Amtrak What Happens When Disaster Strikes
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 25 มิ.ย. 2024
- Today we share an Amtrak, what happens when disaster strikes video with you. Many of you ask us if we have had unfortunate events on the trains. Today put together a list of the top 6 things incidents we have had on Amtrak.
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The bottom line it sounds like Amtrak goes to the next level to make things right can’t ask for more than that
That is true
@@GroundedLifeTravel I was able to get a 500 dollar voucher as the 5 missed my connection. I mentioned my absolutely filthy roomette (and never look under your roomette seat) and the dirty window. And the gawd awful Swiss Hotel, yup I sure enjoyed my cheese crackers and dry soup mix for dinner...
I ended up using my dining voucher the next day.
Just this past June 14th I was on the Crescent Leaving New Orleans, LA headed to Washington DC. Looking out the window of my roomette it was getting darker and darker, and this was in the middle of the afternoon. The same thing happened, everyone's phone warnings started going off. We stopped to keep from running into the tornado. It did cross the tracks, and we had to sit there for several hours waiting for someone from the nearby town to come and clear the downed trees off the tracks. When we finally got moving, we traveled thru a section of the trees that had been blown down about 50 yards across. I ended up missing my Acela connection, and AMTRAK rescheduled me for the next day. That night they hooked me up in the DC Capital Hilton a short walk from the train station.
took my 95-year-old dad by air to Tucson for 3-day vrbo stay, planned to board Tucson to Los Angeles with a 4-hour layover to catch his dream trip, the pacific run up to Seattle. Train 6 hours late getting into Tucson, missed the connection in LA, no one helped with a very senior citizen, bus halfway up coast with no scenery to catch what was left of train ride. Some of the absolutely most rude people on the California leg, which was disappointing because of all of the previous Amtrack experiences, of which there have been many, I have had absolutely wonderful people that were above and beyond. My bottom line, NEVER think you will make a connection without allowing a full day staying in the connecting city, Accept Amtrak for what it is, and you will be fine.
I enjoy your videos. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to go with you vicariously!!
Our one Amtrak trip delivered us 12 hours late. We had coach tickets. Of course, there is no smoking in coach, but one man in our car was determined to smoke anyway. He was called out on it three times. He would light up again. The AC in our car had a leak, and the drips were being caught in a bucket hanging from a nail. The bucket hung above our smokers head. Late in the night, we had an u usually large lurch of the train. It dislodged the bucket, and drenched our dear smoker. He stood, cursed loudly and stormed out of the car. The remaining people in the car cheered! It was the last we saw of him. I would LOVE to tke another trip on Amtrak.
Thanks guys, 5hrs on a bus with no food 🤢I couldn’t do it ,would have to rent a car. I’m impressed you both always pack your patience 😊
Thanks!
On September 3, 2023, I took the California Zephyr from Emeryville to Chicago. Due to an impassable rock slide between Elko, NV and West Wendover, NV, the train had to stop just east of Elko. We stayed there for about 10 hours while we waited for a UP crew to clean up the rock slide (Note: this part of Nevada had just received an unusual amount of rain that weekend...I'm sure you all saw videos/photos of people stuck in the mud at Burning Man). Unfortunately, this delay meant that we would be traveling through the most scenic part of the Colorado Rockies at night time. Our train was ultimately late getting into Chicago by about 15.5 hours (arrived around 6:30 am CT as opposed to 2:50 pm CT the previous day). I'm glad I bought travelers insurance because I was reimbursed for missing my first night hotel stay.
You guys know how to roll with the punches for sure-impressive.
Ottumwa, Iowa is where the fictional character Radar O’Reilly was from in MASH. I used to work with a lady who was from a place in Iowa that was not far from Ottumwa. She was raised on a farm in Iowa. I was amazed listening to her talk about her upbringing in Iowa. She was raised to work hard and be very frugal. She never married and had no children.
My son and I were on the Lakeshore Limited about a year ago on our way from Chicago to Boston. There was a building which burned down and collapsed on the tracks between Schenectday and Albany, NY. Amtrak had all the passengers disembark at Schenectady. The passengers going to NYP were bussed to the Amtrak station in Albany. The passengers going to any of the Massachusetts stops were bussed to their destination. There were 2 busses which went straight to Boston and a 3rd bus which stopped at all of the Massachusetts stops. My son and I were too far back in line to get on one of the 2 express busses to Boston, so we spent 5+ hours on the bus by stopping at all the stops instead of spending 4-ish hours going nonstop from Schenectady to Boston. What an adventure!
I was thinking like you, Rob, on being above a river during a tornado....I love your videos and I have learned so much about train travel from you both.
