greatcats
Engineer
Below is a paste of the comments just sent to Amtrak about last night on the Southwest Chief Los Angeles to Flagstaff. Not a disaster by any means, but it just goes to show that " the most consistent thing about Amtrak is its inconsistency. " My friend and I had flown Flagstaff-Phoenix-Burbank on Saturday, due to a time constraint, which was OK, but rather time consuming. I could have driven to LA in less time. We did our usual concert going thing and had a fine time in LA. We did not eat in the dining car, opting for a very good Mexican dinner at El Paseo on Olvera Street.
Just sent to Amtrak:
Hello - I am a veteran Amtrak traveler and my trip last night Los Angeles to Flagstaff was generally satisfactory, except for the two items mentioned:
1.I have not travelled overnight in coach in several years, usually having a roomette.It was not clear to me that the booth at the east end of the main LA waiting room is for coach passengers to receive seat assignments. My traveling companion had ridden this route last year and it was not done this way. Better signage is needed, so that people do not board the train without a seat assignment, as I had to chase another man out of our seats.
2. The train itself was OK and the car fairly comfortable. However, our otherwise pleasant coach attendant, Mr. Poole, seemed rather clueless on a number of informational matters. He marked our seat checks for Flagstaff, and a number of other passengers were also going to my city. I last recall being awake briefly at Kingman and slept right through Williams Junction. I awoke groggy and at first thought the lights were those of Williams from north of town. No, we were in Flagstaff. I was in no way prepared to get off. i had had my CPAP breathing machine hooked up all night on the folding tray table. These take a few minutes to pack up carefully. Mr. Poole said " This is Flagstaff. You have plenty of time; it's a smoke stop. " I am well aware that the train does stay in Flagstaff for at least several minutes handling baggage, but this made for a chaotic, grouchy end of the trip. A car attendant told me a few years ago that they are to have their rest period crossing southern California and be up for the major stop of Flagstaff. We should have been alerted at least fifteen minutes or more before the station stop. He received no tip, something i am usually glad to give to train service crews.
Just sent to Amtrak:
Hello - I am a veteran Amtrak traveler and my trip last night Los Angeles to Flagstaff was generally satisfactory, except for the two items mentioned:
1.I have not travelled overnight in coach in several years, usually having a roomette.It was not clear to me that the booth at the east end of the main LA waiting room is for coach passengers to receive seat assignments. My traveling companion had ridden this route last year and it was not done this way. Better signage is needed, so that people do not board the train without a seat assignment, as I had to chase another man out of our seats.
2. The train itself was OK and the car fairly comfortable. However, our otherwise pleasant coach attendant, Mr. Poole, seemed rather clueless on a number of informational matters. He marked our seat checks for Flagstaff, and a number of other passengers were also going to my city. I last recall being awake briefly at Kingman and slept right through Williams Junction. I awoke groggy and at first thought the lights were those of Williams from north of town. No, we were in Flagstaff. I was in no way prepared to get off. i had had my CPAP breathing machine hooked up all night on the folding tray table. These take a few minutes to pack up carefully. Mr. Poole said " This is Flagstaff. You have plenty of time; it's a smoke stop. " I am well aware that the train does stay in Flagstaff for at least several minutes handling baggage, but this made for a chaotic, grouchy end of the trip. A car attendant told me a few years ago that they are to have their rest period crossing southern California and be up for the major stop of Flagstaff. We should have been alerted at least fifteen minutes or more before the station stop. He received no tip, something i am usually glad to give to train service crews.
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