I am a recent customer of your Rail Pass program. I am a 50 year old veteran who is disabled. The disability is due to being struck head-on while riding my motorcycle on May 22nd, 2021. This event resulted in a catastrophic loss of my career, everything I had worked towards my entire life, and most importantly, the loss of my personal identity. I spent a year trying to get myself right through surgeries and at-home care. I survived a severe bone infection that almost cost me my left leg. I had to learn how to walk again and continue to struggle with memory, vision and range-of-motion issues. Recently I was diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury that was missed previously due to the amount of other injuries I had to work through.
I’ve been attempting to rehabilitate myself both physically and mentally with the assistance of the VA and close friends. While looking for an outlet, I was encouraged to do more writing in an effort to avoid the severe depression and anxiety attacks I now suffer from. This leads me to why I am contacting you.
I decided to travel the country and write about the explorations as an attempt at therapy. My first choice was to drive myself; however, due to newly discovered neurological issues, I was convinced to take advantage of Amtrak’s Rail Pass – Let you all drive while I focused on writing.
I purchased the pass and then spent two days planning my route. Huntington, WV to Chicago IL, Whitefish MT, Portland OR, San Antonio TX, Little Rock AR, St. Louis MO, Kansas City MO, Chicago IL, back to Huntington.
A day before departure, I received a “cancellation due to service disruption” text message. Amtrak offered no alternative ways to get to Chicago in order to catch the Empire Builder train that was headed west across the northern states.
I had to buy a plane ticket to Chicago, IL in hopes of catching the train in time. After suffering airline issues, I had to cancel the Chicago to Whitefish segment completely and fly from Charleston, WV to Chicago, IL, to Denver, CO, to Kalispell, MT, then take an Uber from the airport in Kalispell to Whitefish. I also had to book an extra room in Whitefish because the flight brought me in earlier than the train did, even after all the flight delays.
When it was time to leave Whitefish, I can’t remember if the train leaving for Portland was late or not, but to be honest, there were so many delays on this trip, I am unable to remember them all.
Just before the train arrived in Spokane, we received word that the leg from Spokane to Portland was canceled. We were to be loaded onto charter buses for the 5 hour ride. Once in Portland, I discovered that for some reason, my one checked bag was not loaded on the bus I was placed on.
Because the bus arrived in Portland earlier than the train would have, the window between my next train removed the option of me staying at the station. I ended up renting a room in Portland overnight and without my luggage. The next morning I asked the Amtrak desk in Portland how the other trains looked to San Antonio. He said there had not been any sizable delays for at least 30 days. I relaxed a bit hearing this news.
Just outside of Los Angeles we were advised that the train from LA to San Antonio was canceled due to track wash-out. So in addition to spending another night in a city I had no wish to stay in, I also had to book a flight to San Antonio because, once again, I had a timetable to keep with my hotel reservations in the other cities I had planned to stop at. The next train to SA would cause me to miss or shorten my other hotel reservations. The good news was that my luggage did arrive in LA.
Again, because of the flight, I arrived in SA earlier than expected and had to book yet another room I had not planned for. The hotel I previously booked was full so I had to find a different place to stay, which meant having to find travel the next day to get to my original hotel. While in SA, I decided to add segments to Winslow, AZ and Trinidad, CO using the segments Amtrak previously either canceled or was responsible for me having to cancel. I was nervous about adding them because of the troubles I’d experienced up till then, but I also didn’t want to waste segments I had paid for.
I believe everything went ok departing SA. We were two hours late getting into Little Rock but for once that worked in my favor. Due to the late night arrival, I had planned to sleep there until it closed at 8am, but someone named CJ, who I thought was an Amtrak employee, came around and made everyone uncomfortable by aggressively insisting he could help them find a place to go. Turns out, CJ was not an employee but a local hustler who was allowed to approach customers. Eventually, everyone chose to leave the station instead of being continually accosted by this guy – another unplanned room I had to purchase when I could have just stayed in the station overnight.
