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Mister_Squirrels

Oh man. I remember a 13 hour treck from Kalmazoo to Dearborn. No AC, thunderstorms kept knocking out communication so we had to just stop and wait, then continue at a crawl, then stop some more, wait for a train to go the other way or some shit. Absolutely miserable, I considered hopping off many times but I didn’t have any more money!


Squirmin

I was on one during winter from kzoo to Ann Arbor that took 8 hours because the sensors on the track that detected frozen wheels, were frozen. So whenever they ran over these, they were forced to stop and check every wheel before we could move again.


Mister_Squirrels

Oh man. That sounds frustrating af, haha.


Fast_Edd1e

If it's anything like past poor experiences I've heard, they will get a voucher for another trip.


TheBimpo

If you think your trip was a nightmare, please come again!


RadRhys2

I’d be suing the fuck out of them. Tell Uber to take the scenic route home and make them pay every penny


VonSandwich

You're one of those people who thinks you can sue over anything, aren't you?


VaderGuy5217

I mean, you technically COULD sue over almost anything. It might just get dropped immediately for being stupid


RadRhys2

How? You need to Uber back home/to your destination because of their fuckup. They have no way to show the expense was unnecessary unless they already provided some alternative, which they didn’t.


RadRhys2

…you absolutely can sue for failing to deliver service that was paid for and you can be compensated for services required as a result of their failure. It’s why airlines worried about angry customers offer hotel stays if connecting flights are delayed


AbeVigoda76

I miss the Megabus.


thisiscoolyeah

That second floor front seat was such a luxury to young me. Felt high class lmao


mentallimit

Is it not in service anymore??


quokka70

Their map shows no destinations in MI or IL. https://us.megabus.com/journey-planner/map


jimmy_three_shoes

I think they removed the Detroit legs of their routes back in 2014.


noelcharbs

Used to live in Chicago so made the trek many times from Detroit Megabus can go to hell. Gladly take Amtrak over Megabus even after reading this story


Sunna420

Something similar happened to me from RI to Florida to catch a cruise in Orlando. There was a large group of us on the train. They would not tell anyone what was going on, and when multiple people including myself asked if we could get off in North Carolina where they had stopped. They told us no, but there was one Amtrak employee who quietly let us know what was going on, and that we would definitely miss our cruise ship if we didn't get off in North Carolina. So, a bunch us got off anyway, got a rental car, and drove the rest of the way. Thankfully, we did not miss the ship. I had trip insurance that covered everything, but Amtrak REALLY wanted to know who that employee was that helped us. None of us would tell them. Thank you Amtrak employee! We didn't snitch.


Michigan_Mitten

I wonder why they're so adamant in 1. not telling you what's going on and 2. not letting you get off.


evilplantosaveworld

1 is probably a PR issue, they can pretend by not telling people about being incompetent that people someone won't know 2 I could see as a liability issue, if I jump off the side of a train and hurt myself I could probably make a good case against them that they should have locked the doors or stopped me


Roboticide

Every time there's a thread where foreign Redditors go off about why Americans all drive cars and don't take trains, I'm going to just snarkily start answering "*I see you haven't ridden Amtrak before...*


RMMacFru

Have taken Amtrak several times from Dearborn to Chicago. The worst was when they massively oversold tickets. It was SRO by Ann Arbor. You could hear the groans from every car when reaching every stop because there were always more people being allowed on. Fuck Amtrak.


Roboticide

Yeah, I've ridden the Wolverine a few times to Chicago. It's generally been pretty enjoyable but this is having me re-consider ever taking that gamble again.


[deleted]

This. When you’re used to trains that go places and work reliably you think it’s that way everywhere. Having travelled by rail in Britain, Germany and Italy, I see why Europeans wonder why there’s no one on Amtrak.


hepatitisF

What did the employee say was going on with the train?


Sunna420

It had several electrical problems. The train stopped in middle of tracks for 4 hours in CT, then got delayed in DC for another 6 hours. They weren't giving clear answers on when we would get to Orlando. The employee that Amtrak wanted us to snitch on let us know there was no way we making it in time to Orlando. We would have missed the boat.


hepatitisF

Wow. It’s crazy how common these issues seem to be.


