An Amtrak train left DC without any of its passengers because of their famously dumb boarding procedure where they don’t let you wait on the platform.
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incredible that the train crew were just like "oh huh I guess no one booked the train today, that seems normal"
this is like actively the nightmare I have every time I board Amtrak lol
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Amtrak is run like it's still in the 1900s.
There was a dude doing manual seat assignments with paper and pencil.
It's dumb, but wasn't there staff around to see that the gate wasn't open? There's usually someone at the gate to check tickets before you get on the platform.
This happens all the time. Just last week at Moynihan Train Station, I experienced it firsthand. Amtrak's management and service are horrible along the NEC. And when there's such a fine line between ignorance and sabotage, you can't help but wonder if they're doing it on purpose.
Odd because at Union Station in DC nobody comes "down" to board. The trains are at the same level as the station.
Had this happen once but I just found an open door and went to my track. Snuck thru
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Waiting in a "lounge" to board an Amtrak train from Chicago to Seattle with a reserved bedroom. Missing the train means waiting until tomorrow and living without the bedroom because they are all reserved in advance. My husband is disabled and can't walk to the platform. We are
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Closing up your shop early because a bunch of customers are waiting at your front door
My back still aches from the NE regional, I swear. 30 years later.
While we dream of building high-speed rail in the U.S., we still enforce a boarding process designed for 1950s commuter lines. America’s rail problem isn’t just infrastructure—it’s systems thinking.
I don't get this. In one hand, you go to the platform to board when they call in DC. This might have been unclear to new passengers. On the other, conductors are usually on top of who is boarding at a station. I don't get why they would have left without that many passengers
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This is classic Amtrak. They purposely make you wait away from the track to avoid rush at the platforms. A conductor is supposed to lead you to the train. Looks like someone was absent from their job!
bruh what how do you leave all your passengers. Somebody’s job is on the line
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A while back I needed to get to BWI. I knew there was a train from DC to Baltimore with a stop at the airport. I bought a ticket at the counter. The clerk was joking with her co-workers the entire time, barely looking at the screen. I politely asked her to, please, make sure the
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Every American should take Amtrak and experience it for themselves.
i'm a frequent train commuter... you won't believe at the level of stupidity you will often encounter on train rides.
their favorite trick seems to be making passengers wait for the train doors to open in freezing temps. 
The wealthiest nation in the world and our rail system is archaic and undeserving the public. Maybe Elon Musk can build a national high speed rail system that offers affordable fairs.
I’ve never enjoyed an experience on Amtrak, awful customer service is an understatement
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Amtrak did apologise for what it calls a “miscommunication” and said it would reimburse for hotels, food and for the price of the ticket for the trip.
and they want Billions to keep the system afloat. No wonder the majority of Americans do not want to ride the train.
I don’t know what’s going on but people are far dumber than they were before Covid
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If you’re dumb enough to wait for Amtrak to tell you when to board you deserve to be left behind
Imagine this happening in Japan. So many would resign in shame. Not even sure if anyone will be reprimanded in this case.
Whenever people push for trains, I can't help but think it will be like this one day.
Impossible. Mayor Butt assured us that he has fixed our transportation systems. He performed his duties flawlessly according to him. Every dime accounted for. Every system improved. Gaslighting Buttijuice.
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Further confirmation that our passenger train service in this country needs to be privatized.
Yes this is ridiculously funny. But underneath the irony lies a deep dark monster of government's chilling incompetence.
C'mon man !!! Is everyone now just stupid as a default ? Inexcusable incompetence. This wouldn't happen if people cared or thought about their jobs. Someone would have noticed something wrong.
What was the conductor doing? Taking a shit? Smoking a joint? Sleeping? Getting a quick beej? NO ONE CAN DO THEIR FUCKING JOBS ANYMORE.
There is no need for this money losing joke. Amtrak needs to go away.
They need to just let people wait on the platform. Slightly widen them if needed. I've been on regional trains in half a dozen other countries and none of them have this dumb policy.
