Amtrak website/app issues

[jis]

Just worked fine for me. Login ok and my account displays fine.
Windows 10, MS Edge and Chrome both worked ok.
The app on my Android device also looks ok.
0815 PDT

I suspect it depends on your luck. They probably have a server bank. It works fine on some servers and is hopelessly broken on others. It depends on which server happens to be assigned for handling your login. IOW, when they did the previous update it did not happen fully and they just put the system back on line without making sure the whole thing works. My speculation trying to explain what is observed.

 

[TinCan782]

I suspect it depends on your luck. They probably have a server bank. It works fine on some servers and is hopelessly broken on others. It depends on which server happens to be assigned for handling your login. IOW, when they did the previous update it did not happen fully and they just put the system back on line without making sure the whole thing works. My speculation trying to explain what is observed.

Could geographic location have something to do with it? I'm in California and maybe my connection was handled through a different portal/server than yours in Florida.

 

[jis]

Could geographic location have something to do with it? I'm in California and maybe my connection was handled through a different portal/server than yours in Florida.

That is essentially what I said in perhaps an overly geeky way. So yes.

 

[joelkfla]

I cannot log into my account on my Mac desktop at home or on my MacBook. I have tried Google and Safari. When I use Google and try to sign in, the language switches to Chinese or Japanese. I am not able to reset my password on Google Chrome.

I tried Safari. I could change my password, but then I could not log in. The spaces to enter my information never appeared.

Every time I look at the app, I see vague error messages. At least my booked trips show up there.

Everything was working fine a few weeks ago, but now it is a mess.

Did you clear browser cookies and cache? Always the first thing to try when things get weird. That got it working for me this morning.

(BTW, it was Chinese. The URL included zhong, and Zhonghua is Mandarin for China.)

 

[Cal]

Was just looking up a random itinerary and I saw this for the two Oakland stations. I then looked up a few other stations and they didn't list the amount of departures. Does anyone know if any other stations show this? I think it might be because they're both serving the same city with dramatically different service patterns, unlike other similar situations such as Boston and San Diego.

 

[Willbridge]

View attachment 37368

Was just looking up a random itinerary and I saw this for the two Oakland stations. I then looked up a few other stations and they didn't list the amount of departures. Does anyone know if any other stations show this? I think it might be because they're both serving the same city with dramatically different service patterns, unlike other similar situations such as Boston and San Diego.

This came up a while ago. Portland is listed with 23 departures, which it has shown since last year, before additional Cascades were added. Portland International Airport shows 2 departures. Seattle and Tacoma do not show this info. I suspect that it was a test, and someone forgot to clean it out.

The only value that I have thought of is that in cities with multiple locations it makes identifying the primary station easier.

 

[Cal]

The only value that I have thought of is that in cities with multiple locations it makes identifying the primary station easier.

I agree but none of the Bostons show it, nor do the San Diegos. I think it being a test is much more likely. Thanks for the info!

Side note: What services go to Portland Airport?

 

[Willbridge]

I agree but none of the Bostons show it, nor do the San Diegos. I think it being a test is much more likely. Thanks for the info!

Side note: What services go to Portland Airport?

Thruway to Bend serves both Portland Union Station and Portland International Airport.

 

[Willbridge]

Here's a clue. MKE shows 24 departures, and the airport shows 14 departures. This is parallel to the PDX situation, in which the number of departures indicates where the main station is.

 

[Willbridge]

Here's a clue. MKE shows 24 departures, and the airport shows 14 departures. This is parallel to the PDX situation, in which the number of departures indicates where the main station is.

I notice that EUG is in this collection, too, showing 16 departures. The University of Oregon shows 5 Thruway trips to PDX and a separate code. SLM and SPK show the number of departures, but there is no second stop location.

 

[Bernie]

I'm a PHL-NYP commuter (about once a week), and buy my tickets way in advance to get the best price. This means I currently have over 70 tickets reserved (10-trip and monthly are much more expensive). I think as a result of this, the Amtrak app on Android is extremely slow and often crashes. When I'm on the train and the conductor comes around, it's embarrassing as it often takes half a minute to bring up the ticket. Occasionally, a ticket I have reserved doesn't even show up in the app and I have to find the receipt in my email. Anyone else have these problems? The app was recently updated, but it didn't help the slowness and crashing.

 

[Brian Battuello]

As much as we love our smartphones, I *always* print out a paper copy of Amtrak tickets. I know it would be a pain with 70 tickets, but you do it once and then just take the ones you need with you. I usually use the iPhone screen with the conductor, but nice to know that I have a backup.

Also, if your tickets are reserved, which I think they must be, the conductor should be able to find you on his device.

On my iPhone, I can also add Amtrak tickets to my Apple Wallet, don't know if there is a similar thing on Android.

 

[AmtrakBlue]

I p/o my tickets and also save it to a document app. But you could also do a screen shot of the QR code and other pertinent info. And as said above, they can look you up by name on their device.

 

[zephyr17]

App works fine on my Samsumg Galaxy S22.

With that said, I always have a hard copy of the boarding pass with the QR code, too.

Cannot add Amtrak tix to Google Wallet. Can with VIA tix, tho.

 

[Bernie]

If I truly couldn't open the app, the conductor could just look up my name, so I don't think it's important to print the ticket (also I could find the receipt in my emails if need be). But I buy lots of flex tickets I need to cancel/modify, and it gets very annoying for that.

Also, when I change tickets, the change is rarely reflected on the Amtrak website on a browser (though it is in the app). My list of upcoming trips on the website has no correspondence with what my actual upcoming trips are.

 

[Eric in East County]

With that said, I always have a hard copy of the boarding pass with the QR code, too.

We always have several hard copies of our tickets with us when we travel.

 

[zephyr17]

We always have several hard copies of our tickets with us when we travel.

Yeah, paper does not have a battery to die, and cannot brick itself.

 

[trimetbusfan]

We always have several hard copies of our tickets with us when we travel.

Yeah, paper does not have a battery to die, and cannot brick itself.

As someone who rides the same short segments on a regular basis, I’ve stopped printing out paper tickets. If my phone were to die, I can always print one out at the station by asking the agent.

For LD trips, I do print out the ticket (even if I don’t use it, it’s a good souvenir to remember the trip).