Saturday I encountered the train ride from hell.
I left Chicago with six co-workers after attending the Illinois College Press Association Conference. We were greated at Union Station with a flashing “delay” on the departure train when we arrived 30 minutes before we were scheduled to take the 307 to Alton.
No big deal, they will keep us updated on the situation and eventually we will be on our way.
Or so we thought.
After a few updates, they stopped telling us what was happening to our train. It had a mechanical issue, but they were vague about it.
Finally, the train started boarding at 9:30, but we didn’t know about it because AmTrak forgot to tell anyone.
Once we got on the train, we were greated by the conductor who told us they had a “cold car.” The heating unit was not working properly and they didn’t want the customers to be uncomfortable on the ride. It was 40 degrees outside, so it wasn’t a huge deal. We were all just ready to get home.
About an hour into our journey, we were stopped on the tracks. A strong smell of gasoline filled the cabin. We were not told what was going on until the train started moving again.
Later, the heating unit went out again causing the train to stop. The conductor walked through the cab and told us what was up.
Later, we were stopped again, this time because a car decided to park on the tracks in Carlinville and we couldn’t move until it was off.
We were there for two hours, calling local law enforcement who knew nothing about this so called car on the tracks.
Around 3:45 a.m. we finally landed in Alton.
Nine hours of hell had ended.
I don’t care if people are sleeping. AmTrak needs to let its paying customers know what is going on during these situations. I don’t like being stuck on the tracks. I don’t like delays. AmTrak sucks. The trains need WiFi and when i pay $7 for a turkey sandwhich I don’t want it half frozen and half buring hot and soggy from the microwave.
AmTrak needs a PR rejuvination, or else I am never riding again.
This was THE worst experience I have had with public transportation, without a doubt. It was understandable that the train couldn’t move because of a car on the tracks, that I get. But for the conductor, and every other Amtrak employee on the train, to pretty much disappear and force people on the train to call local police stations to figure out the status of what is going on is completely unacceptable. Unless there is no other option, I refuse to use Amtrak again. Also, I sent a complaint letter to Amtrak Monday, being told I would receive a response in 24 hours. Guess who hasn’t gotten a response and it’s almost the end of the week?