Rochester — Attraction in City of Rochester

03/16/25 taking the Maple Leaf 64 to NYC. Power lines fell on the tracks outside ROC blocking the 64, 63 and 281 for nearly 12 hours.

Why is my rating so low? The station staff are incompetent morons who couldn't manage that situation any worse if they tried.

They strongly urged passengers to stay on the platform and basically kept us there the first two hours saying we'd "miss our train" if we left to go inside. Mind you, it's proper pissing it down with a full torrential downpour.

At this point I'd like to give my kudos to the staff, conductors and engineers aboard the 63 and (eventually) 281 who offered to let passengers for the 64 use their restrooms, wait in the carriages and buy food from the cafe car. They were also, I'd like to add, the only reputable source of information about the situation. They gave no bullshit, told us what they knew and didn't try and fool us with false ETAs.

The station staff? Well they basically said "30-35 more minutes" every time we asked. Made no announcements over the PA or to the passengers about the situation and essentially tried to spend as little time in public areas as possible.

My grandmother and I left at 11:30. I had to scour Reddit to learn the train came at 12:40 nearly TWELVE hours after it's scheduled arrival (1:30).

I'd like to add I'm not pissed about the delay. Shit happens it's not like anyone knew the wind would knock several power lines onto the tracks.

I'm PISSED about the staff who lied to and avoided stranded passengers and who essentially kept everyone in the dark for hours while they twiddled...

BEWARE OF CAR THEFT! My car was left overnight in Rochester and when I came back it was gone!! Amtrak personnel (older balding guy) did nothing and told me, "This has never happened here before, even in the old place. Call the police." That was it. A younger kid, Chris, took total control over the situation and was extremely helpful assisting the police officer with surveillance tapes. He was kind, considerate, and empathetic to our situation. He deserves a promotion as his customer service skills shine!! The other guy, fire! Not enough cameras. Train was an hour late leaving and hour and a half coming back. Personnel at the Niagara Falls station were less than helpful relating delay information. We did not know the train coming in was coming from Canada and needed to go through a customs check upon arrival. We were all waiting by the door to load train, and some "worker" told us, "You might as well sit down it is going to be a while yet since they have to clear the train." He was rude and acted as if we were supposed to know. An off duty staff member was there talking to the girl on duty and looking at cell phone the whole time we were delayed. No communication or updates given the 1.5 hour delay. I had to look it up on my phone while waiting!! Not a great first train ride experience!! May...

We were told to be there 1 hour prior to departure. The train was scheduled for 5:16 AM and we were there prior to 4:00 AM. There is no agent present until 5:00 AM and no access to the lobby or anything. It was complete waste of our time with absolutely nothing to do. The rest rooms were absolutely filthy and the dirtiest we had ever seen. There are absolutely no instructions or directions of where you should go, no information whatsoever and no phone number or other emergency information displayed for the public. Many others kept asking if this was the Amtrak station because of the lack of signage. The waiting area for the train departure is a joke. There is only a cover overhead and absolutely no protection from the elements on the sides. Thank fully we departed on a good day. This will be our first and our last trip on Amtrak and we certainly would never recommend the Rochester, NY location as we would consider it a complete embarrassment for our city. The Amtrak station at Rochester, New York was just...