Problem with Amtrak, Any Advice?

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I guess I could see if this were Amtrak's fault, but... floods? I'm pretty sure that would be an "act of God" type thing. One time I missed a flight out of Boston the night before Thanksgiving due to a snowstorm, was re-routed, missed the connecting flight, and spent Thanksgiving in the airport in Pittsburgh instead of San Diego. Talk about a bummer. These things happen though. Really, there's not much anyone can do, and it doesn't really sound like Amtrak was being willfully malicious, unless there's something I missed? He could always fly next time, but like I said, no guarantees there either! Read the contract carefully - if Amtrak has any sort of reimbursement policy, it will be listed there. You can always call and speak with them. Maybe you could get a free ticket for next time or something?

I don't understand why you think he should be compensated for travel time extended due to mishaps. If a plane is late there is no compensation. The airlines only compensate when they have to bump someone off a flight. Your son was in the train and made his destination. Yes, it was an inconvenience, very uncomfortable, and annoying. That's life!

I've traveled on Amtrak and for long distances was delayed. I expected it, knowing that Amtrak is not in control of the weather and must coordinate with other train companies who also use the tracks.

I took the bus one winter and we ran into an ice storm. A trip that ordinarily took 3-4 hours took 12. I was just glad to have gotten safely home. There was no compensation.

I agree with everyone else in that Amtrak doesn't owe you any compensation, he was lucky and got a free meal out of it. I look at it as I'd rather have him arrive late than have the train travel on flooded tracks or cross a bridge that they knew was hit by boats and might not be structurely sound and have the train go off the track and not arrive at all.

I took Amtrak from SoCal to and from Seattle, and the trip back was delayed many hours, due to an accident on the tracks. (We weren't told but later found out there had been a death and they were waiting on the coroner.) Many of the people were going further than Los Angeles and missed their connecting trains, so were then bused to their destinations well into the middle of the night, worried that they had missed check-in times at their hotels. We didn't received any kind of meal or compensation.

I'm sure you could call and nicely make your displeasure known, and possibly a customer service rep will offer something in the way of compensation ~ 1-800-872-7245.

My husband took Amtrak when he moved from California to North Dakota. His train was a full 24 hours late because someone had died on the train prior to picking him up which stalled the train and caused him to miss a connection. He got nothing - nor did we expect anything. Its part of the risk you take when riding on a train.

It wasnt any fun Im sure, but be glad he got there safely. Some dont.

Everybody pretty much covered it, but you should also know that Amtrak doesn't own the tracks. They are owned by the freight companies, so Amtrak uses the tracks with their blessing, hence the reason the passenger train pulls over for every freight train.

We sometimes take the train but know that we have to consider it part of the trip and just enjoy it, and not as an efficient way to travel whatsoever. :)