Worst Acela trip ever?

[Amtrakacela75]

we were hoping for a nice trip for memorial day weekend but it seems Amtrak had to have a giant hiccup the one weekend I decided to ride, lucky we had upgraded to the Acela but it only made the situation slightly better. the train we was original booked on, 88 decided to hit a fallen tree between old Saybrook and new London and caused it to sit on fire in the process. our Acela 2254 stopped at old Saybrook at about 6:10 pm the conductor told us there was an issue ahead and we were stopping for a bit to see when it would be fixed sadly the little bit turned into 6 hours, by about 6:30-40 the conductors open the doors so we could step onto the platform and get some fresh air since they seem to agree we were going to be stuck here for a while, i was slightly excited since it was neat getting off an Acela at old saybrook and getting some photos. by 7:15 or so Amtrak 194 pulled in next to us to join us in our already hour wait by 8pm it was getting dark and didn't hear much of an update other than Amtrak was sending out crews and trucks to work on the wires. at about 8:30 or so the power went out on both trains. at about 9 pm i decided to go back on the train and used the bathroom when I was walking through the café car all the lights went out, when i went to where the open door was both doors had locked shut, the conductors tried to use the emergency latches but the door wouldn't bulge, another conductor had to come in through the engine and tried to open them but they were still locked, they tried turning the backup power back on but it still didn't do anything after about 10-20 minutes they was able to open one of the doors that weren't open before, I'm not sure if this is normal but it seems pretty scary in an accident that the doors won't open i don't know if this is something Amtrak checks or not but i would suggest they start doing so. by 10 pm people was still waiting and the train still didn't have power most of the passengers had gotten off since the train was starting to get hot (guess that's why you don't design it like an airplane) most people didnt understand why Amtrak didnt just send a bus to come get us or something. finally, about 11:30 pm the power turned back on, they didn't call us back aboard till about 12 am by then we still had to wait for about 45 minutes for the other 2 northbound regionals to past before the Acela could leave but we had to stop at new London to accept the passengers from the train that had hit the tree and had to make stops at both westerly and Kingston, RI making our trip back home even slower we didn't get back to route 128 till almost 1:00 am our original arrival time of 7:20pm late of over 5 hours and 40 minutes. it was definitely an experience but one amtrak didn't seem to handle well, the conductors told us not to leave the platform but i don't think we where going anywhere if the train doesn't have power, so by the time it was 8pm the local pizza place was closed. of course of any situation like this the bathrooms were all clogged and the station didn't have any. they didn't provide us with any water or food as i had heard before on some of the long-distance train delays would think they want to treat their Acela passengers a bit better, i feel bad for the few passengers who had things to get to, one person missed there graduation party and another worked for the MBTA and had to work in the morning. and after all that I haven't heard a peep from Amtrak about a refund or anything, i tried contacting Amtrak customer relations agents twice but left my number once to never get a reply and waited over 4 hours to get there closed at 8pm message. hope to hear back soon but i don't think ill be taking amtrak for a bit.

 

[PaTrainFan]

So sorry for your poor experience on this attempt, but don't write it off. The odds of a similar experience for you again are quite low.

 

[Bob Dylan]

