Amtrak’s Wolverine service in Michigan, which runs between Chicago and Pontiac through Detroit, has not been doing very well lately. There have been reports of breakdowns, cancellations, and other problems on the line, including with new engines that recently entered service. For a group of about 30 blind and otherwise sight-impaired campers, the train trip they never took turned out to be a worse ordeal than they would have found if that train had run.
The Lions’ Club, a charity that often helps blind and sight-impaired persons, had sponsored a “winter camp” near Battle Creek. Most of the campers were also seniors and had come from Detroit for the event. On Sunday, February 8, the group was booked to go home on Train 350, which was due to leave Battle Creek at 10:56 a.m. for the 2½-hour ride to Detroit. Instead it broke down. The next scheduled train was No. 352, due to leave at 6:03 p.m. Rita Ulcinaite reported for WXYZ: “Travellers say they were initially told 5 buses would arrive to take them to their stops, but hours later, only 1 bus came. ‘The driver basically was concerned that we were not going to have enough room for everybody. And in fact, there was not room for everyone,’ said Roger Bosse, administrator for Winter Camp for the Blind. A blind man with his service dog and others had to be left behind and were driven home personally by camp volunteers and staff, like Bosse. Other travelers had to be dropped off at stations that could not accommodate those with disabilities.” Ulciniate reported that Amtrak offered an apology and a refund, but also reported that Bosse said, “Nobody deserves to have to go through that, especially if you have a disability.”
On Wednesday, February 12, an advocate known as joemvcnj posted this on trainorders.com: “They should be writing to the entire Michigan Congressional delegation about treatment of passengers, especially these. Amtrak will not improve unless and until Mich-DOT says game over—you have 180 days, then we are obtaining new Prevost buses and gifting them to Indian Trails. Management by intimidation is unpleasant but necessary with [the] recalcitrant high school sophomores that passes for Amtrak management.”
Another advocate, known as Lackawanna484, responded this way: “I doubt the Micigan congressional delegation or state legislature would get actively engaged without a coordinated pressure campaign. When Conrail’s passenger service in NJ was at its nadir (trains derailed while stopped, one day when all NY&LB trains were late, etc.) a small group of angry commuters started handing out flyers with the names and phone numbers of local and county politicians. The organization grew, and they elected several county freeholders, town council members. And began to lay siege to the state assembly etc. reps. And won seats. Took about 3 years, but an initially well-funded state rail and bus passenger agency came out of it. Michigan can do the same, but it will take a coordinated effort.” The NY&LB was the New York & Long Branch; now NJ Transit’s North Jersey Coast Line.
If you have heard that story before, you shouldn’t be surprised. It’s how NJ Transit got started.
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