Erica R.
Yelp
I was excited to take the Amtrak on a recent mini-vacation to Boston, having had good luck when traveling via Amtrak between Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver, BC on the West Coast. My plan was to take the #448 straight up from Albany to Boston's South Station on 1 August 2013...then take the #449 back to Albany on the 4th. Easy enough, right? Ugh, if only.
I woke up on the morning of the 1st to a text from Amtrak to say that my train's departure had been delayed for about two hours...and for "late operations." Um...well, not helpful, but fine. I don't have much choice at this point, do I.
I get to the station at the time I had originally planned anyway, thinking I'll catch-up on some work while waiting for the train. I'm the type that likes to be early, and I figure I can stay up to date on the train status best while AT the station. The problem? The train KEPT getting delayed. Ultimately, we were supposed to leave at 3:25pm from Albany and didn't END UP leaving until 7:10pm. Nearly 4 hours late! The friend I had been planning to visit in Boston? Yeah, he shuffled around plans for the night, managed to get a car (he doesn't own one, but subscribes to Boston's Zip cars), and pick me up from the station when I finally managed to arrive around midnight.
Did I mention that the train went complete past the Worchester, MA station? Because they did. Amtrak personnel made the call for the station, and then the train just COMPLETELY went past it. The train had to then reverse BACK to the Worchester Station to let folks off...and then we could, ya know, finally move forward again. Add that to the delay.
Perhaps this review is more about Amtrak operations (or even Lake Shore Limited operations) than the Albany-Rensselaer Station, but I figure this station has part in the operations for the route. I didn't feel especially well-informed by any station personnel, for example, about what was going on with the train...and the status boards only listed approximately how late the train was (not when they expected it to arrive, depart, or what platform it would be available from).
I'll use this station again as a last resort...but I won't ever expect to take the #448 to Boston again. The #449 back? Sure, I'd consider it, because THAT train was even half an hour early back to Albany from Boston. That said, I'll find a different train to Boston itself...and probably leave from a different station entirely. My experience at this station was just way too inefficient, ineffective, and just generally unpleasant.