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* Amtrak Blues *
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A list of why Amtrak is in trouble:

Consistently late. I mean it is ALWAYS late. At least 5-10 minutes in the morning (usually 10-15 minutes) and about a minute or two in the evening (don't really care about this). I've had 2 no shows....meaning the train shows up 30 minutes or more late (at which point I just go back home to work at home since they shuttle bus that takes me to work will have left by the time I arrived).

Everything takes TOO long. When I go buy a ticket for Amtrak, it takes about 10 minutes to get one. If I need two or three, tack on a few more minutes for each. Amtrak has setup their system of ticket sales around the airline model. You have to show them ID, sign your ticket, yada yada yada. In fact they even use airline boarding passes as their paper to print their tickets on. Now, when I go buy Caltrain tickets in person, it takes me a minute or two. Same with BART tickets and bus tickets. No whipping out my ID, no endless passenger booking into a computer system. It should be more like Southwest and less like United. Another way Amtrak takes too long is actually riding the train. I've ridden the train for about 3 months now and I've seen just about every problem (I think) that can happen. Drawbridge stuck open causing a delay of 1 hour. Traffic on the tracks causing delays of up to 20 minutes. Signal problems causing 1.5 hour delay. Hit a bike (no one hurt). Air conditioning broken. Train engine broken. It just takes too long because the trains aren't well maintained and the tracks are just too busy (which is a good thing I guess, but it's mostly freight traffic that causes problems).

They spend WAY TOO MUCH MONEY. Man they have nice napkins on the train. Very nice high quality paper napkins...like the kind you find in a high end restaurant. And how about the 5 or 6 people at each manned station to sell tickets? How about an automated machine here and there? I know the train system is complex, but you can dumb down the process so any joe can figure it out:

Where did ja wanna go?
Chicago? ok...
leaving now? Yeap ok...
that'll be $125, Pop your credit card in.

Or how about this...just have the train conductors sell the tickets on the train. Just hop on the train and buy your ticket albeit monthly, 10 ride, or one way right then and there. The conductors basically sit idle (well they seem to be counting stuff or something) between stops anyway.

Don't get me wrong, there are some nice points of Amtrak. On the way home, I generally get to see nice sunset views over the salt flats near Milpitas. The trains are pretty comfy with nice tables to work on. The train staff is pretty friendly too. it's not really their fault. They just kinda deal with it (just like the passengers).

I'm sorry but Amtrak is starting to get on my nerves. If my secret plan pans out, I won't need to take it any more in a month or so (and no it does not involve any teleportation).












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