I do wonder how much notice Amtrak had to at least prepare some options or relay options to passengers as they arrived at the station. Even if it was to tell passengers we can bus you to wherever but not starting until 8am or whenever. At that hour how much help is the Amtrak helpline? I genuinely do not know what kind of options would have been at their disposal at that time.
California Zephyr discussion
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Thank you for all the responses, especially Zetharion. It was a very frustrating situation, and continues to be one, as we had to rent a car in SLC and are currently driving cross country.
I believe Amtrak should have handled the situation better. And I believe buses would have been an option if they truly wanted to help us. They could have made arrangements for the trains’ arrival in SLC or had us wait until a bus arrived.
As stated prior, we needed immediate assistance, not something after the fact.
People interpret things differently and the reality is we were dropped off in the pitch black, middle of the night in a large city. I know many people have a strong allegiance to Amtrak, and I can respect that, but they definitely dropped the ball on this situation. I will call them when we are done with our 2 1/2 day cross country trip in our rental car,
Thank you everyone!
I believe Amtrak should have handled the situation better. And I believe buses would have been an option if they truly wanted to help us. They could have made arrangements for the trains’ arrival in SLC or had us wait until a bus arrived.
As stated prior, we needed immediate assistance, not something after the fact.
People interpret things differently and the reality is we were dropped off in the pitch black, middle of the night in a large city. I know many people have a strong allegiance to Amtrak, and I can respect that, but they definitely dropped the ball on this situation. I will call them when we are done with our 2 1/2 day cross country trip in our rental car,
Thank you everyone!
Yes, they announced the problems around 10:30 pm. We arrived in SLC around 4:30 am. So they knew for 6 hours, probably longer because I am sure they knew of the problem well before they made it public knowledge.
At first, we were told the train would be in SLC for 2 - 3 hours while they did maintenance and turned the train around. Many people planned to wait on the train for daylight and then exit the train in search of ubers, taxi’s, etc
As we entered the train yard, we were casually told the train would only be there for 25 minutes. So now we were forced to exit in the pitch black. Someone mentioned earlier that the station is enclosed and lit. Please consider when we exited the train, we were in search of transportation, etc. We were forced to go to the uber pick up spot, which is on the street a ways away from the station, with many homeless people around. And it was very dark at 4:30 in the morning.
The station wasn’t going to arrange a taxi or uber for us! We were on our own! So the statement about the station does not not alter the situation. There was one Amtrak employee outside. After a while, there were two. We had basic question…..where is the uber pick up location, where are nearby hotels, how far is the airport, where are car rental locations. Far too many questions for one or two employees. Remember, we had limited to no cell service for the stretch between the announcement until pulling into SLC.
Many businesses implement “crisis” situations, similar to all hands on deck. Staff are called in, assistance is offered, staff to redirect customers, etc. If Amtrak has this, it was not available last night. If they do not have it, it’s something that should be strongly considered.
At first, we were told the train would be in SLC for 2 - 3 hours while they did maintenance and turned the train around. Many people planned to wait on the train for daylight and then exit the train in search of ubers, taxi’s, etc
As we entered the train yard, we were casually told the train would only be there for 25 minutes. So now we were forced to exit in the pitch black. Someone mentioned earlier that the station is enclosed and lit. Please consider when we exited the train, we were in search of transportation, etc. We were forced to go to the uber pick up spot, which is on the street a ways away from the station, with many homeless people around. And it was very dark at 4:30 in the morning.
The station wasn’t going to arrange a taxi or uber for us! We were on our own! So the statement about the station does not not alter the situation. There was one Amtrak employee outside. After a while, there were two. We had basic question…..where is the uber pick up location, where are nearby hotels, how far is the airport, where are car rental locations. Far too many questions for one or two employees. Remember, we had limited to no cell service for the stretch between the announcement until pulling into SLC.
Many businesses implement “crisis” situations, similar to all hands on deck. Staff are called in, assistance is offered, staff to redirect customers, etc. If Amtrak has this, it was not available last night. If they do not have it, it’s something that should be strongly considered.
