The premise seems simple, according to by amtrak website: “Instead of being stuck in traffic on I-95, you and your vehicle can be picked up on an Automated Train.”
Pack your car with everything you need for a vacation, drive to automatic train station in Lorton, Virginia (near Washington, DC), for an overnight trip to Sanford, Florida (near Orlando), and that’s it — you save 900 driving miles on the 17-and-a-half-hour trip.
Sounds great… until this week Nightmare Auto Train.
Passengers who departed Lorton on Monday at 5 p.m. didn’t arrive in Sanford until Wednesday at 6 a.m. — 20 hours late.
In total, they spent 37 hours stranded on the train, with 17 hours of delays, mostly in South Carolina, following an earlier derailment elsewhere on the line.
Reports of people and pets being unable to get off planes, passengers calling 911 to say they were being held hostage and a delayed two-day pizza delivery went viral in the news. .
Here’s what we know so far about the incident, as well as information about train passenger rights.
What happened?
Amtrak’s overnight automated train is en route from Virginia to Florida. However, according to Kimberly Woods, senior public relations manager for Amtrak: “The Amtrak Automated Train was delayed significantly due to a CSX freight derailment in South Carolina. trip.”
Although news agencies have reported on numerous passenger complaints including a lack of communication and accessibility to outdoor spaces, Amtrak insists that “Customers are provided with regular updates , along with meals, snack and beverage packages. Complementary food from local businesses along the route are also provided during the trip. The staff on board worked with the owner owning pets to provide bathroom respite.”
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What rights do train passengers in the US have?
We hate to be the bearers of bad news, but as you may have surmised, there are no passenger protections when traveling by rail in the United States.
Like Europe Flight Compensation Law EU261, most European countries offer immediate compensation for railway delays. Eg, In Germanya delay of only 60 minutes starts the monetary compensation process.
The US Department of Transportation recently established new policies for US airlines to make it easier for passengers to receive Refunds for delayed flights. However, the department has yet to take similar actions on rail travel.
Amtrak must work to compensate passengers involved in this week’s train accident. We have reached out to the company for details on its compensation plan for the passengers involved but have yet to hear back as of midday on Wednesday.
Who manages Amtrak?
There will be a simple answer for Amtrak modders, but it’s a bit cloudy.
In 2015, in a Supreme Court case involving Amtrak and freight trains, Judge Anthony Kennedy wrote in the majority opinion, “Amtrak was created by the government, by the government. controlled and operated for the benefit of the government.”
In addition, DOT monitors passenger rail service. However, according to the DOT, Amtrak is run as a for-profit company with the United States Secretary of Transportation (currently Pete Buttigieg) holds a seat on the 10-person board.
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