we were hoping for a nice trip for memorial day weekend but it seems Amtrak had to have a giant hiccup the one weekend I decided to ride, lucky we had upgraded to the Acela but it only made the situation slightly better. the train we was original booked on, 88 decided to hit a fallen tree between old Saybrook and new London and caused it to sit on fire in the process. our Acela 2254 stopped at old Saybrook at about 6:10 pm the conductor told us there was an issue ahead and we were stopping for a bit to see when it would be fixed sadly the little bit turned into 6 hours, by about 6:30-40 the conductors open the doors so we could step onto the platform and get some fresh air since they seem to agree we were going to be stuck here for a while, i was slightly excited since it was neat getting off an Acela at old saybrook and getting some photos. by 7:15 or so Amtrak 194 pulled in next to us to join us in our already hour wait by 8pm it was getting dark and didn't hear much of an update other than Amtrak was sending out crews and trucks to work on the wires. at about 8:30 or so the power went out on both trains. at about 9 pm i decided to go back on the train and used the bathroom when I was walking through the café car all the lights went out, when i went to where the open door was both doors had locked shut, the conductors tried to use the emergency latches but the door wouldn't bulge, another conductor had to come in through the engine and tried to open them but they were still locked, they tried turning the backup power back on but it still didn't do anything after about 10-20 minutes they was able to open one of the doors that weren't open before, I'm not sure if this is normal but it seems pretty scary in an accident that the doors won't open i don't know if this is something Amtrak checks or not but i would suggest they start doing so. by 10 pm people was still waiting and the train still didn't have power most of the passengers had gotten off since the train was starting to get hot (guess that's why you don't design it like an airplane) most people didnt understand why Amtrak didnt just send a bus to come get us or something. finally, about 11:30 pm the power turned back on, they didn't call us back aboard till about 12 am by then we still had to wait for about 45 minutes for the other 2 northbound regionals to past before the Acela could leave but we had to stop at new London to accept the passengers from the train that had hit the tree and had to make stops at both westerly and Kingston, RI making our trip back home even slower we didn't get back to route 128 till almost 1:00 am our original arrival time of 7:20pm late of over 5 hours and 40 minutes. it was definitely an experience but one amtrak didn't seem to handle well, the conductors told us not to leave the platform but i don't think we where going anywhere if the train doesn't have power, so by the time it was 8pm the local pizza place was closed. of course of any situation like this the bathrooms were all clogged and the station didn't have any. they didn't provide us with any water or food as i had heard before on some of the long-distance train delays would think they want to treat their Acela passengers a bit better, i feel bad for the few passengers who had things to get to, one person missed there graduation party and another worked for the MBTA and had to work in the morning. and after all that I haven't heard a peep from Amtrak about a refund or anything, i tried contacting Amtrak customer relations agents twice but left my number once to never get a reply and waited over 4 hours to get there closed at 8pm message. hope to hear back soon but i don't think ill be taking amtrak for a bit.

Please call Customer Relations( 1-800-USA-RAIL), when Julie the Computer answers ask for Agent, you may have to ask several times as Julie tries to handle your call.

Once you get a Regular Agent ( you will probably be put on hold due to staff shortages and heavy call Volume), ask them to connect you to Customer Relations, they'll take your info and ask them if you're entitled to a partial refund or a Vouchef for future travel, they're very good about working with customers in these situations which do happen in all forms of travel.

 

[daybeers]

@Amtrakacela75 I was on 167, got in 4 hours, 51 minutes late into NHV. average speed from Providence: 17.18 LOL

At least you could get out and walk around, but that door issue is incredibly concerning. My Regional was on a superelevated curve just east of Groton interlocking so the power could stay on, but it was disappointing the engineer didn't ask for permission to reverse. It was really difficult to sleep, walk, go to the bathroom, and frankly keep your head up when at a 25 degree angle.

I haven't been bothered yet to call customer relations, but I'm getting a refund and more, I don't care if it was only $15

 

[Mystic River Dragon]

@Amtrakacela75My Regional was on a superelevated curve just east of Groton interlocking so the power could stay on, but it was disappointing the engineer didn't ask for permission to reverse.

Especially if you were practically at Mystic — all those nice restaurants, boat trips, ice cream, river views, fancy inns — so close, but just out of reach.

 

[MARC Rider]

Somebody needs to do some tree-cutting. I once had a 6 hour delay on the Carolinian when a storm caused a tree to fall on the tracks in northern Virginia. What was odd was how the dispatchers prioritized trains, it seemed that all sorts of trains were passing us in both directions -- Northeast Regionals, VRE, freight trains, while we were standing still waiting for who knows what. When we finally got to Washington, we shared a platform with 66, which leaves hours after the Carolinian and must have passed us, but they let 66 go north before us, even though the Carolinian makes no stops between Washington and Baltimore and 66 makes 2 stops. We were creeping along behind 66 the whole rest of way to Baltimore (at least.)

