Amtrak: Is it Worth the Billions Tax Payers Are Spending?

Well, what is another $1.55 Billion of your tax money. That is what Congress and the White House has given to Amtrak, a for profit company for the Physical Year 2009. On a recent trip from Texas to Arizona, I had the chance to see first hand the operations and customer service on Amtrak.

On starting my trip, on a shuttle van, as the city I was leaving from did not have a rail line, I was booked on a small van for the ride to Longview, Tx for the start of my 39 hour journey. It was surprising that Amtrak had booked this van for me, since I was the only passenger going the 57 miles to the train station. It was even more surprising to me that it was cheaper to take the shuttle bus from Shreveport, LA to Longview, TX then just starting my trip in Longview.

Upon my arrival at the train station, I was greeted by the Sales Agent at the station, who collected my fair to Tucson, AZ and checked in my baggage. At this point, things were looking pretty good for the upcoming trip, but little did I know, that would soon change.

The train arrived at the Longview station about 30 minutes late, due to being stopped on a side rail so freight trains could pass. Getting on the train, I noticed that the car's were comfortable, there was plenty of room, and ample food and drink available on the train for anyone who could afford it. It was on arrival to the Dallas, Tx station that things on this trip started getting interesting. After only going about 130 miles, we were stopped in Dallas for over an hour. Being stopped for a crew break. After that hour, we proceeded another 40 miles to Ft. Worth, TX where we stopped again, for nearly 2 hours. The train finally departed Ft. Worth and went at a fairly reasonable pace to San Antonio, TX where the problems really started.

Arriving in San Antonio, TX at 9:30 PM, we were informed that anybody going west from San Antonio needed to relocate their seats to the rearmost car so they could connect that car to another train that would be arriving from New Orleans, LA. This train would not arrive until 3:00 am, and not leave the station until 5:40 AM. A layover of over 8 hours. We were told that we could remain on the car since it was late at night and some other passengers were using the time to sleep. At about 12:30 am, the Amtrak crew disconnected our car from the train that we had been on, and set it off to the side to be connected when the new train arrived. What they failed to tell us, was that when they disconnected the car, the doors would be locked, and there would be no Air Conditioning, Lights or any place to get food or drinks. There we sat in the Texas heat, according to my Cell Phone, the temperature in San Antonio was 82 degrees for 3 1/2 hours, unable to get off the train.

Was this going to be the worst of the trip??? Not even close. The next morning, I met the next unexpected challenge of this trip, the new conductor. I was sitting in the rear of the car, with another passenger, having a conversation to gather information for this article, when the conductor walked up to me and told me to "Shut Up, I was disturbing other passengers" when the only 2 passengers in this particular car were the one's having the conversation. At this point, I decided I would go to get breakfast in the Dining Car. For breakfast, I had 2 eggs, hash browns, 2 strips of bacon and a cup of coffee, which came out to a total of almost $12.00. The food was acceptable, but no where near the quality you would get for $6.00 at your local Denny's. Dinner that evening was an even larger surprise. Two small pieces of tough pork, supposedly tenderloins, a baked potato and a vegetable for $16.00 plus my drink. The 12 ounce can of Pepsi was another $2.00.

Arriving at Tucson, AZ, as Amtrak does not provide service into Phoenix, was a relief. Was the trip worth it? I am still trying to figure that out, but I know for my money, I will take Greyhound next time. Amtrak is a great idea, if it could be operated properly, without our tax dollars. They have no competition, there are no other passenger train services, their ability to get you to your destination is very limited due to their schedules, and the cities that they service. Their services to their customers is poor, and there is no reason to leave passengers stuck on a train for over 3 1/2 hours. In my opinion, it is time to stop wasting our tax dollars, and giving it to a private company, and let Amtrak either figure out how to be profitable, or like other poorly run companies, go out of business.