Amtrak
reviews and complaints

This letter is being crafted to express the indignation and horrendous event that took place at the Santa Barbara Amtrak Station on 209 State St, Santa Barbara, CA 93101. My family and I were traveling back home to Riverside, CA on Sunday, November 10, 2019 when the incident happened. While waiting for my train to depart around 11:15 am a child around the age of 5 or 6 was with her mother and she needed to use the bathroom. The small child was sitting in the waiting area moving around on the bench because she needed to use the bathroom. The mother noticed that the bathroom required a code in order to access the restroom. The mother went to ask the front desk attendant for the code so her child could use the restroom. The lady came back to where her daughter was sitting and informed her daughter the lady would not give her the code because she was not able to present her Amtrak train ticket. The child was weeping and squirming on the train stations bench because she needed to use the bathroom urgently. I went to the front counter and asked the attendant (Rosa Noriega) for the bathroom code and presented my ticket. I received the bathroom code and opened the door for the child and her mother so the child could use the bathroom.
The window attendant (Rosa Noriega) storms from behind the ticket counter and approaches me in an irate and infuriated manor, stating "Do you think I'm stupid, do you think that I am [censored]ing stupid." "I saw what you just did." "It's not your job to open the door for passengers." I told the lady "the child needed to use the bathroom and I was not going to let her use the bathroom on herself because her mother was not able to present her ticket." The women approached me and began yelling and screaming in my face and threatened to call the police on me and my family and to cancel our train tickets home. I told Rosa that she needed to back up and get out of my face and she would not disrespect me and talk to me in the manner that she was. Rosa continued to threaten me, putting her finger into my face and into my chest. I backed up from the women to avoid physical contact and she began to move closer connecting her chest with mine. I told the attendant to call the police because she had become uncontrollable and unruly. During this time, the other passengers that were in the lobby had become fearful because of the altercation had gotten out of hand and unpredictable. The small child and her mother hid behind the door bathroom because they did not know if the woman was going to attack them for going into the bathroom.
As stated in the first paragraph I was traveling with my family which included my sister who is 18 and my daughter who is four years old. My daughter and my sister were in fear because of the verbal altercation and the physical contact the Rosa made with me. I began calling the police and Rosa walked away back to her ticket window. After the lady walked away, I spoke with the Amtrak Police officer who was on duty at the sight and expressed to him what happen inside the station. He made it clear to me that this is an ongoing issue with this specific employee and her supervisor. He expressed that passengers complain daily in regard to the lack of customer service and degrading interactions that are experienced at this station by this particular person and her supervisor never addressing the problems. I filed a report with the Amtrak Police officer and with the local police department. Santa Barbara City Police were called out to the scene because I was verbally and physically assaulted by this Amtrak employee. In addition, everyone in the lobby waiting for there train were in fear and my four-year-old daughter and sister who were traveling with me at the time. I am exercising my right to file charges on this employee, and I will be contacting Amtrak headquarters and I am considering filing a lawsuit against Amtrak after being attacked by one of their employees in front of my child. I will be contacting all Santa Barbara's local officials, so they are aware for the poor experiences their tourist are experiencing. No passenger, customer or citizen anywhere should ever have to endure the verbal and physical abuse I have witnessed in Santa Barbara at the Amtrak station while traveling with my family. While at this station I witnessed nothing but degrading, demeaning, and humiliating interactions amongst the customers by Amtrak employees. From the window attendants to the supervisors who are in charge. No one is present to help or resolve any questions or concerns that take place while visiting this station.
I am highly disappointed in the overall environment and customer service that is demonstrated at the station. I should not have to travel with my family and be attacked for allowing a child to use the bathroom. I should also not have to travel with my child and have her in fear because a woman attacked her mother at the train station. I will continue to escalate this matter until this issue is resolved and it never happens to another passenger, not just at the Santa Barbara location but any Amtrak location. This company should be ashamed to call themselves America's Railroad if their passengers and families are being disrespected and verbally abused while traveling. To hire people of an angry and aggressive nature says a lot about your company's morals and how they value the people who use this service.

