# Northeast Regional: Boarding at a different station



## VaPassenger (Mar 11, 2013)

I apologize if this question has been asked before. I searched the forum but couldn't find an answer.

Has anyone tried to board a Northeast Regional train at a different station than is indicated on the ticket? I booked a ticket for NYP -> WAS when there was a sale but my plans have now changed and I need to board in Trenton, NJ instead of NYC. I looked into changing my reservation but it would cost me quite a bit more to do so. So, if I board the train in Trenton with a ticket that says NYP -> WAS, would this be a problem? I checked the train number and I plan to board the train for while I have a reservation, just in Trenton instead of NYC.

Thanks!


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## battalion51 (Mar 11, 2013)

Won't be a problem. As long as you don't add distance there won't be a problem. Happy travels!


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## Ryan (Mar 11, 2013)

Shouldn't be a problem, with a caution. If you fail to board, it's possible that your e-ticket will be cancelled if you try to board too far down the line.

Not sure how quickly that happens on the NEC, though...


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## the_traveler (Mar 11, 2013)

In the "old days" of paper tickets (last year :giggle: ) this was possible, as the tickets were not turned in until the final destination. But now with e-tickets, the conductor scans the tickets and it is immediately known if you are on the train. Now they give you 2 hours or 1 stop, whichever comes first. If your ticket is not scanned, all future reservations on that reservation are cancelled. Since Trenton is more than 1 stop from NYP, if you have any other segments on that reservation, expect them to be cancelled if your ticket is not scanned just after Newark.


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## Acela150 (Mar 11, 2013)

Didn't know that Dave. Thanks for that. I thought it was a flat 2 hours.


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## PRR 60 (Mar 11, 2013)

Acela150 said:


> Didn't know that Dave. Thanks for that. I thought it was a flat 2 hours.


I think it is a flat two hours.


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## benjibear (Mar 11, 2013)

When they scan your ticket, act like you have been there since NYP!


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## battalion51 (Mar 11, 2013)

That doesn't seem like it'd work out well. On trains where they sweep the train after two or three major stops that would work out horribly. For example at one point in time it was not uncommon in Florida for them to sweep the whole train after West Palm Beach since everyone was only getting on the train south of there. So under this principle anyone who got on at MIA, HOL, FTL, and DFB would have their tickets cancelled. I'm not saying that's still in practice today, but the principle is still the same. If someone slips by an initial sweep and is located during a follow up sweep you're going to have some issues...


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## AlanB (Mar 11, 2013)

battalion51 said:


> That doesn't seem like it'd work out well. On trains where they sweep the train after two or three major stops that would work out horribly. For example at one point in time it was not uncommon in Florida for them to sweep the whole train after West Palm Beach since everyone was only getting on the train south of there. So under this principle anyone who got on at MIA, HOL, FTL, and DFB would have their tickets cancelled. I'm not saying that's still in practice today, but the principle is still the same. If someone slips by an initial sweep and is located during a follow up sweep you're going to have some issues...


The cancellation is triggered by the conductor indicating on his iPhone that he has swept the entire train for tickets from X station.

So if a conductor doesn't sweep the tran until West Palm, nothing will be canceled. The clock starts running when the conductor indicates that they've collected all tux from pax boarding at DFB, etc.


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## amamba (Mar 11, 2013)

This is a huge issue that I have with e-ticketing. I think that if you are changing your ticket for the SAME train and going a shorter distance, that they should allow agents to manually reprice to what you paid for the original, longer reservation.

I have boarded in RTE with a ticket from BOS and boarded in PVD with a ticket from RTE, but I have never tried something like NYP and Trenton. I probably would be nervous that my ticket would be cancelled. It is a calculated risk.


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## VaPassenger (Mar 12, 2013)

Thanks for the responses! Is it worth a call to an AGR agent to see if they will change my ticket without charging me more money or is that a fruitless endeavor?


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## Ryan (Mar 12, 2013)

Is this an AGR ticket? If so, that's an easy change and it won't cost anything.

If it isn't an AGR agent isn't going to be able to do anything. You may be able to convince a regular ticket agent to change the ticket for no additional cost. Worst they can do is say "no".


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## AmtrakBlue (Mar 12, 2013)

Would be nice if they could just put a notation on the manifest that someone is boarding down the line after having bought his/her ticket for an earlier station. Then, again, do they even have manifests for the regionals?


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## fairviewroad (Mar 12, 2013)

OP mentioned getting the original ticket during a sale so I suspect it's not an AGR ticket. But yeah,

I'd definitely try asking.


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## PRR 60 (Mar 12, 2013)

It is my understanding that reservations will not be cancelled until two hours after the departure of the train from the ticketed station. The conductor scanning and marking the all tickets lifted at the boarding station does not trigger cancellation. Passing a second station does not trigger the cancellation. The ticket not being scanned for two hours after train departure does. The stated purpose of this policy is to permit downline boarding.


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## VaPassenger (Mar 12, 2013)

Ryan said:


> Is this an AGR ticket? If so, that's an easy change and it won't cost anything.
> If it isn't an AGR agent isn't going to be able to do anything. You may be able to convince a regular ticket agent to change the ticket for no additional cost. Worst they can do is say "no".


This is not an AGR ticket. I'm an AGR member and thought maybe an AGR agent would be extra helpful. Wishful thinking, probably! I will call Amtrak and see what they say. I'll post again when I have a definitive answer.


