I am writing this review for the capitol limited Amtrak train that I boarded at Chicago union station. The train arrived here at the scheduled time and the staff and service inside the train was exceptional. The train got delayed by 20 minutes early morning but it made up time along the way later in the day. read more

I love the train. I ride from New Orleans to Birmingham. Lots of room. Staff is friendly. Only complaint is rude people talking on their phones! read more

I'm writing about my experience on purchasing an amtrak ticket online. When I tried to purchase a ticket for Union Station to Newark, the price was $125. For some reason, the purchase didn't complete due a browser error according to amtrak..... and 2 minutes later when I tried to purchase again, the price jumped to $150! Really now? You have to be kidding right? V read more

Just got on the 449 train in South Station Boston. This train is filthy! They obviously do NOT clean the train between riders. The seats have crumbs, etc. all over them & the table has something sticky spilled all over it. The conductors solution was "well you can always move." REALLY? You could always clean the train too. It's disgusting! read more

Phil one of the conductors was very very rude right in front of everyone he stood over my 73 year old mother scolding her for using a bathroom not in her ticketed area yet it was the area nearest the lounge car! Totally uncalled for I will never ride again and that man should not have stood over an old woman the way he did !!!!we explained our brother was a train conductor and this behavior is not excused, there has to be some type of respect an explanation before acting this way read more

I ride Amtrak periodically between DC and NYC. On the whole, it is a pleasant experience. My experience is that the trains usually run on time. The staff are usually pleasant and helpful. NY Penn Station has a dedicated waiting area. The staff that works that area are usually kind of surly, but somewhat helpful when asked. It is annoying that tracks are only announced 10-15 minutes before departure, and there is always a crush of people pushing and shoving to board. Washington Union Station has waiting areas for each track. It is helpful to know in advance where the train will board, and know where to wait. Much more organized and civilized. The station, however, is sad and dirty. I usually take an early or late train. Usually, there are NO food/coffee/refreshment shops open then. Not one. The trains are usually very clean. All electrical outlets and individual lighting are in good working order. The seats are very comfortable. The bathrooms onboard are usually clean and in good working order. In either direction, especially on late trains, the conductors are good about making sure you don't sleep past your stop. (MUCH appreciated.) One of my favorite features is the Quiet Car. On that car people cannot use their phones or chat or anything else that makes noise. I love it! I do not want to spend my travel time listening to other people's yapping! I wish the conductors would do a better job announcing the sound restrictions on the quiet car. There are too many quiet car offenders around! If I have one major complaint, it is the cost to ride Amtrak. It is very expensive, unless you can plan far in advance AND catch some less expensive tickets. It is often cheaper to fly. And it is always a lot more expensive than the busses that run between NYC and DC. Because of that, I only use Amtrak when they have a schedule that is not covered by the alternatives, or if I happen to catch a ticket at a good price. read more

Just boarded Amtrak Train 141 NE Regional towards Washington DC from Pennsylvania Station NYC. Amtrak yet again proves to be the worst form of public transportation available. The mob mentally they foster at the station as travelers wait to know which track their train will be boarding from, coupled with their rude staff members makes for both a stressful and unpleasant experience. I watched as multiple Amtrak staff members yelled at families with small children to get in line, watched as staff members harassed customers to listen to them. On display this morning was a company culture so disgusting and flawed it's embarrassing to be sitting on this fifthly train departing the station roughly 20 minutes late. To those reading this, you don't know me and it is a fact that most reviews come from those who have either a fantastic experience or a horrific one. This review is stemming from the latter of course, however, this experience is not in isolation. I have traveled via the train to and from the D.C. and NYC area more times then I can count and of those times it's a small handful where I felt Amtrak delivered upon their mission: Delivering intercity transportation with superior safety, customer service... I don't particularly enjoying reviewing thing, but I will never take the train again. I'd rather do anything else than to be treated like an animal. For those looking for an easy alternative take the bus. Save your money and save your dignity. This is my personal favorite: https://www.vamoosebus.com/site/m/home.aspx read more

