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Original photo by Mike Miley via Flickr
The Amtrak Surfliner departed San Diego 10:35 a.m. last Saturday -- right on time. But Train 571, a weekend-only train filled with families and weekend adventurers, never made it to its final destination -- Union Station, LA.
Amtrak Surfliner 571 wasn't abducted, it didn't slide quietly into the Pacific, it was simply stricken with "mechanical problems" north of Oceanside, about 40 miles into the two-hour-forty-minute trip to LA..
After 30 minutes stopped on the tracks, passengers were notified of the train's "problems" and most remained calm despite being provided little or no further information. At 2p.m, 45 minutes after the train was scheduled to arrive in LA, passengers were told they were still stuck but that a new train was coming.
That train blew right by Train 571 on the northbound tracks just as four others would (and another two heading south) over the course of the afternoon and evening.
A few disgruntled passengers tweeted for help:
tinyJanie and fheany could only turn to Twitter for help.
At about 6 p.m. passengers were finally told they could board another train but then had to hook up with yet another train, finally pulling into Santa Ana around 7:30. But it doesn't end there. At 8 o'clock when the train rolled into Anaheim, the crew announced they had to leave since they had been on duty for more than 9 hours and that it could be a while before a replacement crew appears.
An hour later, several people banded together and took a series of taxis, splitting the $90 fare to Union Station, others waited for a bus. We picked up our friend in front of Union Station at 9:45 -- eight-and-a-half hours late.
Mechanical problems happen. We all know that. But to leave passengers with nowhere to go for 8 hours-- not to mention a shortage of food, water, and beer -- and without a bus to rescue them in Anaheim, is reprehensible.
Amtrak, you may not have an explanation for the passengers of Pacific Surfliner 571 on Saturday October 24 but how about an apology -- if not refunds and travel vouchers? And where's our Acela? It's nearly 2010 -- pretty soon we'll just vote you off the West Coast.
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I took Amtrak from LA to Chicago last year and arrived at my final destination 49 hours late (yes, more than two days). My vacation was nearly ruined and the time spent immobile on the tracks was frustrating and boring.
The most frustrating thing was that there were no mechanical failures. We had to stop because federal regulations prohibited the crew from working beyond a set number of hours. Since we were a couple hours late to begin with, the crew's time limit ended while the train was in the middle of a desert. We waited over 9 hours while a replacement crew found their way (via a freight train) to our location. This happened two more times on the way to chicago.
After my experiences with Amtrak, sadly, I am not surprised by this incident.
This means that many of the car-cultured southern Californian families on board who were making a go at mass transit will now choose to get back into their cars next time. Thanks, Amtrak.
I don't understand why it did not couple with any of the other trains that passed it. Seems like a no brainer. Don't a few freight trains travel along the coast still? They could have helped tow it somewhere.
Fuck, even Metrolink will provide a bus bridge in case the trip is FUBAR.
I don't understand how the situation played out the way it did.
So much for that 1.3 billion dollar stimulus.
All aboard the Health Care Express!
The Surfliners are run by Amtrak under contract for the State of California. While they do carry the name of Amtrak on the sides of the cars, and one buys tickets from Amtrak, the stimulus monies have nothing to do with the Surfliners or this incident.
Amtrak cannot use the stimulus monies on a state sponsored service.
The passengers didn't even get their money back. They should all get a lifetime pass on Amtrak.
I used to commute from LA to San Diego every Friday. I have been stranded on broken-down trains for over 3 hours several times. The most galling part is, there's no accountability whatsoever. Amtrak is this weird government-subsidized pseudo-company, and when I asked a conductor one evening, as we sat silent on the tracks at 2:30 in the morning awaiting a rescue engine, how they could continue to let this happen, he said, "Well, the government doesn't give us enough money to actually repair or replace the engines, so we fix 'em up and send 'em out and hope they don't break again. But they do."
Upset about it? Thinking customer service will be reasonable and refund your ticket price or the cost of a cab, when you get in after the Metro is shut down? Think again. I was told to call my congressperson and tell them to ask for more money.
I am pro-train - I use the Metro almost every day and drive maybe once a week - but Amtrak has a lot of room for improvement.
Buy a car. an SUV. a diesel guzzling dually with a 40 foot trailer. its the american way.
I have received word that this incident happened on a single-tracked section of the LOSSAN corridor so that no trains could have possibly passed 571 during the time passengers were trapped on the train.
Thoughts?