Passenger Trains > Report from a passenger on Cardinal 50(10)

 Passenger was on that train 50, in bedroom A, some observations:

 After we hit debris left from the tornado in Indiana there was a long wait while the conductor inspected everything and then waited for local municipal officials or CSX to clear the track ahead. There apparently was some damage that required limiting us to freight speed. I don't think we ever went over 60. 

When we arrived at ALX shortly before 4 am:  I had to run around looking for someone to let me out. No attendant or conductor in sight in my car or the cafe. I finally found a staff member in the dorm/baggage. Apparently there was similar problem in coach.

After my escape there was some delay. A conductor was running around trying to account for a coach passenger; he finally found her pounding on a door. 

* Although someone took the checked bags off the train and left them on the platform, the station was closed, no restrooms, no ground transportation in sight. Is it Amtrak's policy to just dump elderly folks with limited mobility in the middle of the night? 

* After I got off I received 25 delay notifications over several hours--all central time, not eastern. Also, the cafe, diner, or whatever it is currently misnamed had flex dining, but did not have half or more of the items supposed to be on the Cardinal's flex menu--there were NO lunch entrees and not all of the dinner entrees.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 03/12/26 19:57 by GenePoon.

Don't take the Cardinal...the scenery is great and the route interesting , but the train operates solely at the whims of the crew.    You may have a good ride but you never know..  

Worst LD train in the Amtrak system!

GenePoon Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

>
> When we arrived at ALX shortly before 4 am:  I
> had to run around looking for someone to let me
> out. No attendant or conductor in sight in my car
> or the cafe. I finally found a staff member in the
> dorm/baggage. Apparently there was similar problem
> in coach.
>

Even though I was on an on-time Cardinal last month, I had a similiar experience when I arrived at Cincinnati.  Our attendant was nowhere to be found, but the conductor did find us and made sure we were awake and ready to get off.  I beleive he was on his way to the baggage car to get our checked bag, but the attendant was no where to be found as we made our way to the platform at the grand Union Terminal.  We grabbed our stuff and made our way to the door to wait along with several other passengers, but once we stopped, the conductor came back to tell us to go to the other end of the car to get off.  We all lugged our stuff through the sleeper and got off the train at the other end, our bag waiting for us.  That is also where we found our attendant chatting with another employee rather than helping any of us.   The $20 bill I had prepared to give him as a tip was placed back in my pocket.  Up to that point, he had done a decent job tending to us, but if you make no effort to ensure we get off at our station, then that negates all of the good things he did up to that point.  

The Cardinal is not the only train that I have experienced this.  I came very close to missing my stop in Champaign, IL many years ago.  I managed to wake up timely on my own, gather my things and exit the train with absolutley no crew help at all.  I stepped off my sleeper and saw my attendant on the platform 3 cars down!!  Just standing around.  Geez.  I have no doubt, if I had not woken up, I would still be on that train.  lol

I agree to a certain extent that the train crew should make sure people are awake and ready to get off the train in a timely manner, especially on an overnight train. But I would NEVER count on anyone to make sure I’m ready to disembark but myself. Set an alarm on whatever device you have and pay attention. Simple.

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I tend to be proactive when I travel and more often than not when on Amtrak sleepers I find myself looking for the attendant when my destination is an intermediate station. However, in almost every case the attendant (or conductor) was aware I was getting off and their operating procedure was to minimize the amount of time passengers are standing around in the vestibules.So while I am naturally inclined to be ready to get off the train well in advance, I understand that the median American tends to do things last minute and might be annoyed if forced to get up a few minutes early. Anyway, I can't speak to anybody else's specific situation, but that's just been my experiance.

In all of my years working as a passenger conductor, if an attendant had folks getting on or off after his downtime started, they would always be sure to touch base with the conductor to see how those passengers would be handled. He'd hand over a list of seat assignments for those passengers. Probably 99 percent of the time, the train crew would take care of those passengers, unless they knew in advance their attention would be needed elsewhere at those upcoming stations. That being said, there were those instances where the passenger that was getting off was not in their assigned seat or room when arriving at their destination. Then it became a game of finding Waldo.

What has been described above sounds like crews (train and OBS) just not caring. That has been an issue since Day One of Amtrak.

I take the Cardinal a few times per year from Cincinnati east or west. The car attendant has been present about half the time when I board or get off the train. The conductor has always been there if there is no car attendant. I always set my alarm so I am up when we arrive, but it is difficult to determine whether the train is running on time or not. The train crews on the Cardinal aren't as consistent as those on the Western trains, and the staff typically takes over all the seats in the cafe car.