Sep 2nd 2018 Yuma AZ stood on the platform awaiting train #1 that was 3 hours late. No facilities not even restroom. Arrived Los Angeles and was transferred to a crowded bus with no space for carry on bags. Arrived Bakersfield and was transferred to train that was over booked with people laying on the floor. Although the train was over booked half of the seating in the dinning car had signs reserved for staff only. Restrooms filthy, unfriendly worker in dinning car and unsafe conditions with people standing or laying in aisleways and stairwells. Another black eye for Government operating any service. Unsafe, crowed, dirty and not on time THANK YOU Amtrak. read more

Even if you don't ride Amtrak, you are paying for it. Without federal dollars, and a lot of them, this entire decrepit operation would go bust in a month. That subsidy has enabled a terrible service to survive. I mean they don't even turn a profit on the concession monopoly on the trains in the NE corridor. The NE Acela route does make money (not hard to do with a monopoly) but all other routes are $$ losers. The overpaid disinterested employees walk around like some sort of mechanized zombies waiting for their pensions. Amtrak is dirty, expensive and slow. The only way the USA will catch up with real train services (like in Asia and Europe) is to tear down Amtrak and start all over with new equipment and new people. Since 1972 Amtrak has received more than $13,000,000,000 (yes that billions) of federal subsidies. Twenty-five years later, Amtrak appears no closer to financial independence than the day taxpayer assistance began. Worse, Amtrak has no apparent plan to become self-sufficient. In fact, it is now pressing for a half-cent of the federal gasoline tax in order to have a permanent umbilical cord to the federal treasury. One last item, if you book a trip on Acela and need to cancel- even a week in advance- they now into this non-refundable game like the airlines. And everyone loves the airlines right? Only a monopoly could get away with a policy like that. read more

My trip was from Eugene, Or to San Jose, Ca. Exceptional Attendant services from Ms Cruz in Sleeper car 1131 8/30 to 8/31. Thank you. The meals were pretty good (Shrimp w Lobster sauce), the white wine passable. The only suggestion I have is for Amtrak was to send a few road/track crews out to work on improving the rails themselves. Pretty bouncy/jerky. Yes I used to have a lot of rail time, so I can tell the difference. The Train (#11) leaves at 1710 and arrives the next day at 0955. read more

I travel amtrak all the time but it was the worst ever on 8-17 from Dearborn to Chicago the 11:03am train we had 5 delays which 2 of them they didn't even know why we were delayed, each time they would turn the train off it was hot no air, no lights very dissatisfying for the price of the tickets.. read more

We boarded the train in St. Louis, MO and road to San Antonio, TX and it was wonderful. This trip we had a sleeper and our guy was Derrick. He was great, very helpful and very nice. I would highly recommend this trip to anyone wanting to go to San Antonio. I give him 5 out of 5 stars. read more

Northeast regional train DC to NY Penn station. Late again. It's Saturday morning, weather is fine-for crying out loud, for this kind of money service should run on time. I haven't kept detailed records but i cannot recall any of these trips where one of the two trains roundtrip did not get in late. Shame on you Amtrak. read more

My husband and I are on the Vermonter #57 from Penn Station (NY) to Union Station (Washington DC). This has been a horrible experience- and one we will not repeat and will avoid Amtrak at all costs in the future! The train was well over an hour late leaving the station at Penn Station - with absolutely NO communication as to why it was delayed, or how long the delay would be. It arrived for Boarding one hour later. Once boarded, we were told to expect to arrive at our destination one hour late. Instead the train has stopped multiple times for anywhere from a 25 - 35 minute stop. Again- with absolutely NO COMMUNICATION!! We are not yet at our destination, and it is 12:45 am and stopped yet again. Amtrak would do well to communicate to it's passengers- instead of saying Nothing at all. This is horrible! I do not recommend taking Amtrak! I have given them one star only because I do not have the option to choose no stars! read more

Bizarrely over-engineered, which is great if you want an authentic railroad experience that feels unchanged since the 50s , but I would rather just catch something that feels like a modern train. read more