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## Railroad Bill (Mar 12, 2013)

PRR 60 said:


> It is my understanding that reservations will not be cancelled until two hours after the departure of the train from the ticketed station. The conductor scanning and marking the all tickets lifted at the boarding station does not trigger cancellation. Passing a second station does not trigger the cancellation. The ticket not being scanned for two hours after train departure does. The stated purpose of this policy is to permit downline boarding.


Seems to be a considerable amount of disagreement over the "real" policy involving boarding at stations down the line using an E Ticket  . Can we determine what the policy is with Amtrak so that all AU members will be aware of what we should do? Is it two hours? Is it the next station? or is it at the whim of the conductor on the train.? Just asking :blink:


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## amamba (Mar 12, 2013)

Ryan said:


> Is this an AGR ticket? If so, that's an easy change and it won't cost anything.
> If it isn't an AGR agent isn't going to be able to do anything. You may be able to convince a regular ticket agent to change the ticket for no additional cost. Worst they can do is say "no".


I tried that twice and didn't have any success - which is why I have been saying for a while now that it would be nice if they would allow the manual price adjustments in this situation.


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## amamba (Mar 12, 2013)

PRR 60 said:


> It is my understanding that reservations will not be cancelled until two hours after the departure of the train from the ticketed station. The conductor scanning and marking the all tickets lifted at the boarding station does not trigger cancellation. Passing a second station does not trigger the cancellation. The ticket not being scanned for two hours after train departure does. The stated purpose of this policy is to permit downline boarding.


Can anyone who works for amtrak confirm or deny this? Trogdor maybe?


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## PRR 60 (Mar 12, 2013)

amamba said:


> PRR 60 said:
> 
> 
> > It is my understanding that reservations will not be cancelled until two hours after the departure of the train from the ticketed station. The conductor scanning and marking the all tickets lifted at the boarding station does not trigger cancellation. Passing a second station does not trigger the cancellation. The ticket not being scanned for two hours after train departure does. The stated purpose of this policy is to permit downline boarding.
> ...


This information was published in Trains Magazine (November 2012, page 44) quoting Tony Flynn, Amtrak manager of the e-ticketing initiative.


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## fairviewroad (Mar 12, 2013)

And presumably this would be 2 hours after actual departure from the ticketed station, not the scheduled departure. Otherwise you'd have

plenty of cancelled tickets every time a LD train ran into some difficulty.


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## MSP_Train_Hopper (Mar 12, 2013)

Here is what I found in the Service Manual from April 2011 (an updated version is out there but I haven't seen it yet.) It's weird that guidelines are only given for Sleeping Cars, and not any other type of service.

10. Standee Conditions/No Shows

a) A "standee condition" exists only if every seat in a particular class of service is occupied and passengers in that class remain standing. (Class of service is defined as: Coach, Business Class, First Class, etc.).

Passengers who choose not to sit because of vacant seat's location (e.g., the empty seat at a table on Acela Express; seats facing backward, and/or seats in the Quiet Car) are not to be counted as standees.

In such cases, the passenger has made their decision because of their preference, not because a seat is unavailable.

Conductors are required to report “standee conditions” on both reserved and unreserved trains to CNOC at (800) 205-0711.

b) In order to ensure that continuing or return space held by no-show passengers is made available for future sale, the Conductor must call CNOC at (800) 205-0711 to release the space.

c) For the purpose of this rule, no-show Sleeping Car space is defined as space not occupied within two hours or within one stop from the boarding point indicated on the manifest, whichever is longer.


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## amamba (Mar 12, 2013)

PRR 60 said:


> amamba said:
> 
> 
> > PRR 60 said:
> ...


Thank you, that is good enough for me!


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## battalion51 (Mar 13, 2013)

Every train has a manifest. The information it shows will vary based on the type of service, but all trains have one. The Conductor does get live counts on their device as tickets are purchased/cancelled/lifted. But remember there are TAs and LSAs that do not have the electronic gadgetry that need the info, plus there needs to be a backup in case the electronics fail. The manifest will show info on special requests from passengers whereas I don't believe the device shows that info.


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## VaPassenger (Mar 18, 2013)

In case anyone else needs to do this, I called Amtrak and they worked it out for me. At first, the agent said they can't change my reservation to shorten my trip without charging me the new non-sale price and that if I don't board in New York, my reservation will be cancelled. But, the agent spoke with a manager and said they can change my reservation without charging me a different price so this is what I did.

So, there you have it. If you call them up, it's possible to do.


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## Ryan (Mar 18, 2013)

Good to know, and good on you for making it happen!


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## Acela150 (Mar 18, 2013)

Sounds good to me.


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## amamba (Mar 19, 2013)

VaPassenger said:


> In case anyone else needs to do this, I called Amtrak and they worked it out for me. At first, the agent said they can't change my reservation to shorten my trip without charging me the new non-sale price and that if I don't board in New York, my reservation will be cancelled. But, the agent spoke with a manager and said they can change my reservation without charging me a different price so this is what I did.
> So, there you have it. If you call them up, it's possible to do.


That is great that it worked. But I still think it should be written up as a procedure so that all ticket agents can do this, so that we don't have to call and then pray that we get an agent that we will work with us.


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## Alex (Aug 1, 2013)

So ridiculous. Just got off the phone with a ticket agent so I can leave from Dearborn (where a parked car won't get demolished) instead of Detroit. Their first move is to say "oh it'll be $10 more for each direction (RT ticket) and you'll lose your AAA discount since it's tomorrow. "Can I talk to a supervisor?" 2 minute hold later they've moved it and not charged me. Stay classy, Amtrak...


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