Misleading Crescent Bustitution Notice
Jan 21, 2017, 7:57 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: BOS
Programs: UA Gold Premier, AA Life Platinum 3MM, Hilton Diamond, Hyatt Platinum, Amtrak Select
Posts: 75
Misleading Crescent Bustitution Notice
The Amtrak website contains what I believe is a misleading notice that makes it appear as if the southbound Crescent is not operating out of Atlanta on each of the Sundays from January 8 through February 19.
The text of this notice includes the following:
Effective on Select Dates Starting January 8 - February 23, 2017...
Southbound Train 19: Sunday through Wednesday
January 8 - 11, 2017
January 15 - 18, 2017
January 22 - 25, 2017
January 29 - February 1, 2017
February 5 - 8, 2017
February 12 - 15, 2017
February 19 - 22, 2017
...
Southbound Train 19: Service Suspended Atlanta to New Orleans Only. On the dates shown above, Train 19 will terminate in Atlanta. [Emphasis added.] Passengers will be provided bus service from Atlanta to Anniston, Birmingham, Tuscaloosa, Meridian, Laurel, Hattiesburg, Picayune, Slidell and New Orleans. On Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, Train 19 will operate normally, serving all stations on the route.
Full text here: https://www.amtrak.com/servlet/Satel...=1251646108613
I was booked on the Crescent from ATL to NOL on Sunday January 15 and was afraid that my train had been canceled.
I was wrong. It turns out that, according to Amtrak, the language quoted above indicates that Train 19 won't be departing Atlanta on Mondays through Thursdays.
No one I know who read the notice quoted above was able to realize this fact from reading the notice.
I asked Amtrak to correct the notice because I believed it was misleading. They defended the accuracy of the notice as published in an email response which they sent to me:
Thank you for contacting us in regard to your reservation. We apologize for any miscommunication. The alert message on our web site refers to the date of origin. Train #19 originates from New York, NY a day earlier. The train that originates from New York, NY on January 14 will arrive and depart from Atlanta, GA on January 15 will continue as a train to New Orleans, LA.
I need a sanity check-- Am I crazy to find the notice as currently still published misleading?
The text of this notice includes the following:
Effective on Select Dates Starting January 8 - February 23, 2017...
Southbound Train 19: Sunday through Wednesday
January 8 - 11, 2017
January 15 - 18, 2017
January 22 - 25, 2017
January 29 - February 1, 2017
February 5 - 8, 2017
February 12 - 15, 2017
February 19 - 22, 2017
...
Southbound Train 19: Service Suspended Atlanta to New Orleans Only. On the dates shown above, Train 19 will terminate in Atlanta. [Emphasis added.] Passengers will be provided bus service from Atlanta to Anniston, Birmingham, Tuscaloosa, Meridian, Laurel, Hattiesburg, Picayune, Slidell and New Orleans. On Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, Train 19 will operate normally, serving all stations on the route.
Full text here: https://www.amtrak.com/servlet/Satel...=1251646108613
I was booked on the Crescent from ATL to NOL on Sunday January 15 and was afraid that my train had been canceled.
I was wrong. It turns out that, according to Amtrak, the language quoted above indicates that Train 19 won't be departing Atlanta on Mondays through Thursdays.
No one I know who read the notice quoted above was able to realize this fact from reading the notice.
I asked Amtrak to correct the notice because I believed it was misleading. They defended the accuracy of the notice as published in an email response which they sent to me:
Thank you for contacting us in regard to your reservation. We apologize for any miscommunication. The alert message on our web site refers to the date of origin. Train #19 originates from New York, NY a day earlier. The train that originates from New York, NY on January 14 will arrive and depart from Atlanta, GA on January 15 will continue as a train to New Orleans, LA.
I need a sanity check-- Am I crazy to find the notice as currently still published misleading?
Jan 21, 2017, 10:43 am
#2
Join Date: Apr 2004
Posts: 1,614
The wording that Amtrak is accepted terminology, allowing it to identify a specific train run by using the train number and date of departure from its origin.
Not to split hairs with you, but I would describe it as being confusing rather than "misleading".
In any, event Amtrak might be well advised to clarify this point in its operational notices.
Not to split hairs with you, but I would describe it as being confusing rather than "misleading".
In any, event Amtrak might be well advised to clarify this point in its operational notices.