I am Blind and this is the Secomd Time I have had to Submit this Post I do not like having to sign up for Service just to leave this POST you have no idea when my Blind Programs do not always work with other engines. Now on to why I am writting I have been a Loyal Customer for Six Years I have Experienced Delays but have always been helped by Very Caring Old Customer Serive On the Train. They either left Amtrack or Retired becuase Someone in Corportate thought that changing the Train Schedule would be better. Ha! Ha!. I always left Palm Springs Trian Station at 4:54 a.m. now the TRAIN Leaves at 2:00 .a.m. I am not only blind but use a Wheel Chair NOW NO ONE HELPS ME AT GETTING ON THE TRAIN. Customers do. Same thing coming home TRAIN used to Leave at 3:OO p.m. and I would get home at 6:35 p.m almost always except for a few unforsen cercumstances. Which I under stand we always ran on time to Palms Springs Train Stataion. Now it leav es AT 10:00 p.m. I do not get back to Palm Palm Springs Station till after the Train stops for Freight Trains I did not get home till 1:30 A.M. The Conductor was so Fat she had bumped me more than Once she also could NOT Help get off the TRAIN a Customer did. He was going to Texas but knew I needed help. i assumed that you had established weight limts for Train Staff. I guess you have to tke what you get. A very disatified Customer. read more

Harrisburg ticket agent tell me. My card was denied.....lies lies lies...they just wanted cash ...I was able to use the atm machine with no time to spare....conductor yelling hurry up we are running late.....and Im its Amtrak fault....if you would accept ppls card like you are suppose to....there wouldnt be any problems !!!!!!! read more

Amtrak is a good way to get around. It may be slow, but its fun. You see great wilderness, railfans, and cars having to wait at crossings. The customer service at the stations was great. They were nice. Check in was much easier than the airport. The trains were mostly on time. Now heres why Amtrak gets delayed: Freight Trains. We got about an hour delayed because a CSX freight train went into emergency up ahead because of a defective car. They had to get the car out of the consist and then proceed. Finally, the Freight train zipped right by. Train travel is fun. If you are on the silver service, I hope Preston is your car attendant. He was super nice and funny. I would recommend taking Amtrak. read more

The service here was terrible. The Amtrack attendant did not listen to my request and was very pointed with me and my friends. She proceed to give us an attitude and did not allow us to change our train time. I have never been so insulted by an Amtrack agent before so I was quite shocked with this experience. read more

Great service and perfect ride back to Philly. Also weekends can have odd times. I don't think upgrading is worth it

Arranged 1st trip since Covid for a party of 8 seniors from Los Angeles to the Grand Canyon. A 5 day trip which included sleep cars from LA, to Flagstaff, Bus to Williams and Breakfast there with train to Grand canyon. 2 nights in grand canyon then reverse. Sounds great right? Nooo. Amtrak changed train schedules and we ended up having to stay in Flagstaff for 2 nights following our trip to the canyon in order to get a train home. By doing so we did not get train back to Williams with Dinner. Took bus from Grand Canyon to Flagstaff. We ended up paying 50% of the charges we did not want for a hotel (4 rooms) and car rentals (2 cars) in Flagstaff as we filled our time waiting for the train. Thank you Amtrak Vacations for paying 50%. However Hotel (Embassy Suites) Advised that Amtrak Vacations only paid for 3 rooms not 4 and we were charged for the 4th room and 2 nights parking for 3 cars which was actually only 2 cars for 1 night each. Received only 1/2 of that back. Train was almost 2 hours late picking us up in Flagstaff at 1030, instead of 835 at night, and we had to wait for our sleeper cars for an hour to be ready. Tired and Grouchy. No amenities offered as we sat in dining car awaiting our beds. I will never book an amtrak trip or An Amtrak Vacations trip again. Trip cost much more than we intended to spend and the assistance received from both Amtrak and Amtrak Vacations was less than I would have expected. read more

The best way to travel in the U.S. Great customer service, amazing experiences on the long routes, and a cool way to travel. I would caution against the Bank of America Amtrak Rewards card. Mainly because BoA is a terrible institution with sky high interest rates and terrible service. Avoid that and travel Amtrak and you'll be good to go. read more

Never ride Amtrak I bought a business ticket the train has no internet then I went to get coffee and an employee ic brown told me I had to pay for coffee I told him I was business class and an employee just told me I can get free coffee I guess he was embarrassed so he didn't want to serve me he told the girl she should serve me he has no business in the service industry I am a manager in the service industry if I heard an employee talking like ic brown did I would reprimand him and write him up the second time I would just let him go I was bragging to my cousin about the internet on the train so I bought him a round trip ticket business class so I called Amtrak and wanted a rebate to the couch prices since all this occurred I was told i cant get a rebate just a coupon for a future trip I explained how will that rectify the situation considering I will never ride again they should change their policy until they do do not ride amtrak drive your car or take a bus this company is bottom shelf read more