Amtrak Employee: Rosa Noriega
Amtrak Location: 209 State Street
Santa Barbara, CA 93101-3833

The 16.19 train was delayed considerably. No prior notice was given by either text or email, so my wife & I duly arrived at the station not long after midday & checked our luggage. I subsequently learned a goods train was earlier derailed between Albuquerque & Flagstaff during the early morning of that day & we would be bussed to Flagstaff.
We waited in the station, as no estimate of the departure time of the bus was given.
It was 19.00 hours before we boarded the bus, & gone 01.00 hours before arriving at Flagstaff, where my wife was given a sandwich (wrap), but was unable to acquire any food for me as I was checking the bags were being loaded and your employee said he could only hand out sustenance for me in person! Consequently I had nothing to eat at all.
It was after 13.30 hours before we got to bed (we are both 71 years of age).
Needless to say we arrived in L.A. extremely late, which upset our plans.
I await your proposals in respect of compensation for this considerably upsetting episode.
You're Faithfully,
David DeMaid

Reporting Negative Experience and Incident That Took Place At The Naperville IL Amtrak Station With The Amtrak Employee and Manager Name Rebecca On October 21, 2019 around 12pm. I was informed by Rebecca that she is the Manager there.

This is my first time here at the Naperville IL and needed help with direction about which side of the train track do I needed to go to take the Amtrak train that I was waiting on.

3 employees were working there. And I was greeted with anger, frown and evil eyes by the employee there. Who didn't want to help with question about where do I take Amtrak Train which area of the station. But very nice to others and helpful who were her own race there at the station. I was discriminated against hurtfully by the employee. I had to ask for help with questions from other train passengers instead. At the station, they also service Metra Train and Metra bus there as well. So I was a bit confused about where, I was to take the Amtrak Train for my travel destination.

TRAIN TRIP

On 9/23/19, my girlfriend Carmen Nelson and I took the SW Chief from Los Angeles to Chicago and then the Wolverine from Chicago to Pontiac arriving on around 1 AM on 9/25/19.

Our experience on the Chief was a bit out of the ordinary and left us with quite a bad feeling about traveling by Amtrak again. First of all, there were 2 young children who were sitting across from us who demanded our attention so much that after the first night we had to request to move. The parents were in the seats in front of us and all they did was give those kids cookies which sugared them out and made them even more hyper and needy for our attention all night long. Cute kids, but they never let up needing and wanting our attention more than they wanted the attention of their parents. The conductor put us on the lower level in a much more peaceful area which made us happy.

Our second day was better downstairs and we slept better.

But in the morning on the third day after having breakfast in the dining car, when we returned to our new seats, the 2 ladies across from us reported that our seats had an electrical burst of flame (fast fireball) and sparks coming from right about where my girlfriends head would have been if we had not been at breakfast! No joke, this was "shocking" to say the least and the conductor told us to move to another seat. The ladies said that a train employee had been fiddling with a breaker during the time of this incident. The rest of our ride to Chicago was fear filled and apprehensive. And we feel we need some explanation as to what happened in our seating area.

The ride from Chicago to Pontiac was normal and we detrained and went on about our vacation which included my 50 high school reunion.

I feel you need to know about this and what happened to us and possibly let us in on what really happed to our seating area.

Jimmy Hunter
[protected]

10/13/2019: I purchased a round-trip ticket from Grover Beach, CA, to San Diego, CA, and the service on both routes was extremely delayed. Going to San Diego, the trip was delayed 45 minutes, while returning we were delayed and hour and half with other depot issues. The train was 2 minutes outside the Grover Beach Depot, and became delayed a 1/2 hour. Minimal information was provided to passengers who were already late to their final destination by an hour. I would like a refund of my San Diego-Grover Beach purchase as compensation for extreme untimeliness.

I travel daily between Exeter NH and Boston North Station. Increasingly the train is late on arrival in Exeter and hence Boston. My understanding is this late arrival is due to "switching problems" at more northern points along the route.

My simple request is that these switching be corrected. Like my fellow passengers, I rely upon timely arrival at my intended destination. While I understand an occasional late train, the frequency in the past few weeks is becoming the norm. Eventually I shall seek other modes of transportation, likely along with other passengers, because I cannot endure waiting upwards of 30+ minutes outside during the winter months where the temperature often is sub freezing. This situation is becoming untenable.

