What should Amtrak change?

[TheCrescent]

To Amtrak’s credit, even in my hometown station (a small station with one track and very few passengers, and one train per day in each direction), it has an automated announcement and electronic board stating that “Train 20 will arrive on Track 1.” Well of course it’s track 1, but it comes across well.

 

[Mailliw]

Re: Suggestion no. 2. How about offering open sleepers which trains pioneered? Seats that folded into one bed with a second pull-down bed above, curtained off from the aisle. Railroads offered these for many years. Viarail in Canada still offers them. They are a good idea.

Then you basically have roomettes with berths that can be sold separately. Which is actually a good idea for a couchette-style budget option; especially if ADA requirements can be satisfied with a lie-flat seat adjacent to a public restroom instead of an ensuite accessible Bedroom.

 

[greg1512]

#1: Invest some money into more PR training for all employees that have direct
contact with customers with the goal of providing a consistently pleasant
experience for the guest, whether it is on the train or on the phone or at a
station.

#2: Daily Cardinal service with a proper dining car

#3: Return to printing National Timetables

Amen, Amen, Amen to #3: Return to printing National Timetables. IT is so difficult to plan a several segment trip when you can't look at a national map/timetable.

 

[TheCrescent]

Amtrak should give room keys to sleeping car passengers so that they can lock their rooms when they leave them.

You can lock your room only when you’re in it. Some European railroads give you key cards so you can lock your room when you leave.

“There’s a sleeping car attendant who will ensure safety.” No, I just had a guy try to come into my room while I was in it (he kept trying to come in) and the sleeping car attendant wasn’t around.

 

[Cal]

Amtrak should give room keys to sleeping car passengers so that they can lock their rooms when they leave them.

You can lock your room only when you’re in it. Some European railroads give you key cards so you can lock your room when you leave.

“There’s a sleeping car attendant who will ensure safety.” No, I just had a guy try to come into my room while I was in it (he kept trying to come in) and the sleeping car attendant wasn’t around.

I'm sorry to hear that. However from my experience and what I've read on here that seems to be a rarity. I think there are things that should prioritized over that.

 

[Joe from PA]

The reason I think they stopped printing timetables is that they make it too easy to see how late your train is running.

 

[greg1512]

The reason I think they stopped printing timetables is that they make it too easy to see how late your train is running.

That may be true. But it also makes it damn inconvenient to try to plan a several-segment trip unless you keep the agent on the line forever checking times, schedules, etc.

 

[Cal]

That may be true. But it also makes it damn inconvenient to try to plan a several-segment trip unless you keep the agent on the line forever checking times, schedules, etc.

You can use the following sites (and more) to find schedules:

https://asm.transitdocs.com/Amtrak Timetable Archives - Home - Some of them will not be completely up-to-date with connections, amenities, staff stations, etc, and days running. But the times for the majorityof them should be accurate.

 

[TheCrescent]

I'm sorry to hear that. However from my experience and what I've read on here that seems to be a rarity. I think there are things that should prioritized over that.

I'm sorry to hear that. However from my experience and what I've read on here that seems to be a rarity. I think there are things that should prioritized over that.

Like prioritizing bringing a baseball bat on board next time? I’m 6’2” and athletic so I’m surprised some moron tried to get into my room, particularly while I was in it- I can only imagine how a woman could feel if a guy tried to come in.

 

[Cal]

Like prioritizing bringing a baseball bat on board next time? I’m 6’2” and athletic so I’m surprised some moron tried to get into my room, particularly while I was in it- I can only imagine how a woman could feel if a guy tried to come in.

Was it clear he was trying to break in or did it seem like he thought it was his room and got confused?

 

[rs9]

Like prioritizing bringing a baseball bat on board next time? I’m 6’2” and athletic so I’m surprised some moron tried to get into my room, particularly while I was in it- I can only imagine how a woman could feel if a guy tried to come in.

Perhaps the person was just confused. If it's a person's first time on a sleeper I could see mistaking the rooms as an easy mistake to make.

In Barcelona in '20 right before the pandemic, I had an AirBnB in an apartment building. It turned out there was an identical building right next to it, but I had never noticed. Coming back one night, in the dark, I walked right into the wrong building, then proceeded to try to unlock "my" unit. I spent about three minutes jiggering the key in the lock and semi-freaking out before a woman opened the door. Thankfully she spoke English and wasn't too freaked out by it.

 

[daybeers]

I do think it's a pretty low bar to be able to lock the room from the outside in new configurations of sleepers from Amtrak. Those on the Caledonian Sleeper in the UK even have hotel-style RFID cards.

 

[TheCrescent]

Was it clear he was trying to break in or did it seem like he thought it was his room and got confused?

He wanted in, very clearly, and kept messing with the door. I got up and made it clear that he wasn’t getting in and he went away. It was still unnerving.