Dear Amtrak, I admit that I prefer taking you to NYC moreso then the buses or even flights. With buses, I have to endure the possibility of stinky bathrooms...and with flights, I have to deal with security. So you are by far the most comfortable and easiest way to get up to the fabulous city, in my most humble of opinions. However, you do not reward my love. In fact, you spurn it with such pompous arrogance, that despite my love for you, we are breaking up. To start with, why are you always more expensive then even a flight? None of the deal codes ever seem to work for the Northeast Corridor. While I understand that travel to NYC is probably one of the most popular destinations for you, shouldn't you reward this popularity with some nice discounts? Perhaps pricing your fares a little more competitively? I'm not expecting $25 fares, however $150 for a trip to NYC is pretty ridonkulous. Fail. Don't bring up the frequent traveller discount to me either...it's a lame program and whenever I finally have racked up enough points, you either change the terms on me, black out the dates that I want to travel, or have expired by the time I could use them. Fail. Finally, there was the time that the train broke down 2 minutes outside of Union Station, DC. We had just pulled out, and were on our merry way, when something blew and you were stuck. That was fine - such things happen, but was it really necessary to keep us sitting in the train for 3 hours without AC in the middle of August? We were still in eyes' sight of Union Station. In fact, we were still in the train yard. It was close enough that I could walk back to Union Station in my 3.5" heels while carrying luggage and a latte. But nay - you decided that it was better to keep us sitting there. Frustrated and without explanation or refreshments. At least on a flight, peanuts and drinks would be served! Some free snacks or beverages would have been nice. It would have probably even saved this relationship. Alas, no, you decided to take this opportunity to gouge hungry and thirsty travellers. Epic fail. I was attracted to you Amtrak, however you didn't treat me right. There are other fish in the sea. They may not have such comfy seats as you, or have nice bathrooms and no security lines to wait from...but they respect me and treat me right. And sometimes, that means a world more then three-prong electrical outlets. Sincerely, ~F read more

I'm using this space to praise-let me say it again-praise-the Acela Train.. Specifically, the quiet car..... Yes, train travel is about as expensive as taking a family of four to a Major League Baseball game. I know I'm fortunate to be able to make to NYC in this fashion. But back to the quiet car.. (ahhhhh) I know a lot of you, my fellow Yelpers, don't remember ( or care) a time when you didn't have to find yourself exposed to everyone's damn personal business via cell phone.. But such a time did exist.... And it's gotten harder and harder to find -how did we used to say it- privacy-quiet... etc. So I guess it is no surprise that a good number of folks in this car are middle aged -like myself...... And it pleases us that the conductors enforce the law. A few *&^^%$ have tried sneaking in and using their phone (voices down low and all)... Didnt work... Thank goodness. I saw the ghost of Henry Thoreau in said car the last time I returned from New York.... Smiling... read more

So I cruise between DC and NYC on Amtrak so much I'm sorta surprised they haven't named an Acela car after me. You know, "The Spirit of Christian" or "D'Andrea's Chocolate City Express". Anyway, in keeping with my quest to establish the Unsung Awards, I'm calling attention to Mike. Mike's a conductor on the trains. 1. He's civil as the day is long. And being friendly after dealing with DC-NYC commuters all day is no mean feat. 2. He's wise. He dropped some serious knowledge on me yesterday. The Acela car was shaking like an agitated overweight caterpillar torso. I asked Mike "what gives?", and "where's the best place to set up shop if rattling-avoidance is the priority?". He said the middle of the car, away from the wheels at the front and back, which translate every jolt of the changing track to the car directly above them. The middle of the car has the chance to hover between these two iron-maidened track connection points. And is thus smoother. Now I know. Thanks, Mike. read more

Had trip from Boston to NYC to see some plays scheduled in a few weeks. Broadway has shut down due to the CORONAVIRUS so unfortunately I had to cancel the trip. Amtrak will only issue a voucher that expires in 12 months. read more

