# Staffed to Unstaffed Stations Master Thread



## AmtrakLKL (May 2, 2018)

Thought it might be time for a Master Thread of stations moving from Staffed to Unstaffed status as it seems to be an increasingly frequent event. Perhaps mods will find this worthy of a pin.

I've gone back and gathered as many stations as I can recall and Google search for in the past couple years. If anyone has anything to add or correct, drop it in the thread and I'll put it on this list:

* Last updated 06/19/2018 with corrections. La Junta and Lamy closure dates pushed back to 7/9 and 8/3, respectively.

* Updated 7/05/2018 with no-notice closure of Flint, MI.

* Updated 8/15/2018 with Trainside Checked Baggage/Baggage Lite notes

Code City State Date Unstaffed Notes
LMY Lamy NM 08/03/2018
LAJ La Junta CO 07/08/2018 Eff. July 8, open Mon-Fri for ticketing only. No checked baggage service.
FLN Flint MI 07/05/2018
MHL Marshall TX 06/29/2018 
CHW Charleston WV 06/08/2018
CIN Cincinnati OH 06/08/2018 
SBY Shelby MT 06/03/2018 
HAV Havre MT 06/01/2018 
HMD Hammond LA 05/26/2018 * Baggage Lite Service 
MEI Meridian MS 05/26/2018 * Baggage Lite Service
TCL Tuscaloosa AL 05/26/2018 * Baggage Lite Service
TOP Topeka KS 05/20/2018
OTM Ottumwa IA 05/19/2018
GCK Garden City KS 05/17/2018
FMD Ft. Madison IA 05/16/2018
TXA Texarkana AR 05/16/2018 
HMD Hammond LA 05/15/2018
JXN Jackson MI 04/03/2018 
NLS Niles MI 04/03/2018 
MRC Maricopa AZ 02/12/2018 
GRV Greenville SC 06/15/2017 
SBG Sebring FL 06/01/2017 
MTP Mount Pleasant IA 05/17/2017 
CBS Columbus WI 04/28/2017 * Baggage Lite Service
HUN Huntington WV 12/19/2016
WIN Winona MN 12/07/2016 
BBY Back Bay MA 10/01/2016 
WLY Westerly RI 10/01/2016 
ALT Altoona PA 09/29/2016 (update - as of 8/30/19, ALT station still staffed) 
JST Johnstown PA 09/29/2016 
WPT Wolf Point MT 07/01/2016
RUG Rugby ND 06/01/2016
GLN Glenview IL 05/09/2016
PRC Prince WV 04/18/2016
BER Berlin CT 03/04/2016
MDN Meriden CT 03/04/2016
WOR Worcester MA 11/25/2015 * Baggage Lite Service
HAS Hastings NE 07/13/2015 
GFK Grand Forks ND 06/01/2015


The following stations are still staffed for ticket sales and assistance, but discontinued checked baggage and express service:

Code City State Date No Bags Notes
DFB Deerfield Beach FL 08/30/2017
HOL Hollywood FL 08/30/2017

The following stations closed completely:


```
Code    City        State    Date Closed    Notes
SFD    Sanford-Regular    FL    08/01/2005      Silver Service/Sunset Ltd - Previously Staffed before closing
```


----------



## railiner (May 2, 2018)

Columbus, Ohio?? They haven't even had a train since the National Limited ended service almost 40 years ago...


----------



## brianpmcdonnell17 (May 2, 2018)

railiner said:


> Columbus, Ohio?? They haven't even had a train since the National Limited ended service almost 40 years ago...


It should be Columbus, WI. In addition, it should be Westerly, RI (not MA) and Rugby, ND (not MT).


----------



## Devil's Advocate (May 2, 2018)

Amtrak stations aren't just being closed or abandoned, they're packing up and moving out of state.


----------



## AmtrakLKL (May 2, 2018)

railiner said:


> Columbus, Ohio?? They haven't even had a train since the National Limited ended service almost 40 years ago...





brianpmcdonnell17 said:


> railiner said:
> 
> 
> > Columbus, Ohio?? They haven't even had a train since the National Limited ended service almost 40 years ago...
> ...


Fixed, thank you.


----------



## Philly Amtrak Fan (May 2, 2018)

Devil's Advocate said:


> Amtrak stations aren't just being closed or abandoned, they're packing up and moving out of state.


Las Vegas moved theirs to New Mexico LOL.

What state did Nashville move their train station to?


----------



## lordsigma (May 2, 2018)

brianpmcdonnell17 said:


> railiner said:
> 
> 
> > Columbus, Ohio?? They haven't even had a train since the National Limited ended service almost 40 years ago...
> ...


Sadly to my knowledge at Westerly RI they never reopened the station with a volunteer caretaker. The station building remains closed. Last I heard they still werent sure what to do with the building.


----------



## KnightRail (May 2, 2018)

WPT Wolf Point MT 07/01/2016

RUG Rugby ND 06/01/2016

GLN Glenview IL 05/09/2016

BER Berlin CT 03/04/2016

MDN Meriden CT 03/04/2016

WIN Winona MN 12/07/2015

WOR Worcester MA 11/25/2015

GFK Grand Forks ND 06/01/2015


----------



## KnightRail (May 3, 2018)

RVR Richmond VA 05/07/2018*

*Changes from 24hours to 5:30a-10:30p daily,

Train #98 4:22am, No more checked baggage or inside waiting room.


----------



## neroden (May 4, 2018)

The big problem is the loss of checked baggage service, which is genuinely popular and low-cost to Amtrak. The trainside checked baggage pilot was good, but I think Mr. Anderson doesn't know about it.


----------



## Walt (May 4, 2018)

To me, there is a difference between a station that is locked shut, and a station that is open (waiting room, bathrooms, etc) but staffed by volunteers.


----------



## Lonestar648 (May 5, 2018)

The caretaker/volunteer isn't always part of Amtrak. They can be part of the city, historical group, county, etc. so are arrange by that organization. Many times the caretaker is never seen except to lock and unlock the station.


----------



## Seaboard92 (May 5, 2018)

The volunteer caretaker for Camden, SC never even comes to unlock the door. I met her once when I was aiding Amtrak in unloading an entire Silver Star there after a truck strike. Honestly I would do a better job at being a caretaker and being IATA certified. I could sell tickets too. But my life is far too hectic to do that.

And after all of Anderson's cuts I'm not really wanting to help Amtrak any.


----------



## lordsigma (May 5, 2018)

Depends on station ownership too. Seems like theres a wide range in scope of what volunteers/caretakers do depending on the station with some literally just locking/unlocking to some cleaning all the way up to More involved setups where volunteers will staff the former ticket office as an information desk during times when trains arrive and depart and answer questions, provide updates, announce train boarding, and sometimes even assist passengers with baggage. Pretty wide range depending on the station and availability/enthusiasm of volunteers.


