I had to take an Amtrak train from my home to Washington DC, something I actually don’t often do, despite my frequent use of Amtrak. It was the most convenient option for where I needed to be, and I used approximately 800 Amtrak Guest Rewards points in either direction – to Washington, and the return.
Unfortunately, it was a nightmare of a trip. It left Fredericksburg late and the delay continued in the hour or so ride to DC. Supposedly prior to Fredericksburg it encountered a broken freight train which they needed to assist, and then just before Alexandria, another train de-coupled some of its cars, and another maintenance issue occurred, causing another series of delays.
All in all, the train arrived about 4.5 hours late into Washington. The next day, I wrote to Amtrak complaining of the delay, well knowing that none of the incidents causing the delay were truly the fault of Amtrak. For those that don’t know, the series of tracks south of Washington DC are not owned by Amtrak, and passenger trains travel on the rails of several freight train companies. In short, freight trains take priority. So, while not directly at fault, Amtrak was at least partly responsible, especially considering I could have made the drive in 3 hours less time than what it took to take the train.
Amtrak surprisingly responded with a $40 Amtrak voucher.
Dear Amtrak Customer,
Thank you for choosing Amtrak. Please save or print this page for your records.
An electronic Transportation Voucher was created for you. This Transportation Voucher may be used as payment toward future Amtrak travel. Please review the following Transportation Voucher information:
Redemption Policy
- Transportation Vouchers can only be redeemed by the person to whom it was issued (proper identification required).
- The Transportation Voucher is valid for one time use, and any remaining unused value will be forfeited upon redemption.
- The person to whom this Transportation Voucher is issued must be one of the travelers on the reservation.
- Transportation Vouchers expire one year after issuance.
- Transportation Vouchers are redeemable at station ticket offices, by phoning 800-USA-RAIL, or at Amtrak.com.
Amtrak Office of Customer Relations
60 Massachusetts Avenue, NE
Washington, DC 20002
So, all in I spent about 2,000 points, and got in return a $40 voucher. In this case, I value the voucher more than a return of the points I had spent on this trip, so I do believe I was fairly compensated.
In all honesty, I try to avoid taking the train now that I have access to discounts, elite status and preferred pricing through SELECT – which more than outweigh the membership fee I pay every year.
Do you believe $40 is compensation for a 4.5 hour delayed train?
Jamie Larounis is an avid traveler, blogger and miles/points educator. Traveling well over 100,000 miles a year and staying in hotels for over 100 nights, he leverages miles, points and other deals to fly in first class cabins, and stay in 5-star hotels. The Forward Cabin shares his experiences, musings, reviews, tips, tricks, resources and industry news with you, the fellow traveler.
Yes, I feel others, some bloggers, would demand the world.
How much did you pay?
Flixbus:
Hi there,
I usedyour services from LA to Palm springs on the Xth of Decemnber.. Your service was cancelled and the next service was after 4 hours thatthen reached the destination 5 hours late.
The first 2 messages reported a 1 hour and then a 2 hour delay.. After this a cancellation was reported. Why was a cancellation not reported right away so that I could ve taken a train or another bus.
My schedule was thrown haywire and I ended u missing the bus back(which ironically left before the scheduled 1930 I am told)
So, I called up the helpdesk and they told me they could do nothing and they could not even put me on the next bus!!! This is despite the onward service being delayed 5 hour and putting me in trouble for the rest of the day.
Now, I ended up booking another bus because by the even the Amtrak services had left!
I expect a ull refund for all legs of the journey in light of what I have had to endure..
Additionally, I had a similar experience with Flixbus in Basel where the bus didnt turn up on time and there was NOBODY to help either with information or any updates as to when the bus might arrive..
Since I had an onward plane connection, I decided to go without waiting for the bus..
So, I didnt bother trying to get a refund then but now I want a refund for that journey as well..
Here are the details of the recent journey
Here are the details of my first journey:
Above and beyond all this, I will be reporting to the authorities as you cannot have a 5 hour delay and have no automatic compensation for passegers! Especially in a hub like LA, you CANNOT have this situation where you dont even have a spare bus!
AMTRAK
Travelling from the vantage point of a first floor does make a difference and gives it the edge in that regard over legends like the Glacier express..However, that is where the comparison ends. The glacier expresstrumps the poorly funded
Amtrak in the infra space suffers from old coaches, runs on diesel (resulting in fumes occasionally on the ventilation), less than ideal toliets(compared to European counterparts) and warping on some glass windows!
However, all of this is pushed into insignificance when you see the american countryside transition from great plains to high mountains to canyons,deserts,rivers and lakes!
The train has a fantastic dining car and a good cafe car. However, the coach section leaves a lot to be desired. Although the legroom is fantastic and the seats OK(could do with more plushness and ergonomics),
the wafts from bad toilets if you happen to be unlucky, the ventilation that is not car specific( which means on e idiot smoking on the train ensures everyone gets second hand smoke) and the less than adequate heating on cold stormy days.
Amazingly, seating isnt assigned – this works well given a lot of people get aboard and get off on the route and hence seats are always becoming available.However, a full train may be a logistical nightmare..
Travelling in winter, I got 2 seats t myself and had a choice of seats to pick
TIP – Stay on the last coach – this is where the seats are likely to be available and the view of the tracks from the back of the train can be a fantastic add-on.
The sightseeing car is great and I spent most of my time on the trip there.. The issue is – there is just one car that is’sightseeing’ – unlike the glacier express where the whole train is built in that manner
This means that on a full train, I cna imagine the need to ‘sacrifice’ your time in the car so others can get a go.. That is less than ideal – I was lucky to travel on a less than busy day where I never saw the car fully utilised -and hence didnt feel guilty hogging space
This is clearly because of the underfunded Amtrak unable to upgrade to Glacier express style coaches that this scenery clearly deserves!
The other big flaw is the train uses privately owned tracks that are runinng goods and hence arent as worried about schedules.This means that the train routinely runs late – I dont mean ’10 min spater’ as in Switzerand – but 4-5 hours-sometimes 6 hours!
This is routine – so please do not make any plans(or worse, connections) – based on the punctuality of the train. For the record, my train was 4.5 hours late!