River in Sight

On Monday, I was scheduled to travel WAS-PHL on the 9:20AM regional. The engine had mechanical problems and was delayed 45 minutes. I asked in the Club if I could be put on the 10AM Acela and was told I would have to pay the fare difference (I understand why Amtrak would have this policy, though it does not seem right to not re-accommodate a customer for free - even on your premium service - due to an Amtrak-caused delay).

The delay was then announced to be 1.5 hours or more, so I went back to get put on the 10:20AM regional. Again, I was told that I would need to pay the fare difference - now this I cannot understand at all. With the Acela, I could see Amtrak trying to protect their premium product - but when a delay is caused by Amtrak's own equipment, why would they not reaccomodate a passenger at no charge on a comparable service?

I called Amtrak from the station and the telephone agent also told me that there would be a fare difference to change trains despite the fact that my original train would be departing 90+ minutes late.

I've spent many, many miles on Amtrak but have encountered relatively few delays so I wasn't familiar with this policy. I found this so hard to believe that I contacted Amtrak Customer Service - they called me back today and told me that, yes, their policy is to charge the fare difference in the event of a delay. The only time when a passenger will be reaccomodated with no charge is in the event of a cancellation. So a train could be several hours late and the passenger could essentially be stuck waiting on it while plenty of other good trains pass by.

I cannot imagine an airline trying to collect a fare difference to change flights due to a delay, especially if that delay was under the airline's control (maintenance). Is this really Amtrak's policy?

MrChu

It is and it was sadly very evident today evening when NER 148 had engine breakdown. Amtrak absolutely sucks in case of IRROPS. They can get away by being a monopoly and mismanaged quasi-govt organization.

The most annoying thing is that I observed about 15 to 20 Amtrak employees who were let in by the conductor on Acela 2172 @ WIL and refused me and this other paying customer from 148 to board even though our train was delayed without an estimated time of departure!

During IRROPS Amtrak makes airlines look like some of the best run companies in the world!

speedbird66

I was catching Keystone 649 at PHL around 4.30pm this evening, and it was announced that customers for stations to NYP with reservations for 148 would have their tickets honoured on Keystone 652 without additional charge.

I also found myself with a ticket for a heavily delayed (around 3 hours, but not cancelled) train 66 back from DC one Sunday evening, and was reaccommodated on train 90 (advertised as "set down only" at DC under normal circumstances), again without any fare difference being collected.

MrChu

Yes there is some reaccomodation but it is hit or miss instead of policy. Also you you were in PHL so there is that option of Keystone. No such luck past PHL, like I was in WIL where the only other option was the Acelas.

amamba

I wonder if it depends on the actual ticket agent.

I was one day scheduled on a late afternoon acela out of PVD. I got to the station, and then an announcement was made that the train was going to be late. Half an hour later, I was able to confirm that the train still had not made it past BBY.

I just went up to the ticket counter and the agent happily switched me to the next acela. I don't know if it matters that I was ticketed for FC?

Interestingly enough, however, eventually they flat out cancelled the train and just allowed everyone with a ticket for my original train to board the next acela, no re-ticketing needed.

let's just say that we were above capacity in FC and that someone was sitting in that weird little phone booth.

RogerD408

I would presume if you have a higher fare ticket, Amtrak would be happy to accept it on a lower fare train, but sounds like going the other way does not work into their operational plans. Customer service is only a priority when they can't make any more money.

abefroman329

About a year ago, there was a perfect storm on the NEC of power outages, buckling track due to heat, and (I think) some sort of accident with a truck. I was trying to travel BWI-WAS late on a Friday night on a NER and was re-accommodated on a very delayed Acela at no charge. But it was very difficult to determine if it was OK to ride the train - no time to ask a conductor when the train arrives and the answers I got from staff inside Penn Station weren't much help.

3Cforme

Can you point to common examples of single train service between points A and B where there isn't a monopoly?

Big airlines have multiple hub and spoke networks, like the internet. If AAA-BBB can't be operated due to some disturbance along the way (not at AAA or BBB), they can just route traffic AAA-xxx-BBB. Many airline major city pairs also have high frequency, something Amtrak generally lacks outside the the NE Corridor.