Very much appreciate your positive, problem-solving approach
I've been taking Amtrak long trips since the early 1980's. I haven't taken as many trips as Rob and Allie, but I've taken many. I had two trips where I was delayed enough to miss a connection. The first time I was going (Lake Shore Limited) from Framingham (eastern Mass.) to Ann Arbor. I missed my connection in Toledo because of a delay. Amtrak got a taxi to take me from Toledo to Ann Arbor. The second time I was going (California Zephyr) from Martinez (near San Francisco) California to Dearborn (near Detroit). I missed my connection in Chicago to the Wolverine. Amtrak packed several of us into a van, and drove us to our stations. I have confidence that Amtrak will treat me fairly if there is a problem. Amtrak treats passengers much better than the airlines do.
I love that you guys are always positive and make the best of every situation you find yourselves in. It's like you make it part of the adventure. Keep the videos coming! :)
Good point, but what else can you do?
The second week of June this year we were scheduled to ride Via Rails Canadian train #2 to Toronto. When we arrived at the Vancouver station we were advised the train might be cancelled, as one of the towns that we had to pass through, Edson Alberta had been evacuated due to forest fires closing in on the town. Via Rails staff kept us informed and in the end we were able to board and begin our trip. Ironically enough when we got to Edson we encountered a thunder storm with heavy rain and large hailstones. The hail on stainless steel coaches really seems extra loud.
Before I start watching, I'm actually more worried about derailment issues happening than I am about weather related issues, even though one can cause another. But I'd say for weather related, I'd my concern, from biggest to least, would be snow > tornadoes > simple downpour.
I had a work assignment in Pontiac Illinois many years ago ... rented an apartment about 1 1/2 blocks from where the Amtrak station is now located. Got to watch the old Turboliners on that Chicago-St. Louis line! Also, the beef stew is on board the long-distance trains for just these situations. We were on the Southwest Chief going from LA to Galesburg in late August 2022 when the lead locomotive failed. We lost more than six hours before getting a borrowed BNSF loco, then struggled because it threw off the schedule for crew changes. Many folks bailed out in Albuquerque, so the diner was still well stocked for the next day. We finally arrived in Galesburg 17 hours late at 5 am, but didn't have to eat the beef stew!
Good to know that Amtrak cares enough about its customers to try to make a bad situation better.
You are fortunate that they moved the MO River Runner to a bus, as some of the trackage goes over some very low tributary (river and creek) crossings in Eastern Missouri. When the water is up, sometimes you can almost see the water lapping at the bottom of the bridge girders holding the ties. At least one of those bridges is the oldest on that line that parallels the Missouri river. That route crosses from the south side of the MO river to the north side to come into the KC area east of KC, but after Columbia MO. The bridges on the west side of MO are much higher than the river flood plain. It's just too bad that they didn't have you rejoin the MO River Runner route west of St. Louis, like maybe at Herman (MO wine country).
Y'all are so lovely, and I've learned so much from your experiences. I'm so grateful for this video. Y'all gave me some peace of mind to know how well Amtrak takes passenger safety seriously and makes a real effort to provide comfort andor refunds when they can when applicable. I can only wish to be as patient and understanding as you two. Have a wonderful day.
Thanks so much!
LOVE this video!!!
By the way, I rarely comment because I watch all of your videos on my smart television, where I can't comment (or haven't figured out how ... yet). However, every Friday evening when I reach home from work, my ritual includes preparing a nice beverage and a snack while my supper is cooking or a leftover is nuking. lol ... Then I enjoy sitting back for some cool Grounded Life Travel! My pet joins me, as he likes watching railroad action.😸
I watch your videos over and over because: the photography is superb; the train room tours are thorough and fun; your chemistry is wonderful to watch and hear (🥰); the tips are perfect and have helped me get more out of my Amtrak travel and in selecting hotels domestically and abroad; and y'all allow us to watch you enjoying your delicious meals. Yes! Oh, and speaking of meals footage -- whether aboard a train or at a restaurant -- I smile (and get hungry) every time I see Rob shut his eyes and affirmatively nod after taking that first bite, and every time I watch Allie's eyes widen after she tastes a delectable bite.😋
Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful artists and vloggers you both are! I look forward to more and more travel enchantment and to learning so much. Although I've never cruised, I enjoy your cruise channel so much! I'm gaining lots of knowledge from Grounded Life Finance, too. Bravissimo!❤
Thanks so much!!
On one of my 51 trips on "The Canadian" we were delayed 8 hrs in Northern Ontario because a forest fire was right beside the tracks. Because Union Station in Toronto doesn't open until 6 AM & we arrived @ 5:30 they had to open a little early. Enjoy all your videos.
The video I have been waiting for!
Great!
NEVER head to the train station without a good deli bag. If you don't need it on the train, it will still be useful at your destination somehow.
