# Obtaining Current Train Status



## frugalist (Sep 21, 2010)

Is there a way to obtain the current status of a specific train via mobile texting?

I know I can call 1-800-USA-RAIL and go through the phone tree, speak or key my train number and date, and eventually get its current status. But many times it would be faster and more convenient to just key in something like "status 98" and send to something like "268725" (the numerical equivalent of "Amtrak" on my phone's old-fashioned alpha-numeric keypad).

I can get current weather for New York City by keying in "weather 10001" and sending it to 466453 (the numberical equivalent of "Google"). Same thing for current stock quotes, movie times, even airline flight status. It would be great if something like this were available for Amtrak train status. Here's a list of the search features available through Google SMS: http://www.google.com/mobile/products/sms.html#p=default

I have an old cell phone that I use mainly for emergencies. It does not have internet capabilites. Just voice and text. I would really appreciate this kind of service when I'm away from my computer and would like an update on a train's status.


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## dlagrua (Sep 21, 2010)

Train status can only be found online and also at stations with agents at the present time. If you are in need of train status and don't have a Blackberry or iPhone, make your way to a library in the area. Most often free wifi and computers are available to use.


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## Acela150 (Sep 21, 2010)

I agree it would be nice if someone could text "Status 174" to a number and get the most up to date info. But since you don't have a Blackberry or iPhone best way to tell is 1-800-usa-rail and do it through Julie. Or as dlagrua said goto a library.

Steve


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## MisterToad (Sep 21, 2010)

Now there is a way to get train status via text message. Text "amtrakstatus [train number] [station code]" to 41411. For example, to get the status of the southbound Coast Starlight in Portland, you would text "amtrakstatus 11 PDX" to 41411. You could also send "amtrakstatus PDX 11" - it will accept the train number and station code in either order.

When I saw this thread, I went looking for some kind of service that would allow me to respond to text messages, and I found a free service called TextMarks. I wrote a little PHP script that reads the train status from the Amtrak web site, and I setup my TextMarks account to call the script.

Disclaimers:


Any fees that you normally pay for text messaging will apply, but the TextMarks web site indicates that they do not charge any additional fees for the use of the service. I have tested it from my phone, and I haven't been charged anything (at least not yet).

I think I will be able to see the phone number of anyone who uses this amtrakstatus service. I will not use, sell, give away, or do any other nefarious deed with your number.


Limitations:


The status that you will receive from this service is straight from the Amtrak website, which as most of you probably know is not always accurate. For instance, today's train 11 arrived in Vancouver, WA 4 minutes late, but the status displayed on Amtrak's website is "Arrived: 7 minutes late." It actually *departed* 7 minutes late.

I currently only return the status for the current day.

If there is any interest in this service, I will consider fixing these limitations.

Please let me know what you think of it, especially if you have any problems.


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## frugalist (Sep 21, 2010)

WOW! What else can I say, but WOW!

MisterToad, this is the most remarkable response I could have ever imagined! In fact I didn't imagine that someone from the forum would jump right in and create a solution literally within minutes of my original post. I just tried it. Got a response within seconds that (as you indicated) matched what is reported on the Amtrak site.

A zillion thank yous and 4 thumbs up (counting my feet)!


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## Ryan (Sep 21, 2010)

Wow, that is awesome. Very very well done!


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## dlagrua (Sep 21, 2010)

Tried it and it worked perfectly. Thanks for developing a great program. It will come in handy.


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## leemell (Sep 21, 2010)

dlagrua said:


> Tried it and it worked perfectly. Thanks for developing a great program. It will come in handy.


It worked just fine, thank you very much. I will be using it seriously very soon.


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## City of Miami (Sep 21, 2010)

"_Sorry, this service is unavailable for your current service plan._" <_< That's return text I got.

It's a Net10 prepaid phone.


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## leemell (Sep 21, 2010)

City of Miami said:


> "_Sorry, this service is unavailable for your current service plan._" <_< That's return text I got.
> 
> It's a Net10 prepaid phone.