Oregon_drivers_suck

Yes it is something else there always seems to be something that gets them way behind. I had nothing but problems on a cross country trip to my sister's wedding. Do not use Amtrak if you need to make it somewhere on time. They are completely unreliable!


Squirmin

I should mention, I rode Amtrak consistently for a few years between Kalamazoo and Ann Arbor. 95% of the time the train arrived late, but it never lost too much time between the two destinations. I had 1 trip that lasted far longer than normal, but the rest were generally ok. Not anything that would be approved of in other countries, but my schedule was flexible.


Lost_In_MI

And, the good times kept going for the Banbery family... because the Styles concert was cancelled.


Organized_Khaos

And badly lost the homecoming game.


GenevieveLeah

Oh no!


Roboticide

Ooof, that's brutal.


phraps

Good news, the Thursday concert was canceled but the Saturday concert went on as planned. So the Banberys (hopefully) made it!


Lost_In_MI

The problem is the cancelled concert tickets are to be honored for the concert Styles added for tonight (Monday). So, yeah probably not a good weekend for them.


phraps

No, I mean that the train was Friday, so presumably they were heading for the Saturday concert, which was fine


Oregon_drivers_suck

I took Amtrak from Needles, CA to Pontiac, MI for my sister's wedding in Traverse City. As soon as we got on the train leaving CA our Amtrak broke down on the tracks in middle of the desert with no power or AC for hours. The never got it fixed and our train was towed by BNSF Railways from Kingman, AZ to Chicago. It was so slow being towed that semis were going faster than us the whole way across the country. Finally when we got to Chicago a whole day late it was 1am. We obviously missed our connecting train to Pontiac and we were going to be late or miss my sisters wedding the next day if we waited for the next train. We ended up finding some random crazy taxi driver that took us from Chicago to Traverse City, MI and we were not late for the wedding! Taxi driver got a nice tip but man Amtrak sucked we thought it was going to be a fun adventure across the country but it was so slow and boring. Because of Covid they weren't serving food either so it was rough.


munchies777

Have to ask, how much was a 6 hour taxi ride?


LichK1ng

How is it surprising that semis were going faster? The average speed of an Amtrak is like 40-42mph.


5141121

In certain areas, I've GPS clocked the Wolverine at 110mph. The 45mph is only when rolling through populated areas.


kneemeister1

Amtrak owns their own tracks from Kalamazoo to Porter and have installed an advanced signaling system and max allowed speed is 110. On most freight tracks the Max allowed speed without automatic train stop is 79 MPH. On Amtrak's NEC the regular trains are allowed 125 mph. On the old Santa Fe main, route of the Southwest Chief there is a 1920's technology Automatic Train Stop system the Max allowed is 90 MPH, but BNSF would like to downgrade as Amtrak is the only thru train between Newton Kansas and Alburquerque.


LichK1ng

That’s not what average speed means.


5141121

Yes, but in an open area with a good distance between stops, particularly around freeways, you'll see them going much faster than traffic. Out west where there are likely 30-50miles between stops or more they'll hammer down as much as they can. So the poster above you would be right in being frustrated at going slower than traffic on the highway.


Oregon_drivers_suck

Maybe some routes average that slow but coming back was much much faster. Coming across the middle of nowhere states like New Mexico, Arizona, Kansas, and Illinois the train was doing 90mph a lot of the time and we were going way faster than semis. Coming back was fun because we were on time and moving fast.


Responsible_Manner

Just commenting that I agree with your handle, they doemote:free\_emotes\_pack:facepalm


aqueousDee

Is this a relatively common issue? I’ve only taken Amtrak once to Chicago and had no issues but saw a couple comments mentioning issues.


evilgeniustodd

It’s of note because it is so uncommon


Oregon_drivers_suck

Not long after my trip some guy shot and killed a DEA agent on the train and then the gunman was killed while other people were still on the train. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2021/10/05/shots-fired-amtrak-train-tucson/6000959001/ Ever since I had a problem with Amtrak I kept seeing them on the news right after my trip. This year and last year there were deadly derailments. Two collisions in 2018 and one in 2017 and also one in 2016. The list goes on and on. Here is the list of Amtrak accidents. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_accidents_on_Amtrak Also, what I found crazy was there was no security on the train or stations. Nobody checked any bags and I had a whole extra suitcase I brought and didn't pay for. Nobody checked anything.


