Under the policy, any dissatisfied passenger need only voice a complaint to an Amtrak employee. The certificate will be good toward future Amtrak travel for 18 months, and its value will match the cost of the unsatisfactory trip. But about one in 356 riders sought a refund, against the agency's goal of no more than one per 1,000. The timing is as interesting as the offer is bold. Amtrak officials have reasons for optimism.
Bookings are up nationwide.
Amtrak officials consider a long haul like the 1,389-mile Coast Starlight on time if it reaches the end of the line within 30 minutes of its published schedule. On shorter routes like the Pacific Surfliner, the cutoff is 10 minutes past scheduled arrival. In preparation for the new program, Amtrak officials say all 25,000 of the system's employees received training aimed at encouraging personal initiative in passenger service. But the agency still faces substantial hurdles. Its biggest scheduling complication is that Amtrak owns just 750 miles of the 22,000 miles of track its trains travel nationwide.