Has anyone had any luck getting Amtrak to waive/refund a new ticket purchase for a missed train?

My sister and her boyfriend arrived to the gate at Union Station 2 minutes prior to departure, but they had shut the door and refused to let them in. They were late because of an apparent fire on the Red Line metro, where the train sat for 25 minutes underground.

The cost to change to the next train was $230 for the two of them, more than doubling the price of the ticket.

Any suggestions? This really is [an unfortunate] policy.

I like the idea, in the future, of double-booking a backup, although I think the $50 o/w fares on NYP-WAS are usually nonrefundable.