I am on northbound train 2168 and it is delayed. An all too frequent experience. We pay higher rates for the fastest service and can usually take a regional for the same time in the end. The excuse today is that bad weather impacted switches. I heard this before and not likely that this is the issue but I have let 10 delays go without saying anything this time I am very impacted.

my name is wayne davison and i live in hadley falls in massachusetts. my complaint is about the excess use of train horns being used. Lately the use of train horns being used at ALL hours of the day especially in the early morning hours. I understand they are being used for safety reasons but i waking up my children with 4 to 5 blasts of a horn from across the ct river is truly excessive. please can you address this. thanks sincerely wayne davidson

I was on the New Haven to Philadelphia train Sept 13 at 4:34pm and we did not have air conditioning, it was HOT the entire trip. Our train also lost power and just came to a complete stop somewhere between Penn station and Trenton NJ for approx 15-20 mins. About 30 mins prior to arriving in Philadelphia we were provided a small bottle of water. I am wondering if there is any type of compensation as I'm sure I'm not the only passenger who has filed a complaint! Below is a picture of my ticket for Tara and Lynn Kelly.

T Kim. Train 161. From NY to DC. 21st September 2019.

The server was unprofessional in two instances:

1. He did not get up to serve after NY Penn station even though I waited for many minutes. He did not even say why there was a delay. The announcement clearly stated food service would start after the train departed from NY.

2. When I was paying with my husband's credit card, He asked for my marriage certificate and ID. This is illegal and he did this after he had charged the card already. He made no apology and made me both embarrassed and let the queue wait for another 10 mins

I am surprised by such bad customer service and illegal behavior by an Amtrak employee.

To Whom It May Concern

I am writing this email / letter in an effort to strongly express my dis-satisfaction with the service and customer support my wife and I experienced on our recent journey from West Coast to East Coast and back again on Amtrak trains.

We left Portland, Oregon in early July this year (2019) heading to Boston to see our son. It was, my realized after our travels were completed, the best of the journeys we encountered.

The "porter" David was attentive and pleasant and always made us feel "at home." However, when we dis-embarked in Albany (because the tracks were "under repair" and the train could not take us to our final Boston destination) the reps were anything but. AMTRAK, in its wisdom, informed us the last "leg" of our journey from Albany to Boston would be by bus but failed to email us "confirmation" of same the people in charge in Albany refused to let us on the bus. After 15 minutes of numerous phone calls, the man in charge simply said, "get on…I don't care anymore" and off we went on a 5-hour ride. This was, we were assured to be a deluxe bus…but it was anything but. Cramped seats, a small packet of nuts, a small paper container of water and no toilet for a 5-hour ride? Then with each stop, the driver announced that we were not allowed to get off the bus, that it was a brief stop *(only to witness it as a smoke break for the driver and helper) then back on the bus until we arrived at Boston south station around 8PM.

I will ignore the delays on the 2nd round of travel from Boston to Chicago…I understand, they do occur.

BUT…on the Zephyr from Omaha to Sacramento! A 2-hour delay (leaving at 11PM - didn't until 1:00AM). The porter (Curtis) greeted us at the door, put our bags on to the train then pointed the way to way we could store them…
- He made up the beds, tore them down…and we never saw
saw him again.
- Car 0531, room 15…a family bedroom…paid for a private
toilet. Didn't get it.
- FREEZING! To which Curtis responded, "Hmm…well I
couldn't get it cool yesterday." And the following day, we
were told "Well, you're in the biggest room, move about."
- 1 electrical plug in this age of electronics? Really?
- And no WIFI?
The room was dirty…
trash in the bin and receptacles next to the beds were not removed;
footprints on the walls as though we were in a hotel were the [censored]s brought their "johns";
duct tape used to repair the upper berth "floor" and keep it attached;
air conditioning vents that had not been cleaned since Coolidge was President;
a drill bit found on the floor because we stepped on it
the toilets were filthy, soap dispensers leaking; [censored] caked on the sides of the bowl, water on the floor
And we're paying $2000 for this journey to Sacramento?

