Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
arrival. If I'm traveling from Los Angeles to Chicago (two nights
onboard), I'll allow no less than six hours in Chicago before con-
necting with a train going on to the East Coast. In fact, more
often than not I will spend the night in a hotel and continue my
train trip the following day. It's far better to play it safe than to
find yourself finishing your journey on an Amtrak bus.
As a passenger, you'll probably be aware that your train is
running late. If it looks like you may miss a connecting train, but-
tonhole a conductor before you arrive to get his advice on your
options. Once you pull into the station—it will most probably
be New York City; Washington, D.C.; Chicago; or Los Angeles;
since most scheduled connections take place at one of those sta-
tions—go immediately to Amtrak's passenger-service desk in the
station. And by that, I mean run if you can! A hundred or so
other passengers from your train will be in the same situation,
so the object is to be one of the first problems solved instead of
one of the last. The Amtrak employee at the desk will already be
aware that a connection was missed and will probably have some
tentative answers for you by the time you show up.
The important thing is to let them know what you want.
Be reasonable, however. Amtrak may be willing to meet your
request but unable to because of the time of year, the weather,
the time of day, the number of people involved, the number of
vacancies at nearby hotels, and many other factors. Through it
all, keep your cool. The person you're dealing with is the
answer
to your problem, not the cause, and is no doubt doing his or her
best to help you.
Problems with Accommodations
Occasionally passengers with sleeping-car tickets find themselves
in the wrong type of room or, more typically,
think
they are in
the wrong room. Some first-time travelers—especially if travel-
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