate, when boarding started, and upon landing with the arrival gate and the baggage claim location.


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## Thirdrail7 (Nov 7, 2019)

BLNT said:


> How often does the Auto Train run behind or, perhaps I should ask, how often does it run on time?? !
> 
> Giving the Auto Train a try (first) on 12/20 --- fingers crossed !



It's not that bad of a train. Here is a snapshot for the northbound Auto Train (52) from Dec 1st, 2018 until today. As you can see, there have been some massive delays but the bottom line yields:

Average Ar delay: 18 minutes late
Median Ar delay: 6 minutes early


The southbound  Auto train (53) for the same period yields similar results:

Average Ar delay: 27 minutes late
Median Ar delay: 0 minutes

The thing is, once a set gets late, it can take a few trips to get it back in sync.


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## BLNT (Nov 8, 2019)

Thirdrail7 said:


> It's not that bad of a train. Here is a snapshot for the northbound Auto Train (52) from Dec 1st, 2018 until today. As you can see, there have been some massive delays but the bottom line yields:
> 
> Average Ar delay: 18 minutes late
> Median Ar delay: 6 minutes early
> ...



THANKS - yes, quite a range of possibilities !!


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## RichieRich (Nov 8, 2019)

Or if you just count late vs. early = Late - 152 times...Early - 178 times. As an 8+ trips-a-year...I can tell you - you don't want to be too early, as the station opens and employees arrive at a given hour...so you just sit on the tracks (at the station) in your room til the "on-time" time! Having had about 3 trips canceled so they could get back on schedule...better late then not-at-all!


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## BLNT (Nov 8, 2019)

RichieRich said:


> Or if you just count late vs. early = Late - 152 times...Early - 178 times. As an 8+ trips-a-year...I can tell you - you don't want to be too early, as the station opens and employees arrive at a given hour...so you just sit on the tracks (at the station) in your room til the "on-time" time! Having had about 3 trips canceled so they could get back on schedule...better late then not-at-all!



Interesting - so kind of like flipping a coin 

-------------

I'm curious about something else with the Auto Train. We're booked in a bedroom heading north, but there's only coach availability heading back south a week later. Thus, we're considering either driving back (ugh) or booking "flexible" coach and hoping a room (w/toilet) opens up. With that in mind, is there a fair chance that can happen and, if not, can I assume that both the coach ticket and $ for our vehicle are fully refundable?

THANKS


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## Thirdrail7 (Nov 8, 2019)

BLNT said:


> I'm curious about something else with the Auto Train. We're booked in a bedroom heading north, but there's only coach availability heading back south a week later. Thus, we're considering either driving back (ugh) or booking "flexible" coach and hoping a room (w/toilet) opens up. With that in mind, is there a fair chance that can happen and, if not, can I assume that both the coach ticket and $ for our vehicle are fully refundable?
> 
> THANKS



I think there is a chance people will cancel. Keep checking. As for the refund policy, it seems you can cancel a flexible fare without a penalty as long as you do it in advance. You should confirm it with Amtrak though.


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## seat38a (Nov 8, 2019)

keelhauled said:


> You don't even need the app; when I flew United a couple months ago they texted me when it was time to check in, two hours ahead of departure with the gate, when boarding started, and upon landing with the arrival gate and the baggage claim location.


You do if you want to have more control of what you get notified of and what not to.


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## RichieRich (Nov 8, 2019)

" we're considering either driving back (ugh)"

No...UGH. If it weren't for the A/T I wouldn't see Florida at all. Been "communing" on it for more then 15 years. Between traffic, weather, possible car break-downs, wear & tear on both the car & body...I would never chance "That Drive".


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## lordsigma (Nov 8, 2019)

To a certain extent it’s a damned if you do damned if you don’t situation. When something happens to create a massive delay with the auto train it takes a few days to get back in sync. This obviously ticks off all the late passengers. Then again you can cancel one day and get back in sync immediately but then you inconvenience all those people even more and have to accommodate some of them on a later trip. It’s tough when you have to turn the train around every day without a third train in the mix along with the unique requirements of the auto train. 

That being said I will say though it’s a great train and my default way to go to Florida and I don’t see that changing. Still better than the drive every time.


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## W6ORZ (Nov 10, 2019)

lordsigma said:


> To a certain extent it’s a damned if you do damned if you don’t situation. When something happens to create a massive delay with the auto train it takes a few days to get back in sync. This obviously ticks off all the late passengers. Then again you can cancel one day and get back in sync immediately but then you inconvenience all those people even more and have to accommodate some of them on a later trip. It’s tough when you have to turn the train around every day without a third train in the mix along with the unique requirements of the auto train.
> 
> That being said I will say though it’s a great train and my default way to go to Florida and I don’t see that changing. Still better than the drive every time.