On the Coast Starlight to Portland;
- boarded at midnight & our porter Dan greeted us, put our
bags on to the train and pointed to a spot where we had to
store them.
- Our roomette was satisfactory but again, the air
conditioning kept the room at an uncomfortable
temperature (too cold!) with no way to modify it
- $23.00 for a steak dinner? $39.00 for steak & lobster?
AMTRAK is government subsidized - these kinds of prices
are outrageous! It matters not that as "sleeper car" patrons
we were not charged but then to be expected to tip these
employees who did nothing but their job? The only one
who smiled and paid attention to us was Javon ( a waiter )
and therefore the only one who deserved a tip (and he got
one!)

So, $3500 (approx) from Boston to Portland and this is the kind of service we were provided.

To say I am dis-satisfied is an understatment.

Do not say you're sorry because you're not. You're AMTRAK and You don't care.

The very least you can do is offer me a 1-way (NOT round trip!) anywhere in the US, open-ended ticket for 2 people in a 1-bedroom to make up for your terrible service…but you won't do that, will you? No. Because you will determine that I am a kook, a dis-agreeable customer who will never be content, one of thousands who travel on AMTRAK and "love" it.

Well, this is the 2nd time I've taken the train cross country AND back again and I can tell you, it will be the last!

No, you will remain in business…bilking the poor sons-of-[censored]es out of their hard-earned dough for many years to come and not giving one good god-damned for their comfort to making a pleasant trip.

Just know I am no longer a fan….and, here's the most important point: I will let everyone I know what I think about your trains, your people, your service, you attitude…and there isn't a damned thing you can do about that.

Thanks for a "grand" time.

In the restaurant car, I was informed that it was Amtrak company policy not to refill keep-cups that I brought with me specifically to avoid using further throwaway paper cups. Instead I was offered more throwaway cups for landfill. Can you confirm a. That this is company policy, b. Provide and explanation other than sponsorship and c. If it is not policy, make sure that all employees are informed. I find the policy as stated to me today to be incomprehensible.

I am coming from Madison it is August 29th 2019 and i am now on bus 8893 from Bloomington to peoria. This driver is so rude. She immediately yelled at me for having a tag on my bag. No one said anything about tagging my bag so how in God's name am i supposed to know?! This woman needs to be fired! She was like you got 5 minutes... Really lady? My bag fyi could have sat under my feet no problem! But instead i ran my pregnant [censored] with all my luggage back in just to put a name tag on my bag! What kind [censored] is that? Really people? This experience was horrible and then she threatened not to let me on the bus! What kind of people are you hiring? This woman is horrid! Something most absolutely needs to be done! My phone number is [protected]

I take the Capitol Corridor and a few passengers & I who daily commute are concerned about the fabric seating. We all take precautions for sitting in the seats like blankets or I have seen passengers unfold the paper schedules/maps available in the train cars. But this is 2019, let's be real ALL PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION shold require NON FABRIC seating, to many odors, bodies, and liquids coming from individuals. Something needs to be contracted 1st in order for you to change this? I believe we already contracted it but just don't know yet!

On August 16, 2019, I purchased a round trip ticket $11 for Coaster from Poinsettia to Santa Fe at 723am. The Coaster was scheduled to depart San Diego to Poinsettia station where I had parked my vehicle at 1249pm. The guy standing at the ticket vending machine stated that Amtrack from San Diego will depart at 1115am and stop at Poinsettia station. He helped me to put in my $12 into the vending machine to purchase a ticket and said to ask the ticket inspector on Amtrack train where is the Coaster station in Poinsettia so I could get a refund for part of the round trip ticket I did not use for the Coaster. I asked the lady at the gate checking tickets if the train does stop at Poinsettia in Carlsbad and she stated it does. In the Amtrack train, I asked the inspector to point out where the Coaster office will be so I could ask for part of the Coaster refund since I only used one way, not two ways. He said the Amtrack will stop at Oceanside not Poinsettia. I informed the ticket inspector I was told by the guy at the ticket vending machine and the female inspecting tickets at the gate that the Amtrack will stop at Poinsettia. When I reached Oceanside, I spoke to the female at the Amtrack
office and was told that they cannot give me a refund. I had to get on the 101 Breeze and informed the bus driver to drop me off near Poinsettia where my vehicle was parked.