The next morning, I went online to check my travel itinerary. Imagine my anxiety level when I saw that all my upcoming segments had vanished. It was as though my entire trip had been wiped out. I called in and was advised that my account profile (PRN or something) had been corrupted. There was nothing they could do except create a new profile for me. The problem was that I would no longer have online access to it. I’d have to call in and wait for the next available rep every single time I wanted to do anything – even check arrival times.
Out of overwhelming frustration, I canceled all remaining segments and requested a segment to Granby, Colorado. This decision meant I had to spend hours contacting the remaining hotels to plead my case with them in hopes of getting my reservation money back.
I decided Granby would be my final stop before returning home. Amtrak could keep their extra segments. I couldn’t take it anymore. At this point, I had been on my mental health getaway for almost a month with no measurable progress. Because of the constant need to adjust my schedule, purchase additional rooms and arrange transportation, I had just as much, if not more, anxiety than when I originally left.
I spent a week in Granby trying to relax. Then it came time to leave. I called in to pick a day. After I sat on hold forever, I had to go through the entire process of explaining the corrupted profile to each person I spoke with and that the old information was no longer valid. I was eventually provided a seat back to Chicago.
Once in Chicago, and after spending hours waiting for my next train, customers received word that all train departures were canceled due to a bridge outage. (According to station employees, it wasn’t uncommon thing for the bridge in question to be problematic)
It seemed only fitting that the segment home was canceled just as the one leaving home had been.
Not only were the departures canceled that night, they were the next day as well. I had to pay for a hotel for 2 days in another city I had no plans or intentions of staying in.
I eventually made it home. I had stories to write, but lost a lot of money and gained no ground on my mental health. For someone who has not had a job in over two years, that’s not something I take lightly.
Lastly, I had to cancel my bank card due to suspected fraudulent activity while in Los Angeles – A city I did not want to stay in to begin with.
I spent a tremendous amount of money on a trip plagued with delays, cancellations and added expenses. A trip that did more to add to my stress and anxiety than anything else. I was supposed to trust Amtrak to take care of my travel, yet I covered as much ground on airplanes and tour buses as I did on a trip that was exclusively meant to be by rail. (I have Google check-in and travel info that shows this)
What I am asking of you is for Amtrak to make things right. You were the backbone of my entire trip. I was supposed to let you take care of my travel while I got to work on my mental health. I missed out on two of the longest segments of my trip and had to stay in three of the most personally undesirable cities in America.
Have you been to Portland lately? Homeless people surround the train station. It also looks like the end of times coming into the city. My Uber driver moved out of Portland because of the conditions.
I’m not someone who wants something for nothing or makes demands just to see what I can get from people. I do not like to play the disabled Veteran or sympathy card. Too many people milk that for what it’s worth nowadays. I try to be fair and understanding in every situation.
But this… This trip was a total disaster. What I am left with is a sizable loss of money combined with the depression and guilt for spending money and having gained no ground on my mental health; possibly going backwards.
What I am asking for is full reimbursement of my expenses. My entire trip hinged on Amtrak’s Rail Pass. You were supposed to do the driving so I could relax and see the country. A train trip literally turned into planes, trains, automobiles, charter buses and one $60 Uber ride just to get to the city I was supposed to be dropped off in.
This was the biggest trip I’ve ever taken in my life. The most money I’ve ever invested in a trip. The most time I’ve ever spent on the road. I had to battle a LOT of personal demons to convince myself to do it. Just to have it all go so wrong… literally from the very first day of the trip to the very last day.
Please make this right. I want to get back to focusing on recovery, not fighting a giant multi-million dollar corporation over what is an insignificant amount to them, but a significant amount of money to someone in my position.
I can provide as much information, to include bank statements/paperwork and as much Amtrak itinerary as I can gather to prove what I say is true and accurate.
This letter was also sent to Amtrak’s Office of Customer Service along with additional information.
As of 11/6/2023 this letter has now been posted on multiple social channels as well as Amtrak’s Facebook page and Roger Harris, President of Amtrak’s LinkedIn page. I’ll continue to update as this progresses.
11/7/2023 @ 12:54PM – Amtrak called and said the best they could do was to refund the cost of my Rail Pass. They felt they were not responsible to reimburse my out of pocket expenses for their mechanical failures and delays & that I should have purchased trip insurance.
Off The Rails 