I live in Anaheim ca. And I love the coast starlighter. It's just a quick hop to Los Angeles and I'm off! The last time I took it for the fun of it to Seattle, the train broke down along the Pacific coast highway at dinner time. We had a wonderful view of the beach for 4 hours. Because of the delay, we got to see some beautiful mountains that we normally would have passed up in the dark. It was great!
We were on the Southwest Chief from L.A. to Chi-town. in the very early hours of the morning, we had descended out of the Rockies crossing into Colorado when we ran into one of those famous, mid-western springtime thunderstorms. Buckets of rain, intense lightning and heavy gusts of wind. That continued for the rest of the night into Kansas and beyond. That was some weather excitement. The train did just fine, not big delays, not unscheduled stops, etc.
Just completed a 7 train trip from Florida to West coast and back.
It was great but also had its incidents.
SILVER METEOR - tree on track, had to wait to cut it up, had to wait on removal crew.
EMPIRE BUILDER- air hoses kept separating. 3 times.
COAST STARLIGHT - criminal and police activity on track.
Then we hit farm equipment on the tracks. Every agency had to investigate to give us clearance to proceed.
Great trip anyway!
The tornado story gave me flashbacks to last January on the Texas Eagle! We stopped at Marshall TX and sat there for a long time due to 2 tornado warnings in the area.
I was hoping that the station had a basement....
We began to move because one warning had lifted, so they said we could creep along about 5 miles until the 2nd warning was lifted. In the end, disaster was averted! Amtrak is the best, I have no doubt that they would've even reversed course to escape doom. 😂
At the next stop, our conductor told me we'd been "Marshalled", apparently it happens often there.
Just got back last week from Amtrak vacation Chicago to Flagstaff onto Grand Canyon and then back 3 days later in a sleeper room. On the return trip the restrooms in the car we were in stopped working 1 hour after we got onboard at 5am. Everyone in our car needed to walk to the next car to use that restroom. The restroom wasn’t fixed till about 28 hours later. Our attendant said to contact customer service which we did and they gave us a financial refund which was the difference between a roomette and the full bedroom. The beginning of the trip and confections were terrific.
Glad to see that crazy happens everywhere to everyone. When I travel, I always make sure to have Weather Channel location services turned on on my phone. I once had a tornado warning go off during a trip to the Carolinas in the middle of nowhere. Also had late season cruises where we had to dodge hurricanes. Most of the transportation systems really go out of their way to keep you safe and informed. We are currently under that same type of rain situation in NY State right now- lots of disruptions.
I had the same experience on the Coast Starlight in June, compounded by the fact that I was lucky to be on the ocean side of the train, which is the sunny side when you hit the coast and the sun starts going down. :/ Closing the curtains helped with the heat but of course then you miss the view. It was miserably hot and I would think twice before taking a summer trip on any Amtrak train in the future.
In 2021 we did a loop on Amtrak from Dallas TX to LA, to Seattle, to Chicago, to Dallas. Had 3 incidents. 1. Drunk on Texas Eagle / Sunset limited vomited on the seats and another passenger. Train Stopped at a Road Crossing and paramedics took the drunk off the train. Our Sunset Limited car was to go through to LA, but we had to get off in San Antonio and change to a new car after waiting at the too small station for about 3 hours. 2. Next Train on loop, the Coast Starlight hit a person crossing the tracks (Suicide??). We waited five hours for Engineer and conductor to be interviewed, coroner to investigate and get a new crew. 3. On final train on the loop, the Texas Eagle from Chicago to Dallas, draw bar on a freight train broke. It took them about 4 hours for the freight train to clear the track. Quite a trip on a discount rail pass.
At least that tornado did not put a major twist in your plans and cause them to spiral downward from there.
I haven’t had much luck on trains but still intrigued to try to get to a destination one day. A couple months ago we had a washout with a flash flood emergency in Vermont. They moved us all to one car and leave all our bags behind. We waited, went back to another stop, and then had to take buses with our bags. Got to our hotel at 3:30am. It was intense!
My daughter and I were taking the Coast Starlight to meet up with the Empire Builder. This was about 15 years ago, and the train was 3 hours late arriving in Sacramento. When we arrived in Klamath Falls, those of us going on the EB were put on buses and met the EB at midnight in Spokane! Our 2nd trek wasn't quite as late, but we were put on buses at KF and taken to Portland in time to meet the EB. The CS was about an hour behind us, having to do with going through the mountains.
I was on the Southwest Chief going to Chicago once. We had been on time when I went to sleep, but in the morning we were about three hours late. I was told that the reason for the delay was being stopped because tornados were up ahead, so the train waited out the tornados and then continued on our journey.