Mine worked OK, it is an AT&T prepaid Gophone. Sounds like you don't have text SMS as part of your plan.


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## frugalist (Sep 21, 2010)

I also use a GoPhone by AT&T. I've subscribed to a texting plan where I get a certain number of texts per month for a set fee that comes out of my prepaid balance every month.

City of Miami, do you pay a per-message fee with your phone? Are you possibly nearing a zero balance in your account? Trying to figure out why you would have a problem receiving the return message.


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## Tumbleweed (Sep 21, 2010)

Very cool!


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## MisterToad (Sep 21, 2010)

City of Miami said:


> "_Sorry, this service is unavailable for your current service plan._" <_< That's return text I got.
> 
> It's a Net10 prepaid phone.


I have prepaid phone service also, and it works fine for me. I searched the TextMarks support site and discussion forum to see if I could find anything specifically related to Net10, but my searches came up empty. Sorry it doesn't work for you.


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## rrdude (Sep 21, 2010)

Sweet dude! Kudo's to ya!


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## City of Miami (Sep 21, 2010)

I have plenty of minutes, MrToad. I have an email request for an explanation into Net10 right now - that works better than calling the Philippines! There is always the possibility that I'm messing something up - I am a beginner texter.


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## frugalist (Sep 21, 2010)

City of Miami said:


> I have plenty of minutes, MrToad. I have an email request for an explanation into Net10 right now - that works better than calling the Philippines! There is always the possibility that I'm messing something up - I am a beginner texter.


Maybe we can troubleshoot your problem together. Have you successfully sent and received text messages with this phone in the past?


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## Cristobal (Sep 21, 2010)

I likey. 

Works fine with my Verizon service and it comes just in time to keep track of the trains I'll be riding soon.

Thanks dude!


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## City of Miami (Sep 22, 2010)

Here's what Net10.com has to say to my inquiry:

Please note that NET10 Wireless does not generally participate in

Premium SMS services or campaigns. Premium SMS refers to activities that

usually involve sending a text message to a designated "short code".

Oh, well.....


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## rrdude (Sep 22, 2010)

Man, between AmSnag, the Amtrak Status Maps, and this text thingy, AUer's have got it covered.

What other cool "techno-thingys" am I missing out on, anyone?

?


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## City of Miami (Sep 22, 2010)

I didn't know about Amsnag, rrdude. Thanks for sharing......that'll save me a lot of clicking! :lol:


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## me_little_me (Sep 22, 2010)

MisterToad said:


> Now there is a way to get train status via text message....
> 
> When I saw this thread, I went looking for some kind of service that would allow me to respond to text messages, and I found a free service called TextMarks. I wrote a little PHP script that reads the train status from the Amtrak web site, and I setup my TextMarks account to call the script.


Amtrak is probably developing something similar. It will take them 12 years, cost $30M, work intermittently and only provide status of trains that arrived at least a week ago.

The airlines are also developing a system. However, it will always show the flight as on-time even if the plane should have arrived 3 hours ago.


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## frugalist (Sep 22, 2010)

Maybe MisterToad should offer to license his product to Amtrak at a steep discount --- say just $10 million.


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## BigRedEO (Sep 22, 2010)

I just tested it, too - and nice that uppercase or lowercase doesn't matter. I noticed it says "arrival" time for a departure time, so maybe Amtrak only lists estimated arrival times as opposed to departure times?


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## WMJ_NJ (Sep 22, 2010)

I tried sending "amtrakstatus 91 orl" and all it sent back to me was:

Train: 91

Station: ORL

Powered by Textmarks

m.textmarks.com

Msg&data rates may apply

*Limos.com, http://4in.fo/0mNUJQ

It turns out there was a service disruption. I tried others and they worked really well. Thanks to Mister Toad!!!

Bill J


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## Brandon V (Sep 22, 2010)

http://72.148.42.113:8080/Amtrak/status/StatusMaps/AmtrakStatusMaps.html


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## sportbiker (Sep 22, 2010)

Worked great for me-- it's now programmed in my iPhone. Thanks!!


