Passenger Trains > “Get Up Or I’ll Make You Get Up”: Amtrak Criticized

“Get Up Or I’ll Make You Get Up”: Amtrak Criticized For Controversial Shift Destroying Passenger Experience

By  Cristina Miceli
–

Traveling by train is not only a relatively sustainable way to move from one destination to another, but also a good option for meeting new people, enjoying a chat with a fellow traveler, and simply slowing down for some time. Yet, passengers are now saying this no longer happens, and that Amtrak should be blamed for this shift.
It is becoming increasingly difficult for Amtrak passengers to spend time in the café cars, as most tables are now reserved for crew members, and staff encourage people to spend little time there. A Reddit user shared his experience in a post that soon gathered hundreds of likes and comments.

An Amtrak Passenger Said Travelers No Longer Sit In The Café Car To Talk

An Amtrak passenger recently shared his frustration in a Reddit post, claiming that café cars are no longer what they used to be. The user stated he had been riding from Florida to New York two to three times every year since the mid-90s. However, a drastic shift has completely changed his rides. The post states:

I remember how you'd go into the cafe car and there'd be people talking, playing cards, just having a good time. I met alot of nice people on the train over the years. you dont get that anymore though.

The user continued by pointing out that nowadays, passengers mostly stay in their seats listening to or watching something on their devices. He added that while he does the same thing, it is pretty sad to see how people no longer talk to each other, commenting that he spent his last 12-plus-hour ride without sharing a single word with the passengers next to him.
While some users, such as user plaidskurtz, pointed out that this is mainly a societal problem, others also commented that Amtrak may have contributed to the shift.

Amtrak Passengers Claim Staff No Longer Allow Travelers To Spend Time In The Café Car

Several Reddit users stated that passengers no longer spend time chatting and getting to know new people in the café car because they are not allowed to do so. People claim that crew members are now using more and more tables, leaving no space for passengers. For instance, user SonOfWestminster wrote:

Part of the reason you don't see people hanging out in the cafe car is Amtrak crews have been increasingly telling cafe car customers to to eat their food and GTFO

Plenty of people agreed, and some suggested crew members should have their own lounge car to fix the issue. Many also shared their experiences. For instance, a passenger claimed that on the Coast Starlight, most seats are blocked for crew members. User Delicious_Oil9902 even stated that staff can sometimes be incredibly rude when finding passengers sitting at their tables.

I've seen crew physically threaten people to get up. - I was on a train last week as the conductor went to a guy eating at one of the tables and the conductor told him "you need to get up or I'll make you get up". What's funny is half the time I'm on Amtrak (mainly NEC) I almost always see some older gentleman spread out on the 4 top seats (2 facing 2) and if someone complains the conductor explains the man sitting there works for Amtrak and "it be fine".

This is only one of the recent complaints directed towards the most popular train company in the U.S. For instance, Amtrak users are now criticizing some trains' lack of AC.

Although most people seemed to agree about the café car issue, not everyone did.

User eggsoverbenny wrote that café cars should implement an 'eat and go' policy. This is because everyone should be allowed to use them. Unfortunately, some passengers tend to set up their work office there, taking hours to eat their food or drink a quick coffee.


Users said
It feels like you've stumbled into the employee break room.

Half the tables have “reserved for the crew” signs on them but they’re empty.  This has been my experience the last 3 trips i took. They said we can't sit there, and the crew is sitting in there.

Others also pointed out that, while rare, sometimes passengers still get to spend some good quality time in the café car and meet new people. Unfortunately, it remains unclear whether Amtrak will consider adding a café car for crew members or investing time and money in other solutions to fix this issue.

https://www.thetravel.com/passenger-complaint-amtrak-cafe-car-tables-reserved-crew-members/#thread

If paywalled:

https://archive.ph/UKyaY#selection-753.25-1033.305

Just another sign that management cannot manage.

Posted from Android

I rode the Coast Starlight from Winterail, in Oregon, to Los Angeles. I am partially disabled and pushing 80. When I was finishing up my coffee the so-called female, out of uniform, Conductor threatened me, without warning, to throw me off the train if I didn't immediately go back to my room! This certainly is not the Coast Starlight of the Brian Rosenthal era, it's the MAGA era!  



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/07/25 14:19 by RRBMail.

Thugs on the AMTRAK staff should be checked.  No patience for that sort of employee behavior.

coach Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Thugs on the AMTRAK staff should be checked.  No
> patience for that sort of employee behavior.

They have more rights and are protected by the union than the passengers.