We had the trip from hell on #53 on 11/2 - departed after midnight. But, in Sanford we were in our car in less than 30 minutes - and I only drive 105 miles from PA to Lorton. I see the schedule performance data and for the most part it is good, I figured we had a one time anomaly. Boarded #52 on 11/9 and we departed Sanford 12 minutes early. I’m “This is more like it!” Right up until 10:03 pm - we stopped about 25 miles from Charleston. We didn’t resume until 5:45am - yup
another BIG delay - almost 8 hours. Now we’re going to get to Lorton around 5pm - just now leaving Florence at 8:36am. We had a car carrier axle problem that locked the breaks. They worked on it unsuccessfully and ended up cutting one one of the 25 car carriers from Out consist. But wait! there’s more! By that time the crew had expired! We had to wait for anew crew. #53 stopped when it passed us and dropped on one new crew and the others came by van. Another entertaining night on the AT. This morning the announced “if I did not contact you during the night, you’re Car is still with us.” We we’re OK. Not so for young lady sitting across from us at breakfast - her car was on the broke carrier. AMTRAK is giving her a rental car in Lorton and she can pick I p her car Monday. Compared to her we didn’t do bad. But we won’t be home around noon - more like evening. So far I’m zero for two with the AT. Next time we need to go to FL, I’m going to have a tough time convincing myself that the AT is better than the drive. Travel this trip was not pleasant.


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## Flotsam (Nov 10, 2019)

I haven't had a chance yet (family visiting) but did anyone have any success calling Amtrak and complaining for a partial refund? The folks at the station were leaning on that pretty hard, not sure if anything would come of it or if they were just trying to get people out the door.


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## Thirdrail7 (Nov 10, 2019)

Flotsam said:


> I haven't had a chance yet (family visiting) but did anyone have any success calling Amtrak and complaining for a partial refund? The folks at the station were leaning on that pretty hard, not sure if anything would come of it or if they were just trying to get people out the door.



Something usually comes from it but it isn't handled at the station. You must go through customer relations.


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## daybeers (Nov 11, 2019)

Yes, customer relations, not service. You have to ask for them specifically because they're the ones authorized to give refunds or vouchers and take feedback on service.


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## lordsigma (Nov 11, 2019)

W6ORZ said:


> We had the trip from hell on #53 on 11/2 - departed after midnight. But, in Sanford we were in our car in less than 30 minutes - and I only drive 105 miles from PA to Lorton. I see the schedule performance data and for the most part it is good, I figured we had a one time anomaly. Boarded #52 on 11/9 and we departed Sanford 12 minutes early. I’m “This is more like it!” Right up until 10:03 pm - we stopped about 25 miles from Charleston. We didn’t resume until 5:45am - yup
> another BIG delay - almost 8 hours. Now we’re going to get to Lorton around 5pm - just now leaving Florence at 8:36am. We had a car carrier axle problem that locked the breaks. They worked on it unsuccessfully and ended up cutting one one of the 25 car carriers from Out consist. But wait! there’s more! By that time the crew had expired! We had to wait for anew crew. #53 stopped when it passed us and dropped on one new crew and the others came by van. Another entertaining night on the AT. This morning the announced “if I did not contact you during the night, you’re Car is still with us.” We we’re OK. Not so for young lady sitting across from us at breakfast - her car was on the broke carrier. AMTRAK is giving her a rental car in Lorton and she can pick I p her car Monday. Compared to her we didn’t do bad. But we won’t be home around noon - more like evening. So far I’m zero for two with the AT. Next time we need to go to FL, I’m going to have a tough time convincing myself that the AT is better than the drive. Travel this trip was not pleasant.



Sorry to hear about your bad trip. Every AT trip I’ve taken so far has been pretty good. Hopefully customer relations did something for you. While you may not buy it considering what you went through, normally AT is a pretty solid experience Hopefully you’ll give it another shot and have a better experience


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## W6ORZ (Nov 15, 2019)

Flotsam said:


> I haven't had a chance yet (family visiting) but did anyone have any success calling Amtrak and complaining for a partial refund? The folks at the station were leaning on that pretty hard, not sure if anything would come of it or if they were just trying to get people out the door.



We had the trip from hell on 11/2 LOR-SFA - 8 hours late. That was followed by a second trip from hell on 11/9 SFA-LOR. We were stopped from 10pm until almost 6 am in SC. Around 4am I entered a complaint on the Amtrak app with details about both trips. I just got an apologetic email from Customer Service with a $200 travel voucher for both of us. The only problem is I gotta ride another train to take advantage of it!


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