Once I was on the California Zephyr headed east through the Nevada desert when the second engine broke down. The conductor told us that we were fine with one engine in the flatter areas, but he refused to take the train over the mountains with only one engine. We continued to Sparks (near Reno) and added a Union Pacific engine the rest of the way to Oakland.
We were on the Texas Eagle in a roomette from Chicago to Dallas. St Louis experienced a tornado before we got there and had no electricity. Our conductor had to physically get off the train at every intersection to wave a lantern in warning. Scary!
I found out about the beef stew on my first Amtrak trip!.... and Amtrak getting take out for the entire train. Empire Builder was 10 hrs late into Chicago. Even the crew had never sent the train that late before. Did get a nice travel voucher out of the experience.
Okay, my disaster stories.
1. Got stopped by tornado warnings going eastbound on the Zephyr. Missed my connection, got put up for the night, spent the day in Chicago.
2. Also east on the Zephyr, got bused from Emeryville to dang I can't remember where because of track work. Bus seats too close together for my 6-4 frame. Oddest part was overhearing crew grumbling; seems they didn't know of the change. Best part was the couple of hours in Truckee, which we enjoyed enough to plan to go there deliberately. Unhappily, because of the delays we wound up going through the best part of the Rockies at night - after we had been telling a couple who'd never done a long trip before that they should look forward to the scenery.
3. Coast Starlight north somewhere south of Portland, stopped for hours because UP wouldn't clear the way. Never found out what the issue was.
4. Zephyr again, this time westbound. While the train was stopped in the Nevada desert, I don't remember why, a teenage passenger who was literally off his psych meds decided he wanted to be in the desert, opened the door, and ran off into the dark. Crew, family, and local cops took a couple of hours to find him. We had to get off in Sacramento rather than Emeryville to catch the Starlight.
5.? I expect to be getting off the Starlight in Sacramento in a couple of weeks; there's only a 40 minute layover between the SB Starlight and the EB Zephyr in Emeryville. Hypothetically possible (I've had Amtrak be on time, even early once or twice) but I don't count on it.
Edit: Wow, the other comments reminded me of two more!
6. On the Three Rivers heading for Chicago on my first multi-day train trip, the freight delays were so long the the Cafe Car stopped charging for food.
7. EB on the Empire Builder just north of Chicago, a collision with a MOW truck on the wrong track. The truck lost. Badly. We were delayed a couple of hours, the driver was killed.
Not a disaster but definitely left me wanting. Just got back from LA on the Southwest Chief (bedroom accommodations) and the kitchen stopped working as of lunch on day 2. The staff improvised and we got Pizza Hut for lunch, KFC for dinner, and McDonald's for breakfast the next morning. They didn't provide lunch as we progressed toward Chicago. I'm glad I got the terrific steak the first night when the kitchen was still operational🙁
Frozen switches had us sitting somewhere in the middle of New York state at some point in a long ago February. That spooked me about winter train travel (living in Vermont, winter is a real thing), but your videos have encouraged me to try it again this winter.
Now if only Ohio would build the DTripleC high speed line from Cleveland to southwest Ohio so I could use the Lake Shore Ltd to visit my family.
Tornadoes, flooding, hail … Just needed a little pestilence to round out your experience!
Had and experience back in 2015 taking the Sunset Limited/Texas Eagle back to Chicago. First part on the Sunset from LA was fine, when reached San Antonio we were awaken at 5:30AM and put on a bus to Fort Worth, in the pouring rain. It seems the tracks between were flooded. Had no breakfast for lunch and to boot the bus blew a tire!. Where we stopped for road service had a Golden Correl but alas it was closed. Finally reached Forth Worth and onward to Chicago. Despite the bus and mishap we arrived on time in Chicago. Only thing was they had turned to previous days train in Fort Worth and the diner was running out of food. Breakfast was fine but lunch was only hamburgers or some bean combination. Oh well, it is always an "Adventure with Amtrak"!
Last month I was on the California Zephyr eastbound and they shunted everyone off onto buses at Grand Junction and took us across the Rockies on the interstate, thereby missing the most scenic part of the train journey. This did get us to Denver on time where we got back on the train, even despite being delayed by an accident on the highway. I did get some reimbursement from Amtrak but I felt it was insufficient. Next year I am determined to take the train through the area I missed and see it properly.
i was on the Desert wind going back to Los Angeles at Las Vegas and the Amtrak engine died. about 2 hours later a Union Pacific engine coupled to the train and we were off. About an hour before we were to arrive in Barstow the Conductor approched me and asked if i would like to finish the ride in the freight engine into Los Angeles. i agreed and it was interesting to see what the engineer sees and the crew was nice too.
