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Angry Amtrak passengers arrive in New York 28 hours late

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Kate07
Feel better my little guy!

Member since 5/05

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Kate

Angry Amtrak passengers arrive in New York 28 hours late

December 31, 2005, 6:44 PM EST

NEW YORK (AP) _ Amtrak's Silver Meteor train arrived in New York from Florida more than 28 hours late on New Year's Eve, releasing more than 100 exhausted, hungry and angry passengers.

"I'm tired. I just want to sleep," said Jonathan Papik, 11, who was headed home to Long Island with his mother, Teresa Papik, after their marathon trip from Orlando, Fla. The train was idled in Jacksonville, Fla., for 12 hours while a derailed CSX freight train was removed.

Teresa Papik said the only free meal Amtrak offered them during the marathon delay was "a crappy sandwich, a can of soda and chips. No water. I'm starving."

The Silver Meteor pulled into New York's Pennsylvania Station at 11:24 a.m. Saturday _ more than two days after leaving Miami. A litany of complaints echoed through the station as passengers stepped off the escalator from the tracks below.

"Many people take the train because they're afraid of flying. Well, Amtrak made a lot of flyers out of a lot of people today," said Karen Chiel, who boarded the train in West Palm Beach, Fla., with her two young children, traveling in a sleeping car.

Some train cars ran out of toilet paper. "It was nasty. There was tissue everywhere," said Georgette Neal, heading home to Brooklyn after 47 hours on the tracks.

Amtrak said it was unfortunate the CSX freight derailment occurred along the main corridor between the Northeast and the Southeast regions.

"We were unable to take an alternate route," Amtrak spokeswoman Tracy Connell said. "We deeply regret the inconvenience to our passengers and the delay."

The Meteor left Miami just before 7 a.m. Thursday, picking up passengers in Orlando _ many of them children visiting Disney World. The train left Jacksonville at about 4 a.m. Friday but stopped again in a patch of forest outside Savannah, Ga., about two hours later.

The train initially was held because Amtrak expected the tracks to be open by midnight Thursday, Connell said. Instead, one of the two tracks reopened Friday at 7:30 a.m., the other at 12:30 p.m., CSX spokesman Gary Sease said.

The long wait in Jacksonville "was a nightmare. It was claustrophobic _ and I'm not a claustrophobic," said Chiel. The conductors "didn't let us know what was happening," she said.

Many passengers said they wanted full refunds, but the Amtrak spokeswoman had no comment on that. It costs from $100 to $200 per person to travel from Orlando to New York, depending on the seating class.

Others ran out of money to buy food, young children were cranky and scared and older people were concerned about running out of their medication, passengers said.

Copyright 2005 Newsday Inc.

Posted 12/31/05 8:56 PM
 
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Michi
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M

Re: Angry Amtrak passengers arrive in New York 28 hours late

thats is just horrible! I truly hope those passengers are compensated later on for all that inconvenience!!

Message edited 1/1/2006 11:24:03 AM.

Posted 1/1/06 11:23 AM
 

lvdolphins
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Re: Angry Amtrak passengers arrive in New York 28 hours late

Thats Terrible!Chat Icon

Posted 1/1/06 12:16 PM
 

BabyAvocado
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Re: Angry Amtrak passengers arrive in New York 28 hours late

Wow. That's horrible. My brother has taken Amtrak a bunch of times and they s u c k so bad. They have not been on time ONCE when he's taken them. And when I say late, I don't mean 15 - 30 mins. I mean HOURS. Usually they run 2 - 3 hours late.

Posted 1/1/06 12:19 PM
 

MrsERod
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Re: Angry Amtrak passengers arrive in New York 28 hours late

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Posted 1/1/06 12:23 PM
 

dooodles
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Re: Angry Amtrak passengers arrive in New York 28 hours late

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Posted 1/1/06 1:01 PM
 

DjPiLL

Member since 5/05

3664 total posts

Name:
Richard

Re: Angry Amtrak passengers arrive in New York 28 hours late

Posted by BabyAvocado

Wow. That's horrible. My brother has taken Amtrak a bunch of times and they s u c k so bad. They have not been on time ONCE when he's taken them. And when I say late, I don't mean 15 - 30 mins. I mean HOURS. Usually they run 2 - 3 hours late.





Yeah but again... was it an Amtrak train that derailed? Didn't the article say it was a freight train that derailed?

Not much you can blame Amtrak for in that case. Thats the risk you take when you don't fly and there is only one track going in each direction.

Posted 1/2/06 7:19 AM
 

DjPiLL

Member since 5/05

3664 total posts

Name:
Richard

Re: Angry Amtrak passengers arrive in New York 28 hours late

I took the LIRR in to DJ New Years eve in Manhattan. I am glad I left early because I was delayed at Rockville Center for over a half hour because a train broke down in front of us.

Now THAT i can blame the LIRR for because it was an LIRR train that broke down. I was almost late for my own gig.

Posted 1/2/06 7:20 AM
 

BabyAvocado
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Re: Angry Amtrak passengers arrive in New York 28 hours late

Posted by DjPiLL

Posted by BabyAvocado

Wow. That's horrible. My brother has taken Amtrak a bunch of times and they s u c k so bad. They have not been on time ONCE when he's taken them. And when I say late, I don't mean 15 - 30 mins. I mean HOURS. Usually they run 2 - 3 hours late.





Yeah but again... was it an Amtrak train that derailed? Didn't the article say it was a freight train that derailed?

Not much you can blame Amtrak for in that case. Thats the risk you take when you don't fly and there is only one track going in each direction.




No you're right - the freight train derailment really wasn't their fault. I just to advantage of the opportunity to comment the bad track record they have with my brother. But at the same time, the long delay really didn't surprise me.

Posted 1/2/06 7:33 AM
 
 

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