----------



## Seaboard92 (May 5, 2018)

The best example of Volunteer station host has to be Olympia, WA. They've never missed a train since they've been open. And that includes in severe weather. Now that I find impressive.


----------



## railiner (May 5, 2018)

Isn't the Downeaster route mostly volunteer's, as well?


----------



## Bob Dylan (May 6, 2018)

Seaboard92 said:


> The best example of Volunteer station host has to be Olympia, WA. They've never missed a train since they've been open. And that includes in severe weather. Now that I find impressive.


This!


----------



## gswager (May 6, 2018)

I'm impressed with Olympia station manned by volunteers despite the mess when the Cascades was forced to stop and turned around during our AU Gathering last year


----------



## MikeM (May 6, 2018)

Gainesville TX has a really nice unstaffed station. Too bad it's never unlocked when I've traveled from there. When I started riding the train down here, I would go there to catch the Heartland Flyer, then connect to the Eagle. But since I don't like standing outside in the rain like the last two times I rode the train, I started picking it up in Fort Worth.


----------



## Chey (May 7, 2018)

MikeM said:


> Gainesville TX has a really nice unstaffed station. Too bad it's never unlocked when I've traveled from there. When I started riding the train down here, I would go there to catch the Heartland Flyer, then connect to the Eagle. But since I don't like standing outside in the rain like the last two times I rode the train, I started picking it up in Fort Worth.


That's a shame - I liked the Gainesville station too. And the town. I used to stay there overnight just to catch the next day's train down to FTW.


----------



## Thirdrail7 (May 9, 2018)

Quite of a few of the stations that are losing their staffs are under review for train side, baggage lite service.


----------



## Lonestar648 (May 9, 2018)

Any details of what "Baggage Lite" would involve surface yet?


----------



## TiBike (May 9, 2018)

Bikes?


----------



## neroden (May 9, 2018)

Thirdrail7 said:


> Quite of a few of the stations that are losing their staffs are under review for train side, baggage lite service.


Good.

It's still absurd for *Cincy* to lose staffing. This is not some small town. The only reason it has low ridership is the damn three-a-week nonsense; get the Cardinal daily and watch it boom.


----------



## dogbert617 (May 12, 2018)

I remember when I was very briefly in Elkhart, IN earlier this year and walked around its downtown, there was a note that the station house is unlocked during hours the station has Amtrak trains arriving and leaving that station. Which are Capitol Limited(Chicago-DC), and Lake Shore Limited(Chicago-Boston-NYC). So I get the sense that this station was a volunteer station where a caretaker opens up and closes that station, during hours Amtrak trains serve Elkhart. Station looked historic, and in nice shape btw.


----------



## PaulM (May 12, 2018)

Thirdrail7 said:


> Quite of a few of the stations that are losing their staffs are under review for train side, baggage lite service.


Would this be in addition to eliminating existing baggage lite service? Fort Madison (FMD) has had track side baggage service for several years on weekends when it is not staffed. When I went to book FMD to LMY May 19 (a Saturday), it said no baggage.

So why didn't they do this review before eliminating the service?


----------



## cpotisch (May 12, 2018)

PaulM said:


> Thirdrail7 said:
> 
> 
> > Quite of a few of the stations that are losing their staffs are under review for train side, baggage lite service.
> ...


'Cause they didn't think it would make sense for that station?


----------



## Thirdrail7 (May 12, 2018)

PaulM said:


> Would this be in addition to eliminating existing baggage lite service? Fort Madison (FMD) has had track side baggage service for several years on weekends when it is not staffed. When I went to book FMD to LMY May 19 (a Saturday), it said no baggage.
> 
> So why didn't they do this review before eliminating the service?



In FMD's case, maybe they did do the review prior to eliminating the service. Maybe they looked at the current operation and decided it was no longer worth it and targeted it for elimination. The same goes for GRV. After watching baggage lite in action for a few months, they cancelled it.

As for the rest of the stations under consideration, I personally(please note the use of the word "personally") believe it won't occur. The problem is there is little "hard" revenue appearing from the checked bags and there are quite a few top people that question the wisdom of even having an operational baggage car fleet, wondering aloud if it would be better to treat them like the HHP-8s (if you catch my drift.) I don't think that will happen, but the reality of the situation is it largely irrelevant if baggage lite is available or will become available. Staffing costs and costs (particularly on the LD service line network) must be cut...and that means now. So, goodbye staff and you guys can figure if baggage lite will work on your own time.

Revenue trumps ridership!!!!!!


----------



## Philly Amtrak Fan (May 12, 2018)

An article on Mattoon, IL losing its ticket staff ... about 30 years ago.

https://csanders429.wordpress.com/2018/05/12/efforts-to-save-ticket-offices-will-fail/


----------



## AmtrakLKL (May 15, 2018)

Texarkana, TX will begin limited train-side checked baggage and bike service today.


----------



## Bob Dylan (May 15, 2018)

AmtrakLKL said:


> Texarkana, TX will begin limited train-side checked baggage and bike service today.


Who is gonna do it since the Station is becoming unstaffed, the Conductors???


----------



## cpotisch (May 15, 2018)

Maybe they'll start hiring baggage car attendants. I'm kind of joking but kind of not.


----------



## Thirdrail7 (May 15, 2018)

Bob Dylan said:


> Who is gonna do it since the Station is becoming unstaffed, the Conductors???


----------



## TiBike (May 16, 2018)

I take it as a positive development. Once it's established that passengers are as capable of handing up bikes and baggage as Amtrak employees, there's no reason not to take bikes and baggage at every station.

Want to avoid double spotting? Accept the bags and bikes into the lower level of a coach – where they put "carry on" bags anyway – and transfer to a baggage car later, at a station where there's an employee, likely with a motorised cart.

Too much work or too much dwell time required? Start charging $20 per bag per segment, as with bikes.


----------



## Thirdrail7 (May 16, 2018)

TiBike said:


> Too much work or too much dwell time required? Start charging $20 per bag per segment, as with bikes.



Please don't give them any ideas or you'll have to pay for air conditioning on the train!


----------



## cpotisch (May 16, 2018)

Thirdrail7 said:


> TiBike said:
> 
> 
> > Too much work or too much dwell time required? Start charging $20 per bag per segment, as with bikes.
> ...


You shouldn't have said that! They're now charging $1 per degree per minute!


----------



## Thirdrail7 (Jun 13, 2018)

Thirdrail7 said:


> Quite of a few of the stations that are losing their staffs are under review for train side, baggage lite service.