From an Amtrak employee on FB. Posting with his permission.
With the way the landslides, flooding, washouts, fires, and freight interference seems to be going lately, it might behoove Amtrak to start coming up with some contingency plans.
jb
jb
Beyond detouring, if the host RR will provide a slot & pilot, and buses, if buses & drivers are available, what do you suggest?
trimetbusfan
OBS Chief
Depending on the location it can be hard to secure charter buses.
In the past if buses aren’t available then they have accommodated people in hotels and then accommodated them on the next days train. This is very hard to do because the zephyr can be sold out nearly every day in the summer.
Also, Amtrak announced the cancellation on Twitter/X around 11p. I realize you are new to Amtrak, so first time travelers might not have been aware of this resource.
Even then, they offered to return pax to their point of origin. This gives them time to find to find alternative modes from stations on the way back. If you couldn’t arrange something before arriving in SLC, staying on to Reno might have been a good option. Even if you didn't have plans, Reno would have been during daytime by the time that train would have gotten there. According to the tracker, it looks like the train left SLC heading back West at around 5:15a. As you found out, once you make a decision get off it’s hard to get back on.
Amtrak only really provides ‘disaster relief’ if a train crashes or is canceled in the middle of nowhere with no alternative. In this case, the train was turned around, so getting off at SLC was only voluntary (unless I’m reading this thread wrong).
Unfortunately, Amtrak only has so many resources. I would be very frustrated if I was on one of these trains as well.
west point
Engineer
It would appear that Amtrak needs a regular train that bypasses the route DEN <> SLC / Ogden. That way the CAL Z can detour with regular qualified crews when the CZ route is blocked for any reason. It does happen a lot on the CZ route.
caravanman
Engineer
I think the main problem with such major breakdowns in service as mentioned above, is the large discrepancy between passengers in 2023 with reasonable expectations of help and information, and the reality of scarce Amtrak staff on the scene who simply don't know what to advise...
If the Amtrak booking website stated plainly the same information as in the "Amtrak Employee's Facebook Post", # 383 above, then prospective new passengers would know more what sort of problems Amtrak has, despite it's glossy website, and what to expect?
I know it all comes down to "Amtrak are doing their plucky best", but expecting passengers to just "suck it up" in a strange situation at night seems more a case of "Amtrak: yeah, whatever...".
I will be on Amtrak in coach in a few weeks time, so will get back to you about my own experiences! (Fingers crossed!)
If the Amtrak booking website stated plainly the same information as in the "Amtrak Employee's Facebook Post", # 383 above, then prospective new passengers would know more what sort of problems Amtrak has, despite it's glossy website, and what to expect?
I know it all comes down to "Amtrak are doing their plucky best", but expecting passengers to just "suck it up" in a strange situation at night seems more a case of "Amtrak: yeah, whatever...".
I will be on Amtrak in coach in a few weeks time, so will get back to you about my own experiences! (Fingers crossed!)
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Perhaps a federal Passenger's Bill Of Rights should be imposed rather than leaving things up to whomever happens to be on duty at the time.
jb
jb
Yes, perhaps something like this.
"Rail Passengers has assembled a “Rail Passenger Bill of Rights,” drawing from prior legislative
proposals, existing regulation of the aviation industry, and international models for oversight of
passenger rail carriers."
https://www.railpassengers.org/site/assets/files/30430/rail_passenger_bill_of_rights_final.pdf
"Rail Passengers has assembled a “Rail Passenger Bill of Rights,” drawing from prior legislative
proposals, existing regulation of the aviation industry, and international models for oversight of
passenger rail carriers."
https://www.railpassengers.org/site/assets/files/30430/rail_passenger_bill_of_rights_final.pdf
A California Zephyr train set did travel to Chicago today. It was probably the #5 that was annulled by the landslides. It was running about two hours and twenty minutes late out of Ottumwa, Iowa when I caught it. It later got stopped from a defect detector reporting a hot bearing on a coach. The coach had to be set out on a siding at either Mount Pleasant or New London, Iowa.