I rode on Amtrak every other week from basically 2005 to 2020 and among many many other incidents, we hit a fertilizer truck south of Champaign, Illinois. The fertilizer went all over the outside of the train. We were never evacuated, and instead given a water bottle. There were no restrooms available or electricity. After several hours we were towed into the Champaign station. Several hours later in the pouring rain an announcement came that a charter bus was outside to take us onto Chicago. Everyone ran and it was slightly apocalyptic because of the panic to get on the bus. No compensation from Amtrak which I understand as it was an accident. It was very upsetting and sad. Never ever ever plan to do anything else on the day you take Amtrak or the next day.
Back in 1974 when Canadian National operated passenger trains before Via Rail existed, I was on a local near Ottawa when a truck drove right into the Diesel loco ( I was in car right behind loco & saw it happen) luckily we were not derailed but were delayed 1 hr while emerg. people came. Because of delay I missed my connection in Brockville so CN made the non-stop Rapido from Montreal stop just for me. The truck driver died & the estate of truck driver sued CN & I had to fly back from Vancouver to appear in Court in Ottawa. I got a free Air Canada flight both ways. Because of my testimony CN got a counter-suit against the estate for damage to the RR equipment (ruptured water-tank on loco,crossing signal destroyed).
I can't thank You enough for this video; this information is priceless to me. So good to know if anything happens Amtrak does their best to ease/ rectify the issue (s) immediately 🤓
In June my Saturday return trip from Boston to Chicago on the Lake Shore Limited was cancelled. Due to a freight train derailment, the earliest the Lake Shore Limited would run was Tuesday. Retired, so continued my stay, spending three nights in a hotel. I was riding coach. Amtrak gave me a voucher for the ticket, but did nothing for the hotel costs. However, if you travel several times a year, Allianz Travel has yearly policies. They reimbursed me for my expense.
Thank you for this information. I hope we don't need it, but it's good to know how they resolved some issues for you.
Leaving tomorrow on the silver meteor, to see if hubby likes overnight train travel. (I booked us a bedroom😊) If he does, we are going to do some train traveling out west next year. We have already had one train (NYC to Syracuse) canceled for track maintenance and the other with possible delays due to weather, and we haven't even left our home. I will say that Amtrak has been very helpful and informative. Thanks for all your info. It really helped me plan this trip.
Bon voyage!🚇🛤
Hello guys. I'll keep my Amtrak adventure disasters brief. September 2021 on the Cardinal from Chicago to Philadelphia, 2 times had to sit en route because of freight trains. One derailed east of Indianapolis and the other was stalled at Cincinnati. I think I overdosed on coffee. Also, a week prior was the Texas Eagle, Chicago to San Antonio, the train terminated in Fort Worth. However, I got text alerts & emails about it. I was on a bus from Fort Worth to San Antonio. The crazy part about that is the bus got to San Antonio 3 hours ahead of the actual train arrival time. Finally back in the mid 1990s, the Broadway Limited, a route that I miss, sat somewhere due to bad weather. regardless of all that, Amtrak was on point with accommodating the passengers. I even helped out a couple times.
I have my own set of horror stories but I still will always take Amtrak when possible.
I’ve had several delayed trains, the worst one I’ve had was 12 hours from Essex, Montana into Portland, Oregon
Delayed trains make for the best stories! And, of course the most memorable trips!
Nothing like stopping on a bridge for a tornado!
In the early 90's I was riding coach on the California Zephyr when it used to go through Vegas on its way to Chicago. Well the train broke down in Barstow, California. They put us on a bus to Vegas two hours down the road and then put us up in a downtown hotel and gave us meal vouchers until our Train came the next day.
Back in 2014 I was riding the Lake Shore Limited from NYC to Chicago to make a connection to the Southwest Chief. All along the way to Chicago regular riders kept referring to the train as the Late-For-Sure-Limited. Sure enough we were late getting in but Amtrak held the departure of the Chief until we could board. I have forgotten exactly but it seems like they held it 90 minutes. Thank-you Amtrak. Probably less expensive than putting us up in hotels till next day.
If you have to travel extra slow, at least you were on a scenic route. I was on the Coast Starlight and was held up for a wildfire between Santa Barbara and Ventura.
I may have been on that same tornado Texas Eagle ride, and what I remembered is that trees got knocked down on the tracks ahead of us, and we had to wait not only for the trees to be removed but also for the tracks to be inspected for damage. I went on to Ft Worth, and, while there, was informed by Amtrak that the return train was cancelled because of flooding in Arkansas. I asked to be put on the Heartland Flyer to OKC which then connects by bus to Newton KS where I picked up the Southwest Chief. I got into Chicago at roughly the same time as when I would have gotten in on the TX Eagle.
My husband use to take Amtrak regularly from Solana Beach (San Diego Co) to LA then a thru bus to Bakersfield. He planned to come early for my birthday. He ended up being five hours late because someone committed suicide by train near Capistrano Beach Park. The train sat on the track for hours while the police and coroner cleared the scene. The passengers weren’t let off the train at all.