Even though the website has a weird way of showing it, Charlestown, WV (CHW) and Cincinnati, OH (CIN) will offer baggage lite service. Bikes are included.

The thing is, the website doesn't really reflect it unless you search. If you go to CIN's page, you'll get this:

*Amtrak Express shipping not available*

* Checked baggage service available*

* No checked baggage storage*

* Bike boxes not available*

* The number of bike boxes available in the station is limited. For further assistance, please call 1-800-USA-RAIL.*

* No baggage carts*

* Ski bags not available*

* No bag storage*

* Baggage storage is an area where passengers may store their bags, equivalent to "left luggage" in Europe. A storage fee may apply.*

* Shipping boxes not available*

* No baggage assistance*

* Free passenger assistance, including baggage-handling and courtesy wheelchairs where available, is provided by station staff.*

However, when you click on the the advisory regarding the window closing you'll get this:

*Checked Baggage*

* Train side checked baggage and bike service will be in effect seven days a week. Passengers will obtain baggage checking supplies in the station, attach them to their baggage or bike and bring them to the baggage car on the train.*

* Caretakers will be available to answer questions, if needed.*

CHW's page is even worse. Behold:

*Amtrak Express shipping not available*

* No checked baggage service*

* No checked baggage storage*

* Bike boxes not available*

* The number of bike boxes available in the station is limited. For further assistance, please call 1-800-USA-RAIL.*

* No baggage carts*

* Ski bags not available*

* No bag storage*

* Baggage storage is an area where passengers may store their bags, equivalent to "left luggage" in Europe. A storage fee may apply.*

* Shipping boxes not available*

* No baggage assistance*

* Free passenger assistance, including baggage-handling and courtesy wheelchairs where available, is provided by station staff.*

When you click on the advisory regarding the window closing, you get this:

*Checked Baggage*

* Train side checked baggage and bike service will be in effect seven days a week. Passengers will obtain baggage checking supplies in the station, attach them to their baggage or bike and bring them to the baggage car on the train.*

* Caretakers will be available to answer questions, if needed.*

Both stations offer baggage lite but one station says they offer checked baggage while the other one does not. Perhaps they haven't finished the updates.


----------



## TiBike (Jun 13, 2018)

Thirdrail7 said:


> * Bike boxes not available*
> 
> * The number of bike boxes available in the station is limited. For further assistance, please call 1-800-USA-RAIL.*
> 
> ...


So you can and can't store luggage. And you can and can't get bike boxes. But you probably don't need a bike box anyway, because you can roll it up, unless someone reads it differently. I think the "not quite done yet" hypothesis is the valid one


----------



## the_traveler (Jun 13, 2018)

“Available 7 days a week”?






The Cardinal only operates 3 days a week!


----------



## bmjhagen9426 (Jun 14, 2018)

the_traveler said:


> “Available 7 days a week”?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


My guess is that Amtrak does a lot of copy-and-paste when it comes to writing up destaffing notice.

In other news, despite Amtrak's recent station employee layoffs, people have been very vocal about the loss of station staff.


----------



## Thirdrail7 (Jun 15, 2018)

the_traveler said:


> “Available 7 days a week”?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


If you want to get technical, The Eastbound Cardinal passes through CHW on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday while the Westbound Cardinal passes through on Sunday, Wednesday and Friday.

It should read 6 days a week.


----------



## brianpmcdonnell17 (Jun 16, 2018)

Thirdrail7 said:


> the_traveler said:
> 
> 
> > Available 7 days a week?
> ...


I think you mean Cincinnati, which has one train on the days you listed. Charleston (CHW) has two trains (one in each direction) on Sundays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, but none on the other four days of the week. Also, since the times are after midnight at Cincinnati the eastbound Cardinal passes through on Sunday, Wednesday, and Friday, while the westbound comes through on Monday, Thursday, and Saturday.


----------



## Thirdrail7 (Jun 16, 2018)

brianpmcdonnell17 said:


> Thirdrail7 said:
> 
> 
> > If you want to get technical, The Eastbound Cardinal passes through CHW on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday while the Westbound Cardinal passes through on Sunday, Wednesday and Friday.
> ...


Thank you. That is what I should have typed.


----------



## AmtrakLKL (Jun 30, 2018)

Effective July 8, La Junta will be staffed five days a week, Monday to Friday, with a caretaker on weekends. Ticket sales will continue to be available when the agent is on site, currently scheduled as Mon-Wed 7am - 12:30pm and Thur-Fri 7am-10am and 6pm-8:30pm. When the agent is not available during the scheduled hours a caretaker will open the station. Checked baggage and unaccompanied minor services will not be available.


----------



## Burns651 (Jul 3, 2018)

Yesterday was the last day for Flint, MI's agent. The remaining staffed Michigan Amtrak stations are Kalamazoo, Battle Creek, Ann Arbor, Dearborn, Detroit and East Lansing.


----------



## Thirdrail7 (Jul 10, 2018)

CIN and CHW will offer train side baggage and bike service.


----------



## dogbert617 (Jul 12, 2018)

Burns651 said:


> Yesterday was the last day for Flint, MI's agent. The remaining staffed Michigan Amtrak stations are Kalamazoo, Battle Creek, Ann Arbor, Dearborn, Detroit and East Lansing.


I didn't realize Niles, MI no longer had an agent. That is too bad, but I guess the way all these unstaffing decisions are coming to(sigh). And as for Charleston, WV, I recall reading US Senator Manchin(of WV) was trying to add language to the Amtrak funding bill for this year to require Amtrak to have at least 1 station agent, in each state where Amtrak operates trains through. Clever idea he's doing that, since it'll save at least Charleston, WV's agent. Too bad it won't save the one in Cincy....

And that's too bad La Junta's agent will only be there on weekdays. Probably a sign that soon it'll lose its agent entirely, one of these future months/years....



Burns651 said:


> Yesterday was the last day for Flint, MI's agent. The remaining staffed Michigan Amtrak stations are Kalamazoo, Battle Creek, Ann Arbor, Dearborn, Detroit and East Lansing.


I didn't realize Niles, MI no longer had an agent. And from reading page 1, apparently Jackson, MI recently lost its agent too. That is too bad, but I guess the way all these unstaffing decisions are coming to(sigh).


----------



## jis (Jul 19, 2018)

I suspect if Michigan wanted to have agents at stations served primarily by their trains, they could make it happen.


----------



## Palmland (Jul 19, 2018)

In light of the reduction in staffed stations and the resulting reduction in checked baggage, I wonder if Amtrak didn’t make the wrong decision about the baggage and baggage-dorm cars. Wouldn’t it have been better to have more bag-dorms and reduce or eliminate baggage cars on single level trains? This would at least generate more revenue.