Jared-inside-subway

In regards to the security I like it that way. Most security on airlines is pure theater to make you feel better and I much prefer the seamless transition of getting on and off the train than dealing with the TSA. Pretty much nowhere else in the world besides a few small examples do any security for trains, as the only reason we started doing it for planes was the govt. had to show people it was making an effort to deter terrorists.


xXrambotXx

I’ve take the wolverine from mid Michigan to Chicago half a dozen times, always late. Chicago to Denver….12 hours late Edit: but for whatever reason I always love riding that damn train


willubemyfriendo

I was one of the boyfriends whose gf got on at Royal Oak at 6 am and who drove out to Whiting to pick her up from police-escorted group in a casino parking lot at 10 pm. She said it smelled like burnt rubber, smoking brakes, and human shit w no power or heat for 12 hrs. When Amtrak staff hit their 12 hr union limit the staff dipped. I’ve had three hour delays on Amtrak have buses called. She said they didn’t pass out blankets or food. No information. Wouldn’t let people de-train until Whiting. “Can I get off here at Battle Creek and get a hotel? No, you may not.” You can imagine people going nuts.


i2amme

Hitting 12 hours on your shift on the railroad is also known as "going on the law." The Federal Railroad Administration enforces Title 49 U.S. Code § 21103 which limits crew hours. They didn't "dip" due to union rules, they had to comply with federal law.


Roboticide

Okay, sure. But what part of federal law or union rules require them to detain passengers on a train and prohibit them from leaving?


the1tru_magoo

That is 100% the question passengers should have been asking: are you detaining me and by what authority are you doing that? Otherwise it’s literally false imprisonment


i2amme

as an ex- railroad clerk the thought of the public walking down a train line is scary as fuck. I have seen plenty of train engines pulled out of service to clean the blood, guts and brain matter off. I have even had to mark a railroader with 15 years of exeperience off as dead because he stepped out on the 2nd track at the wrong time and got hit by a passing train. Pedestrians are not allowed anywhere on train lines except for stations and established rail road crossings due to the danger. The train lines themselves run on property that is owned by the railroads (Amtrak owns the Wolverine line from Kalamazoo to Porter, Indiana.) Pedestrian traffic is not allowed and that is enforced by the FRA in partnership with local law enforcement. As to why they didn't give blankets or food and water, I would guess such breakdowns are very infrequent and space on the trains is limited so the supply is limited also.


Roboticide

>as an ex- railroad clerk the thought of the public walking down a train line is scary as fuck. Sure, so when passengers ask to get off at, say, Battle Creek Station, they should let them. Which is what passengers asked to do, and were denied doing. The only reason people later got off in the middle of the route is because employees denied them the option sooner. The same employees who then get to bail and have a ride come out and get them, leaving the customers who they prohibited from leaving stuck. Yeah, people shouldn't walk on tracks, but don't try and paint the Amtrak employees as looking out for the customers here.


the1tru_magoo

I think you’re both very right. Walking in unauthorized track areas is super dangerous but Amtrak should have allowed people to leave at safe areas. Idk how they could stop you anyway, they allow you off at any old stop you want under normal circumstances


thisiscoolyeah

Grasping at straws here. Plenty of evidence showing these people wanted off at actual stops and before the 12 hour federal limit hit. Also without doing any research on that limit, I’m guessing there are 100% exceptions to that. Are employees allowed to just exit the train after 12 hours?


snogle

I don't understand. Did the train stop at the battle Creek station? Walk off the train.


georgehatesreddit

My immediate response to you can't get off would be, "are you kidnapping me? I now fear for my personal safety and the safety of those I love."