Acela trains are sold as premium service. I'm not surprised Amtrak sought the surcharge.

travelmad478

The upcharge for a ticket change is aggravating, but in practice, if a train is severely delayed, I've rarely been compelled to pay it. Sometimes passengers from the delayed/cancelled train are simply told to board a different train without bothering to change tickets, as speedbird66 and amamba mention. And sometimes you can just get on the later train--as long as you're not holding a Regional ticket and boarding an Acela--and explain matters to the conductor when your ticket is collected. I've done that many times and never been asked to pay the fare difference (which I suspect is due to the hassle the conductor would have to go through to collect the fare).

I have switched myself from a delayed Regional to an on-time Acela at the last minute when necessary, and in those cases, I have no problem paying the fare difference.

MrChu

I don't deny your point that monopoly exists on all train lines but that should not be an excuse for lack of customer service.

Amtrak may have done a great marketing job to fool the suits but the Acela's are hardly a premium product. The run on the same track, have uncomfortable seats in business, save 10 minutes or so during travel, wifi is so-so, and they still get stuck behind the same NJ Transit trains. Still under normal circumstances they may be "perceived" as premium but during times of system breakdown when even they are crawling and have just been given a priority to maintain the perception of eliteness, passengers should be accommodated if there is space available especially when 15 Amtrak employees can be allowed to ride it. And from what I understand employees are not suppose to ride the Acelas by waving their badges but they do (wink wink with the conductor). On the airlines if you have employee or buddy passes then you are lower down in the stand by list till all the customers have been accommodated.

amamba

MrChu, I see amtrak and MBTA employees riding the acela from PVD to BOS fairly often, but they are always in the lounge car and not taking up any seats. I don't have a problem with that at all.

vatraveler

How about this one... Amtrak at NYP today wanted a fare difference due to a cancelled train. Sad state of affairs. They are horrible dealing with (or not dealing with) service disruptions. And why is there no priority handling for Select Plus at Penn? I was shuffled from lounge to customer service to ticket window.

DCBob

You are entitled to a full refund when a train is canceled. What you decide to do after that is up to you. You will be charged the lowest current fare on the train you decide to ride on if you go to the ticket window.

What I have done and what YOU should have done instead is to keep your old ticket and board the next train to your destination in the same class of service (i.e., don't board an Acela if your ticket was on a Regional). When the conductor stops by tell him your train had been canceled and you are boarding the next available train. There's a 99% chance he will take your ticket on the comparable train and a 1% chance you will be put off at the next stop.

Once on a very cold day, I was waiting on the BWI platform and did not board the train that had just stopped because I had a ticket on the next train. The conductor walked toward me and asked where I was going and I told him WAS. He said, go ahead and get on, which I did on the Acela - my ticket was on a Regional train. The conductor felt sorry for me because it was so cold outside. ^

My best friend is an Amtrak conductor and they have very wide latitude when it come to accommodating passengers!

MrChu

I was on my way to WAS today when all service came to a complete stop due to storm damage south of PHL. Funny thing is no one mentioned it at MET that trains were not going past PHL due to storm damage even though service south of PHL had stopped a couple of hours earlier! It was my fault too that I did not check the weather news and the status online. PHL was an chaos so rather than take my chances with getting back to MET on Amtrak I just rented the car and drove back home. I did not have a stomach to deal with Amtrak!

With the heat wave around the Northeast and a bad set of storms, trains have been consistently delayed over last 2 weeks. I'm dreading the rest of the summer travel.

vatraveler

To be blunt...what kind of crap policy is that? A refund but not confirmed re-accomodation without fare difference? Amtrak could learn a thing or two from the airlines, especially in regard to how they handle IRROPS for elite-level frequent travelers.

BTW, I couldn't just hop on the next train. The next one serving my destination wasn't scheduled until 20 hours later (next day). I did end up being re-scheduled for today with original fare honored...but not without undue angst and ill will towards Amtrak.