Do trains like the Carolinian, Palmetto, Star, Cardinal and Crescent really need that much baggage space. Even though it’s a bigger train, the LSL certainly doesn’t need two baggage cars. Would it be possible to reconfigure full baggage cars to bag-dorms?


----------



## JRR (Jul 19, 2018)

By cutting baggage service at stations, they assure that even less space is needed.


----------



## cpotisch (Jul 19, 2018)

Palmland said:


> In light of the reduction in staffed stations and the resulting reduction in checked baggage, I wonder if Amtrak didn’t make the wrong decision about the baggage and baggage-dorm cars. Wouldn’t it have been better to have more bag-dorms and reduce or eliminate baggage cars on single level trains? This would at least generate more revenue.
> 
> Do trains like the Carolinian, Palmetto, Star, Cardinal and Crescent really need that much baggage space. Even though it’s a bigger train, the LSL certainly doesn’t need two baggage cars. Would it be possible to reconfigure full baggage cars to bag-dorms?


Remember that the full baggage cars are used on almost every single Amtrak route. The bag-dorms would really only work on the single-level long distance trains, which makes them much less useful. There are 17 single-level LD consists. Add in a 20% protect margin and that comes out to about 21 cars, if they were to literally put the bag-dorms on every long distance single-level train.

And if checked baggage is being abandoned altogether, why even have bag-dorms? Just buy that many full sleepers, since that would bring in so much more revenue. My point is, the bag-dorms really only work on routes that could use a bit more sleeper space, but do not need much checked baggage space. The problem is, that's really only the case for a few trains.

So I don't think that it was a mistake to cut the number of bag-dorms in favor of baggage cars, because pretty much every route in the country can use the latter, and only a couple can use the former.


----------



## looshi (Jul 20, 2018)

Palmland said:


> In light of the reduction in staffed stations and the resulting reduction in checked baggage, I wonder if Amtrak didn’t make the wrong decision about the baggage and baggage-dorm cars. Wouldn’t it have been better to have more bag-dorms and reduce or eliminate baggage cars on single level trains? This would at least generate more revenue.


The change from bag-dorms to full bags was made primarily because of a projected increase in bike demand. I don't see that demand going away, but they probably need to expand the number of stations than handle walk-up bikes.


----------



## jis (Jul 20, 2018)

Also because they wanted to be able to take the Heritage bags off regular service by mid-this decade, and not stretch it till the next decade perhaps [emoji57]


----------



## cpotisch (Jul 20, 2018)

jis said:


> Also because they wanted to be able to take the Heritage bags off regular service by mid-this decade, and not stretch it till the next decade perhaps [emoji57]


I imagine the plan would have been to replace the old baggage cars with bag-dorms anyway, so his point still stands. If Amtrak had felt that the bag-dorms have enough capacity to accommodate the baggage (and bike) load on more trains,, they could have replaced the Heritage cars with these.


----------



## jis (Jul 20, 2018)

cpotisch said:


> jis said:
> 
> 
> > Also because they wanted to be able to take the Heritage bags off regular service by mid-this decade, and not stretch it till the next decade perhaps [emoji57]
> ...


Only if they could have them delivered as early as they got the baggage cars, which are the easiest to manufacture.


----------



## Thirdrail7 (Aug 15, 2018)

Hammond (HMD), Meridian(MEI), Tuscaloosa(TCL), Columbus(CBS) and Worcester(WOR) have baggage lite/train side baggage service available.


----------



## Thirdrail7 (Nov 29, 2018)

The list continues to grow.   Topeka(TOP),  Ottumwa(OTT) will now offer trainside,  baggage lite service.  La Junta(LAJ)will offer baggage lite when the station is unstaffed. Additionally, they have restored baggage lite to Fort Madison (FMD).

Bikes are also included.


----------



## jebr (Nov 29, 2018)

Is there any reason (other than inertia) that they aren't offering baggage lite at all unstaffed stations? At this point it seems like every western LD route has at least one baggage lite stop, and it'd be nice to have that at every unstaffed station that has trains with baggage service stopping there.


----------



## Thirdrail7 (Nov 29, 2018)

As previously indicated, there are things to consider. Is there a clear path to the the baggage car? Will the host allow  the dwell? Where is the baggage car located? how big is the platform?

So, stations have to be evaluated. We've already seen some stations that had baggage lite cancel it.


----------



## F900ElCapitan (Nov 29, 2018)

So on the LD trains with a baggage car is “baggage lite” only available if you take your bag/bike to the baggage car or are the coach baggage cars also used for this?


----------



## lordsigma (Aug 30, 2019)

This post mentions Altoona, PA as unstaffed but I was there today and there was a ticket office. Was it unstaffed and then restaffed or was merely baggage removed? Or did Amtrak propose de-staffing and local/state say no?


----------



## brianpmcdonnell17 (Aug 30, 2019)

lordsigma said:


> This post mentions Altoona, PA as unstaffed but I was there today and there was a ticket office. Was it unstaffed and then restaffed or was merely baggage removed? Or did Amtrak propose de-staffing and local/state say no?


According to Amtrak, Altoona is still staffed. It does not have baggage service, but that is not a recent change, as the Pennsylvanian doesn't have a baggage car.


----------



## lordsigma (Aug 30, 2019)

brianpmcdonnell17 said:


> According to Amtrak, Altoona is still staffed. It does not have baggage service, but that is not a recent change, as the Pennsylvanian doesn't have a baggage car.



Did a little more research. It seems Amtrak proposed de staffing in 2016 but it never happened - May want to update the postings. I am guessing the local folks objected and the state DOT vetoed it - I found an article which mentioned that the transit facility relies on the Amtrak agent to open/close it and that as a result the managing agency didn’t support Amtrak’s proposal. So I’m guessing Pennsylvania’s DOT said no and it remains staffed.


----------



## pennyk (Aug 30, 2019)

lordsigma said:


> Did a little more research. It seems Amtrak proposed de staffing in 2016 but it never happened - May want to update the postings. I am guessing the local folks objected and the state DOT vetoed it - I found an article which mentioned that the transit facility relies on the Amtrak agent to open/close it and that as a result the managing agency didn’t support Amtrak’s proposal. So I’m guessing Pennsylvania’s DOT said no and it remains staffed.


The first post was updated to indicate that the ALT station is still staffed. Thank you for your research.


----------



## lordsigma (Sep 27, 2019)

pennyk said:


> The first post was updated to indicate that the ALT station is still staffed. Thank you for your research.



