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Boston-bound Amtrak passengers stuck in the Bronx for four hours with no heat
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I've taken that over night
I've taken that over night from Washington, and it's already a long night even when things run smoothly. I really do feel bad for those aboard and hope Amtrak finds a way to compensate them. I'm sure a lot of them are loyal riders.
If they communicated better...
There is nothing that could of been done, at the time, about the downed wires. The electric was out, thus no heat and water. Amtrak is not going to stock hundreds of blankets "just in case". It would of been nice of they could of sent a rescue train, but perhaps they did not have any available to send.
So, while I would be one the first to slam Amtrak for crappy service, the big issue here is that communication was very poor. It is not unusual for staff not to know anything, also. But it sounds, from Amtrak's tweets, that they were dealing with the mechanical issues that the ridership was complaining about. Only so many staff to go around.
Amtrak should either give them a ticket refund or a free ride for another trip. Something substantial. But do not hold your breath.
Amtrak's press release did
Amtrak's press release did ask passengers to call their customer service number, so I assume they will get some kind of compensation.
Most recent update is that they were given gift certificates.
n/t
Oh, really?
It's five miles from Sunnyside yard. I guarantee you Amtrak has some work diesels there which could have gotten to the train in 20 minutes and towed it back in to Penn Station in another 20. And I'd assume Sunnyside operates 24/7. Not sure why they didn't do that, unless they thought the power would be on a lot sooner.
What Ari Said
Agreed. There had to be Metro North locomotives under diesel that could have been called out as well. They'd not need full power or HEP, just enough to tow it back to a station where they could detrain.
Geez... why no bustitution?
Metro-North's nearest diesel
Metro-North's nearest diesel would have been in Stamford, CT, probably. By the time Amtrak called them, and they found a serviceable locomotive that wasn't either in the middle of an inspection/maintenance, and sent it to the Bronx, to be met by Amtrak personnel at New Rochelle to serve as a pilot, since Metro-North engineers are not certified on the Hell Gate Line, they probably figured they could get the train moving again.
I'm fairly certain diesels
I'm fairly certain diesels aren't allowed in the East River Tunnels due to a lack of ventilation, so it couldn't have towed it back to Penn.
If it was possible, they would have done it.
Hence...
...Bronx cheer.
Sorry for your inconvenience..
I hate that half-arsed apology. There really should be some sort of significant resource to accommodate passengers in this instance.
Like what?
Like what?
A full refund if your delay is longer than 20 minutes
Seems fair to me.
Explain
A full explanation of everything that went wrong is much better than "we apologize for the inconvenience."
The best practice is to speak to your customers the way you speak to your boss. You would never tell your boss "sorry for the inconvenience." Your boss would demand a full accounting.
Well, I think...
the lines were down (due to whatever, it does not matter really) and the power was lost. That is the explanation, anon. The problem is that folks on the train were kept in the dark (no pun intended). Better to communicate something than nothing.
My "Like what?" was in
My "Like what?" was in response to the suggestion that "There really should be some sort of significant resource to accommodate passengers" not to the suggestion that they need to explain the situation. Which they do. And I'm sure they would have if the crew weren't tied up dealing with the mechanical issues. Amtrak explained in multiple tweets that the crew were dealing with the mechanical issues.
Thanks Trump
*insert Obama mic drop here*
It's probably the WBZ link in
It's probably the WBZ link in this article that's generating the pop-up ad but I just wanted to make sure UHub is not doing pop-up ads as well.
No, I don't do popups
That having been said, if you do land on a UHub page and you get a popup, please let me know. I use several ad networks and the way they work is sometimes they call up another ad network and serve up an ad that I didn't request.
Only on my iPad...
I get a banner at the bottom of the screen that WILL NOT GO AWAY no matter how many times one clicks the close box, and jerks about when you scroll up and down the page.
It's so generic I can't even describe it, and the text rotates -- a narrow blue rectangle with text like, "Live Concert" and "Local News"
It's only on my iPad, never shows up on my computer.
Ugh
Any chance you could screen-capture that and send it to me?
