St. Paul-Minneapolis — Local services in Saint Paul

Expected more Rode the Empire Builder from St. Paul, MN to Seattle, WA Oct 18-20. My wife and I purchased tickets to the sleeper car. It was cramped, which was expected, however the beds were horrible. There was a tiny 2" pad that was a whooping 20"W x 70"L. Our car was near the front and every time the train goes across an intersection...the horn blows (which I can understand...just makes it hard to sleep).

The scenery was nice. You don't hit much beauty until Glacier National Park (far west Montana). That is around 9pm-ish, so you'll miss it if you book in any months other than June or July.

Food was about a 7/10 in the dining car. It was all included with the purchase of the dining car. The menu is pretty basic (eggs and omelets for breakfast, burgers for lunch, typical dinner food). You could tell it was ready made and designed to be served fast...hurts the quality.

Now, for the not-so-pleasant. The service was horrible. We had Gul as our attendee, and he was nice. Rose and Fran (both workers) on the other hand had attitudes right from the start. The way they spoke to, and treated, those on the train was unacceptable. Coming from a customer service background with a large organization, if I saw my employees treat customers like that, they would be removed immediately. On the last day during breakfast, Rose was on her phone while guests were waiting to be seated. When we asked about being seated (which we paid for) she had an attitude. Rose didn't take my drink order, as she did the others at my table, and when I spoke up, she replied "don't have an attitude, you don't need to be talk'n to me like that." She later tried to apologize to me through my wife, but the damage was done. Customer service sucks on the Empire Builder.

The train splits in Spokane, WA. One half goes to Portland and the other Seattle (which we were on). Well, when we could FINALLY see scenery, there was no way to...the observation car went with the other train. Imagine being on a train for 38 hours hoping to see beauty, and when you can, they take it away. Frustrating.

Homeless. They don't check tickets nor is there any security measures in place. We had a couple people openly tell everyone that they just hop on and hop off whenever. Now, I paid $700 for two people to go one-way, and I hear that Amtrak allows (or just ignores) homeless people getting off and on whenever they please.

Security - there is none. Bring what you want on board and nothing ever gets checked.

Overall, I would not book again. It was a trip I was really looking forward to, however I now understand why the Amtrak is losing so much money each year and on the...

1. Amtrak is not on Priror ave, or on Transfer Rd

2. Amtrak is at the St Paul Union Station where it belongs.

3. No, the Parking is NOT Free, no Downtown Railway Station has Free Parking.

4. No Airport has Free Parking.there is a drop off area. Read the sign. just off Kelloge Av

5. There are no red caps, for 2 train a day? even the Airports has never had red caps at the gates. I've never seen a greater at the Airport when landing. what is so different about Amtrak?.

6a) The Rest Rooms at the Union Station are cleaned like 3x per-day. Yet, its hard when people are slobs.

b) Its hard to keep cleaning the Washrooms on the Train. when if 2 people, are slobs...

7. No, the Meals are NOT free. their prices is rather reasonable, and one must set as an Community.and there is a cafe car.

8. hay even the Amish has sat as an Community. Matter of fact. I found those guys to have rather Interesting chats. and I found the Amish to be polite when they, must meet their wives. I rather chat with the Amish guys, vs paying extra for the Internet. One can get on the Internet at home. very rare can you chat with the Amish on the Amtrak.

9. If you have a Sleeper. yes, if too Expensive. then fine, go in Coach. plenty of people travel coach.

10. Amtrak is a Passenger Train. Amtrak is not a Bus. all-though, Maga Bus is express..

11. Yes, Amtrak Runs late, due to the Fright Traffic out West. instead of complaining. call the 800 number and get a text message. Amtrak is not the Airlines. therefore, why are you in a hurry?

12. Amtrak can not arrive at an Convenient time in all towns and cities.

13a) It would be rather Expensive to offer High Speed Internet. However, there are ways to have limited via your smart phones. I, myself travel by Amtrak to get away from the Ridiculous extra fees for those that want it.for free.

b) Speaking of which. Hotels are starting to charge for the Wireless Internet.

c) Is their Hi Speed Internet on Airplanes. yes, Limited, but for a price. Therefore, if enough demand. then market the Airlines to what they charge for the internet.

d) Its all self Initiative. Password. and CC ...

What an absolute joke. If I could give 0/5 stars, I would. We will never be using Amtrak ever again.

My wife and I recently took the Amtrak roundtrip to Chicago from St. Paul/Minneapolis, and on BOTH trips (several days apart), the Amtrak trains were 4-5 hours late each. We were both notified about these delays only an hour in advance via the Amtrak mobile app, and both times after we arrived at the St. Paul and Chicago Union Depots, the trains were then delayed even further (1 extra hour in St. Paul and 3 additional hours in Chicago). Both times, not so much as even an apology was issued by Amtrak or any of the employees or train personnel. No acknowledgement whatsoever.

Maybe we haven't ridden enough trains, or maybe we're just used to being on time while flying, but it's insane to me that this level of delay can be considered "normal", with not even so much as an apology, let alone a refund or voucher of some kind. I understand that things come up that are beyond the railroad company's control, but multiple trains to be delayed over 5 hours each with no explanation at all is completely ridiculous. What's the point in paying hundreds of dollars for these services if you're just going to be treated like cattle and pulled around with zero notice whenever the railroad company feels like it?

The entire point of using Amtrak for us was to avoid having to drive to Chicago, but in the end, it would have been faster and more affordable to just drive there ourselves.

No wonder railroad companies are going downhill so fast and employees are leaving at record rates. If you respect your time money, and energy, do not use Amtrak. If being several hours late doesn't bother you, ride at your own risk and be prepared to sit and wait for 5+ hours in addition to your actual train ride. There is no case where Amtrak is worth it and we will not be using Amtrak's...