ALT is now getting checked baggage on the Pennsylvanian too which likely further insulates the staffing there.


----------



## Cho Cho Charlie (Sep 28, 2019)

Is Spartanburg, SC, now closed?

The Amtrak website still says that it suppose to have a waiting room that is open from 11pm to 6am, in support northbound and southbound Cresents.

My kid has making his first solo LD trip. He got dropped off at the Spartanburg station around 11pm, but the place was dark, closed, and deserted. The Crescent was running late (surprise, surprise) and instead of arriving at 11:39PM, it arrived around 3:30AM.

My kid ended up having to wait outside, in the dark, for those 4 hours. 

Understandably, I was already a worried parent over his first solo LD trip. Having him wait at a deserted station thru the night didn't help.

I know that Amtrak is making painful cutbacks. However, does one of the cutbacks need to be maintaining their website?


----------



## me_little_me (Sep 28, 2019)

Cho Cho Charlie said:


> Is Spartanburg, SC, now closed?
> 
> The Amtrak website still says that it suppose to have a waiting room that is open from 11pm to 6am, in support northbound and southbound Cresents.
> 
> ...


Your son should file a complaint with Amtrak and include a picture of the web page.

BTW, there re numerous programs for Windows (and an included one on Linux) that allows you to "print" a web page to a PDF file. Useful since PDF files seem more acceptable on some sites as attachments.


----------



## FreeskierInVT (Sep 29, 2019)

Cho Cho Charlie said:


> Is Spartanburg, SC, now closed?
> 
> The Amtrak website still says that it suppose to have a waiting room that is open from 11pm to 6am, in support northbound and southbound Cresents.
> 
> ...



The waiting room at Waterbury, VT was also closed during hours listed as open on Amtrak's website when I boarded the northbound Vermonter this past week. It's an unstaffed station but has station hosts to open the waiting room, provide train status updates and provide passenger assistance.


----------



## lordsigma (Sep 29, 2019)

I would complain to customer relations that the station wasn’t open during listed hours.
Spartanburg should have been open when you were there. That station is listed as having a caretaker that should have opened the station up. Obviously someone wasn’t doing their job.


----------



## railiner (Sep 29, 2019)

Is there a difference between a “caretaker” and a “host”?
Is one paid and the other a volunteer?
And are there substitutes available, to cover vacancies?
Who, if anyone, monitor’s this type of “staffing”?


----------



## lordsigma (Sep 29, 2019)

railiner said:


> Is there a difference between a “caretaker” and a “host”?
> Is one paid and the other a volunteer?
> And are there substitutes available, to cover vacancies?
> Who, if anyone, monitor’s this type of “staffing”?



A caretaker is usually employed by Amtrak to open the station and make sure restrooms are cleaned, etc. these are stations that have enclosed buildings where Amtrak is responsible for opening and cleaning the facility. Hosts are usually volunteers that provide some additional services that would be available at a staffed station and can be managed by the local municipality (such as answering questions, providing boarding information and announcements and sometimes helping passengers with needs board.) Some stations with caretakers also have hosts that go above and beyond the duties expected of the caretaker and actually interact with passengers. I think what you get out of a caretaker probably depends on the individual and whether they go above and beyond or just do the bare minimum. Some of the caretakers in Vermont really go above and beyond in helping out passengers and provide basically everything that a staffed station has other than the ability to sell tickets/change reservations. I think the basic duties of a caretaker sometimes only require opening/closing/cleaning the facility and not necessarily interacting with passengers.


----------



## lordsigma (Nov 15, 2019)

I am concerned about some language of Anderson in the recent congressional hearing. When defending the call center decision he also alluded to how they are going to be installing new self serve kiosks in the stations. I wonder if this alludes that some big station cuts could be coming. I think one could argue it is appropriate to adjust station staffing at large stations where there are a lot of agents in this age of digital ticketing. However most of the stations have self service kiosks now and I don't see a big migration of people that buy their tickets in station to using new kiosks instead of an agent unless they eliminate in person human ticketing all together. I am a tech savvy person, but I really don't like self serve kiosks in places like McDonalds and I usually find myself going to the counter to order anyway. I do not think that making more major stations unstaffed is a good thing. Having a human presence to answer questions and assist passengers is just basic customer service. It's one thing to reduce the agents at the ticket counter at a large station like NYP where you have red caps and an information desk so you have people that are just dedicated to selling tickets and changing reservations. But at a medium sized station where you don't have red caps, the station agent is it and provides all station services as far as assisting passengers and answering question and you eliminate all of that service when you unstaff the station. Personally I think if they go too far with this they could get major blowback from congress but I guess we'll see what happens.


----------



## Seaboard92 (Nov 15, 2019)

I for one prefer to buy tickets from a human than a machine. Even thought when I’m running for a train sometimes it’s easier to deal with the machine. Especially in a station I’m unfamiliar with like Los Angeles. I wanted to catch a Surfliner after a flight and had no choice but to use a machine because I couldn’t find the human agent.


----------



## Bob Dylan (Nov 15, 2019)

I've been told by several Agents and Amtrak employees I know, that the plan is to eliminate all Quik-Trak Machines and De-Staff ( including Redcaps)as many Stations as possible in order to "Save Money!"

There was even a suggestion to follow the Airline model and charge a Fee to deal with a "Live Agent" in person or on the Phone!


----------



## jebr (Nov 15, 2019)

I'd be fine with getting rid of the Quik-Trak machines..._if_ they were replaced with a machine like this:



These could also be a replacement for station staff on-site at smaller/less busy stations. If Amtrak could ever figure out trainside checked baggage systemwide (or at least where platform length allows) it would still allow most services to continue even without on-site staff. At stations without on-site staff currently, this could be a way to offer in-person assistance without needing someone on-site.


----------



## Devil's Advocate (Nov 15, 2019)

jebr said:


> I'd be fine with getting rid of the Quik-Trak machines..._if_ they were replaced with a machine like this: These could also be a replacement for station staff on-site at smaller/less busy stations. If Amtrak could ever figure out trainside checked baggage systemwide (or at least where platform length allows) it would still allow most services to continue even without on-site staff. At stations without on-site staff currently, this could be a way to offer in-person assistance without needing someone on-site.


This video is a best case test spin, which is fine for understanding the basic concept, but I'd like to see this solution being used by an elderly tourist who doesn't know the system talking to foreign call center staff during a heavy traffic period.


----------



## Seaboard92 (Nov 15, 2019)

What I don’t get. 

Amtrak on private cars “We are trying to eliminate any delays we can control” which is an actual quote from Stephen Robusto of Amtrak’s Commercial Development Group. 