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## MisterToad (Sep 22, 2010)

WMJ_NJ said:


> It turns out there was a service disruption. I tried others and they worked really well. Thanks to Mister Toad!!!


Thanks for letting me know about the issue with the service disruption. I'll fix it so it returns something more meaningful than nothing.


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## editordcf (Sep 24, 2010)

One thought. Great service, but is it possible to indicate arrival time instead of just how many minutes late? If you don't know the timetable, you don't know an arrival time.


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## MisterToad (Sep 27, 2010)

I've made some improvements to the service:


Arrival and departure information are both displayed, if available.

The actual or estimated time is displayed, in addition to the amount of time that the train is late or early. (Thanks to editordcf for the suggestion.) An estimated time will show *(est.)* after the time.

I'm calculating the amount of time that the train is late or early, rather than just using what Amtrak shows on their website, so it's accurate.  

Service disruptions and other anomalies should be handled now.


Please continue to let me know if you experience any problems or if you have suggestions for improvement. I'm limited to 120 characters though, so there's not a whole lot more information I can include.


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## MrFSS (Sep 27, 2010)

MisterToad said:


> I'm limited to 120 characters though, so there's not a whole lot more information I can include.


Remember what Bill Gates said many years ago, "no one should ever need more than 4k of ram."


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## Ryan (Sep 27, 2010)

640k, and Mr. Gates vehemently denies having said that (I would too, even if I had said it!)


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## dlagrua (Oct 10, 2010)

The train status via text by cell phone is no longer working.


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## MisterToad (Oct 10, 2010)

dlagrua said:


> The train status via text by cell phone is no longer working.


Do you use T-Mobile?

"Starting on October 1st T-Mobile will institute an additional charge for each text message sent by businesses such as TextMarks. We are working with other companies in the text messaging industry to try to convince T-Mobile to revert this charge, but we don't know if we will succeed. This additional fee is greater than the revenues that can be generated by placing ads in the text messages, so, unfortunately, we will be forced to stop delivering free ad-supported messages to T-Mobile subscribers unless this situation is resolved. We will continue to deliver ad-supported text messages to subscribers of Verizon, AT&T, Sprint and other wireless carriers."


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## dlagrua (Oct 10, 2010)

MisterToad said:


> dlagrua said:
> 
> 
> > The train status via text by cell phone is no longer working.
> ...


Yes tried it on T-Mobile today. I'd like to get rid of T-Mobile but they are the only carrier where I can get a signal in my home. I am wondering if the Yankees and MSG news will also cease. This is a bad move by T-Mobile as businesses are just going to bail.


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## rrdude (Oct 10, 2010)

dlagrua said:


> The train status via text by cell phone is no longer working.


It dang-sure-is! Used it today several, several times trying to get Sax back on track.........


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## crsjrr (Oct 14, 2010)

I tried today and all I get is key word "amtrakstatuspdx11" doesn't exist


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## MisterToad (Oct 14, 2010)

crsjrr said:


> I tried today and all I get is key word "amtrakstatuspdx11" doesn't exist


Try adding spaces: amtrakstatus pdx 11


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## GaSteve (Oct 14, 2010)

MisterToad said:


> dlagrua said:
> 
> 
> > The train status via text by cell phone is no longer working.
> ...


Where did you get this information? I'm a T-Mobile customer, use commercial message systems, and have never heard of this. hboy:


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## MisterToad (Oct 14, 2010)

GaSteve said:


> MisterToad said:
> 
> 
> > "Starting on October 1st T-Mobile will institute an additional charge for each text message sent by businesses such as TextMarks. We are working with other companies in the text messaging industry to try to convince T-Mobile to revert this charge, but we don't know if we will succeed. This additional fee is greater than the revenues that can be generated by placing ads in the text messages, so, unfortunately, we will be forced to stop delivering free ad-supported messages to T-Mobile subscribers unless this situation is resolved. We will continue to deliver ad-supported text messages to subscribers of Verizon, AT&T, Sprint and other wireless carriers."
> ...