Bottom line, I am requesting a refund for incorrect information given by the guy at the ticket vending machine and the female inspecting ticket at the gate of the San Diego Coaster/Amtrack station.

I have the Coaster and Amtrack tickets if you need verification.

Each time I have taken amtrak from Atlanta to Baltimore my train was delayed. I'm late for my pick up and have to take a cab to my destination I won't be booking anymore trips with Amtrak I'd rather go Greyhound at least I'll arrive on time. I've completed complaints forms twice about delays yet I'm still out of pocket the cost of cab fare and when you're travelling from Baltimore Md to Edgewood Md it's not cheap.
Sincerely
Robin Williams

As a senior I have difficulty getting around.
I traveled from Chicago station to Princeton, Illinois along with my two young granddaughters. The Redcap that took us and our 2 bags out to the train made sure we got on the train okay. He said as soon as he got us on he would put our luggage on the train also. As soon as I got my two granddaughters settled I went to make sure our luggage was where he said it would be. Unfortunately only one bag was found and I immediately reported this to the conductor/steward. He said he would check the next car and not to worry.
Long story short, my other suitcase was found 3 days later in Emeryville, California. Luckily I had a name tag on the bag. At that point I thought "great, we'll have it back in a couple of days. That is not the case! The person in lost and found told me I had to re-file a lost bag claim stating the last place I saw the bag was Emeryville station then they could take information from me for me to pay to have it sent back to Illinois.
Well, it is 10 days later and I am still trying to get ahold of Customer Relations to dispute the fact that 1. I have never been in Emeryville and 2. Why do I have to pay to get a personal item back?
I did not complain when my first train the day prior was 2 hours late for boarding and I almost missed a connecting flight out of Midway airport. Now they are telling me I have to pay for my own bag to be shipped.
I am so frustrated that I feel like letting my attorney handle all of this!
Any similar problems or suggestions would be much appreciated.

Me and my wife were traveling from Detroit to Chicago with an estimated arrival of 250pm. We had an international flight from O'Hara at 6pm giving us 3 hours to arrive and board. Our Amtrak was over an hour late and caused us to miss our international flight. The late train put us in more traffic and cost me thousands of dollars. This will make us never travel Amtrak again.

I need an explanation and replacement for my severely damaged luggage. I took the train from Canada to Seattle, upon arrival I was left at the baggage area for 1 of my bag was missing...I went liok for customer officer and as i went out one stafff carry my bag towards me explaining it was left on the train.
But i am shocked why my bag was so severely damaged..so many questions but the staff only answer was to file my complaint...so i took a video and picture to document it..kindly replace my.luggage as soom as possible..pls thanks

I've got tickets from Little Rock to Dallas, departure on the 31 of July and returning on the 7 of August 2019. First the ticket was for 30 of July but the Amtrak train was so late (5 hours) that I had to change the day to the 31st. No one could explain why the delay. On the return home was a nightmare, because the train attendant ( the one outside getting the tickets) was very rude and impolite, send me to the wrong car, and when I've Questioned her about the situation she said " can you not read?". I knew that I was going to a sleeper car with my 3 years old child and I have disability (but I can read and speak 4 languages) but did not know which car to go. I wish I had her name to tell you but I was so perplexed about her comment that I forgot to read her name tag. The train was so hot and the air conditioner was not working in my room, Jason said he was going to take care but did not. Jason was polite and helpful with my luggage and I tipped him well. I always take the train to Dallas and it is pleasant most of the time to travel by train, my whole family loves it, and the kids adore the trip. We are planning a long trip to North West with my family but I am concerned about it. I think when you pay for the service you should get it, and if you work with costumers you need to at least have a good attitude and politeness if not a smile. Ive lost a day of my my vacation, and had my feelings hurt and a massive back and head pain, ( the car that caries people to the train was full so I had to walk with my grandson in a 100 degrees Dallas heat). I know that people are not perfect but I do not like disrespect. The food was not edible on the return trip, but delicious on the departure. Member # [protected] / Reservation # D891A4 /Ticket # [protected] Sincerely Doris Paranhos