This is a recent account of the experience I had on my first and last ride on an AMTRAK train. I am copying this letter I wrote to the Corporate Offices in Washington D.C. As of today, I have still yet to hear a response on their part. 24-2-2014 Office of Customer Relations AMTRAK 60 Massachusetts Ave. N.E. Washington, DC 20002 Dear Customer Relations Department, I am writing this letter in correlation to file # (omitted). Your AMTRAK representative who recorded my claim offered me a certificate for a free fare, which I am flat out denying, as I NEVER will put myself through the torture of riding your train again. Below is a recap of my experiences. I am requesting nothing less than a full refund compensation immediately upon receipt of this letter for the inhumane and dangerous situations I endured while onboard AMTRAK. I booked myself a ticket from Austin to Los Angeles, fulfilling a lifelong desire to take a train ride long distance for the experience of seeing the U.S terrain from a different perspective. I will emphasize this was to be an enjoyable alternative to taking a plane, not a necessity. Having read up on the "amenities" that were offered and looking forward to this journey, I booked myself a ticket in coach on the Texas Eagle. The next section is a detail of what I experienced on this trip. First, the train that was to depart Austin February 8, at 6:30p did not depart until nearly midnight. Late I understand...but more than 5 hours? When I phoned AMTRAK the representative could not give me any reason for the delay. Certainly suspicious, but I disregarded it as I was looking forward to the trip. We boarded and moved on to a few stations before arriving in San Antonio. The train stopped and after a series of slow movements back and forth we halted...in the middle of a pitch-black dark yard. There were no lights outside and inside the train the only light came from a few dim overhead readers. The air system was turned off and as you know there are only emergency windows, so NO ventilation. No AMTRAK employees were present ANYWHERE onboard. During this time, there was a passenger who was clearly mentally unstable, walking around the cabin mumbling to herself, lighting cigarettes and opening compartments near the water dispenser. Another passenger finally took it upon himself to tell her to find her area and sit down, that she was disturbing other passengers and was going to be thrown off the train. At this point, I got up to use the restroom and guess what...THE BATHROOMS WERE TURNED OFF. This obviously didn't deter some as the toilets were all brimming with paper, urine, and feces. After hours of this unannounced "layover" there was an AMTRAK employee who I spoke with regarding these unsafe and inhumane conditions. He told me that if I did not like the experience I was having that there were some taxis down the block that could take me away from it. APPALLING. After we finally departed from San Antonio, I found out the reason the train was delayed....the dining car had caught on fire. I understand accidents occur but this is NOT MY PROBLEM...it is AMTRAK'S. So there was no dining car attached to this train and only a limited amount of food available for EVERYONE onboard. Basically, a selection slightly above what is available at a 7-11. In fact, there was absolutely nothing onboard to eat by the time we rolled into Los Angeles more than a day and a half later. Also during this time, in order to accommodate your sleeping car customers who have meals included in their fare, the coach riders where asked to vacate the common observation car 3 times a day, each time for more than 2 hour intervals. AGAIN, your dining car problem...not mine, yet another inconvenience. Incidentally, I want to make a comment here commending the fine people that were in charge of the food car service on this hell train. I believe their names are John and Veronica? They are gems in your company...and were also very happy to get off the train by the time we got into L.A. As an added bonus, there was a passenger on the train that was decorating his bare skin in head to toe silver duct tape. Although I am sure you are finding this amusing, I did not sign up for this freak show. Clearly there is something not right with a person who does this, don't you agree? When I mentioned this to the same AMTRAK employee who earlier told me to "take a taxi" I was given the reply "well, he isn't really bothering anyone." REALLY??? At what point is this person considered 'NOT SAFE" for other passengers? I did not pay to ride on the asylum train. There needs to be some sort of safeguards implemented to protect your customers; and a staff trained to deal with these situations. Airlines would not tolerate this conduct...I suggest you follow suit. read more