Have done a lot of Amtraking the last few years...My two disasters were on back-to-back rides a few years back. First my Sunset Ltd. terminated in San Antonio due to a barge hitting a bridge between there and New Orleans. I took one look at the bus and took a taxi to the airport and flew home to Florida (I was planning to fly from NOL, so not a big deal). Six months later my Silver Meteor hit two trees on the tracks and was stuck somewhere between Fayetteville and Richmond for eight hours, waiting for a CSX loco and then a crew. They held the Cap Ltd for almost two hours and whisked us from one DC platform to the other, so no damage to the rest of the Chi-PDX-EB Zephyr itinerary.
I was bussed from Little Rock to Fort Worth on the Texas Eagle. They were concerned about water undermining the roadbed.
Of the five trips I’ve had on the California Zephyr, TWO of those trips had a train vs car incident. Both times, someone was trying to beat the train. One was a 16 year old girl right outside of Denver. The other they felt was a suicide outside of Chicago. Both died instantly and we were stuck on the tracks for hours while local firefighters hosed the train down. We were in the last sleeper car both times it happened and it was frightening. The authorities have to drug test the engineers and conductors on the train. You do sit for hours waiting for officials to release the train. Another trip, we broke down up in the Colorado Rockies. We were there for hours. We also had frozen tracks right outside of Chicago where they actually light fires on the tracks. It was crazy!
Nice. 🙂 Great video and info. Thanks for sharing.👍🏼
This was great content. Never covered by other "Tubers".
I appreciate that!
I have friends who were on Amtrak heading to a family reunion in St Louis and somebody decided to step on the tracks to commit suicide. They were stuck for hours waiting for cops to investigate, coroner to collect the body, firefighters to clean the front of the train and replacement staff to arrive to drive the train. They received compensation for the delay, but I don't remember how much.
How sad
In June 2023, we were on our very first Amtrak trip ever (also our first time ever in the USA and had only been in the country for one day), the Southwest Chief 4 from LA and heading for Albuquerque. The train left exactly on time at 5.55PM and everything was great. About six hours after we left, so it was about midnight or so, we arrived in Needles CA. I woke up and wondered why we it was taking so long for the train to continue on. I then checked Twitter and it said there was a train derailment further up the line and more information would be made available soon. Not long after, we got an email to say our train was cancelled and would be returning to LA! I had no idea what to do as we were overseas tourists and no one from Amtrak were much help either. The train ended up joining up with the Southwest Chief 3 going west and got back to LA at about 10.30AM. I managed to snap up the last two (very expensive!) seats on a flight to ABQ from LAX that was leaving in a couple of hours, but since the train was now so big, it couldn't all fit alongside the platform, including the baggage car, so it took ages to get our bags back because they had difficulty getting them off the train. When we finally got them, we just missed the bus to take us from Union Station to LAX, but luckily, we managed to get the next one 30 mins later and made the flight. But that was the most stressful things I've ever experienced. What a start to our US trip!
The rest of our trip across the US with Amtrak across to Kansas City, Chicago, Niagara Falls, Boston, NYC and Washington DC was great though and I would definitely ride with Amtrak again if I get back to the US. Amtrak did refund us for the cancelled train about three weeks later.
PS - Your videos were great and were invaluable in helping me prepare for our US trip and what to expect on Amtrak and I thank you very much for them. Cheers from Australia.
Our first long trip on Amtrak was earlier this month from Deland (north of Orlando) to Rochester. On April 5 we were in New Jersey, approaching NYC, when the train stopped... for an earthquake! Our car attendant said they had the check the tracks for damage. He said their main worry was that the bridge might have been damaged. We started creeping forward, and slowly crossed the bridge... which was a little disconcerting.
Our trip back home was halted for about two hours in Philadelphia due to a power outage of the train electrical lines.
Even with the delays, we had a great time, and are looking forward to our next trip.
Excellent video of "trip wrecks".
Awesome info................
The Zephyr me and my mom went on was around an hour and a half late due to a tornado watch on the way to Denver. We got on in Denver, but that was what one of the conductors told us when they arrived.
You two are the perfect travelers! So calm and go with the flo🤗
I rode Amtrak in the eighties, the only bad thing I had happen was in the Rockies, it was February and they pulled off on a siding and powered the engine down. I almost froze, but it had beautiful scenery. As for the bus, I rode it several times in the 70s-80s. It was depressing and like a journey from the seventh circle of hell. The stations were dirty and some of the people who hung around them were disreputable to say the least. Whenever I left one, I felt like I needed a shower. Thankfully things have improved over the years, the stations are clean, well-lit and the buses are much improved.
