# Sleeper room cancelled on California Zephyr



## Watermelon (Aug 13, 2022)

Hello,

My husband and I planned a trip in October with my mom, traveling all by rail from Texas to LA, up the California coast, over to Chicago, and back down to Texas. Amtrak just sent us a notice that on the leg from Emoryville CA, to Illinois, her sleeper room was cancelled and they moved her to coach.

Is this common? Is there any chance that they will add the car back and she can get the room back? We could put her in our roomette and my husband could use her coach ticket, but this isn't really ideal. She isn't very mobile and would do much better with the toilet in the room.


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## AmtrakBlue (Aug 13, 2022)

Watermelon said:


> Hello,
> 
> My husband and I planned a trip in October with my mom, traveling all by rail from Texas to LA, up the California coast, over to Chicago, and back down to Texas. Amtrak just sent us a notice that on the leg from Emoryville CA, to Illinois, her sleeper room was cancelled and they moved her to coach.
> 
> Is this common? Is there any chance that they will add the car back and she can get the room back? We could put her in our roomette and my husband could use her coach ticket, but this isn't really ideal. She isn't very mobile and would do much better with the toilet in the room.


Something you might want to try is see if you can break up that trains trip between coach and bedroom. See if there are any city pairs where bedrooms are available. A good agent would be able to book this for you AND keep the costs at the same that you've already paid (or refund for the coach parts).


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## joelkfla (Aug 13, 2022)

Watermelon said:


> Hello,
> 
> My husband and I planned a trip in October with my mom, traveling all by rail from Texas to LA, up the California coast, over to Chicago, and back down to Texas. Amtrak just sent us a notice that on the leg from Emoryville CA, to Illinois, her sleeper room was cancelled and they moved her to coach.
> 
> Is this common? Is there any chance that they will add the car back and she can get the room back? We could put her in our roomette and my husband could use her coach ticket, but this isn't really ideal. She isn't very mobile and would do much better with the toilet in the room.


It has not been common, until this year. A lot of people are in the same boat. If you'd like to read their tales of woe, I think you can read this thread as a guest:





Superliner trains' sleepers removal and restoration (2022-2023)


I just received an email that my reservation on train #5 from Chicago to Emeryville, CA on Oct. 4 has been changed from a roomette to standard coach seating. The explanation is that the sleeper car has been removed. It stated they will refund the price difference; I used Guest Reward points...




www.amtraktrains.com





You are fortunate that you at least still have a Roomette.


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## joelkfla (Aug 13, 2022)

If you have extra time in your schedule, you might also ask if there is a bedroom available the following day, or if you reroute on the Coast Starlight up to Portland and then the Empire Builder to Chicago, which will also take another day. Since Amtrak messed up, any changes should be at no additional charge. If the agent insists that there will be an additional charge, ask to speak to a supervisor, or ask to be transferred to Customer Relations (only during regular business hours.)

If you end up with one room when you'd booked 2, you should get a partial refund, even if the fare for what you end up would normally be higher.


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## Watermelon (Aug 13, 2022)

Thanks. We're looking at the trip up to Portland and it's available. The problem now is that we can't get through by phone to customer service. We've been trying for over an hour now.


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## Rasputin (Aug 13, 2022)

I am sorry to hear that you have had this problem. It has happened to many people this year. 

Unfortunately, Amtrak is no longer a reliable form of transportation. Whether it is more or less reliable than airlines has been a source of debate with no clear winner in my opinion.


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## Watermelon (Aug 13, 2022)

joelkfla said:


> It has not been common, until this year. A lot of people are in the same boat. If you'd like to read their tales of woe, I think you can read this thread as a guest:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I'm concerned that maybe we don't still have the Roomette! We haven't gotten a cancellation, but it was supposed to be on the same car as the sleeper.


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## joelkfla (Aug 13, 2022)

Watermelon said:


> I'm concerned that maybe we don't still have the Roomette! We haven't gotten a cancellation, but it was supposed to be on the same car as the sleeper.


That's not good. Check your reservation on the Amtrak app. I'm not sure whether you can do it on the website, unless you have Guest Rewards and it was booked with your member number.


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## trimetbusfan (Aug 13, 2022)

Watermelon said:


> I'm concerned that maybe we don't still have the Roomette! We haven't gotten a cancellation, but it was supposed to be on the same car as the sleeper.


The 532/632 car was canceled. If your in the x31 or x40 car you should be fine.


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## Zeke (Aug 13, 2022)

I came here to ask this very question. I booked my roomette on the California Zephyr for the first week in October over four months ago. I got notice today that there is no sleeper car and I'd be in Coach. 

This was a vacation where the rail part was the big part. I'm not going to sit in coach for three days.

The worst part is I've already got plane tickets to Chicago and then from San Francisco back home. I've been telling folks at work how much I've been looking forward to this trip to just sit back and relax.

I doubt anyone I have tried to convince how nice of a trip this would be will ever give Amtrak a chance.


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## jzekeb (Aug 14, 2022)

trimetbusfan said:


> The 532/632 car was canceled. If your in the x31 or x40 car you should be fine.


Any idea why? This really messed up my plans.


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## joelkfla (Aug 14, 2022)

jzekeb said:


> Any idea why? This really messed up my plans.


The assumption is that pandemic layoffs followed by the post-pandemic labor shortage has left Amtrak without enough mechanical personnel to maintain their cars.

This apparently has been compounded by labor shortages in Amtrak's HR dept., which is making it even more difficult for them to find and hire replacements.

There's also a shortage of On Board Staff, so there may not be enough Sleeping Car Attendants and food service staff.


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## zephyr17 (Aug 14, 2022)

jzekeb said:


> Any idea why? This really messed up my plans.


They've been doing this since May, first the Empire Builder got hit with having its second sleeper pulled, then the Southwest Chief, now the CZ.

The cause is poor capacity planning that did not fully take into consideration the lack of onboard service personnel and the lack of serviceable equipment due to lack of qualified mechanical personnel. Amtrak management furloughed much too deeply at the beginning of the pandemic, for which they were excoriated by the Rail Passengers Association at the time. The RPA precisely predicted the results we are now seeing. Amtrak management compounded that by making equipment plans and staffing plans they could not fulfill with their current staffing levels.

It is rank incompetence.


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## pennyk (Aug 14, 2022)

For further discussion regarding this topic, please respond in the active thread in Amtrak Rail Discussion Forum





CZ and SWC sleepers removed (downgraded to coach)


I think there’s certainly a legitimate debate about whether they should ambitiously sell the inventory and then cancel people when they can’t meet it. Or alternatively if they should just sell a base consist with one sleeper and then only add capacity when they determine the consist on the...




www.amtraktrains.com





This thread was started by a guest whose question has been asked and answered. Discussion by members regarding this topic should be posted in the active thread in the Amtrak Rail Discussion forum.

Thank you for your cooperation.


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