I think I understand why Amtrak is having business problems.
I would love to be able to take a train a lot of places I visit. First and foremost, there are not passenger trains to many places. If there is the travel time is much more than it would be by car and the real kicker is that the tickets are more expensive than driving. At least that has been my experience every time I have checked for an upcoming trip.
We recently returned from a wedding that was held in downtown Chicago. We took Amtrak from St. Louis to Union Station in Chicago there and back. The tickets for the two of us ran around $245. Gas for the trip would have ran from $100 to $150 depending on which vehicle we took and how much additional driving we did. However overnight parking in downtown Chicago would have cost us at least $60 per day. To the above figure add $120. Because we were splitting cabs with other attendees to the wedding, cabs probably ran another $20 or $25 while we were there. Double that if we had not split.
Our train was due to leave St. Louis Friday morning at 7:55 a.m. The Texas Eagle was behind schedule. We finally left the station in St. Louis at 9:30 a.m. Not a huge deal as we did not need to be anywhere in Chicago until 7 p.m., but still a little frustrating.
The ride up there was uneventful. The seats are comfortable with plenty of room between them. The train was far from full and therefore allowed room to spread out. There were outlets that enabled you to plug in your laptop or phone chargers. I did not see WIFI available and I did wonder about that as MegaBus has that available to their passengers. WIFI is available on some routes, but not this one for some reason.
As anyone will tell you the scenery between St. Louis and Chicago is not awe inspiring. On this train it is even less so due to many portions of the track being lined by trees.
My main gripe about the train is that it could have been cleaner. It was not so filthy that I was afraid to touch anything, but it just looked and felt seedy and run down. In the bathrooms, however, I was afraid to touch things, fortunately there where paper towels to use as a barrier. One of the tribulations of aging is that I have come to suffer sinus issues that are brought on by various agents in the atmosphere. When we detrained in Chicago my sinuses were in full flair mode. Not being the typical allergy season I had not thought of packing my sinus spray.
Everything in the dining car (only open briefly) and snack bar was as over priced as you expect. It was still cheaper than refreshments at a Cardinal game.
The train back left on time and was much fuller than the one up. For some reasons there was a plethora of conductors on this train. We were trying to remember if one saw one on the ride up and could not. There were two incidents on the way back that were less than favorable. First was that several folks wanted to eat in the dining car. Time they got back to our car, no early reservations were available and it did not make sense to eat just before we got off in St. Louis. Not a big deal, but again a little frustrating.
The second incident was more frustrating. The train came to a stop and did so for some 30 or 40 minutes. Apparently someone had decided they were going to smoke in the restroom and would not quit after several warnings. They stopped the train at a road crossing and had the local police remove the individual. Obviously, this individual was in wrong, and I have no idea if there was a better way to handle the situation. I do wonder why they cannot provide a smoking area for these addicted individuals. Is it safety, cost, a combination of both or some other reason?
I will not say that Amtrak employees are surly, but I will not say they are customer centered either. I know zero about how trains operate, but we seemed to spend an inordinate amount of time on sidings waiting for other trains to pass. My biggest gripes with this Amtrak experience are slowness, lack of adherence to the schedule, and general appearance and cleanliness of the trains. There were 6 couples in total that took this excursion to Chicago on the train. I know of one, possibly two that will not take the train again due to the lack of adherence to schedule. Best I can figure out from talking to folks and searching the “da net”, on time is not Amtrak’s strong suite.
We are going on vacation in Italy in a few weeks. Between several points within the country we are traveling by train. It will of interest to see the difference between the two train systems.
What bothers me most is that this country needs a good rail system. We need to get folks out of their individual vehicles and using these public transportation options. Hopefully we will not wait to do this until the price of oil skyrockets so high none of us can afford to go anywhere.
P.S. My travel companions were not necessarily too happy with me when I muttered in a low tone as the conductor came by after the police action, ‘Hey buddy, got a cigarette?” One of these days I will grow up…not.
References:
- AmTrak on time performance for Texas Eagle
- Amtrak On-Time Performance Trends and Hours of Delay by Cause (Bureau of Transportation Statistics)
- Durbin asks the STB to Improve Amtrak On-Time-Performance
- Consumer Complaints
Click chart below to see it larger