You can be sure that any disciplinary action will be aggressively fought by the union.

longliveSP Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> coach Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Thugs on the AMTRAK staff should be checked.
>  No
> > patience for that sort of employee behavior.
>
> They have more rights and are protected by the
> union than the passengers.
>
> You can be sure that any disciplinary action will
> be aggressively fought by the union.

They better fight for them. They're paying Union Dues for them to fight for them.

RRBMail Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I rode the Coast Starlight from Winterail, in
> Oregon, to Los Angeles. I am partially disabled
> and pushing 80. When I was finishing up my coffee
> the so-called "Conductor" threatened me, without
> warning, to throw me off the train if I didn't
> immediately go back to my room! This certainly is
> not the Coast Starlight of the Brian Rosenthal
> era, it's the MAGA era!  

That is a stupid thing to say. That has nothing to do with it, Amtrak has had plenty of rude staff before, the problem is since airline folks have taken the top spots, it has gotten worse because management really does not care. It has nothing to do with either political party.

NARP  ???

Honestly, I have very little patience toward those crew members who feel like it’s okay to act like “overgrown” children. There are plenty of polite ways to ask passengers to get up from seats. When riding in any car on any Amtrak train, talking to a passenger in any threatening manner is not professional. For any crew member who wants to “walk all over” passengers plus other crew members, my words are “either stop your behavior or there’s the door.”

Posted from iPhone

If this is the result of Amtrak's largest appropriations ever, maybe it is better to put them back on annual life support to learn some humility over entitlement, and management can beg for their existence every year, and that goes for the NEC too. 

As for this Coast Stralight experience, Fedex letters to Coscia, Harris, and your Congressional delegation. Employees need to be suspended. Let's see the union defend this behavior. 

RRBMail Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I rode the Coast Starlight from Winterail, in
> Oregon, to Los Angeles. I am partially disabled
> and pushing 80. When I was finishing up my coffee
> the so-called "Conductor" threatened me, without
> warning, to throw me off the train if I didn't
> immediately go back to my room! This certainly is
> not the Coast Starlight of the Brian Rosenthal
> era, it's the MAGA era!  

Why bring up politics into this conversation? This has been going on through many presidential seasons. Geeze!

Posted from iPhone

Time for a visit to charm school?

Posted from Android

Lackawanna484 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Time for a visit to charm school?

Physically threatening passengers over no rules broken is far beyond the realm of "charm school". 
We tried the financial carrot long enough. It's time for the stick.We are dealing with 9 year brats in both management and labor that need the equivalent of being grounded for a month with no allowance.  
Don't expect RPA to lift a finger. 

Au contraire, If our Big, Beautiful, Uber Boss can act like that in public, as he has in the opinion of many, then Amtrak's low life staff have an example to follow.  



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/07/25 14:38 by RRBMail.

Amtrak sucks . KILL AMTRAK. The railroads knew a dead horse when they saw it in 1971. Name me ONE THING that the US government has mananged that made a profit. Go ahead. I'll wait. 

gandydancer4 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Amtrak sucks . KILL AMTRAK. The railroads knew a
> dead horse when they saw it in 1971. Name me ONE
> THING that the US government has mananged that
> made a profit. Go ahead. I'll wait. 

It's not supposed to make a profit. The fact that some of you low-tiers still cling to that is infuriating.
employees treating passengers the way that's been described here should be fired. Work freight if you don't like people or do what you're worthy of - be a janitor. I support unions but they must be overridden on these bad apples.

gandydancer4 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Amtrak sucks . KILL AMTRAK. The railroads knew a
> dead horse when they saw it in 1971. Name me ONE
> THING that the US government has mananged that
> made a profit. Go ahead. I'll wait. 

Since when has any government agency been required to make a profit?    Go ahead, I'll wait.

The routine response to this behavior when "customer service" is informed is to voucher their way out of it.

Many times more severe financial consequences need to be implemented for each of these documented instances, such as an immediate $100K rescission of their NEC capital budget subsidies, which is the only thing management gives a damn about. Some hundreds of thousands of dollars here and there will add up, they will feel it, and it can hit the media. So Harris & Company can get off their duffs and earn their keep, stop allowing lounge cars to be employee break rooms. or they can be the ones to GTFO.   



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/07/25 15:58 by joemvcnj.

I thought long distance trains had crew dormitory cars to "lounge" in.

Guess they're gone
 

             All Amtraks fault but irregardless, people STILL waste their money doing business with them and then complain about it.