I also remember a major rush-hour meltdown on the NEC out of Washington in the early 2000s when wind blew tree branches on to the catenary and fouled things up. A little while after that, they dis a whole lot of tree chopping and brush clearing along the NEC between Baltimore and Washington. I would guess they need to do it up in Connecticut, too.

 

[Rasputin]

I wonder what is worse - a six-hour delay on the train or a two to four hour delay being on hold waiting to talk to Amtrak Customer Service.

 

[Amtrakacela75]

Please call Customer Relations( 1-800-USA-RAIL), when Julie the Computer answers ask for Agent, you may have to ask several times as Julie tries to handle your call.

Once you get a Regular Agent ( you will probably be put on hold due to staff shortages and heavy call Volume), ask them to connect you to Customer Relations, they'll take your info and ask them if you're entitled to a partial refund or a Vouchef for future travel, they're very good about working with customers in these situations which do happen in all forms of travel.

know if there is any number directly to customer relations?

 

[Bob Dylan]

know if there is any number directly to customer relations?

Not to my knowledge, Amtrak never makes it easy for customers to interact with the Company.

 

[Amtrakacela75]

@Amtrakacela75 I was on 167, got in 4 hours, 51 minutes late into NHV. average speed from Providence: 17.18 LOL

At least you could get out and walk around, but that door issue is incredibly concerning. My Regional was on a superelevated curve just east of Groton interlocking so the power could stay on, but it was disappointing the engineer didn't ask for permission to reverse. It was really difficult to sleep, walk, go to the bathroom, and frankly keep your head up when at a 25 degree angle.

I haven't been bothered yet to call customer relations, but I'm getting a refund and more, I don't care if it was only $15

yeah, i never been on an Acela during an emergency but seems concerning that if the train doors are open when the power is out and when the auxiliary batteries turn off they basically shut and lock, lucky they were able to open another door on car 6 but it was still a bit frightening to be said to be stuck inside. i heard one of the conductors saying if they had too they would have had to get people out through the engine.
i cant believe they kept you on an elevated curve seems a bit unsafe to walk since you could just trip and fall down onto the opposite side of the aisle. yeah i original was on 88 for 25$ but at last, minute wanted to upgrade to the Acela since the last time i took a train from new haven to Boston it was so packed we couldn't sit together and the price for bidup to business vs the acela like 20$ more for the acela. it was only 122$ but i can say ill be asking for more too maybe some class upgrades?

 

[Amtrakacela75]

I wonder what is worse - a six-hour delay on the train or a two to four hour delay being on hold waiting to talk to Amtrak Customer Service.

at least one is an experience the other is just waiting

 

[Dakota 400]

Somebody needs to do some tree-cutting.

I agree, but, is that Amtrak's responsibility to the local communities?

I am thinking that it may be Amtrak's based on what I see our local electric utility doing. They do some tree trimming, apparently, when they believe their lines, etc. could be damaged. Some people don't approve because an electrical worker does not do as good of a job as a tree trimming company's employees.

 

[MARC Rider]

I agree, but, is that Amtrak's responsibility to the local communities?

I am thinking that it may be Amtrak's based on what I see our local electric utility doing. They do some tree trimming, apparently, when they believe their lines, etc. could be damaged. Some people don't approve because an electrical worker does not do as good of a job as a tree trimming company's employees.

Well, if the vegetation is threatening to obstruct the railroad tracks or catenary, I would think that would be the responsibility of the railroad. When Amtrak did that brush clearing project in Maryland, I hope they were contracting out to a qualified tree-removal company, but, of course, there are special considerations for doing track-side work by an operating high-speed (or what passes for high speed in this country) railroad.

 

[Rasputin]

I agree, but, is that Amtrak's responsibility to the local communities?

I believe that Amtrak would be responsible for tree trimming within the limits of its right of way which often is much wider than the track and roadbed structure itself. I believe Amtrak can legally trim the portion of a tree on an adjacent property which overhangs its right of way.

