Amtrak needs DOGE to review its operations for the good of its employees and the tax-payers who fund it.
For the last two decades, I have been advised not to fly. Something having to do with inner-ear issues and pressure. After a lifetime of flying on just about every aircraft out there, I will say I truly don’t miss it.
The main reason being that when I need to travel a great distance – be it across the country or across oceans – I have substituted trains and cruise ships as my modes of transportation. Oftentimes, both can be a serious upgrade over air travel when it comes to comfort, civility, and class.
Unfortunately, that does not usually apply to Amtrak. Far from it in many cases. I say that as one who loves the carrier – or at least the concept of the carrier – and its stated goals.
AMTRAK APOLOGIZES AFTER STRANDING 110 PASSENGERS
Over the last two decades, I have literally taken just about every Amtrak train out there on just about every route. Be it regional; up and down the coasts; or cross-country. Over that time span, I have also gotten to know quite a few of the employees. A number of whom stay in touch with me on a regular basis. Some have become friends.
Those who do stay in touch with me reach out in private to complain about the “culture” of Amtrak; the “corruption” within the system; the left-leaning “politicization” of the company; and the growing lack of respect for the passengers.
Now, some might assert that “corruption” is a strong word. It may not be strong enough in many cases. Just as one example, for instance, back in 2012, The New York Times shockingly reported that in just one ten-year period Amtrak “lost” over $800 million in food. Or well over $80 million per year. Those are not typos.
According to multiple reports, over $800 million in food was lost to employee theft or gross mismanagement. Keep in mind that number would be well over one billion dollars today. Just in food.
Sadly, that same theft and mismanagement is going on today. Aside from food, it has been reported that hundreds of thousands to millions in equipment and funds have been “disappeared” from the company. Of course, any theft from Amtrak is really theft from the American taxpayer. From you.
To be clear, many of the Amtrak employees are exceptional workers who truly do love caring for and interacting with the passengers. Unfortunately, there are far too many in the company in every single department and position who want to do the bare minimum and couldn’t care less about the passengers or their needs.
Multiple dedicated employees have told me that these bad employees only care about “their salaries, getting their pensions, and how much they can game the system.” I would have to second that assessment based on my years of watching certain employees do as little – or nothing – for the passengers as possible.
Usually, one can find these uncaring and self-centered employees gathered in the café car “hiding” from the passengers who need them while they gossip, eat, and constantly check their phones. As but another example of this behavior, the sleeper car attendants were supposed to make fresh coffee for the passengers – who pay a great deal of money for those private cabins – every morning. Many did. Some simply refused.
Twice in recent years I asked the cabin attendant if he was supposed to be making coffee for the passengers. Both times I was told “yes.” When I asked why he was not doing it he literally answered: “Because I didn’t feel like doing it. If you want a coffee, you can walk down to the cafe car and get it yourself.”
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Today, I can tell you that paying for a private cabin in an Amtrak train can cost upwards of a few thousand dollars depending upon when you get it. Dramatically more than what you would pay for a cabin in a true luxury train in Europe. And I can also tell you that you would be getting drastically less for your money than years and decades ago.
Back then, private Amtrak cabins came with televisions, a sound system with multiple channels, and luxury items in the cabin. As I type this now, I am sitting in a private Amtrak cabin – in a train that is seven hours late and counting. Gone are the TV’s, the sound system and the luxury items.
What I have instead is a pull-down bed that is broken off its rails; a broken folding table; no hot water from the hot water spigot in my sink; and a temperature control for the cabin which does not work. All for a fee that is more than most Americans earn in a week.
There are many good, dedicated, and truly decent employees at Amtrak. Many who consistently go above and beyond for the passengers. Unfortunately, they work for a taxpayer-funded “corporation” that is rotten to the core in so many ways. A corporation which has wasted or stolen billions over the years and should be “DOGED” as soon as possible for the good of the passengers, the American taxpayers, and those incredibly decent employees.