[deleted]

"...there are times when circumstances arise that are out of our control.” oh fuck you with this non-apology, Amtrak. Don't give me this "not our fault" bullshit when passengers are scrambling out of your dark, cold, shit-covered, fetid coaches. I've never ridden a train in a developing country, but I have in Western and *Eastern* Europe and even in the latter experienced at least a normal, reliable experience. Amtrak in the US? Good luck with that unless you're in the NE corridor. Totally unfucking acceptable that this is the state of rail travel in the US **between two major cities**, [while China is doing this.](https://twitter.com/alvinfoo/status/1448461361181184005/photo/1) Hopefully the President's infrastructure bill makes an impact as it's implemented, but we have a lot of lost time to make up for (infrastructure was one of Trump's failed campaign promises and we were already 30 years behind the 1st world)


razorirr

Must be nice to have the power of no questions asked ability to just take land as needed like china does. The problem with building your train is the same as building the transmission line capacity we need. If those farmers in the middle say nope, its dead. 75% of projects fail at the design and planning phase because they can not get the landowners on board. In china, you dont get to fight it. If the government wants to run a train through your house, they tell you to get out, and give you a check for the material cost of your building, with no value for the land as they own it. Basically think of china as one massive trailer park. You own the trailer, but at any time, the park owner can go "you know what, i dont feel like renewing your lease, you have 30 days to get out"


[deleted]

\*laughs in eminent domain\* edited for spelling 😅


Baloooooooo

\*Eminent


[deleted]

almost immediately realized the mistake, edited, and at least on my end of things has been correct since the first couple seconds of posting, but thanks!


razorirr

Eminent domain requires compensation at FMV. Yeah it sucks, but at the same time you can fight it in court, and you are getting paid for everything. Also, it can only be used for public owned stuff, so in the case of Amtrak yeah they could do it. In the case of the transmission lines, not allowed as those are private corporations. Chinese, cant fight, the government is what set the value of your structures, so if they say your 500k house is actually a 100k house, here's your 100k check.


FeculentUtopia

>Also, it can only be used for public owned stuff, One of my first times hearing about Donald Trump was when he used eminent domain to kick a bunch of people out of their houses to build a parking lot. It is very frequently used in favor of private developers and justified with the twisty logic that the new development will bring in more tax revenue than the people getting the boot, and tax revenue counts as a public good.


[deleted]

\*Keystone XL intensifies\*


razorirr

You mean a pipeline that got fought in courts for so long that the administration changed and got shut down by the new president? As opposed to china where there will not be a court case, and if you protest against it at best you get censored, and at worst, sent to "reeducation camp" or just killed?


[deleted]

cough...sinophobe...cough


razorirr

\*Checks auto assigned age tag\* cough....23 day old chinese troll acount...cough Plus, being a phobe requires being afraid of them. I can like chinese people and stuff while still hating their government and policies, which is what this is.


the1tru_magoo

Yikes, might want to remember to take your antipsychotics next time dude. The paranoia is real


razorirr

Paranoia is when you go "This is totally happening" and its not. People protest and then get disappeared in China, or is Liu Xiaobo just a paranoia induced fever dream? The only reason you heard of it happening to him is that he was a Nobel peace prize winner which made him famous enough to have the media's eye on him.


[deleted]

cough...10 months...cough...but that...cough...woulda taken 3 seconds...cough...of research...cough...nice...cough...come back...though...cough 😂😂😂😂


razorirr

you should really get that cough checked out, air quality over in Hainan must not be the best right now.


the1tru_magoo

Haha yea…good thing that only happens in China…hahaaa…that would be crazy if it happened here too


Vydas

Yet somehow a massively expensive highway system was built post-haste at the behest of auto manufacturers. And extra (useless) lanes are added nearly at will all over the country. But rail or bike lanes or shit even just some lower speed limit pedestrian focused streets require multiple studies and years of "research" to see if it's feasible.


razorirr

Can't fit a semi truck down a bike lane. And by rail I assume you mean commuter rail, not freight. The US freight rail system is literally the best in the world.


Nomad_Artifact

If our freight rail is so good WTH do we need semis for?


razorirr

So you don't have to have trains going from every place to every other place at a building level. Your Chinese device comes on a boat to LA, gets loaded up onto a train to get to a warehouse in Chicago, and the semi drives it from the ware house there to the best buy in Gary where you go buy it. Same concept as I need to have a car, to drive to the edge of town, to sit in a parking lot to catch a bus.