Coast Starlight heading to Seattle. We picked it up in San Jose and it was late getting to San Jose. Good thing, we went past Mt Shasta in the morning. It was gorgeous.
2nd - the train hit a pick up truck that was sitting on the tracks. The guys, who were not in the truck when it was hit, were seen throwing beer cans out of the truck... Needless to say, the train was not at fault, but they had to get the truck off the tracks and this was in the middle of Nowhere Oregon. Luckily a group of us were traveling together, so we had fun anyway. We finally got to Seattle very late after Downtown was completely shut down for the night and had to call taxis to get to our final destination as the public transit we had planned to take to our hotel was closed.
I'm iwith Rob being on a bridge in a train is no place to be during a tornado! Stay safe out there! On another note(s) what has been your experience with civility and crime? Hopefully, good.
I was taking to WB Empire builder connecting to the Starlight in Portland, it wound up being late into Portland and missing the connection. Amtrak hooked me up with a hotel room and a meal voucher, and as an added bonus I got upgraded from a Roomette to a Bedroom (they were out of roomettes on the next day's Starlight) Amtrak treats people right.
favorite smile at 13 seconds :)
i like how you guys travel all over with amtrak
11:24 my favorite, for irony: 4 engines but only one borrowed is working.
Another great informative video! Yes, things do happen while on these trips. Amtrak is no exception. Many other things that have happened to delay trains are accidents(train collisions involving train vs. car or other trains), and avalanches which can block the tracks. Can't forget land or rockslides and of course construction delays on the tracks. I don't know how many times I have been delayed or stranded at airports due to weather delays or aircraft maintenance. It's all a part of travelling!
Many things can be characterized as a “disaster,” so didn’t quite know what you’d talk about. Surprised it’s just weather or mechanical delays, no mention of any security or people issues given all the traveling you do. Maybe they’re few and far between. I think I remember one of your videos where somebody was being verbally abusive and getting wound up. It sounded like it was just a behavior problem at that point, and thankfully not a violent/theft/sexual assault problem. Sounded like Amtrak tries to nip that sort of tomfoolery in the bud pretty quickly before it becomes a bigger issue, and kick people off at the next stop. So good on them for that.
I love this Guys this is the part most Social Media creators don't show and I do appreciate these moments we make the best of any situations
Amtrak definitely treats you well. I was on a train where we were delayed because a passenger kept smoking on the train, wouldn't wear shoes while walking through the train, and a few other things. Eventually, they needed to make an unscheduled stop and have Amtrak police remove him. They encouraged us to tell customer service about it.
Hi guys I recently discovered your channel a few days ago and I think y’all are great. I also recently started taking Amtrak as of 2022 and I had a crazy experience in January on a trip from Orlando to New York. A snowstorm hit and we happened to have been in Virginia and a bunch of unfortunate situations happened together that caused us to be stuck in Virginia for 12 hours it was actually made the news!!there were people stuck on the I 95 for over 20 hours so we all were like if we had to be stranded it was much better to be on a train. Long story short the train combined 3 trains heading northbound in Washington so there were people without a seat 😳 We ran out of food and when we finally got to New York my luggage was still in Washington when they combined 3 trains of people into one 7 hours later my luggage came in and about a month later my trip was refunded!!!
Sit halfway between the front and rear axle on a bus. The bouncing is much less in the middle of the bus. We have been put on buses several times on Amtrak. Once from Spokane WA to Whitefish MT overnight.
I was in the derailment of the Coast Starlight in Moorpark, CA on June 28th. Every car derailed but thankfully stayed upright. The crew did an excellent job of getting everyone off the train, and we were within city limits so emergency crews responded quickly for those injured. There was about a three hour delay in the local government getting buses to the scene to evacuate us to the civic center, and another hour for Amtrak to arrange transportation back to Los Angeles. The derailment happened about 11:15am, and it was about 6pm by the time we got back. Snacks and water were provided while we waited, and sub sandwiches and sodas were waiting for us in LA.
I was asked what my final destination was. My final final destination was Wisconsin, but I was using the USA Railpass and didn’t want to miss out on my other rides, so I reported I needed to be in San Jose early in the morning (to catch another train). I didn’t want them to just stick me on a plane to Chicago and put me on the Empire Builder. I still had the California Zephyr to ride!
I was told it’d take another couple of hours to sort out what to do for 200 passengers. I noted there was a flight out of LAX that would get me back on schedule, but I’d miss it if I didn’t leave right away. I was told if I could pay out of pocket, I could file for reimbursement.
Between the flight and Uber rides, I had to pay $320. I had to wait about a month to receive a reimbursement check, with no means of communicating with the corporate office of customer relations except via email, and weekly followups as to the status of my claim were ignored.