Amtrak customer service is the WORST!!! While riding the California Zephyr to Chicago, the conductors were rude and condescending to just about every passenger who asked a question. They barked at people who had their seats reclined while we weren't even close to a station (not that I can even conceive why that mattered). In Chicago, the attendant in the Great Hall was rude to me as well. I was standing around waiting for them to call passengers to form up. The ate don't asked me to move my bags so a group could line up there. So I moved about 40 feet away. Then he told me to move again for another group. 10 seconds later he announced for the rest of the passengers to line up. Next to a sign 50 feet away. Basically they want you to sit down till they tell you where to go. I have back issues and needed to stand up and that wasn't in their game plan. You'd think that since they have been doing this for 150 years, they know what they are doing. The facilities in Chicago are WORSE than some 3rd world country stations I have been in. The stations (even after being remodeled) would not be considered modern or even historically restored at all. I was nearly asphyxiated on the platform by the diesel fumes waiting to get in the train. The platforms reminds me of an industrial cattle loading stockyard and no one helps people with their bags (again, back issues). There are few easy connecting services at most stations. There is no WiFi on cross country trains. Although sleeper cars are available for cross country trains, they are extremely limited in numbers and extremely expensive. For a 2 night travel, Amtrak wants over $400 a night. Given their horrible customer service, why would I want o pay for that. Every other modern country in the world has affordable sleeper cars. Why does Amtrak think they are special? From experience I can tell you, they are not. If it were not for some of the views I had, I would not have even given this review 1 star. That compliment was not for Amtrak. It was for the beauty of this country. The engineer couldn't even keep us on time. I was at least 90 minutes late on every train I was on. I'm flying the airlines next time. TSA and passenger loading for the airlines is better than Amtrak (at least where there are large amounts of passengers) and the flight attendants are nicer. I hope Amtrak goes bankrupt. They have no business being America's Railroad! All for buying American but at least the Europeans & Chinese know how to run a railroad!!! read more

It's been ages since I took a train and it's always been Acela Express but this trip to NYC we decided on take the regular train service. Going to NYC from Union Station at first what seemed to be a smooth process slowly turned into a nightmare. First on the list, the escalator was broken at Union Station.The train was late for over an hour, Amtrak enjoyed being inefficient, wasting people's time at the line. IF you were by yourself you couldnt even go to bathroom because you would lose your place. With no communication whatsoever, people stood there and waited. Yes the bathroom was nasty even the hand soap reeked. Coming back was just as bad, it arrived at Penn Station on time but as we reached the Baltimore area, it started slowing down again, the train was moving at snail's pace. Upon arrival, they announced that this train was much higher than the platform so they would only open two doors, everyone was scrambling to get to the exit after the train arrived 30 minutes late. Truly horrible experience. read more

I've found Amtrak to be very good at providing service. I recently took up their offer for a "North America Rail Pass," allowing me 30 days of unlimited travel in the US and Canada for $899 (I have a student discount). It was worth every penny (more on that later). I must admit that there are occasional issues with their computerized booking systems, but even while waiting on staff to sort those out, I was able to engage in some pretty chill bantering about riding the rails with the workers at Union Station. Amtrak is a great option for travelling on the East Coast corridor between DC and Boston - no real wait to board, you have standard airline coach style seats, but you also have plug outlets, a dining lounge car, and other amenities to make up for that. Once heading on longer trips, "coach" in Amtrak turns into the equivalent of flying first class - spacious seats, generally non-crowded trains. I would whole-heartedly recommend taking a prolonged journey on Amtrak and its Canadian sister, Via Rail Canada. The North America Rail Pass is a steal (I saw about a dozen great cities, 30 states, and covered 12,000 miles over a 3 week period for less than $1,500 - that includes travel, room, and board) and I would recommend it as an interesting alternative to the EuroRail pass. read more

It's better than flying. That's about all I can say that is positive here. I guess one could also say that it's better than the filthy, dark, slow, and often delayed regional Amtrak trains. At least Acela has good lighting and relatively new cars. However, the space is very cramped and the food is terrible. And, its a high speed train in name only (the trains are built to go high speed but they do not run them at high speeds because the actual rails aren't managed/designed well enough to do so). So, at best you wind up saving like 15-20 minutes over the other Amtrak trains because Acela makes fewer stops (the more accurate way to think of Acela is as an express train NOT a high speed rail). This is an embarrassingly lacking system when compared to the high speed railways of Europe/Japan. In fact, you really can't compare this to the ones in Europe and Japan. As I said, at best it can be considered a little less crappy than other American travel options. As a country we can and should be doing better than this. read more

Mechanical problems, again?! What are the odds? And thanks for the healthy dose of birth control. Every. Single. Trip.