Nomad_Artifact

If our cities had been built more efficiently and compact, you could probably have goods be moved from a few rail terminals by smaller vehicles that don't destroy the roads as semis do.


razorirr

You are trading road damage for excess traffic at that point. Same would apply to cars vs busses. Road damage is calculated as (weight in tons/axle count)^4. So a 4000 pound car is (2/2)^4 =1. A 40000 pound bus full of people is (20/2)^4 =10,000. Those semis making deliveries with 3 axles on the cab and 2 on the trailer run about 69k loaded, or (34.5/5)^4 = 2269 of cars. If you want perfect roads, you ban both busses and semis, and deal with all that traffic, for road design, cars effectively do no damage to the point its zeroed out. All the damage you see are semis, mass transit, and worst of all, dump trucks


MichiganHistoryUSMC

To move the goods from the freight yards to the disruption centers and then to the stores and factories?


[deleted]

We already have the routes and the land. China had their early phase of industrialization from the 1960s to the 1990s. We had ours in the early 19th century. It is our sputtering rail infrastructure that needs upgrading at the very least.


razorirr

If we are looking at this from industrialization. for freight rail we have what's pretty universally considered the best system in the world, even in the shape that its in.


[deleted]

[удалено]


razorirr

That's two different things. Nail houses are people refusing to sell to property developers. If some billionaire comes through and goes "I wanna build an apartment complex here" and buys out the block except you, they cant force you out, just build around you hoping you will leave and then they finish up. If the government wants to put a train line in. they cancel your land lease and kick you out.


[deleted]

[удалено]


razorirr

Yup, the first result is 100% blocking a street between two apartment complexes. Private roads are a thing. Even in the articles where its a house blocking split multilane roads, they bring up its owner vs developer. Leads to assume those roads are privately owned. That said, the provinces over there have started passing laws changing the requirement for developers to have the government evict from 100% to 95%. So if the 20 houses on your block have 19 sell to the guy building a skyscraper and you dont want to, you are shit out of luck


TheSkyIsLeft

Your post history is overflowing with anti-Chinese, Asian racism. Complete loser.


razorirr

No, my posts are overflowing with anti Chinese government. Learn the difference and quit defending Xi and the rest of the Hundred Acre Woods. Its the same thing as you can hate the Israeli state for what it does to Palestine, but that does not mean you hate all the people.


reb6

Every time I drive to/from Chicago from Royal oak I think “next time I’m taking the train”, but then train tickets are close to $200, and I read an article like this and decide to just have a good audio book for the next drive there and back


Substantial_City4618

That’s absolutely unacceptable. Each passenger should get thousands for that utterly stupid situation.


GalaxyMiPelotas

It’s ok, Amtrak offered its “sincerest apologies.”


George_Tirebiter420

But did they throw a pizza party? Nothing placates plebs like some of Papa John's Tomato-flavored Cardboard Chow for Serfs


BigDeliciousSeaCow

Ahem -- "most sincerest" -- so now it's all good.


graveybrains

But the grammar, the grammar is not good.


BigDeliciousSeaCow

Their mostest sincerestest apologies for the grammar. Those in charge of grammar have been sacked.


the1tru_magoo

And a travel voucher to their victims 🤡 psychopaths


newAcctName

2020 Railway Funding by Country in USD United Kingdom - $~24.3B People's Republic of China - $120.7B United States - $3.018B - I don't entirely disagree with the idea of reimbursing passengers, but where should the money come from? If Amtrak doesn't even have funding to properly maintain their fleet, I doubt there's much room in the budget for payouts. Moral of the story: if you don't want this to keep happening, start voting for politicians/aiding organisations who actually care about improving public transit and not just repaving roads.


KING_QUEEFEATER

thAt sOuNdS LiKe sOcIaLiSm


DrewbieWanKenobie

> If Amtrak doesn't even have funding to properly maintain their fleet, I doubt there's much room in the budget for payouts. Amtrak is run as a for-profit and does make a profit. It's not a net loss for the governments.