I get it too Adam. iPad only
I'll send you an image
I've taken that train, too.
I've taken that train, too.
Sounds like a big "FAIL" on Amtrak's part.
Yes, electrical problems happen or overhead lines do fall or get knocked down, and a lot of that is beyond Amtrak's control to prevent.
It's how you respond that's key.
It's not realistic to expect another train & crew to be dispatched, especially at that hour of the night. At any time of day, in fact, any "replacement" train would most likely be the next scheduled one in that direction.
What Amtrak should've done was (a) keep people better informed, and (b) as soon as it was clear that this was going to be a long-term problem, figure out if there was a safe point they could get the passengers out to buses and to some safe, warm place locally.
Adding to the complication, it was in the Bronx. Amtrak runs on an entirely separate line than Metro-North in the Bronx, so there wasn't any possibility of transferring passengers to a commuter train.
It would have taken Amtrak
It would have taken Amtrak just as long to hire charter buses with drivers, etc. and bring in employees and equipment to evacuate passengers safely as it took to get the problem fixed.
There's not some fleet of buses sitting there idling with drivers standing around, ready to go on a moments' notice.
I didn't say charters, and I
I didn't say charters, and I didn't say they'd have buses hanging around.
In an emergency, if they could coordinate with local police and fire, and get a couple of city buses to shuttle people to shelter.
...and, yes, I know there aren't many points of access (forget "good" - there are few "unlikely" ones, either) along that run. When you've got people, possibly children & senior citizens, at risk of exposure, you don't sit back on grounds of inconvenience.
No one on that train was at
No one on that train was at risk of exposure.
Also, the line through the Bronx is
mostly elevated with very limited access from cross streets, so transferring passengers to buses would have been impractical.
The only thing that Amtrak
could of done better is to communicate on a regularly basis with the passengers. However, if there was nothing more to communicate, other than the lines are down and are currently being fixed, than what is left? You are all the train. You know it has no power which means something is causing no power. I know it is frustrating but crap happens. Sitting on a cold train for 4 hours is not fun but is better than standing outside for 4 hours.
As already noted, the tracks
As already noted, the tracks through Queens and the Bronx are grade-separated, either on an elevated structure, a viaduct or in a trench. You're suggesting passengers disembark onto the tracks in the middle of the night with freezing temperatures and possible snow and ice on the tracks, and a possibly downed catenary?
The only other option would have been a diesel train brought in from Sunnyside Yard to push or pull the train back to Penn Station or into Westchester, but I don't know if that would have been any faster than fixing the initial wire issue.
Further discussion at http://www.railroad.net/forums/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=160547&start=315
These people are traveling
These people are traveling from one relatively cold city to one even colder in the middle of February. Do they not have coats?
Ever take that train?
There is a luggage car. It is often desirable, as it is when flying, to stuff your big coat into your suitcase before you hand it off.
Are you sure about that?
The trains going from Washington to Boston do not have luggage cars. Hubby and I were going to travel to DC and were surprised at the policy. You are only allowed two carry ons of a certain size, I believe.
That train does
I see the southbound one go by on my night runs and I have seen the newly built baggage car on it. The schedule backs me up. Then again, it's the only one with a baggage car.
On the other side, the only time I've checked a coat when travelling is when I knew I was going some place much warmer than where I was leaving. Unless you are getting off at Back Bay, it 's going to be cold when you get off that train (and Back Bay still won't be balmy.)
65/66/67 definitely do have
65/66/67 definitely do have baggage service.
Well, you make a good point..
However, sitting in the cold for 4 hours would make one very uncomfortable even with a coat. I read in the most recent update that one woman's feet were very cold because she was wearing sneakers.
Rule of thumb: When traveling into colder climes on a train, for example, dress appropriately (or carry additional clothing)...just in case! That means hats, people. Your hair will not care and your heat will be retained. And gloves. And warm shoes. And warm socks. And a warm coat. I would also have extra travel snacks (food and water) and heck, a fleece blanket, just in case. Plan for a worse case scenario and hope it never happens.