Passenger Trains > Amtrak Boarding Rules

An interesting article from VOX news.  My take away is the comment that Amtrak rules inconsistency has two sources; decentralization of Mangment authority in Amtrak.  That and the inertia of the Labor status quo.  An interesting dichotomy, the former is more a 21st century Management idea; give the front line workers more authority to fix problems.  But it's combined with a mid-20th century Labor thought process of not changing work roles or rules.  Looks like a perfect storm for the situations described in the article.

https://www.vox.com/2018/12/4/18123624/amtrak-boarding-rules-union-station-dc
 

Empowering employees to do the right thing for customers has to be coupled with meaningful incentives for employees.

Just showing a video or announcing the hundredth new program doesn't work.

Measuring a significant number of customer experiences is key to a good rewards system.

Posted from Android

https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?4,4681970

Just a headline correction. VOX is a hard slant opinion page.
I wouldn't qualify VOX as news.
 

Neither article mentions what I think is a primary reason for all the queuing even out here in the west -- crew convenience -- it's easier to make everyone line up before boardng and lift tickets rather than roam the trian after departure. Just my observation.

ChessieSystem Wrote:
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> Just a headline correction. VOX is a hard slant
> opinion page.
> I wouldn't qualify VOX as news.
> 

Agreed.  Vox  has provocative click bait titles and opinions, but additional points of view are often needed.

 

The last time I rode Amtrak on a ticket my ticket was never lifted.  The conductor came into the car I was seated in and looked around said nothing and went back the way she came in.  Wasn’t really a problem for Amtrak, I paid my fare and threw the ticket away when I got home.

Are there enough stowaways or folks requesting a refund of uncollected tickets to really justify the lineups these days?

If not lifted, either the conductor auto-lifted everyone on his device or else, no AGR points, as you were automatically deemed a no-show after 2 or 3 stations or 60 or 90 minutes (I don't know exactly). 

OliveHeights Wrote:
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> The last time I rode Amtrak on a ticket my ticket
> was never lifted.  The conductor came into the
> car I was seated in and looked around said nothing
> and went back the way she came in.  Wasn’t
> really a problem for Amtrak, I paid my fare and
> threw the ticket away when I got home.
>
> Are there enough stowaways or folks requesting a
> refund of uncollected tickets to really justify
> the lineups these days?

I've experienced a similar situation on the California Zephyr when they were boarding passengers, the conductor called out the two names of the persons booked in the sleeper. After coming forward and boarding the train they never asked or scanned my ticket.

ChessieSystem Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Just a headline correction. VOX is a hard slant
> opinion page.
> I wouldn't qualify VOX as news.
>  
Rather than post this snarky comment, why not point out where in this article the opinions are not supported by facts.

Article states Amtrak is afraid people will board the wrong train if allowed on the platform without a queue.

When we were in England for the first time, we ride a lot of trains and simply paid attention to what train is
on what platform, and asked questions when unsure.  What is so much more difficult about WASH or PENN?

WrongWayMurphy Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Article states Amtrak is afraid people will board
> the wrong train if allowed on the platform without
> a queue.
>
> When we were in England for the first time, we
> ride a lot of trains and simply paid attention to
> what train is
> on what platform, and asked questions when unsure.
>  What is so much more difficult about WASH or
> PENN?
Riding various Amtrak regions, my thoughts that the TRUE issue is Chicago.  Crews based in other regions
seem friendlier and more "with-it" when it comes to service.  How is it that the Cascade service can have 
an individual mannign the buffet counter all day, where on Trains 5/6 (CZ)( they have to close it for
at least 1 1/2 hours during peak lunch hours?

People do not want to be responsible for their own actions and would rather blame someone else for their screwup. Can't get their noses out of the phone long enough to see if they are walking on the platform or down the middle of the track.


WrongWayMurphy Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Article states Amtrak is afraid people will board
> the wrong train if allowed on the platform without
> a queue.
>
> When we were in England for the first time, we
> ride a lot of trains and simply paid attention to
> what train is
> on what platform, and asked questions when unsure.
>  What is so much more difficult about WASH or
> PENN?

Not that this justifies the policies, but I have always thought that the real reason for these queues was to limit the number of deadbeats scamming a free ride to Stamford or BWI or wherever. Nothing to prevent them from doing so in the other direction, of course, and still fairly easy to bypass the queue and sneak on at NYP or WAS, but I think Amtrak fears that the floodgates would open if the gate dragons were eliminated. There is currently just the right amount of drama and deterrence to scare off folks who don’t need one more arrest, even knowing that the crews would rather just boot them off at the next stop than delay the train for a police collar. Seems to me that a better solution would be to have Amtrak cops randomly ride trains in and out of busy stations and do en-route processing.

As long Amtrak offers far less inconvenience than air travelers have to suffer, it has little incentive to change.

The platforms at NY Penn can already be a mess when an incoming NJT and an outgoing NJT are sharing the same platform. The narrow platforms, stairs, and one way escelators aren't designed to handle 2,000 people in a few minutes.  Been there, done that.

The platform capacity won't meaningfully change, although some Grand Central Terminal ramps would be nice.