 

[daybeers]

I don't care who trims the trees, but it needs to get done. It really wasn't that windy that night. Being on a superelevated curve for five hours was pretty awful; my partner is pissed and doesn't want anything to do with trains for the time being. In hindsight I should've asked the conductor if they can request to reverse.

 

[Amtrakacela75]

I don't care who trims the trees, but it needs to get done. It really wasn't that windy that night. Being on a superelevated curve for five hours was pretty awful; my partner is pissed and doesn't want anything to do with trains for the time being. In hindsight I should've asked the conductor if they can request to reverse.

the biggest issue is whether amtrak wanna blame it on the weather or on their own fault for not clearing trees, there was a thunderstorm that passed through Norwalk,ct around 2 pm but i don't see how that would cause an issue almost 3-4 hours later, i heard that sometimes they try to avoid refunds due to weather, since "its not our fault its the weather". to me, they should have made sure the trees were clear of the wires just like any electrical company should, and i don't see why they couldn't have pulled into the mystic and at least let you get off and get fresh air both acela and 194 sat in the station and had doors open for the passengers.

 

[daybeers]

Yes I agree. The storm wasn't nearly big enough to warrant that long of a delay. It's on them that the trees weren't trimmed properly.

 

[Amtrakacela75]

well after waiting another 2 hours on the phone I'm done missing with Amtrak phone system, callbacks don't seem to work since i asked for one yesterday and haven't heard back yet. and all the info i can get for wait times is an excess of 30 minutes why not just say 5 hours so people can know you aren't gonna answer before you close, still love seeing amtrak tweet were done making airline jokes this week yet there customer service is just as bad. @daybeers I would recommend just filling an email or going to the BBB since trying to call seems pointless rn. if anyone has select or higher i wonder if they get faster service or not for customer relations team.

 

[Cal]

In hindsight I should've asked the conductor if they can request to reverse.

Honestly, I'm not sure how much help this would have done. I'm sure the staff dislike the tilt nearly as much as you too. Asking them to move the whole train is a pretty big ask.

 

[daybeers]

Asking them to move the whole train is a pretty big ask.

It was five hours. I really don't care if it's a big ask lol. What if someone was in a wheelchair??

I have select plus. I'll try to muster up the will to curb my pre-frustration and call. The BBB is a joke.

 

[Amtrakacela75]

It was five hours. I really don't care if it's a big ask lol. What if someone was in a wheelchair??

I have select plus. I'll try to muster up the will to curb my pre-frustration and call. The BBB is a joke.

Hopefully you get faster service maybe I'll call tomorrow when they open and see how long I'll wait

 

[Amtrakacela75]

update: well i finally was able to speak to someone but all they could offer was a e-voucher, i even ask about class upgrades but they said they aren't able to offer those, I'm still pretty annoyed because 6 hours of my time were wasted should be worth something more than a voucher. gonna wait till someone respond to my bbb case hope i can get something else on top of it, they even said i had to use it all on one trip too kinda bs.

 

[MARC Rider]

update: well i finally was able to speak to someone but all they could offer was a refund, i even ask about class upgrades but they said they aren't able to offer those, I'm still pretty annoyed because 6 hours of my time were wasted should be worth something more than a refund. gonna wait till someone respond to my bbb case hope i can get something else on top of it, they even said i had to use it all on one trip too kinda bs.

A refund? that's pretty good. I once had a major delay on NER 67 that involved sitting for several hours after midnight in South Station, and all they gave me was an eVoucher. Which was OK with me, as I ride a lot, so I was able to put it to good use. I'm not sure what else you can expect from them.

 

[Amtrakacela75]

A refund? that's pretty good. I once had a major delay on NER 67 that involved sitting for several hours after midnight in South Station, and all they gave me was an eVoucher. Which was OK with me, as I ride a lot, so I was able to put it to good use. I'm not sure what else you can expect from them.

sorry i meant a e-voucher