This was in an email I received from TextMarks.


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## GaSteve (Oct 14, 2010)

MisterToad said:


> GaSteve said:
> 
> 
> > MisterToad said:
> ...


I use 4info quite a bit and have heard nothing from them. I just checked their website and nothing is mentioned.


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## MisterToad (Oct 14, 2010)

GaSteve said:


> I use 4info quite a bit and have heard nothing from them. I just checked their website and nothing is mentioned.


Perhaps 4info is choosing to eat the cost that T-Mobile is charging them. I don't know, I'm just speculating.


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## leemell (Oct 14, 2010)

I just returned from two and a half weeks on the SL, Crescent, Cardinal, EB, and the SC. That was on seven different LD trains. I used the text status a lot to check on connections and arrival times. It just worked great. The only problem I had was not having the station codes, but I solved that with system timetable I grabbed in the El Paso station. Many thanks for that new capability.


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## crsjrr (Oct 14, 2010)

MisterToad said:


> crsjrr said:
> 
> 
> > I tried today and all I get is key word "amtrakstatuspdx11" doesn't exist
> ...


Leave quotation marks off and used spaces and it worked fine!


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## airport car service (Dec 27, 2010)

GaSteve said:


> MisterToad said:
> 
> 
> > GaSteve said:
> ...


I also use 4info regularly and havn't heard as well. I don't see anything currently on the site.


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## darien-l (Aug 19, 2011)

This service doesn't work for me anymore. Is it defunct? That would be sad.


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## MisterToad (Aug 19, 2011)

darien-l said:


> This service doesn't work for me anymore. Is it defunct? That would be sad.


It probably won't work for you if you use T-Mobile, Sprint, or Nextel. Those wireless carriers (and possibly others) began charging for text messages sent from the TextMarks service, so the free ad-supported version of TextMarks no longer supports those carriers. If I switched to a paid plan, it would work for all carriers, but the least expensive plan is $19 per month, which is a bit out of my price range. 

If anyone knows of another free service like TextMarks that supports more carriers, I'd be happy to switch to something else.


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## GaSteve (Aug 19, 2011)

MisterToad said:


> darien-l said:
> 
> 
> > This service doesn't work for me anymore. Is it defunct? That would be sad.
> ...


I'm on T-Mobile and it works fine for me.


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## MisterToad (Aug 19, 2011)

GaSteve said:


> I'm on T-Mobile and it works fine for me.


Interesting. The TextMarks website states that T-Mobile, Sprint, and Nextel aren't supported by the free service. Anyway, glad it works for you.


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## darien-l (Aug 19, 2011)

GaSteve said:


> MisterToad said:
> 
> 
> > darien-l said:
> ...


I'm on a T-Mobile pre-paid phone and it stopped working for me. When I send a text to a TextMarks paid client, like CTABUS, I get a reply, but sending to "amtrakstatus" yields nothing.

MisterToad:

Since I have a lot of train trips coming up and expect to be using your text service a lot, I'd be willing to donate $40 to the cause. I presume you can switch back to a free account once the paid period expires. Or you might be able to pick up more donations here. PM me if interested.


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## MisterToad (Aug 19, 2011)

darien-l said:


> Since I have a lot of train trips coming up and expect to be using your text service a lot, I'd be willing to donate $40 to the cause. I presume you can switch back to a free account once the paid period expires. Or you might be able to pick up more donations here. PM me if interested.


I'm currently looking into free/cheap alternatives to TextMarks. I'll let you know what I find.


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## MiRider (Aug 19, 2011)

I just tried it on my NET10 phone and it worked perfectly!

MisterToad - thanks for writing that neat program.


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## MisterToad (Sep 4, 2011)

MisterToad said:


> I'm currently looking into free/cheap alternatives to TextMarks. I'll let you know what I find.


There's now an alternative available. See this thread for details.


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