Was able to switch to Monday morning train without fare difference. Agent was excellent - as good as any DL or CO elite agent. Time on hold was less than 10 minutes.

Great news!! I am glad this worked out for you!

I was booked on a regular NEC regional train from New Haven to NYP (connected from Springfield, much cheaper than going from Providence which is the same distance... anyway...)

The regional rail train from PVD broke down just short of New Haven. I talked to a ticket agent minutes before an Acela was coming through -- she just wrote the Acela train number on our tickets and said "run for it, get on the Acela." We did. The conductor didn't bat an eye. Note: we didn't have reissued tickets, nothing official. I could have written the train number on the stub and had the same effect. Note also, several other people waiting for our broken train did NOT get on Acela because they didn't ask. So: they were good in IRROPS, but you've got to ask for help....

In every instance I've ever heard of, they are as good as any airline when it comes to IRROPS.

If it's a mechanical issue or misconnect, they rebook you (space available, of course, but that's the same as any airline) on the next available train to your destination. If necessary, they'll put you up in a hotel if that requires an overnight. In some cases involving misconnects, I've seen them run a bus to "catch up" to the connecting train or even (in admittedly rare circumstances) pay for a taxi to get passengers to their final destinations. I think even once (but just once) I heard about Amtrak booking a delayed passenger on an airline to their final destination, but I would not ever count on that! ;)

While Amtrak trains are affected by weather much more rarely than airlines, in the rare cases where weather causes delays, Amtrak will still rebook you on the next available train, but (just like airlines), they probably won't cover hotel costs (if applicable).

A couple notes about rebooking: just like airlines, they will rebook you space available. If you're in a sleeper compartment or business/first-class seat and they are booked solid, Amtrak will offer you the option to take a coach seat and receive a refund of the difference. On shorter-distance trains (like Northeast Corridor services), Amtrak can do something an airline can't: stuff more people on a train than there are seats. While it's not the most comfortable option, most people would rather get to where they're going even if they have to stand for an hour or two or sit on a cafe car stool instead of a seat than be stuck in a train station (or airport). In these cases, while it's not an official policy, conductors will often not "lift" the ticket of those passengers who are not able to find a seat. This means you are then free to seek a refund (90% of the ticket's value) or exchange your ticket for another one (100% of the ticket's value), effectively giving you a free ride during the IRROPS.

The one downside of Amtrak: Amtrak does not have (as far as I know) an actual standby procedure (like airlines), so I think you have to take the first rebooking option available that a ticket agent presents you with. The standby procedure consists of walking out to each train and seeing if the conductor will take your ticket for his/her train... ;)

(Without a live, electronic ticketing system, Amtrak has no feasible way to track no-shows, so a standby list to fill empty seats is really kind of impossible. Such a system is reportedly in the works, however, so we may see this develop over the next few years.)

Even though Amtrak policy is to provide accommodations "only when such circumstances resulted from the actions of Amtrak," I'm not sure that's a hard and fast rule. If long-distance pax miss their connection for whatever reason (in Chicago, say) and are not put on alternate transportation to catch up, Amtrak's default service recovery plan seems to be to provide hotel and meal vouchers along with space-available tickets on the next day's train. This has certainly happened in cases of host freight railroad delays, which are also outside of Amtrak's control (analogous to ATC delays).

Sunday and Monday cancellations as of 3:15pm ET Sunday
 

http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/Conten...=1237608335997

Amtrak Service Adjustments Due to Severe Winter Weather

February 7, 2010
3:15 p.m. ET

WASHINGTON, DC – Due to severe winter weather conditions, which has resulted in downed trees and power lines on portions of tracks in Virginia, the Carolinas and across the mid-Atlantic region, Amtrak has canceled several trains for February 7.

The following operating plan is in effect for Sunday, February 7:

* Carolinian trains 79 and 80 will operate only between Raleigh and Charlotte with no alternate transportation between New York and Raleigh.

* Palmetto trains 89 and 90 are canceled in their entirety between New York and Savannah.

* Northbound Northeast Regionals:
• Train 150 is canceled Washington to New York.
• Train 162 is canceled Washington to New York
• Train 194 is canceled Newport News to Washington
• Train 156 is canceled Washington to New York
• Train 152 is canceled Washington to New York.
• Train 126 is canceled Washington to New York
• Train 66 is canceled Newport News to Washington
• Train 158 is canceled Washington to New York.
• Train 154 is canceled to Washington to New York
• Train 88 is canceled south of Washington

* Southbound Northeast Regionals:
• Train 67 is canceled Washington to Newport News
• Train 131 is canceled New York to Washington
• Train 195 is canceled Washington to Richmond
• Train 157 is canceled New York to Washington
• Train 87 is canceled Washington to Richmond
• Train 159 is canceled New York to Washington
• Train 123 is canceled New York to Washington
• Train 155 is canceled New York to Washington
• Train 161 is canceled Boston to New York
• Train 145 is canceled New York to Lynchburg, VA
• Train 99 will terminate at Washington

* Acela Express Service: Northbound
• 2250, 2208, 2212, 2256, 2222 and 2228 are canceled between Washington and New York.

