Missed train because of Amtrak employee

Hey! My name is Daniel.

I’m not sure if this is the right place to post this, but I need some advice.

I was supposed to take the Amtrak 3 Southwest Chief to Los Angeles this afternoon, but I missed my train because of conflicting information from Amtrak staff.

Here’s what happened: I arrived at the station around 1:40 p.m. I was a little late because I had received a notification from Amtrak saying that the train would not depart until 2:00 p.m.

I went to the ticket office and asked whether I needed to do anything with my luggage. The man at the ticket office told me that, just to make sure it was not oversized, I should ask someone to check it. I then asked an employee in the lobby, who measured my luggage using the metal sizing frame and told me that I did not need to do anything else because it complied with Amtrak’s baggage policy.

When the train arrived, I was heading toward the platform when another employee started yelling that anyone with large luggage had to pay the oversized baggage fee. She checked my bag again and said that because the wheels stuck out a little, I had to pay the fee. I tried to explain that another employee had already checked my bag and told me it was fine, but she did not seem to care.

The problem was that downstairs, right before accessing the platforms, they only accepted physical debit or credit cards. They did not accept contactless payments or cash. I did not have a physical debit card with me, so she told me to go back upstairs to the ticket office and pay the fee in cash.

I went back to the ticket office, paid the fee, and returned to the platform, but another employee then told me that the train had already departed and that I needed to go back to the ticket office for a solution.

When I returned to the ticket office, the only option they offered me was to take the same train tomorrow. I asked whether they could provide a hotel voucher, since I missed the train because of the situation caused by their employees, but they said that was not possible.

There are no hostels available in the city tonight, and hotels seem to cost at least $200. Should Amtrak have offered me a hotel voucher or some kind of compensation in this situation?

Any suggestions on where I could spend the night tonight?