Originally Posted by
BillScann
I arrived in MSP from ANC the previous day and would have headed straight to Chicago with my son instead of loitering around MSP waiting for an early morning train.
When they called me at 11pm (!) I was told that I could wait for the train "if I wanted" but that there was no guarantee it would even come that day. My options were the bus or a refund.
Taking the train was part of the planned mini-vacation. Instead, it turned into a waste of an afternoon and a night in MSP plus the expense of a flight to Chicago.
I think I see what you mean. But from Amtrak's perspective, you were offered a travel choice that both left and arrived on the same day as you were ticketed. So they would have no particular reason to offer compensation for your lodging costs. The only thing Amtrak would have to compensate you for would be if you had a sleeper ticket. In that case, the bus would have been a significant downgrade in services and thus they would refund the extra fare you paid for the sleeper.
But for coach passengers, a "bustitution" does not normally result in compensation, especially if it did not result in an overall delay (which it would not have in your case). But yes, you will probably be able to get a refund of the Amtrak ticket you did not use, which would partially offset the cost
of your plane ticket.