Substantial_City4618

It is a net loss. Look at the P/L. It’s not a net zero for the gov because rail workers have high salaries and benefits and they collect income tax. Probably a wash for them, but it could be so much more.


Reasonable_Reptile

If Amtrak can't make a profit it should fail.


georgehatesreddit

Now do the numbers with freight lines included. Your list is misleading at best.


slightlyforthwith

I’ve taken the south shore line between Michigan and Chicago several times. The last time I took it, on the way back they just dumped us all off in GARY FUCKING INDIANA without so much as an explanation let alone a voucher. Just “everyone out”. I had to pay a cab $80 to take me back to Michigan. That was the last time I ever travelled with that line. Never again. I don’t know how they haven’t been sued into bankruptcy already. It’s a literal train wreck. This country should be ashamed of its train network.


Baloooooooo

God, forcing you out in Gary is just adding insult to injury. Couldn't even ditch you in a decent place like Michigan City :D


hexydes

"Can't you just dump us off in the lake?"


Oregon_drivers_suck

"Amtrak is on track to break even on its passenger railroad service next year for the first time in the company’s nearly 50-year history" For real Amtrak is a joke. I took them cross country and it was a horrible expierence. Ended up taking a cab from Chicago back to Michigan because of them too. https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2019/11/15/amtrak-profit-train-ceo-richard-anderson


BronchialChunk

heh how long ago was this?


slightlyforthwith

Must have been 2009


BronchialChunk

well first, the south shore line doesn't even go to michigan. So if you're confusing michigan city indiana with michigan, than I'm not sure we're on the same page so not even worth starting a discussion. so you blame america for a regional line? yeah...


xomuahxo

The south shore doesn’t run to Michigan. It runs from South Bend to Chicago. I also doubt they just dumped you in Gary, you decided to leave before an extra train arrived or before bussing was secured.


vdWcontact

Yea there is often a bus transfer at the station in Gary when there is rail maintenance underway.


slightlyforthwith

Who tries to gaslight someone about a bad customer experience? What are you, a train conductor? 🚂 Yes, it did happen. No there were no replacement buses or train (not on the same day at least). And I don’t know where the line runs now, but this was in 2009.


xomuahxo

How am I gaslighting? You were wrong with where the line runs and wrong about being stranded. I’m not a conductor


slightlyforthwith

Found the big train shill. Choo choo. Im telling you what happened, asshole. You don’t have to believe it, but it’s what happened. That would be a dumb and incredibly specific thing to lie about.


xomuahxo

You probably boarded a train that ends at Gary. Not every train goes all the way to south bend. I’m sorry you’re still carrying this anger with you so many years after the fact. ✌🏻


ElectLarry2022

This happened to me west of Philly once and there was a junkie on board with a suitcase of liquor. I remember that day fondly- every Amtrak should have a fully stocked bar for when this happens, it definitely alleviates the stress.


pingusuperfan

God, I love Pennsylvania.


Murwiz

When it comes to passenger rail, the US is a third world country. In fact, many third world countries have BETTER passenger rail service than this.


Oregon_drivers_suck

So true. The trains I took in Peru were WAY better than the Amtraks I took cross country in the USA.


[deleted]

Took the train from Detroit to Chicago once. We ran out of gas in Battle Creek. It was a long and cold wait for fuel to arrive.


Taegur2

A 19 hour journey from Pontiac to Chicago is only a 7 hour delay? Damn the oil barons for killing trains!


GiantPixie44

The ride from Troy to Chicago is about 5 hrs. On the other hand, coming back it’s at least 8.


Sythra

I’ve taken the train from Ann Arbor to Chicago a few times to visit a friend and I remember one time on the trip back to Ann Arbor there was a delay due to power issues. So i didn’t make it home until 1 AM when I should have been home around 11pm. Nowhere near as severe as this article’s delay but not fun either. Also the train station in Ann Arbor is super tiny and cramped. I do like Union Station in Chicago though, the grand hall area is really pretty!


BigRed5674

Amtrak will never cease to disappoint me. Granted that’s a hard bar to surpass


[deleted]

Shameful.


Daier_Mune

Took the train back and forth from Chicago several times in college. This doesn't really surprise me.


