Trip Report: October 8 - 28, 2000
by Ted & Sylvia Blishak
ONBOARD AMTRAK
WITH TED AND SYLVIA BLISHAK
Our General Impressions of Service, Scheduling, Equipment, and Roadbeds
October 27, 2000: Conclusion
ON-BOARD SERVICE.
Amtrak's President George Warrington has often mentioned, with pride, that the corporation sent all employees who interface with customers to a two-day seminar on customer service. The training was presented by Price Waterhouse, a company whose name is frequently linked with Amtrak. While we were skeptical about the outcome of this project, to our pleasure and astonishment, this is working! On all of the trains we have taken since the beginning of our trip on October 8th, each crew that we have interfaced with (with one glaring exception) has been most pleasant, courteous, efficient, and knowledgeable.
That glaring exception, of course, was the crew of the Capitol Limited leaving Chicago on Wednesday, October 11th, arriving in Pittsburgh on October 12th, which we have previously reported. We have been urged by fellow passengers, as well as by our readers, to report this situation to Amtrak Customer Service. We will do this when we return to our office on October 30th, and will keep you posted on the results.
SCHEDULING
Amtrak has never found a way to work with its host railroads in such a way as to make on-time performance a consistent possibility. This is no fault of Amtrak's. The news media has been making us all too aware of the inability of the railroads that own the tracks to even get their freight delivered to customers on a timely basis. This has been going on for a long time. American freight railroads may never choose to get organized to perform the services desired by their customers. (One of their important customers is Amtrak, since our government, unlike those in Europe in Japan, will not subsidize the cost and maintenance of railroad tracks for passenger trains. Tax money does build airports and highways in this country, but only the tracks between Boston and Washington DC belong to Amtrak.) The reasons for this are too far reaching for us to get involved in discussing here.
But it is time for Amtrak to admit the weaknesses of the American railroad system. Amtrak can't dispatch its own trains; schedules are at the mercy of UP, BNSF, and CSX. Amtrak can't maintain tracks that don't belong to them. These are two areas over which Amtrak will never have control -- or the ability to correct.
But Amtrak could begin reworking their train scheduling realistically, for the convenience of their passengers. They have done so already on the scheduling of the Coast Starlight and the Southwest Chief, making a westbound connection in Los Angeles an impossibility. Guaranteeing a connection, then not being able to deliver, becomes a major inconvenience for the traveler which must then be dealt with on a last-minute emergency basis. We feel that it is much easier for the traveler to preplan an overnight stay in Southern California. We always recommend to our clients that they do not attempt close connections, but instead plan interesting stopovers to make their travel more pleasant and relaxing. After all, taking Amtrak is not about getting somewhere in a hurry. It is about enjoying the experience of getting there. We would enjoy hearing feedback from our readers on this subject.
EQUIPMENT.
As I write this on the Coast Starlight, with its impeccably clean and completely functioning Superliner 2 equipment, I wonder why this train is so exceptional. I know that it is obviously an advantage to have the newest equipment available, but I also know that it is possible to maintain older equipment so that it looks and functions like new. Look at VIA Rail's Canadian as a prime example. Built in 1955, rebuilt in the early 1990s, it has a clean, fresh appearance, and reliable functionality. (Also I have maintained enough vintage automobiles to know that old is not necessarily unpleasant and unreliable.)
In my opinion there is a serious cleaning and maintenance problem with Amtrak. I am not referring to safety issues, for I believe that the equipment safety standards are very high. I am speaking of the appearance of carpeting, upholstery, and wall coverings. I am speaking of the cleanliness of floors and windows and bathrooms. I am speaking of the burnt out light bulbs, the malfunctioning toilet systems, the dirty carpeting, all signs of poor housekeeping. We do not return to, nor do we recommend, hotels that offer poor maintenance, for we can always book other hotels with high standards of maintenance and cleanliness. But we cannot book another passenger railroad on which to travel in America -- Amtrak is the only choice.
More than one Amtrak employee has admitted that although he or she has filed the proper repair report on a maintenance problem to be corrected at a train's turnaround point, they report for work on the same car the next day to find that nothing has been done to correct the problem. Trains are sometimes late starting from their beginning city because a bad-ordered engine was not repaired and must be dealt with because it won't function. And I have heard more than one passenger say that they are offended by an unkempt or unmaintained sleeping car for which they have paid rates equivalent to those for a five-star hotel.
ROADBEDS
Their condition is bad and getting worse. This is completely out of the hands of Amtrak, who must operate fast, luxurious, passenger trains over American roadbeds of jointed rails on wooden ties, only found elsewhere on this planet in third-world countries. These roadbeds are maintained minimally -- only enough to deliver the heavy, low-value bulk goods that American railroads specialize in today. High-value merchandise that is perishable or fragile has long ago been forfeited to the trucking industry. Fortunately, speeds over these bulk-goods roadbeds are regulated by the Federal Railway Administration for safety reasons.
But comfort for passenger rail travelers is not a priority on these freight-oriented roadbeds. This is why we keep reminding passengers to hold on to something when walking through moving trains.
The last day