* Acela Express Service: Southbound
• 2211, 2221, 2225 and 2259 are canceled between New York and Washington.

* Silver Service trains 97 and 98, operating between New York and Miami are canceled with no alternate transportation. Trains 91 and 92 will operate between Miami and Savannah only.
* Keystone Service train 660 will terminate in Philadelphia and is canceled between New York and Philadelphia and trains 664 and 661 are canceled in its entirety.
* Crescent trains 19 and 20, which operates between New York and New Orleans, are canceled with no alternate transportation.
* The Auto Train is canceled in its entirety between Lorton, VA and Sanford, FL.
* Capitol Limited trains 29 and 30, operating between Washington and Chicago is canceled with no alternate transportation.
* The Cardinal Service, Train 51, will operate between Huntington, West Virginia and Chicago only.

All other Amtrak service, including the Piedmont (Raleigh - Charlotte) is expected to operate normally.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The following service has been canceled for Monday, February 8:

* Northeast Regionals:
• Trains 95, 93, 85, 67 will terminate in Washinton.
• Train 171 is canceled Washington to Lynchburg, VA
• Trains 110, 176 and 184 are canceled.
• Trains 84 and 86 are canceled Washington to Richmond
• Trains 66 and 94 are canceled Newport News to Washington
• Trains 151, 127, 193 are canceled New York to Washington

* Carolinian trains 79 and 80 will operate only between Raleigh and Charlotte with no alternate transportation between New York and Raleigh.Palmetto trains 89 and 90 are canceled in their entirety between New York and Savannah.
* Silver Service trains 97 and 98, operating between New York and Miami are canceled with no alternate transportation. Trains 91 and 92 will operate between Miami and Savannah only.
* Capitol Limited trains 29 and 30, operating between Washington and Chicago is canceled with no alternate transportation.
* The Auto Train is canceled in its entirety between Lorton, VA and Sanford, FL.

Amtrak regrets any inconvenience. This information is correct as of the above time and date. Information is subject to change as conditions warrant. Passengers are encouraged to call 800-USA-RAIL or visit Amtrak.com for schedule information and train status updates.

I had to bump mine again...to Tuesday morning. This agent was as good as the first one - had no problems whatsoever.

Additional cancellations for NE Regional trains today (Tuesday, Feb 9th). Understandable with the extreme snowfalls. Hopefully most people will be able to rebook OK.
"February 8, 2010
10:00 pm ET
WASHINGTON – Amtrak will operate limited Acela Express and Northeast Regional service between New York and Washington on Tuesday, February 9, as the Northeast continues to recover from the effects from this weekend’s severe winter weather conditions.

The massive storm has resulted in downed trees and power lines on portions of CSX freight railroad tracks in Virginia, the Carolinas and across the Mid-Atlantic region, and has caused the cancelation of several trains for February 9.

The following trains are canceled for Tuesday, February 9: [followed by long list shown on Amtrak website]
"

My wishes/prayers go out to all that were hugely inconvenienced today by cancelations and delays.

My better half and I were on 93 out of Boston this morning at 9:35 am and arrived at NY Penn (our destination) a few minutes early, after having arrived at each of the enroute stations a few minutes early as well. Despite large numbers of train cancelations, and repeated, forceful onboard announcements about how the train would be completely full, the car we travelled in (the Quiet car) was never more than half full anywhere enroute between Boston and NYC, and left Boston with only a half-dozen or so passengers. On-time, relatively empty, and quiet ^^^

That said, Amtrak internet and phone "support" left a lot to be desired this morning. Before the departure, both the website and the automated phone system indicated that there was a "status" problem with 93 that required a telephone call to sort out, and two calls this morning (at 7:40 am and 8:10 am) were both disconnected after 20 minutes on hold (we never did reach a human operator to identify the problem). I suspect that we were not the only ones that had support problems....and that this might account for the very, very light load despite all the other cancelations.

In any case, the actual BOS - NYP execution today, amidst very heavy, wet snow, was superlative.

Managed to make it out WAS-NYP tonight. They're running on a single track and the snow is interfering with the signals, so expect some potential long delays at station stops en route (we boarded at 6:10p, sat in WAS until 8pm before departing, stopped at the first station for about 15 min, then at BWI for about an hour - looking at nearly 7 hrs travel time right now.)

Looking at all of the NE Corridor cancellations on Amtrak.com, it would have been much easier if they'd just stated which trains would be running rather than which ones were cancelled!

was on 2109 from nyp-was this morning. train was much quieter than usual. service up front was top notch as always. it was interesting to be on a train going THROUGH an increasingly stronger blizzard! things got especially bad south of baltimore- we came to a full stop a few times due to being stuck behind the regional (arrived ~1 hour later than expected.)

all in all- still the best way to travel, come rain.... nor sleet... ;)

I finally made it to NYP just after 2am - 8hrs total travel time, but at least I got to sleep in my own bed!