What's Wrong with Amtrak's Lakeshore Limited?

What's wrong with Amtrak's Lakeshore Limited? Those who answer the call to board hope that the answer is a definitive "Nothing". After traveling a half dozen times back and forth to Chicago from Boston on Amtrak's Lakeshore Limited I feel ready to weigh in on what is wrong with this nearly 1000 mile route that links the East coast with the Mid-West. The train ride on this historic route provides excellent vistas of waterways important to the history of our nation and just plain enjoyable to view. Unfortunately the number of things that are wrong with this particular train give even veteran travelers pause.

Our experience of loading in Chicago's Union station on our most recent ride aboard Amtrak's Lakeshore limited was appalling and borderline dangerous. There was such a total lack of organization and pre-loading information given in the waiting areas that people lined up a half hour early. With no one from Amtrak present to provide order the line quickly became a crowd and the crowd eventually became unpleasant. When staff did arrive they treated people without the slightest attempt to be courteous and were totally overwhelmed by the situation.

To alleviate the congestion, normal procedures were abandoned. There was no pre-boarding screening, no dogs sniffing. Even seniors were rushed along and some, in order to get out of the packed room, agreed to walk rather than wait for the one transport that was operating to deliver people to their car.

Fortunately we were not disabled but probably would have ridden the cart if one was available because our car which was going all the way to Boston was sitting at more than a city block down the track. There are reasons for cars to be at a distance but there are also reasons why all travelers are not able to comfortably or safely walk this distance. It is heartless to charge people for a ride that they will find life threatening and stress inducing to access.

During the ride, the scenery was lovely and people really might have relaxed into a pleasant journey . But as the hours passed passengers began to feel more and more isolated even in the midst of a car full of people. The isolation comes from the fact that frequently the public address system on board the Amtrak Lakeshore Limited is not operating or is not turned on. It's hard to tell which. In a half dozen trips on the Lakeshore I have generally felt like I had no idea what was going on around me or what was going to happen next. For people who are used to texting,calling and connecting all day long, being locked in to more than 20 hours on a train where no one tells you anything can be a very stressful situation.

While people don't necessarily want to be disturbed during the overnight hours, during the daylight hours communication either by P.A. or even word of month by conductors needs to happen regularly. People don't know when the dining car is open, when the club car is closed , what or when the next stop is and certainly not what any of the wonderful landmarks are along the way , unless there is a knowledgeable person sitting nearby who is willing to share information.

Worst of all is the total lack of any adherence to the printed schedule or explanation of why there is no such adherence. Riders feel like they are being held captive with only the vaguest idea of when their odyssey will end. People by the thousands are inconvenienced all along the way with late arriving trains. Nor does there seem to be any visible concern on the part of any staff members that are out among the public. The final insult for us was when our Lakeshore Limited was so late that we were unable to make connection with the last commuter rail to take us home some 40 miles away .

The saddest part of this whole deal is that it the Lakeshore Limited could be a really nice train ride, one that people would frequent. This could be a great time for a resurgence of rail travel. But Amtrak doesn't seem to get the message or care. What a waste of good equipment and financial opportunity.