Doors didn't open (an Amtrak story...) :)

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crescent-zephyr

crescent-zephyr

Engineer
Joined
Oct 21, 2015
Messages
4,790
So here's a new one! Was in New York City and flying out of Newark NJ - I booked a Northeast Regional Train from NYC to Newark Airport. Boarded the train, sat in the quiet car which was the second car on the train, the 1st car being Business Class. Departed on time, and everything was going great. Train pulled into Newark Airport and I proceeded to grab my luggage and head into the vestibule, a few passengers followed me, they were international travelers and had very large suitcases. The doors didn't open - at first I thought the train may have missed it's "spot" and was going to move forward but then I saw passengers entering from the other end of the car - we all tried to get to the open door but of course, with passengers boarding and heading into the car and the passengers with large suitcases in front of me, it was hard to get through and we missed our stop. There were 4 of us altogether, the other man was from the business class car, so we went to the Conductors at the Cafe car, who of course insisted that all the doors opened.

We all got off the train at the next stop and transferred to a northbound New Jersey Transit train but of course that took much longer because it made more stops.

The good news... I was able to rebook and still make it home last night. The bad news... the rebooked flight cost $120 more.

As a bonus... at least I got to do a little train watching on the platform while waiting for the NJ Transit train haha.
 
My experience on the LSL last week had similar vibes... The Conductor seemed to take pride in speaking as fast as he could when making announcements about station stops, doors, attendants, etc. As I was going end to end it did not concern me to not understand his spiel,
but I noticed several passengers were left puzzled and uninformed each time he machine gunned us with his "words of wisdom". :(
 
crescent-zephyr said:
The good news... I was able to rebook and still make it home last night. The bad news... the rebooked flight cost $120 more.
Click to expand...
Did you book the flight on a credit card with travel protections? You might be able to get the difference back in that case. As Amtrak is supposedly included among common carriers in the US it might be possible to get a free re-booking for matters beyond your control. I'm just not sure how that is supposed to work these days. I've also been told that many travel protections are undone if you accept new flights outside staff assistance (such as on apps or kiosks) so you need to call and explain to a manager instead.
 
Devil's Advocate said:
Did you book the flight on a credit card with travel protections? You might be able to get the difference back in that case. As Amtrak is supposedly included among common carriers in the US it might be possible to get a free re-booking for matters beyond your control. I'm just not sure how that is supposed to work these days. I've also been told that many travel protections are undone if you accept new flights outside staff assistance (such as on apps or kiosks) so you need to call and explain to a manager instead.
Click to expand...
I tried calling Delta but couldn't figure out how to talk to a human - if I could have talked to anyone in person I think I could have been given some options but the alternative was the flight sells out or increases and I would rather pay $120 vs. not get home at all or pay much more.

I'm hoping to at least get some Amtrak points or travel credit for this issue.

Since I booked the Amtrak trip with Amtrak points, I don't think I make a claim with the credit card since they would only cover the flight itself.
 
PVD said:
The NER trains only have a Conductor and an AC or a fairly long train and rely on "automatic" doors at most high platform stations. They may not have known the door didn't open.
Click to expand...
This train had a total of 4 crew plus the LSA, one of them was an attendant and not a Conductor (didn't have a radio) - the other 3 were together in the lounge and all appeared to be Conductor / AC's.

I'm sure they thought all doors opened - but they didn't.
 
PVD said:
The NER trains only have a Conductor and an AC or a fairly long train and rely on "automatic" doors at most high platform stations. They may not have known the door didn't open.
Click to expand...
Crescent is right that there is often more than one AC. Besides, the red indicator lights above the doors on Amfleets are pretty obvious.
 
Also.. it was at least 3 doors that didn't open. both vestibules of the business class car and at least the forward vestibule of the quiet car. I'm not sure if the rear vestibule door of the quiet car opened or not... I kinda think the forward door of the next car was open or still closing when we got to the vestibule but it was packed with people trying to get through to find seats so I couldn't get to it.
 
IIRC, the Amfleet cars have control panels at each door, that when activated with a key, allow control of the door, or remotely control all doors either ahead or behind it. I believe there may be a way to inhibit any door from being remotely controlled.
It may be that the crew did not properly perform a pre trip inspection of the door operation, that would reveal any deficiencies?🤔
 
I know it wasn't the situation in this case, but I've never understood the logic behind the standard announcement, "All doors will not open. Go to a door where you see a uniformed Amtrak employee."

