Late Zephyr made me miss Capitol Limited

[Roomette10]

I was on the Zephyr Eastbound (AGR) nearing the IL border when I realized that we would not make my connection to the Capitol Limited. I was booked to continue on a NEC train from DC to Boston. (When I made my reservation the Lake Shore Limited was shown as a bus ride from Albany–Rensselaer to Boston, so I got creative). I was able to book the last sleeper on the LSL to NYP, but it was a bedroom rather than a roomette, so I had to pay up. I caught the NEC train in NY and got to Boston as planned, a bit poorer.
I went to customer service in Penn station (the line for customer service in Chicago was very long, I would have missed the LSL had I waited) and was told I was wrong to change my reservation myself, that I should have had Chicago customer service handle it. I replied that had I done that I would still be in Chicago!
Customer service apparently gave hotel vouchers and rebooked passengers who missed connections. My “involuntary” room upgrade cost less than Amtrak would have spent on a room, taxis, and rebooking.
Any hope of getting them to refund the extra accommodation charge to my AGR account?

 

[pennyk]

I would phone AGR and see what they say. If you do not get a satisfactory response, phone Customer Relations on Monday. It is my understanding that if you make your own arrangements, you are on your own.

 

[dlagrua]

Did the same thing on an EB trip a while back. When it became apparent that our train would be getting in over 13 hours late all connections East from Chicago were long gone, I called at around 4 PM and explained the situation to customer service. They re-booked us on the CL for the following day and we got the very last bedroom. They still put us up in Chicago overnight and we had to spend the day in Chicago. It put a dent in our plans but it also happens with air travel.

 

[Roomette10]

Looks like I am facing the same issue on my return trip. The Empire Builder is already 4 hours down and we are not yet halfway to PDX. My connection with the Coast Starlight is aprox. 4.5 hours after our scheduled arrival. There are only two roomettes left on Thursday’s Coast Starlight. Should I call AGR and rebook or believe AMTRAK’s schedule showing us regaining almost all of this time?

 

[AmtrakBlue]

Talk to the conductor. They may hold the train or they bus you to catch it down the route.

 

[Roomette10]

Thanks

 

[Roomette10]

I wrote a short, polite email explaining that I was out-of-pocket for an upgraded accommodation that I had to book due to my missed connection.
Today I got this:
Thank you for your recent contact.

On-time performance is a major concern at Amtrak. We make every effort to operate on schedule, because we know how frustrating a late train is to our customers. We are sorry that your train arrived late and that you were inconvenienced. We are working hard on a number of fronts to improve our ability to run on schedule.

In spite of our best efforts, weather and mechanical problems may defeat us, as well as those unexpected events that cannot be controlled or predicted. We appreciate you taking the time to bring your concerns to our attention. Please be assured that we are making every effort to deliver our passengers to their destinations in a timely manner.

As information, the California Zephyr service runs on tracks owned by other railroads. Known as “host railroads”, they range from large publicly traded companies to state and local government agencies and small businesses. Amtrak pays these host railroads for use of their track and other resources required to operate our trains.

When the host railroad suffers a service disruption it unfortunately may cause delays to Amtrak trains and connecting bus service as well. While this is not something within Amtrak’s control, we apologize for the inconvenience it causes you, the passenger.

We would not want an unsatisfactory experience to be your last impression of our service and would like to win back your confidence and support. Therefore, upon creation of this correspondence, we have authorized a Transportation Voucher in the amount of $150.00.

The Transportation Voucher is being held electronically and can be redeemed on Amtrak.com, by calling 1-800-USA-RAIL, and at station ticket offices. The Transportation Voucher is valid for one year towards future Amtrak travel and is not transferable. An email confirmation has been sent to this email address: ******** which includes the Transportation Voucher number, amount, expiration date and additional redemption information.

Please accept our apologies for the problems you reported and we hope you will give us another opportunity to serve you by using the Transportation Voucher toward the purchase of your next ticket.

Once again, thank you for contacting us. We look forward to serving your travel needs in the future.

Sincerely,
Donna L.

Amtrak Customer Relations
I am happy

 

[Roomette10]

BTW we made out connection because they held the Coast Starlight a few minutes.

 

[dogbert617]

BTW we made out connection because they held the Coast Starlight a few minutes.

Glad to hear you made your connection. And that(assuming you were connecting between #27 and #11 at Portland) they held Starlight southbound train #11 for a few extra minutes, for those connecting off of 27. Also too that you got a travel voucher for that passed missed connection, after you got off CA Zephyr #6 in Chicago. Sadly, #6 seems to be notorious once it arrives in Chicago to be late and screw passengers of properly making same day connections to most trains, except for the most part if you want to connect to train #59(southbound City of New Orleans), or train #48(eastbound Lake Shore Limited).