Amtrak boarding procedures are so crazy inefficient. Can't wait on the platform, no level platforms, need to sit in a specific car. On the aecla/NEC those last two aren't really problems but on the long-haul and medium-haul trips they add minutes to boarding at every single stop
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If one runs a passenger train service, it seems like getting passengers on the train and then taking them to their destination is pretty close to 100% of the job.
Oh my god I had a nightmare Amtrak experience last night as well! The train didn’t show up, gets delayed 90 minutes, and then left 10 minutes early as I got to the station.
It was 15 degrees out but they expected us to wait outside on the train platform in MA at 8 PM
Amtrak: “On Dec. 26, Amtrak train 66 traveling from Roanoke, Va., to New York departed Washington Union Station before all passengers were able to board. Amtrak sincerely apologies for the miscommunication that resulted in customers missing their train.… 1/2
Amtrak, do better. France. Where your car will be located is marked on the platform. Few minutes before arrives, you are allowed in. Board the train and within a few minutes on your way.
I take the train frequently. Each time I board it feels like the first time Amtrak has ever boarded a train.
Had a similar experience in NY - huge line waiting to board, no one allowed on the platform until the train has arrived. Crowd slowly filing down the stairs while the conductor runs around yelling at people that the train is leaving in 2 min as they set foot onto the platform.
I’ve watched gates open, no announcements happen, people wandering around, wondering when it was time to board and then having to rush to the train. The agents are hanging out, conductors just kind of wandering. A lot of apathy, particularly at that location.
Sometimes the people assigned don't show up and nobody notices, like when a Secret Service agent didn't show up in Butler. Maybe that's what happened with Amtrak.
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Amtrak doesn't let you wait for the train on the platform....the very thing you have to do at the Metro station in the same building. Make it make sense
I’m glad I wasn’t there that day, I use that station often. I agree with the not waiting on the platform, but maybe they could let everyone out earlier and have more calls.
This is the sort of thing that needs to be referred to for review by Congress.
Shouldn't it have been obvious to the driver that something was wrong?
Or do they often have literally no one board the train in Washington DC?
Here is a little ‘secret’ for you guys at DC union station. find a “redcap” in the concourse, up front give them a GOOD tip to help you with your bag(s), and you will be on the platform before anyone and will get choice seats 
Had near similar at kgx - i always board as soon as the train board lights up. They left it late to put the platform up, we left with loads of people still walking up the platform shouting at the train
Don’t the announce the train before it comes in? Here in the UK you can see well ahead of departure time what platform it’s on. The train then sits at the platform for 5-10 minutes or so before departing on time. The train gets their early. 
Even the metro north runs more smoothly than this. I was shocked last time I took Amtrak since there was barely any time to get on.
I have had this happen at San Diego on the Surfliner. Next train was 2 hours later. America needs to learn that people should be able to access platforms whenever they want to not when some random person decides to let them (at a time chosen at random).
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Did no one let them go to the platform? If they got the text, why didn't they go down? We don't have this problem in St. Paul.
It seems like it left because there was no communication between the station and the train.
Sounds about right…! Nearly missed a VRE the other day bc it said it was ready to board, but no one at the gate seemed to know it was there or where I should go…? 
In Philly you stand on the platform about 5 mins before the train pulls in. I’ve never understood why not in DC as well
I live in a country that takes trains and public transport seriously and whenever a person in the US expresses doubt about trains, I have to remember this may be the sort of service they’re picturing
So the conductor didn’t notice the lack of any passengers on the train? I’m sorry but am I missing something?
When traveling it’s always so easy to figure out a new countries public transportation system. Here we fail at our own. Plus ours is gross.
Business trip coming up? Don’t let your ride smell like yesterday’s lunch! Just ask Tina, who learned the hard way.
Before you book that rideshare, check out AutoRentals! We’ve got clean, fresh rides ready to make your trip smooth and stink-free.
And this is why we ditched Amtrak and drove the 4.5 hours from DC to NYC this year.
Millions of Europeans take trains every day, from local trains to high speed trains. It's not that difficult.
Great (and sad) example of managing for the parts and not the system.
