2 replies to this topic

[howardj]

This was our 5th year using the auto train to go south, so we really know the drill and what to expect. This was a good trip, not great, but no real issues for us. The train left Lorton about 15 minutes early at 3:45. The Conductor reported that there were a total of 443 passengers, 187 in sleepers and 256 in coach. There was a grand total of 244 vehicles of which 20 had opted for the priority unloading program. A word about that program... We first learned of it last year on our return trip north when Amtrak had randomly selected 20 vehicles in the test of the program. We thought it was a great idea and as soon as we found out that it had been implemented we signed up for it. The booth attendant in Lorton had everything ready when we checked in and remembered our name from when she had prepared the folders. We were priority #11 and our car came out very much as promised in the first 10 or 12 cars. They unloaded in no particular order but it was all smooth sailing and very much worth the extra $50. There were 16 passenger cars and 26 car carriers for the trip. Our sleeping cabin had been refurbished in some places and was perhaps the cleanest that we've seen. The attendant was brand new to the job. He was a very nice and very pleasant man but he really needs more/better training. He neither made up our beds when we had asked ( he wrote everything down) and he had a 90 minute window and he didn't put the bed back to the sitting area when we signaled that we were going to breakfast. We recalled the call button and he came right away but he obviously never looked at what he written down because had no idea what had been said to him. It all was taken care of in just a very few minutes but this was so unusual from most of our experiences that I wanted to mention it. There is a welcome aboard reception held in the lounge officially from 3PM to 4 PM. This, in our opinion, is a disaster. It is a complete feeding frenzy. These people attack the snacks as though they've never seen a piece of cheese or a cracker before. Then they plop themselves down in the lounge and just stay. By the time most of the folks are settled and ready to make their way to the lounge there's no place to sit and the snacks that are left are most unappealing! I don't know what I'd do to fix this but it has been like this on every trip for 5 years. On this particular trip there were quite a few younger families traveling. Unfortunately they were allowed by their parents to run back and forth through the cars nearly knocking people down every time. They made announcements about supervising children but these people paid no attention to that all. The train arrived in Sanford at about 8:45 AM, we detrained at 9AM and we were in our car and left the station at 9:20 AM. Sorry this is so long. If anyone has any questions I'll try to answer them.

[KevinKorell]

Howard, thanks very much for your report. First one I've read mentioning use of the priority unloading program. Seems to me that somebody who paid the $50 for priority unloading, and is the last of that group of cars off the train would kick himself when the next car to come off the train is the first of the non-priority people. Of course it's a gamble - one never knows how long they'll wait if they are non-priority. I also think that the priority unloading fee should be waived if you are a first class passenger and/or a certain AGR tier, say Select Plus or higher. I realize it's more money for Amtrak, but it also would be a nice perk for Amtrak's best customers. As for the kids running back and forth, I don't condone the activity. Kids do get restless during a long trip, but the practice should be discouraged. The hallways are narrow, and there is danger if they go between the cars. The parents needed to be confronted individually, not via a general announcement. Announcements don't always reach everyone, as some speakers don't work, and the sound inside the roomettes can be turned down or off. But with an attendant who you said appeared to be new, he probably was afraid of personal confrontation. And while it was his job to have a negative encounter with these parents, he might have been thinking about this affecting his gratuity at the end of the trip.

[howardj]

Kevin,
I totally agree with you about the children. On this particular trip there was fairly heavy rain and going between cars meant walking through fairly deep puddles. It was quite slippery and the rather thin towels that the crew put down to absorb the water actually made it worse.

I personally wouldn't be bothered if my car was #20 of the priority unloading group. For me knowing it would come out in the first 20 is well worth the cost, particularly because we are always among the first 10 or 15 cars to check in and have always been one of the last unloaded and one we were next to lat unloaded.

Since they're only doing 20 cars for this program it wouldn't work to make it part of the deal for first class passengers. Amtrak never thought, I assume, to unload the sleeping car passenger cars first, which would've been nice, and now that they're probably taking in an extra $365,000 in revenue, with no increase in their costs I don't think the program will change.

As for the attendant, I hope that he gets some training. He was a very nice guy but he was just way over his head and the attendant that was sort of standing next to him really didn't seem to be much help. I remember reading on here years ago that Amtrak put their best people on as the autotrain crews but this hasn't been our experience especially the last few years.

Howard, thanks very much for your report. First one I've read mentioning use of the priority unloading program.

Seems to me that somebody who paid the $50 for priority unloading, and is the last of that group of cars off the train would kick himself when the next car to come off the train is the first of the non-priority people. Of course it's a gamble - one never knows how long they'll wait if they are non-priority.

I also think that the priority unloading fee should be waived if you are a first class passenger and/or a certain AGR tier, say Select Plus or higher. I realize it's more money for Amtrak, but it also would be a nice perk for Amtrak's best customers.

As for the kids running back and forth, I don't condone the activity. Kids do get restless during a long trip, but the practice should be discouraged. The hallways are narrow, and there is danger if they go between the cars. The parents needed to be confronted individually, not via a general announcement. Announcements don't always reach everyone, as some speakers don't work, and the sound inside the roomettes can be turned down or off. But with an attendant who you said appeared to be new, he probably was afraid of personal confrontation. And while it was his job to have a negative encounter with these parents, he might have been thinking about this affecting his gratuity at the end of the trip.