But when it’s destaffing their stations they don’t seam to care about cutting delays. 

Self checking of bags is just going to add dwell time. If passengers have to lug stuff to the baggage car and then all the way back to their car. 

Then what do you do with people with mobility issues who will now have to slowly make themselves to the train instead of a golf cart operated by station staff. 

Seams to me Amtrak is hypocritical.


----------



## Palmetto (Nov 16, 2019)

Do Quick-Trak machines do baggage, too? Just wondering.


----------



## Thirdrail7 (Nov 16, 2019)

Seaboard92 said:


> What I don’t get.
> 
> Amtrak on private cars “We are trying to eliminate any delays we can control” which is an actual quote from Stephen Robusto of Amtrak’s Commercial Development Group.
> 
> ...



There is a huge difference in adding equipment that needs a brake test and checking bags. Additionally, people on this board that mentioned self serve baggage, especially since a lot of the stations never had a staff to begin with.


----------



## jis (Nov 16, 2019)

Palmetto said:


> Do Quick-Trak machines do baggage, too? Just wondering.


AFAIK they don't.

Where self checkin kiosks handle baggage - like across the entire UA system almost - the kiosk prints out the requisite baggage tags with instructions to affix them. And then most fortunately you just drop the bags at a Bag Drop close by and do not have to lug it to the plane.

At a remote Amtrak station I doubt there will be a kiosk. The tagging will have to be done trackside by the baggage car attendant - most likely the Conductor. Self checkin through a Device could take the information about the number of bags and record it with the PNR so that the Conductor could pull it up and print out a tag on a suitably equipped device in the baggage car if one wishes to automate it a bit further.


----------



## lordsigma (Nov 16, 2019)

jis said:


> AFAIK they don't.
> 
> Where self checkin kiosks handle baggage - like across the entire UA system almost - the kiosk prints out the requisite baggage tags with instructions to affix them. And then most fortunately you just drop the bags at a Bag Drop close by and do not have to lug it to the plane.
> 
> At a remote Amtrak station I doubt there will be a kiosk. The tagging will have to be done trackside by the baggage car attendant - most likely the Conductor. Self checkin through a Device could take the information about the number of bags and record it with the PNR so that the Conductor could pull it up and print out a tag on a suitably equpped device in the baggage car if one wishes to automate it a bit further.



I think some things are best left not automated. We seem to be so determined as a society to automate ourselves as a species to irrelevancy. Not every station needs to be staffed but moderate/major ones should. We shall see what happens with reauthorization. Station staff are extremely unappreciated and in my opinion remain important, but my opinion I guess. And I am saying this as someone who works in the technology field. I have a mobility impaired family member who I have occasionally traveled with that has taken advantage of red cap and station agent assistance in a wheel chair in larger stations and with boarding so I recognize the value and you cannot automate these services.


----------



## Palmetto (Nov 16, 2019)

Actually, I was being facetious. I was trying to point out, ineffectively, that you need a person to help passengers with baggage. Elimination of station agents across the country does not help the customer expeience.


----------



## Devil's Advocate (Nov 16, 2019)

Palmetto said:


> Do Quick-Trak machines do baggage, too? Just wondering.


The only thing I ever saw them do is print "same as cash" paper tickets before you could print your own e-ticket. Today I can board Amtrak trains without any tickets at all so I'm not sure what purpose Quik-Trak machines still serve other than giving people without smartphones a paper copy in case there's a dispute.



Palmetto said:


> Actually, I was being facetious. I was trying to point out, ineffectively, that you need a person to help passengers with baggage. Elimination of station agents across the country does not help the customer expeience.


If a machine spat out a self-sealing luggage tag which was then affixed by the customer and handed to the assistant conductor for storing in the baggage car it may not be ideal but perhaps acceptable for most unstaffed stations. I agree that having in-person staff can be a substantial benefit, but for small towns with limited passenger rail service it's probably not practical to fund more than a couple hours of on-site assistance per day. That being the case the ideal situation may be to combine bus, shuttle, rail, and cafe service into a single location with each company paying a portion of the staff cost.


----------



## lordsigma (Nov 16, 2019)

Devil's Advocate said:


> The only thing I ever saw them do is print "same as cash" paper tickets before you could print your own e-ticket. Today I can board Amtrak trains without any tickets at all so I'm not sure what purpose Quik-Trak machines still serve other than giving people without smartphones a paper copy in case there's a dispute.
> 
> 
> If a machine spat out a self-sealing luggage tag which was then affixed by the customer and handed to the assistant conductor for storing in the baggage car it may not be ideal but perhaps acceptable for most unstaffed stations. I agree that having in-person staff can be a substantial benefit, but for small towns with limited passenger rail service it's probably not practical to fund more than a couple hours of on-site assistance per day. That being the case the ideal situation may be to combine bus, shuttle, rail, and cafe service into a single location with each company paying a portion of the staff cost.



The ideal thing at smaller stations would probably be to make the caretaker into a part time full agent that can do everything normal station agents do but work part time when needed for the train. But that may not be allowed by the union contract I guess.


----------



## jis (Nov 16, 2019)

Palmetto said:


> Actually, I was being facetious. I was trying to point out, ineffectively, that you need a person to help passengers with baggage. Elimination of station agents across the country does not help the customer expeience.


Actually, I was just following through on what would be possible using information collected at "baggage checkin" of some sort. This would potentially help even a station agent (and customers - see below), who could just pull up the information and print tags.

AFAIK currently Amtrak does not print baggage tags. They have a stash of tags with destination codes on them and the agent picks the right one, and if unavailable, hand writes one on a blank.

Pre-registration of checked bags help both a station agent and a trackside baggage agent equally with adequate support from the IT system. It also helps provide the foundation for baggage tracking service equivalent to what UPS, USPS or Fedex provides as is now available at Delta or United too. So at the end of the day such an improved use of IT system is a win win for all and in and of itself does not imply getting rid of station agents. It incidentally enables wider provision of checked baggage service where there has never been a station agent in the past too.


----------



## brianpmcdonnell17 (Nov 17, 2019)

jis said:


> Actually, I was just following through on what would be possible using information collected at "baggage checkin" of some sort. This would potentially help even a station agent (and customers - see below), who could just pull up the information and print tags.
> 
> AFAIK currently Amtrak does not print baggage tags. They have a stash of tags with destination codes on them and the agent picks the right one, and if unavailable, hand writes one on a blank.
> 
> Pre-registration of checked bags help both a station agent and a trackside baggage agent equally with adequate support from the IT system. It also helps provide the foundation for baggage tracking service equivalent to what UPS, USPS or Fedex provides as is now available at Delta or United too. So at the end of the day such an improved use of IT system is a win win for all and in and of itself does not imply getting rid of station agents. It incidentally enables wider provision of checked baggage service where there has never been a station agent in the past too.