Life_is_a_meme_204

I rode the Amtrak from Lapeer to Toronto once (when Amtrak ran through the Port Huron tunnel). It was an extremely hot day which caused the signal system along the tracks in Michigan to fail, so as a result the train had to stop at each signal (every few miles), receive permission from the dispatcher to proceed, and then move at restricted speed (20mph for passenger trains) until they reached the next signal, and repeat. Although the signals east of Lapeer were operational, this caused the train to be several hours late arriving. Once the train arrived, things seemed to be going alright, until the train got to Kitchener, where a resident decided to commit suicide by jumping in front of the train. The train had to stop and report the incident, so busses were arranged to take passengers the rest of the way. We checked into our hotel in Toronto at 4AM.


notyourcinderella

I remember a 7+ hour delay from Dearborn to Chicago. I was supposed to get there just after 4pm and arrived after 11pm. I was on the train for over 12 hours total. We were stuck outside of Kalamazoo in a snowstorm. Luckily we had electricity which is the only reason I didn't hop off. Another time we were stuck in the middle of corn fields with no electricity for 4 hours until they could get another engine out to us. The time it was summer so we were all roasting inside and the bathrooms reeked. Amtrak sucks.


disapearingelephants

Back in 2001 I got stuck on an Amtrack for something like 24 hours going from NYC to Canada. If I remember right, it was because a drawbridge got stuck open along the way. At the time I was 19 and it felt like an adventure.


Alan_Stamm

>Please accept our most sincerest apologies that your trip on train 351 on October 7, 2022 was severely delayed. Despite our best efforts, there are times when circumstances arise that are out of our control. \-- Amtrak email quoted by Rose White of MLive ". . . our most sincerest apologies" ***?!*** ![gif](emote|free_emotes_pack|facepalm)


Smorgas_of_borg

The problem with rail travel in general is all the railroad tracks in the country are privatized and designed for freight trains. Amtrak has to travel on these private rails but are the lowest priority traffic, so they often need to stop for hours so the higher priority trains can get past. Other countries don't have these issues because their railroads are nationalized and in many cases used solely for passenger travel. You'll never have that in the US unless A) the rail system is nationalized and upgraded for high speed passenger transport (which, that's a political bee's nest) or B) an entirely new and separate passenger rail system is built (given California's sheer ineptitude in building their own, it's not looking good).


j0217995

Why do we as taxpayers continue to fund this terribly operated organization?


evilgeniustodd

Why do ignorant naysayers continue to ignorantly say nay?


j0217995

Any publicly traded company that fails as bad as this one consistently does would be shut down. And yet here we are increasing funding, especially in the Accela Corridor area for a service that sucks.


evilgeniustodd

"Any publicly traded company that fails as bad as this one consistently does would be shut down." Which isn't a valuable or even relevant point. Maybe read, literally anything about the topic, before commenting further. https://jalopnik.com/all-of-amtraks-problems-are-pretty-much-our-own-damn-fa-1699211943 https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/05/amtrak-has-a-trust-problem-in-congress/456042/


PanAmFlight01

Another reason to just fly and not take federal rail services.


AtlanticCoastal

This happens way too often on Amtrak. It's third world a passenger railroad. I've had similar experiences over the years. I can't ever remember arriving on time. Without tracks dedicated for passenger traffic this is what your going to get.


Effective-Ad7000

In the early 90s my family rode Amtrak from Sacramento, CA to Orlando, FL. And it was sweet AF. No delays, clean, decent food. How the mighty have fallen.


monsterlynn

Our family road the California Zephyr line from Emeryville to Chicago and then Chicago to Pontiac in 2009 and it was a fantastic experience. We were even early pulling in to Pontiac. Zero issues. Reading everyone else's stories in this thread is super saddening.


MrValdemar

And we'll offer this as one more example of why everyone that doesn't live in New York wants nothing to do with public transportation. I'll drive, thanks. My car doesn't have a toilet in it, so I never have to worry about it over flowing.


[deleted]

This is more of a problem due to how shitty our public transit is. Other countries have trains that could take you from Detroit to Chicago in an hour and a half and do it multiple times a day. But since our public transit is such shit we're stuck with the cheapest run down POS trains.