National Railroad Passenger Corporation is the parent corporation of AMTRAK. I was once enamored by the idea of traveling by train. I tried it twice in southern California. The second local train trip I took in So Cal was a disaster. Half way through the trip the train broke down. The trip, which was supposed to be 2 hours, turned into a 5 hour odyssey. Instead of sending another train or letting us hop the next Surfliner coming through our area, AMTRAK in its wisdom, decided to turn our train around and send it back to Union Station. So... instead of allowing the train to continue and finish its run (because it was supposedly broken), they asked us to stay on board and backtrack an hour so we could be put on another train. Wait a minute... I thought the train was broken... how can it.... oh, nevermind. When you're as retarded as AMTRAK, logic just won't make sense to you. I apologize for using the word 'retarded' but I use it in the sense we used it when I was growing up -- before PC'ness. And 'retarded' really is the only accurate way to describe AMTRAK and National Railroad Passenger Corporation. Read on... Because I had to call my boyfriend and have him drive two hours roundtrip to pick me up, I was issued a voucher by AMTRAK. Let the retardedness begin! Have you ever seen the movie "Brazil" by Terry Gilliam? Those guys in Central Services were 10 times more efficient than AMTRAK. AMTRAK issued me a useless voucher that can only be 'spent' in-person at an AMTRAK station. So, in order to get my money back and use the credit for the failed train trip, I have to drive 2 hours roundtrip to Union Station to use the voucher. I called AMTRAK and asked if I could use the voucher over the phone or online. Nope. I have to DRIVE to the train station to buy the ticket. Again, a 2-hour roundtrip. Lame. And, while they promised the travel voucher would be transferable, it's not. I can't buy a ticket for my aunt out of state. Nooooo I have to be present with my ID when she gets on the train to use the stoooopid voucher. In this day and age when you can scan barcodes off of your cell phone to complete transactions and travel, having to drive 2 hours roundtrip to buy a train ticket is f'ing stupid. So, risking broken down trains, idiotic red tape and infrastructure that hearkens back to the 1940's and outrageous prices ($28 roundtrip from LA to Irvine), do you think I'll recommend taking AMTRAK again? I'm sorely disappointed in how AMTRAK is run. The Europeans and the Japanese certainly know how to run train companies better than we do and that's a travesty. We're already something like #40 in healthcare around the world and I'm certain our train travel doesn't even make the top ten. read more

The most important fact to know about Amtrak is that you (the paying passenger) have absolutely NO rights. Time and time again the conductors have thrown people off the train for the most minor offense. If you sneeze and they don't like the way you sneezed, they can throw you off the train. I saw a conductor yell at a passenger once for not understanding that he was asking for the person's ticket (it seemed like there was a language barrier issue). The conductor said,"I don't have to put up with this!" And had the passenger removed from the train at the next stop. Thrown out into the cold with no help at all. I hope I've made my point that they have complete authority and you are at their mercy. Do NOT travel with them. They are heartless bullies. read more

I've never had an issue with Amtrak until recently. The customer service rep was rude and argumentative. I asked to speak with a supervisor and she said I couldn't be helped. When she finally transferred me over, it was to another rep! A rep who told me what I had to say was irrelevant. It a shame that workers at call centers are allowed to speak to customers so shamefully. This interaction with them made me not want to ride the Amtrak for a long time. read more

I always ride the train. Sometimes the ticket collectors are friendly and cordial. Other times they are not but yesterday DARRYL truly offended me and made for a very uncomfortable trip train 161 nyc to was. I always pay the pet fee to bring my small doggy along. NEVER HAVE I HAD ANY COMPLAINTS OR QUALMS. Until yesterday. Dog will only bark if someone approaches/speaks closely to me. So while collecting our pass, Darryl was speaking and my dog barked about three times. He continued on and on asking ma'am is your dog gonna be quiet ? He cannot make this noise all the way to dc. You need to get him under control. I replied he is fine he will stop. Darryl continued,, he hasn't stopped yet what is the problem? Finally my spouse looked to him and said as soon as you leave us be he will be quiet. I felt embarrassed , and uncomfortable the entire trip. Every time he walked past he would glare at us. Thank goodness my man was there to address him. I wasn't feeling as "polite" at that point. read more

The absolute WORST! Business class with "priority sitting is a absolute Joke (save your money)! Lost my grandmother bag, rude customer service! Never Again! read more