Are passengers expected to grab their carry-on baggage and then run though the train looking for a uniformed employee? Why can't they just announce which doors will open, something like "the coach directly behind the cafe car and the coach at the back of the train"?
 
joelkfla said:
Are passengers expected to grab their carry-on baggage and then run though the train looking for a uniformed employee? Why can't they just announce which doors will open, something like "the coach directly behind the cafe car and the coach at the back of the train"?
Click to expand...
Sometimes they do make this announcement, but all the cars look the same for the most part. It's difficult for some riders to know where they are in the consist and which direction the cafe car may be. It's more common that when a conductor comes through to remove seat checks for passengers disembarking at the next stop, they remind them their stop is next, give them an estimated arrival time, and where they will be able to find an open door if not all will open.
 
PVD said:
The NER trains only have a Conductor and an AC or a fairly long train and rely on "automatic" doors at most high platform stations. They may not have known the door didn't open.
Click to expand...

They need to have some warning light that informs them there is a malfunction. Imagine if the door did not shut and prople were still boarding when they saw an open door. Then the train began moving.
 
Eternityroad said:
They need to have some warning light that informs them there is a malfunction. Imagine if the door did not shut and prople were still boarding when they saw an open door. Then the train began moving.
Click to expand...
They do have indicator lights, and one of the really knowledgeable folks here pointed out it is the responsibility of the crew to verify door ops and passengers getting on and off. I was just wondering out loud if the system failed.
 
Eternityroad said:
They need to have some warning light that informs them there is a malfunction. Imagine if the door did not shut and prople were still boarding when they saw an open door. Then the train began moving.
Click to expand...
The rear Flag looks out of the rearmost door as the train departs to make sure nothing of the sort happens. That is an operational safety rule.
 
PVD said:
Of course it is wrong that people could not get off the train. The point I'm making is that the doors and or indication may have failed. The crew may have been relying on faulty information.
Click to expand...
Even so, they should not have told the MULTIPLE passengers that missed their stop that they did indeed open -- they clearly didn't. Could've apologized and told them their options instead of making it seem like the passengers messed up.
 
crescent-zephyr said:
So here's a new one! Was in New York City and flying out of Newark NJ - I booked a Northeast Regional Train from NYC to Newark Airport. Boarded the train, sat in the quiet car which was the second car on the train, the 1st car being Business Class. Departed on time, and everything was going great. Train pulled into Newark Airport and I proceeded to grab my luggage and head into the vestibule, a few passengers followed me, they were international travelers and had very large suitcases. The doors didn't open - at first I thought the train may have missed it's "spot" and was going to move forward but then I saw passengers entering from the other end of the car - we all tried to get to the open door but of course, with passengers boarding and heading into the car and the passengers with large suitcases in front of me, it was hard to get through and we missed our stop. There were 4 of us altogether, the other man was from the business class car, so we went to the Conductors at the Cafe car, who of course insisted that all the doors opened.

We all got off the train at the next stop and transferred to a northbound New Jersey Transit train but of course that took much longer because it made more stops.

The good news... I was able to rebook and still make it home last night. The bad news... the rebooked flight cost $120 more.

As a bonus... at least I got to do a little train watching on the platform while waiting for the NJ Transit train haha.
Click to expand...
That freaks me out on the corridor. It hasn’t happened to me, but I’ve worried about it atBWI.
 
I got an e-mail today from Amtrak Customer service...

"Announcements regarding which door to exit the train are made before the station's arrival. Amtrak train stops are designed to take as little time as possible to board and detrain passengers, so passengers must be in the proper car at the station stop to allow safe exiting."

If they had bothered to look at my reservation they could have easily found out for themselves that all doors typically open at Newark Airport.

They did refund the actual Amtrak ticket price, which is something. But I replied and asked nicely for them to consider an additional voucher to help cover the cost of rescheduling the flight.

Of course at this point... the difference is a good price to tell for a great travel story and adventure! haha.
 
A completely canned response. At best it was just skimmed by a CSR who then selected a canned "carry by" response letter. A process of seconds. Be happy they initiated a refund.

When it comes to Amtrak Customer Relations, it is almost always better to phone them, then send a confirming email with the case number recapping what you were told as a paper trail. They have to actually engage with you that way.
 

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