Amtrak tested printing baggage checks at Chicago and Washington (possibly intermediate CL stations as well, but I don't know for sure about that part). They were very similar in appearance to airline checks, but Amtrak apparently stopped issuing them and went back to the method you described. The last time I remember getting one of the printed checks was on a trip at the end of July 2018.


----------



## lordsigma (Nov 17, 2019)

It should be noted that for stations funded by state supported routes they’d probably have to bring these changes to the state partner. Any major changes to amenities or service are supposed to be negotiated with the state partner under most of the state contracts. There have been some occasions where states have rejected “destaffing” decisions. Most recent one I can think of is Altoona, PA. And ultimately the state is going to pay the subsidy to pay for it. So if something comes I’d expect them to start with long distance and NEC stations.


----------



## jis (Nov 17, 2019)

Amtrak has destaffed many NEC stations long back [emoji57] . There probably are just a couple more candidates.


----------



## TiBike (Nov 17, 2019)

There's no labor shortage at stations, staffed or otherwise, along long distance routes. Plenty of Amtrak employees arrive on every train. The problem is work rules. It makes no sense to assign baggage handling to a highly trained employee who has to juggle critical operating responsibilities at the same time, while several other employees stand on the platform doing nothing. Flexible work rules and effective supervision are the solution.


----------



## jis (Nov 17, 2019)

There is labor at unstaffed stations? [emoji51]


----------



## TiBike (Nov 17, 2019)

jis said:


> There is labor at unstaffed stations? [emoji51]



Not if there are unstaffed trains.


----------



## jis (Nov 19, 2019)

TiBike said:


> Not if there are unstaffed trains.


Cute! 

It depends on how adequately the train is staffed to spare resources to cover unstaffed station's needs adequately.


----------



## dogbert617 (Dec 10, 2019)

Sadly, it looks like Amtrak may be about to do another round of ticket agent cutbacks.  This article confirms Kalamazoo will become unstaffed in early 2020, at an undetermined date. To me though, why Kalamazoo of all staffed Amtrak stations? KAL is one of the busiest Amtrak stations in that state, and to me seems just as extremely stupid to unstaff as Cincinnati was, considering how many riders use it. Granted I know Cincy's ridership unfortunately is a little less, but that isn't the fault of that station, and more the fact it only runs 3 days a week. Also the late night train times(after 1:30am going west, and about 3:30am going east), probably don't help with ridership in Cincy. Anyway: https://wwmt.com/news/local/kalamazoos-amtrak-ticket-window-to-close-in-2020


----------



## TinCan782 (Dec 10, 2019)

Just saw this article this morning...the now un-staffed Maricopa, AZ station...
*All aboard in Maricopa, except for the luggage*
"Alley didn’t miss the ticket part. He can get tickets online. But you can’t check baggage with an iPhone. Somebody has to be there to take it, tag it and load it."
https://www.pinalcentral.com/marico...cle_1ba3b1c6-490a-53c4-bd70-a73a39e440e1.html


----------



## lordsigma (Dec 10, 2019)

dogbert617 said:


> Sadly, it looks like Amtrak may be about to do another round of ticket agent cutbacks.  This article confirms Kalamazoo will become unstaffed in early 2020, at an undetermined date. To me though, why Kalamazoo of all staffed Amtrak stations? KAL is one of the busiest Amtrak stations in that state, and to me seems just as extremely stupid to unstaff as Cincinnati was, considering how many riders use it. Granted I know Cincy's ridership unfortunately is a little less, but that isn't the fault of that station, and more the fact it only runs 3 days a week. Also the late night train times(after 1:30am going west, and about 3:30am going east), probably don't help with ridership in Cincy. Anyway: https://wwmt.com/news/local/kalamazoos-amtrak-ticket-window-to-close-in-2020



Kalamazoo may be an agent retirement. The station has only a single agent and isn’t even open every day. Sundays and Monday’s it’s unstaffed. As this is a state supported station only it may not be related to closures for the long distance side. Michigan has had several others go the same way. The state may be looking to cut their subsidy costs for the wolverines and is letting them drop the agents.


----------



## dogbert617 (Dec 11, 2019)

lordsigma said:


> Kalamazoo may be an agent retirement. The station has only a single agent and isn’t even open every day. Sundays and Monday’s it’s unstaffed. As this is a state supported station only it may not be related to closures for the long distance side. Michigan has had several others go the same way. The state may be looking to cut their subsidy costs for the wolverines and is letting them drop the agents.



Ah, I see. I'm guessing at more and more stations in smaller cities and towns still with an agent or 2(like both you and SarahZ said in that other thread), that sadly I wouldn't be surprised if Amtrak and the state agencies that run state supported trains are just letting the remaining agents slowly work a few last years till they retire, and gradually wind down the operations of all remaining Amtrak ticket agents? Personally I like having the ticket agents myself, since they do MORE than just sell tickets. Sadly to say, I won't be surprised if say like in 5-10 years, as much as I GREATLY hate to say this fear out loud, that I worry that there may almost be no agents left?


----------



## tricia (Dec 11, 2019)

dogbert617 said:


> Ah, I see. I'm guessing at more and more stations in smaller cities and towns still with an agent or 2(like both you and SarahZ said in that other thread), that sadly I wouldn't be surprised if Amtrak and the state agencies that run state supported trains are just letting the remaining agents slowly work a few last years till they retire, and gradually wind down the operations of all remaining Amtrak ticket agents? Personally I like having the ticket agents myself, since they do MORE than just sell tickets. Sadly to say, I won't be surprised if say like in 5-10 years, as much as I GREATLY hate to say this fear out loud, that I worry that there may almost be no agents left?



And almost no checked baggage.


----------



## lordsigma (Dec 11, 2019)

dogbert617 said:


> Ah, I see. I'm guessing at more and more stations in smaller cities and towns still with an agent or 2(like both you and SarahZ said in that other thread), that sadly I wouldn't be surprised if Amtrak and the state agencies that run state supported trains are just letting the remaining agents slowly work a few last years till they retire, and gradually wind down the operations of all remaining Amtrak ticket agents? Personally I like having the ticket agents myself, since they do MORE than just sell tickets. Sadly to say, I won't be surprised if say like in 5-10 years, as much as I GREATLY hate to say this fear out loud, that I worry that there may almost be no agents left?



