Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2002/07/04
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Amtrak? Gimme a break! My 91 year old grandfather [with hearing aids and confined to a wheelchair during travel] and his SO recently finished another trip to visit me on Amtrak from San Jose to DC and back with first class accommodations. This trip was a complete disaster, like the last one they took 5 years ago [same itinerary]: - - The originating pick up station in CA was *closed* on the day they were to begin the trip and they were never told or notified. No wheelchair. Just wait for the train to arrive and hope someone will help to get granddad on board. - - Amtrak kept running out of food on the train, all the way out to the east coast. - - They got stuck in a snow storm in Montana and had to be bused to another location to continue the trip. - - After a stop-over in Pennsylvania, they were denied a sleeper car berth that they had paid for from Pittsburgh to DC and were not allowed into the first class dining car. Amtrak grudgingly allowed them to eat in another dining car, but not without a fight. - - They arrived 6 hours late into DC because a drunk woman drove her car in front of the train. - - The DC departure time on the ticket differed from what it really was, so they missed the departing train back to Pittsburgh by 4 minutes. Since my granddad purchased the entire trip through an Amtrak ticket agent, Amtrak gave them a flight on US Airways to get them to PA on-time for their connecting train [with the associated nightmare of getting a handicapped senior through heavy security at National]. - - More problems with the train running out of food out to the west coast. - - Their train arrived late [5 hours] in southern CA, so they were bused again to another station to make the connection that finally took them home. In my own Amtrak experience and that of other family members, this is not an isolated incident. Back to polishing my M6. /Mitch _________________________________________ Mitch Zeissler E-mail: zeissler@directvinternet.com > -----Original Message----- > Sent: Thursday, July 04, 2002 6:58 PM > To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us > Subject: Re: [Leica] airport security kinda long. ;-) > > Try Amtrak's California Zephyr, Chicago to San > > Seth LaK 9 - -- To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html