Despite my relatively uneventful trip up to NY on Amtrak recently, I would like to share with you a blog post from my old personal blog about a trip with Amtrak that still boils my blood. This is from 11/26/2007. This review has been edited for strong language, as I was seriously ticked off. A Huge thank you to Amtrak for seriously f**ucking up the end of an absolutely great week in NY. I was on the Amtrak Regional train scheduled for 8:35pm from New York Penn Station to Union Station, DC. I normally take air home but couldn't find a decent price and this train was only $120. An 11:00 train was $99. I should have taken that instead. The train was listed as "On Time" (whatever the fuck that means) at 7:20 when I arrived in Penn Station. I took a much earlier train because the next train would have got me in only a half hour before and why risk it being late. Ha. That is hilarious now. At about 8:00 the train was listed as 5 min late. Fine. 5 minutes, not a big deal. Then an announcement comes over the speakers. "Attention Amtrak passengers. Because the 8:15 Vermonter to Washington, DC is severely delayed, we will be honoring your tickets on the Regional train scheduled for 8:35pm." Awesome. Now the train was going to be overcrowded. I was faced with the prospect of possibly standing all the way to DC. Fantastic. 8:20 rolls around and the sign magically shifts from saying my train was 5 min late to 15 minutes late. 15? When did they sneak that extra digit up there? Now I was really unhappy and so were all the passengers of both trains that would be traveling together. So when they finally posted the track at 8:45 everyone was frantically pushing everyone out of the way, throwing elbows. I saw one woman almost take out a child. Serious s**t. I did get a seat and we were on our way sometime around 9:00. Now the train was expected to arrive in Union at about 11:50, giving me about a half hour to catch a metro. Now I only had about 15 minutes of leeway. Not a promising prospect but okay. Many people did not get seats. I felt bad, but not bad enough to give up mine. I managed to get my seat without elbowing some kid in the face. Trenton NJ. What is that, about 20 minutes into the trip? We delayed there for about half an hour. There was a problem with one of the rear trains they added to accommodate the Vermonter passengers. They shut off power in the train for a while and did some work. It got the all clear but we moved at a slow speed for a while. My chances of catching a metro were officially gone. I got up to go to the snack car and saw some guy writing a letter addressed to Amtrak expressing his displeasure with the situation. I'm sure his letter only got longer as the night went on. Willmington, DE. A nice little town from what some people tell me. Home of INGDirect, my favorite bank ever. Also the scene of the hour long delay of my trip, most of which was spent in the dark as they had to shut the power off in the train, because of that same malfunctioning car. We had to wait for someone from the maintenance crew to get there too. We sat in the dark for an hour. My computer was dying. I couldn't see to read at all. I was too frustrated to sleep. I just put the computer into power save mode and listened to my iTunes as my screen saver floated in front of me, only coming out of it to laugh when one frustrated passenger screamed "Just unhook the god damned car!". Once the good people at Amtrak finally got us moving again we were at a reduced speed that stuck until after Baltimore. They kept announcing that our safety was they're "Number One Concern" which didn't seem to make anyone feel any better, except maybe the people in that last car I guess. Washington, DC. 2:30am A mad house. The same people throwing elbows in Penn Station were now trying to knock over my bag to get in front of me. Where were they all rushing too now? The taxi depot, as I am sure that at least 50% of the people on that train if not more were totally dependent on Metro to get them home tonight. The line at the taxi depot wrapped around the corner of Union station. Homeless people tried to convince frustrated Amtk patrons that they could get something to eat at this hour on a Sunday night if they just had a dollar (I don't even think there was a liquor store open). For some reason every taxi seemed to be going to Virginia and nobody on the line was. They never once called out for someone going to CUA, but I heard every other area college as the line slowly moved forward. It was standing on that line that I realized it: Amtrak and the DC Taxi Drivers Union must be in cahoots. I wonder if that kind of thing happened all weekend, the last train to be able to catch a metro has "problems with a rear car" and so everyone misses the metro and has to take the cabs. Must put DC cab companies into the black. There was more to this review but Yelp limits reviews to 5000 words. I think I have made my point. read more

It is incredible how rude and unprofessional front desk staff is at the Union Station, absolutely no customer service skills. It is sad that people can even hold a job with attitude like that, I was assisted by a younger black girl, unfortunately did not get her name. read more