Mostly have seen this in Michigan lately - Michigan is an economically challenged state so I wouldn’t be surprised if state budgets are challenged. There have been different examples - for example Pennsylvania did not want Amtrak to destaff Altoona so they didn’t end up doing it and I know of stations on other routes where they still actively replace station agents and maintain full staffing - in fact my local station just ADDED two hours to the ticket office hours - so it probably really depends on the route/state.


----------



## dogbert617 (Dec 11, 2019)

tricia said:


> And almost no checked baggage.



I may've forgotten the now lack of checked baggage part when it came to recently unstaffed stations, but you know my point. That due to these unstaffing decisions, these end up greatly annoying customers due to the lack of customer service, and that makes it harder for new riders to want to consider riding Amtrak. And as a result, it affects the likelihood of new riders ever giving Amtrak making a chance, and making it less likely they'll ride the train. Ugh, it's too bad that I have a fear of how many stations are moving towards being unstaffed, that I worry one day way down the road, that no stations will still be staffed anymore? I hope I'm proven wrong on that fear, but sadly very long term it seems like Amtrak is moving towards that.


----------



## Michigan Mom (Dec 12, 2019)

Always disheartening when the solutions to lowering costs are getting rid of humans.
So many things could be done, workable ideas on this thread, but all require politicians who care about public transport systems isntead of giving the rich more tax cuts. I wish us all luck with that.


----------



## neroden (Dec 13, 2019)

tricia said:


> And almost no checked baggage.


Checked baggage is an amenity which is cheap for Amtrak to provide and highly valuable to customers. The cutbacks in checked baggage service are just dumb.

If checked baggage is more cheaply done with an onboard baggageman than with a baggageman at every station, fine, but one way or the other, cutting checked baggage cuts ridership and revenue by more than it can possibly cut costs.


----------



## lordsigma (Dec 22, 2019)

The appropriations bill just passed requires Amtrak to restore station agents recently cut. The million dollar question is will they actually do it or just ignore the language.


----------



## JRR (Dec 30, 2019)

dogbert617 said:


> Sadly, it looks like Amtrak may be about to do another round of ticket agent cutbacks.  This article confirms Kalamazoo will become unstaffed in early 2020, at an undetermined date. To me though, why Kalamazoo of all staffed Amtrak stations? KAL is one of the busiest Amtrak stations in that state, and to me seems just as extremely stupid to unstaff as Cincinnati was, considering how many riders use it. Granted I know Cincy's ridership unfortunately is a little less, but that isn't the fault of that station, and more the fact it only runs 3 days a week. Also the late night train times(after 1:30am going west, and about 3:30am going east), probably don't help with ridership in Cincy. Anyway: https://wwmt.com/news/local/kalamazoos-amtrak-ticket-window-to-close-in-2020



And the area around the beautiful station is not where I want to be after dark!


----------



## Thirdrail7 (Dec 30, 2019)

Buh-bye STP!

https://www.amtrak.com/services/con...rtDate-20200106.stations-NYP|TPA|ORL|STP.html



> St. Petersburg Thruway Stop Closing
> Effective January 2, 2020
> The Amtrak Thruway stop in St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL, will be closed, but Amtrak thruway buses will continue to serve the stop daily. If you are traveling to or from St. Petersburg-Clearwater, please refer to the following:
> 
> ...


----------



## lordsigma (Dec 31, 2019)

Thirdrail7 said:


> Buh-bye STP!
> 
> https://www.amtrak.com/services/contentService.alerts.stationalerts.departDate-20200106.stations-NYP|TPA|ORL|STP.html


If I had to guess lease is up on that retail space and Amtrak wants out. I didn't even realize Amtrak had some of these full service bus stops with full waiting areas. For folks that want to check their bags, can they do so when they get to TPA or ORL, or is there not enough time?


----------



## chrsjrcj (Jul 17, 2020)

I just noticed that Amtrak has part-time positions listed for customer service representatives at Lamy (2), Maricopa (2), Cincinnati, Garden City, Ottumwa, Topeka, Texarkana, and Fort Madison.


----------



## Acela150 (Jul 17, 2020)

chrsjrcj said:


> I just noticed that Amtrak has part-time positions listed for customer service representatives at Lamy (2), Maricopa (2), Cincinnati, Garden City, Ottumwa, Topeka, Texarkana, and Fort Madison.



If one lives near by those stations, those are good "foot in the door jobs".


----------



## me_little_me (Jul 17, 2020)

Acela150 said:


> If one lives near by those stations, those are good "foot in the door jobs".


Then again, not so good if you work for an company whose execs have had to eat crow (a "traditional" not "flex" meal). They may want to dump you as soon as the winds have died down.


----------



## Dakota 400 (Jul 18, 2020)

chrsjrcj said:


> I just noticed that Amtrak has part-time positions listed for customer service representatives at Lamy (2), Maricopa (2), Cincinnati, Garden City, Ottumwa, Topeka, Texarkana, and Fort Madison.



I assume by reading your post that there is only one position available for Cincinnati. If the Cardinal had baggage service available, one person with sufficient strength could handle the job. Sell tickets, answer questions before the train's arrival; shut that part of the operation as to the train arrives to then handle luggage by getting down to the platform and on the train.


----------



## coleman (Aug 9, 2020)

It looks like the Maricopa position has been filled  I saw the opening on a local job board and I got excited about the prospect of working for a commuter rail in AZ. 

Would any current customer service rep be able to tell me what normal day-to-day looks like as a customer service rep. Any tips for next time a position opens up?

Thank you so much


----------



## Acela150 (Aug 11, 2020)

Dakota 400 said:


> I assume by reading your post that there is only one position available for Cincinnati. If the Cardinal had baggage service available, one person with sufficient strength could handle the job. Sell tickets, answer questions before the train's arrival; shut that part of the operation as to the train arrives to then handle luggage by getting down to the platform and on the train.



They most likely are hiring more then one person. Simply to have an extra board. 



coleman said:


> Any tips for next time a position opens up?



Yes. If you're truly interested in the job, apply as soon as you can.


----------



## Acela150 (Aug 11, 2020)

coleman said:


> It looks like the Maricopa position has been filled  I saw the opening on a local job board and I got excited about the prospect of working for a commuter rail in AZ.
> 
> Would any current customer service rep be able to tell me what normal day-to-day looks like as a customer service rep. Any tips for next time a position opens up?
> 
> Thank you so much



It's back up for applications if you truly are interested.


----------



## coleman (Aug 12, 2020)

Acela150 said:


> It's back up for applications if you truly are interested.


 
I saw that and applied today 

Thanks for the heads up


----------



## Acela150 (Aug 13, 2020)

coleman said:


> I saw that and applied today
> 
> Thanks for the heads up



Not a problem. Good Luck!


----------