Attachments
I've been on CZ bus bridges and on the Overland Route detour. Both were better for me than being dropped off in SLC in the early morning (and I've been in the neighborhood in daylight). But they weren't satisfactory for some others.
I also was once the dispatcher for the Gray Line of Portland, and in the West in summer there are days when buses can't be found, or drivers with legal time can't be found, or both. Then there is the question of hotel room availability.
HOWEVER, this time I-70 was closed by a mudslide and the sold-out trains and the lack of staff in SLC all worked together to create a fiasco. Detouring the train on the UP misses a couple of the biggest stops on the line (Grand Junction and Glenwood Springs). Ideally, passengers would have been offered the alternative of hotel space in SLC until either charter buses could be found, or they could have been filtered onto subsequent days. Working out several alternatives all would have taken staff.
Would like to hear back if Amtrak actually covers your rental car and any hotel stays and meals you eat on the way home, as well as refund the part of the trip you didn't get to take. Im betting you only get the refund on the rest of the trip you didn't get to take as long as they dont consider you not going back to EMY as forfeiture of that.
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The best suggestion yet and this is clearly what any business with any competence or concern for customer relations would do
That was the #5 that was annulled and turned to become #6
Your #6 became #5 when it turned to return to EMY
Zetharion and others,
I will keep you posted about what becomes of all of our expenses. I spoke with the 800# yesterday (Saturday). I was advised to call customer relations. They are only open Monday thru Friday.
Earlier in this thread, someone had asked me if I had called Amtrak at the time of the incident. Being that it was 4:30 a.m. on a Saturday morning, customer relations was not available.
Thanks again everyone for your input and help.
I will keep you posted about what becomes of all of our expenses. I spoke with the 800# yesterday (Saturday). I was advised to call customer relations. They are only open Monday thru Friday.
Earlier in this thread, someone had asked me if I had called Amtrak at the time of the incident. Being that it was 4:30 a.m. on a Saturday morning, customer relations was not available.
Thanks again everyone for your input and help.
Devil's Advocate
⠀⠀⠀
I've had good experiences on trains in Asia and Europe. The problem is Amtrak failing to meet basic service standards, not train travel.
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Last week in December coming up, I am planning to take the CZ from Chi to Grand Junction coach, stay 2 days and come back in roomette. That is, if my Tol to Chi train is not more than 5 hours late.
Any ideas what to do in Grand Junction late Dec? Weather still good to go hiking? Not planning to rent a car. Thanks.
Any ideas what to do in Grand Junction late Dec? Weather still good to go hiking? Not planning to rent a car. Thanks.
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Grand Junction has a pretty active Visitors Bureau. I am on their mailing list and they have a lot of information on Grand Junction and the area. Check out their website and email them for information. I believe there is a museum in Grand Junction devoted to western Colorado. Hope you have a good trip.
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Thank you
Weather is not always easy to predict but GJ is at an altitude of approx 4600 ft. and it can get cold, especially at night. Late December can be kind of a transition period into full blown winter so you could encounter a wide range of temperatures. Watch the Weather channel the days leading up to your trip. One good thing about the area is the dry climate so not as likely to encounter precipitation.
THere is a train themed restaurant next to the Amtrak station called Pufferbelly. Many Amtrak passengers might not hike any farther than that but there are a couple of museums within walking distance, as well as motels and other restaurants. Nevertheless having a car might be a good way to get out of town to the Colorado National Monument, which is several miles.
The local transit bus can take you around town and out to Fruita but no further as far as I know. Maybe you could get a bicycle?
THere is a train themed restaurant next to the Amtrak station called Pufferbelly. Many Amtrak passengers might not hike any farther than that but there are a couple of museums within walking distance, as well as motels and other restaurants. Nevertheless having a car might be a good way to get out of town to the Colorado National Monument, which is several miles.
The local transit bus can take you around town and out to Fruita but no further as far as I know. Maybe you could get a bicycle?
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