Passenger Trains > Imagine That, A Fantastic Amtrak LD Experiance

This past week I was on Amtrak California Zephyr Train 6 (27). The trip was done at the urging of a friend that I used to do yearly LD trips with back in the 2010's. His job had become rather stressful and he wanted to spend 2 or so days looking out the window at western scenery. Instead of full cross country we traveled from the Bay to Denver with a day to see friends at either end. Long story short the trip went off without a hitch, the crew was friendly/enthusiastic, the food was good, the train was on time, the windows were clean and the scenery cooperated. My friend had such a good time he's looking to go again in a year or two (probably via the Coast Starlight). Yeah Amtrak isn't perfect, but they still deliver on their core LD product., despite what others here might claim.  

Good report, thanks for sharing.

Nice to hear this.

Thanks for sharing this with us .

Good!  I think we often key on the bad and overlook the good.  Human nature.

My experiences are generally fine, with a glitch now and then.  Same as flying.  
 

Nice to read this!

On Labor Day,  I am taking the Meteor from Miami to New York.  Fingers crossed I can say the same.  I suppose I am playing "Amtrak Roulette" in terms of getting stuck with the consist that lacks the diner.  

I was on the Zephyr last week and had a pleasant experience also. Going out on #5, I had the best car attendant named Julie, that I've had in over 30 years.
Joe

mbrotzman

Glad for you -- but, had you departed 2 days later -- this is what
you would have experienced.

Train 6(29) arrived Denver 6 hours, 48 minutes Late

This is the kind of wild swings in reliability that is so worrisome.

Our last trips on the Builder were fantastic, and not so fantastic. One way was as the OP described. Good crew and service and so on. The other way was in a car that smelled of sewage and was half hot and half cold, with an aloof attendant. It is possible to get good trips on Amtrak, but it is also very possible to get a bad one. It is such a crap shoot. In all of my many years of traveling, I have never experienced so much fluctuation in the travel experience on any airline as I do with Amtrak. There are late flights, just as there are late trains, but Amtrak sure seems to have the market cornered on mechanical issues and the many employees that should not be in a passenger service position. Your results may vary.

Great report and good to hear! If all trips were this positive it'd be fantastic! It would be great if Amtrak could deliver a consistent and relevant product! 

irhoghead Wrote:
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>There are late flights, just as there are
> late trains, but Amtrak sure seems to have the
> market cornered on mechanical issues and the many
> employees that should not be in a passenger
> service position. Your results may vary.

Indeed they may. Shown are arrival delays for #6 at Denver and #8 at Chicago for August. For #6, there were 18 days where delays ariving Denver were one hour or more. For #8, there were also 18 days where delays arriving Chicago were one hour or more. For those who may be unfamilar with where the data is maintained, the below link will provide the info in both tabular and graphic form. Data input includes date range, train number, and station code; several types of data sorting are available. 

https://juckins.net/amtrak_status/archive/html/historychart.php



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/31/26 16:44 by Cumbresfan.

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It will likely be fine.  However, tonight she is 2:12 behind headed north in Georgia.  The dreaded mechanical assessment got them right out of the gate.

Magritte55 Wrote:
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> Nice to read this!
>
> On Labor Day,  I am taking the Meteor from Miami
> to New York.  Fingers crossed I can say the
> same.  I suppose I am playing "Amtrak Roulette"
> in terms of getting stuck with the consist that
> lacks the diner.  

ronald321 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> mbrotzman
>
> Glad for you -- but, had you departed 2 days later
> -- this is what
> you would have experienced.
>
> Train 6(29) arrived Denver 6 hours, 48 minutes
> Late
>
> This is the kind of wild swings in reliability
> that is so worrisome.

How could it be that when a boulder screwed up both 5 and 6 and that neck of the woods of the Rockies is known for that which sucks! Be nice if you were more understandable Ronald!

I've heard many reports of good crews lately and that may be something Amtrak is mostly doing right, but we also have a level of mechanical assessments and train delays that is not sustainable. I criticized RPA the other day for saying nothing about the mechanical situation, but today RPA out with what I think is a really good statement about the proposed Amtrak restructuring suggesting to me among other things that the Northeast Corridor is becoming a real estate thing that's sucking money and energy out of train operations. This makes me think that RPA is starting to get it.

NPRocky Wrote:
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> I've heard many reports of good crews lately and
> that may be something Amtrak is mostly doing
> right, but we also have a level of mechanical
> assessments and train delays that is not
> sustainable. I criticized RPA the other day for
> saying nothing about the mechanical situation, but
> today RPA out with what I think is a really good
> statement about the proposed Amtrak restructuring
> suggesting to me among other things that the
> Northeast Corridor is becoming a real estate thing
> that's sucking money and energy out of train
> operations. This makes me think that RPA is
> starting to get it.

It took them this long to finally get to this point? Amtrak still doesn't have a CEO and I ain't holding my breath on that if they get one who has the same mindset as Airline Boy and Gardner!

I don't see anybody in the wings this time with the gravitas to even make a decent try at getting a proper job done, a Claytor or a Gunn, for example. I think we're in big trouble.

Chessie1963 Wrote:
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> Good!  I think we often key on the bad and
> overlook the good.  Human nature.
>
> My experiences are generally fine, with a glitch
> now and then.  Same as flying.  

Same as flying? That’s pretty funny. I’ve encountered maybe 3 bad airline employees in 50 years of travel. Amtrak, you have at least a 33% chance every trip! I’ve never been on an airplane that’s dirty inside. Amtrak frequently. I’ve only had a plane cancelled once. Amtrak many times. Planes are usually on time or close. Amtrak maybe 50% on long hauls. And I fly about 10 times more often than I take Amtrak. I can’t even recommend the long haul trains anymore. Sure, occasionally things align and you can indeed have a good trip. But it’s far too likely you’ll have a grumpy crew, dirty windows and interiors, malfunctioning toilets or HVAC, food out stock, etc. Even the dining car out of service or missing!! It’s a junk operation overall for the price being paid.
>  

Posted from iPhone



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/31/26 23:20 by alan2955.

ronald321 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> mbrotzman
>
> Glad for you -- but, had you departed 2 days later
> -- this is what
> you would have experienced.
>
> Train 6(29) arrived Denver 6 hours, 48 minutes
> Late
>
> This is the kind of wild swings in reliability
> that is so worrisome.

First, a boulder fell onto the tracks, not Amtrak's fault. Secont the train spent much of the 4 hour additional delay in the Glenwood Springs station where there are multiple eateries, breweries and general things to do right near by. Third, we had actually planned for a 4+ hour delay and could have changed our pickup point from Denver to Frazer Winter Park, immediately getting two of the delay hours back. (We of course booked to Denver to get dinner and the views heading down the escarpment.)

We had also been monitoring the status of our trainset as it traveled west from Chicago and due to slack demand we could have swapped a day earlier or later for little extra cost if the lounge or diner had been bad ordered.

Meanwhile our "reliable" flight back was an hour late, which nearly messed up our arranged airport pickup as it was pushed from midnight to 1am. If you know a service is unreliable, its not hard to plan for it.  A nominally reliable service that becomes unreliable is far more annoying.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 09/01/26 06:00 by mbrotzman.

I've encountered a decent number of dirty (crumbs in the seats, waste in the seatback, stuff and smears on the tray table efc) aircraft over the years.

And many delays, a few cancels, etc.

Few cleaning people contracted at other than hub stations anymore.

Posted from Android

NPRocky Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I don't see anybody in the wings this time with
> the gravitas to even make a decent try at getting
> a proper job done, a Claytor or a Gunn, for
> example. I think we're in big trouble.

I agree.