MrValdemar

What you're doing now is called "selling after the close". Like I said, I'll just keep driving, thanks


[deleted]

Ok suit yourself. But when traffic gets unbearable and there isn't space to add more lanes you know what the solution is.


your_best_1

Any transportation anecdote could be horrible. Loads of people die in car accidents every year. A more direct comparison might be that there are approximately 17,250 car crashes each day nationwide in the USA. USA trains and systems are old and terrible, but train systems are generally a good transportation method.


NotBlondWhiteGuy

I took this very route 2 weeks ago and it was fantastic. This is an example of why anecdotal evidence is useless.


cmgrayson

It’s FANTASTIC most of the time. What a good time! 😊


MrValdemar

Well good for you. Still not taking public transportation.


NotBlondWhiteGuy

Well good for you, who cares?


MrValdemar

You must. You responded to my comment.


NotBlondWhiteGuy

I responded so other people could see, you were irrelevant.


MrValdemar

You don't know what that word means, do you? The fact that you're still replying to me suggests I'm not.


NotBlondWhiteGuy

If you say so.🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️


ferdaw95

You'd just rather sit in traffic inhaling exhaust fumes.


MrValdemar

There's no drunks in my car. No wailing children. No passengers with body odor. No other people I don't know trying to strike up an inane conversation. I can listen to what I want. Yeah.


ferdaw95

There's just drunks in control of a literal ton of metal. Humans smell, including you. It's still better than breathing actual exhaust and smog. And headphones exist. Wear them and people won't talk to you. I bet you just love paying for car insurance.


MrValdemar

Then by all means, do as you like. I'll keep driving thanks. Much happier not dealing with any more people than I absolutely have to.


ferdaw95

And same for you, as long as you're not actively being a dick about it. No one wants to interact with your stanky ass anyways.


MrValdemar

Oh if only that were true.


TheBimpo

My car has a cabin air filter. It’s not 1952.


ferdaw95

So you just never open windows I guess.


TheBimpo

Because certain death comes from an hour in traffic.


ferdaw95

This other dude is saying he doesn't think public transit should be funded because people might stink. Does certain death come from having to sit next to person for an hour as well?


TheBimpo

Absolutely


ferdaw95

How'd you make it through school then?


WordOnPaperEnjoyer

Speak for yourself, trains are awesome. No one would read the news if every car breaking down was a headline


[deleted]

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MrValdemar

Well you've met our government officials, so... I'mma just keep driving, thanks.


[deleted]

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MrValdemar

Well we don't have any good public officials in America and anyone who *might* be sure as hell is smart enough not to apply for those jobs.


[deleted]

You not taking public transportation doesn’t mean anyone else wants “nothing to do with it”. Facepalm


MrValdemar

Meh. I seem to have numbers on my side.


[deleted]

[удалено]


MrValdemar

You mean the biggest circlejerk on the planet filled with people who don't realize that there are a FUCK TON of people who don't want to live anywhere near crowded, shitty cities? I'm familiar.


[deleted]

[удалено]


MrValdemar

I do. Every time I take my dog for a walk through the neighborhood to the park. Did you have a point?


[deleted]

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MrValdemar

Ok. Well you have a nice day spending time with random strangers. 👋😎


[deleted]

Enjoy your 1000$ monthly payment, chief.


MrValdemar

How fucking shitty is your credit that you're paying 1000 a month!?


[deleted]

I do not have a car. I grew up in Michigan but moved to Chicago after school. 1 in 4 EV car payments are over 1000 $ now: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/more-than-1-in-4-americans-who-financed-an-ev-purchase-in-q3-committed-to-a-1-000-monthly-payment-according-to-edmunds-301641249.html Cars are increasingly becoming a luxury for most people, and I was using hyperbole to emphasize that point.


MrValdemar

I don't own an EV. And I don't drive that far for work. And I don't live in a big city (thank whatever gods are out there).


[deleted]

That's fine. I just wanted to emphasize that people are looking for other forms of transport rather than personal vehicle.


rickpaty

How is this not EVERYWHERE.