The lesson I learned is that Amtrak will ultimately take care of you, but if you can wait for them to make the arrangements, that’s the better course.
Allie and Rob, your videos were a great help in planning my trip! I hope you never have my experience, though.
PS- I did get reimbursed for the cost of my ticket, but since I was using the California Railpass at the time, they prorated it and I got back a whopping $23.
Very interesting!
Just the thing I needed to see. I hate flying and after a reasonable trip home to see family I decided I could live with the inconveniences of train travel. I guess nothings perfect!
Cool that Amtrak is able to radio ahead to get weather updates. Good they provided bus accommodations for your bus ride and refunded some of your money. Kudos to Amtrak!!
Thanks!
Thanks so much!
Your living my dream thanks for sharing much love I need to do one train ride for two days ❤
Love your videos! I took the Coach Starlight train for short stints the longest LA to San Jose and the Pacific Surfliner when it was called the San Diegan. No real problems except once when my siblings and I were going LA to S.D. and our parents rode with us to Oceanside and got off. There was this nice guy they were talking to and he said not to worry about us. Shortly after he had some sort of mental episode and broke something on the train and started hitting people with it. One guy was hit in the head. At some point the train stopped and police with guns swarmed into the car just kind of swooped this man up and like a river they flowed right out of the train again. Fairly quickly. The rest of the trip went uneventfully I take the Metrolink (CA) and you can see the blue and white (later blue and silverish when they retrofitted cars after several accidents including the Chatsworth one where 25 people died) in the background of some of your videos at LA Union Station and had all kinds of things happen from coductors asking if people knew CPR, to watching a kid jump off a train and getting left behind (most stops are less than a minute) and having to run through the train to find the conductor to alert them. They backed the train back into the station to get the kid. Running over objects on the tracks including one that nearly hit the window (and severed an oil line so one hour delay to patch that and the train was out the rest of the day). Was late on Tnanksgiving when our train had to hitch an engine on to hook up with a train that broke down on the route, and conductors gives a heads up, to prepare for an impact, the power to go out and to get our things and move to another car on the broken down train. We did get snack kits with crackers, cookies and a juice box which I've never experienced on a commuter train before. Most delays on Metrolink were traveling over UP owned track which might be an issue sometimes with Amtrak with UP, BNSF, etc. UP delays can last up to 12 hours just switching out a timed out crew.
The minute you mentioned the bus ride I had an anxiety attack. I suffer from severe motion sickness and had to end a tour in Ireland due to illness. I had to take two trains and a cab back to Dublin from the Cliffs of Mohr, and meet with a virtual doctor to get a note to excuse me from future bus tours.
Another weather condition that may affect the trains is heat. Last year, I rode the Northeast Corridor from Washington, DC to Newport News, VA; I had to transfer to a bus in Newport News because it was part of my itinerary. The train was supposed to arrive at 8:30PM, but was half an hour or so late. The train was late partly because the train went at a slower speed due to a heat advisory that day.
I was traveling in a sleeper from New Orleans to Chicago.
I don't remember what the issue was but we were delayed and then bussed.
Apparently the driver was in a time crunch to meet the connecting train so he floored it, in a driving rain storm. I remember thinking that if I didn't die on this trip I was good to go for a little while.
On top of that, the AC was blasting and there was a screaming baby sitting behind me.
I thought I died and went to hell.
Amtrak gave me a generous voucher for another trip .
At the time I was angry. Now, I chalk it up to an experience to remember.
We were on the eastbound Builder once, always in a sleeper, and we arrived 25hrs and 46min late. We love delays on Amtrak, especially long ones. The delays that we hated most were the ones where the train either hit a vehicle or pedestrian and involved a fatality. This happened to us a total of 4 times in a little over 100 Amtrak trips. We really enjoy your videos.
I think I was with you on that one! The very late 8. Except we boarded in Minneapolis/St. Paul ; should have made it easier right? Nope. Worst part. Had to get dropped off at that inner city station and sit up for the duration of the lateness (all night) in an empty hall. Nice security guard- only one for huge building.
Wait a minute, why is Rob on the right side of this video. I'm so confused. LOL. Great video as usual. 🚄
My one and only train trip was in August 2022 on the Coast Starlight to Emeryville from Seattle. I was supposed to leave the 4th and that train was cancelled. They booked me on the train on the 5th and upgraded my seat to business class.
Nine hours late? Wow. So as much as you guys take trains, what’s the latest you’ve ever been delayed on a train trip?
About 12 hours
I was on an Amtrak train when disaster struck, A person stepped in front of the train, and we had to wait while the police investigated the suicide
I was in the Southwest Chief last summer where we went through an area under a flash flood warning. The train had to stop for a while and when we did proceed the train was limited to 30mph.
I remember watching this episode of yours where you had the tornado warning .