 

[Cal]

He wanted in, very clearly, and kept messing with the door. I got up and made it clear that he wasn’t getting in and he went away. It was still unnerving.

Well if he thought it was his own room and thought he was locked out of his own room that would also be unnerving, still could've been him being confused. But I understand your point.

 

[Mailliw]

I do think it's a pretty low bar to be able to lock the room from the outside in new configurations of sleepers from Amtrak. Those on the Caledonian Sleeper in the UK even have hotel-style RFID cards.

You don't even need key cards, just keypads with PINs on the tickets.

 

[joelkfla]

Like prioritizing bringing a baseball bat on board next time? I’m 6’2” and athletic so I’m surprised some moron tried to get into my room, particularly while I was in it- I can only imagine how a woman could feel if a guy tried to come in.

You would have been no more secure inside your room had there been an electronic lock, and less secure had there been a mechanical key lock.

 

[TheCrescent]

You would have been no more secure inside your room had there been an electronic lock, and less secure had there been a mechanical key lock.

You're exactly right in the case I described; how about when I'm in the dining car (whenever one is added back)--how could I keep my things safe? Maybe even just a lock-able luggage storage space would suffice.

 

[joelkfla]

You're exactly right in the case I described; how about when I'm in the dining car (whenever one is added back)--how could I keep my things safe? Maybe even just a lock-able luggage storage space would suffice.

It would be nice to have a lockable door, but in the meantime, you could use a laptop lock on a computer, or a bicycle lock thru a sturdy, lockable bag. But most people think the risk isn't worth the trouble, or carry anything especially valuable with them when they leave the room for an extended time.

 

[Asher]

The reason I think they stopped printing timetables is that they make it too easy to see how late your train is running.

It used to be a requirement when you worked for the railroad you needed to purchase some kind of railroad certified timepiece. Guess that’s all went out the window now.

 

[BlackDiamond]

It used to be a requirement when you worked for the railroad you needed to purchase some kind of railroad certified timepiece. Guess that’s all went out the window now.

Back in the day, railroads in North America ran by timetable and train order so timing was more critical. Not so much nowadays with CTC and track warrants and everything except passenger run as extras.

 

[Asher]

Back in the day, railroads in North America ran by timetable and train order so timing was more critical. Not so much nowadays with CTC and track warrants and everything except passenger run as extras.

Yep, that's what we’re talking about.

 

[UserNameRequired]

Like prioritizing bringing a baseball bat on board next time? I’m 6’2” and athletic so I’m surprised some moron tried to get into my room, particularly while I was in it- I can only imagine how a woman could feel if a guy tried to come in.

Noting pack carefully, there is an Amtrak policy regarding anything "similar" to billy clubs and nightsticks and it is "not limited to".

 

[TheCrescent]

Since there are low-cost airlines and, in Europe, low-cost railroads, why doesn’t Amtrak do the same and add a low-cost affiliate?

Run long trains of retirement-age commuter train cars, with 3x2 seating, and pack them full at low fares. And maybe have low-fare couchette cars as well, for night trains.

Didn’t private railroads basically do that even through the 1960s- key routes would have local trains without amenities, in addition to premium trains?

Amtrak is a relatively comfortable, but not super-luxury, mode of transportation (even coach class is roomy). It’s missing out on revenues by not offering additional classes of service.

 

[rs9]

Since there are low-cost airlines and, in Europe, low-cost railroads, why doesn’t Amtrak do the same and add a low-cost affiliate?

Run long trains of retirement-age commuter train cars, with 3x2 seating, and pack them full at low fares. And maybe have low-fare couchette cars as well, for night trains.

Didn’t private railroads basically do that even through the 1960s- key routes would have local trains without amenities, in addition to premium trains?

Amtrak is a relatively comfortable, but not super-luxury, mode of transportation (even coach class is roomy). It’s missing out on revenues by not offering additional classes of service.

I like the couchette idea, but I see two challenges to it:

1. Whenever the pandemic "ends" or becomes a manageable part of everyday life, will people be comfortable sleeping in close proximity to other people and their germs?
2. Unfortunately in the US, I would have safety concerns. At least in coach you have the relative safety of the masses. I'm not sure how many solo female travelers would be comfortable with such an arrangement (not that I can speak for them). Personally I would be concerned about theft.

As for 3x2 "basic economy" trains, I think the challenge there is to get people out of the mindset of flying. With the proliferation of budget airlines, and the legacy airlines having to compete with them to an extent, people would need a reason to take the train outside of corridor routes.

 

[TheCrescent]

Good points.

A 1964 Southern Railway timetable shows trains 35 and 36, overnight trains between NY and New Orleans with only coaches- no food service- between Washington and Atlanta.

That sounds rough but if it was offered then, maybe it would work now. Or at least for short trips.