Can a train skip a scheduled stop?

[GaSteve]

Perhaps the train was behind schedule and just slowed down, but did not fully stop.

Unless it is behind schedule, an A stop, a D stop or an L stop, all trains can not depart prior to the scheduled departure time. Even at flag stops, they slow down to verify n9body is waiting there.

Perhaps you should have read the previous replies.  TRE was not a scheduled stop for that train.

 

[Mystic River Dragon]

Perhaps the train...just slowed down, but did not fully stop.

A great idea for all trains that have to go through TRE! The sooner you get through there, the better! :giggle:

By the way, I am getting a huge chuckle out of how my one innocent and fairly basic question has led to all sorts of tangents (and it wasn't me going off on one this time! )

 

[neroden]

I rode the Empire Builder on Thanksgiving Day.

We stopped at every station.  At a large number of the stations, we didn't open the doors, because nobody was getting on or off. But we were required to stop and wait for the scheduled departure time before continuing.  We were early at practically every station.

(IIRC, we had people at Minot, Willison, Havre, Whitefish, and Spokane, but none of the other stations in between -- not even Shelby.)

 

[cpotisch]

All this reminds me of this true Amtrak horror story that popped up on AU five years ago...

Doors didn’t open

 

[Thirdrail7]

Never if AmtrakBue is on platform? :lol:

I've heard she is the reason they raised the speed through the area years ago.  It's just a rumor though.  ^_^

By the way, I am getting a huge chuckle out of how my one innocent and fairly basic question has led to all sorts of tangents (and it wasn't me going off on one this time! )

What else is new? What would this board be without everyone utilizing every opportunity to tell some off topic story and showing their "knowledge?" Besides, Anderson said it best in another thread:

Probably because we've got a long and storied tradition of beating dead horses...

Carry on.

 

[railiner]

My understanding (I tried to find something official to document, but couldn't) is that, even at flag stops, the train is supposed to slow down to a speed at which it can safely stop if a last-minute walk-up passenger "flags it down" from the platform and that it is not to pass that stop until the time point published in the timetable. The exception being, of course, stops which are coded as "D" (Discharge only) or "L" (Limited?). At stops with those codes, the train may leave early if its station work is complete.

While at all regular stops the train is supposed to come to a full and complete stop, it wouldn't surprise me if some crews treat minor stops as a flag stop if running behind schedule. And I've personally seen several smaller station stops where a full and complete stop was made...for about two seconds before continuing on.

I agree that they should make a full stop at a station if that is what the schedule calls for.   At some minor stops without shelter, a passenger might be waiting inside an automobile for the train to stop.   If the engineer doesn't see anyone on the platform waiting, and doesn't stop, by the time the passenger gets to the platform, they could conceivably be missed...

 

[ehbowen]

I agree that they should make a full stop at a station if that is what the schedule calls for.   At some minor stops without shelter, a passenger might be waiting inside an automobile for the train to stop.   If the engineer doesn't see anyone on the platform waiting, and doesn't stop, by the time the passenger gets to the platform, they could conceivably be missed...

I'm pretty sure that if a passenger was on the conductor's manifest he'd wait longer than two seconds, especially if he saw a car in the parking area with lights on on a cold winter's day. However, if you're hoping to walk on board at the last second without an advance reservation...better have some spring in your step!

 

[cpotisch]

About 35 years ago, I was on Trans Michigan Airlines (I think that's what they were called)

You mean Trans-Canada Air Lines?

 

[JayPea]

I recall some years ago on the EB from Spokane to Portland, we were running a bit behind, and at Wishram, where there was no one getting on or off, the train made a rolling, or as we call it here, "California" stop. (Sorry about that, Calfornians :lol: The engineer slowed way down, but never came to a complete stop.

 

[bratkinson]

You mean Trans-Canada Air Lines?

I sure it had 'Michigan' as part of the name.  Trans Michigan seems to ring a bell.  I rather doubt Trans-Canada would have anything to do with smaller towns in Michigan.

 

[cpotisch]

You mean Trans-Canada Air Lines?

 I sure it had 'Michigan' as part of the name.  Trans Michigan seems to ring a bell.  I rather doubt Trans-Canada would have anything to do with smaller towns in Michigan.

Whoops, you’re right. Apparently it’s a small enough airline that it doesn’t have a Wikipedia page or anything, but I’m seeing plenty of pictures of Trans-Michigan Airlines DHC-6s.  

 

[Bob Dylan]

On the Sunset  Route Sanderson,Tx. was Carded as a Flag Stop for years.

The Station was torn down several years ago, and surprisingly a few riders actually board/detain here but now the Sunset calls there even when no-one is getting off/on as per the Manifest.

Nothing left but a dying town with a gravel platform.

 

[BCL]

I rode the Empire Builder on Thanksgiving Day.

We stopped at every station.  At a large number of the stations, we didn't open the doors, because nobody was getting on or off. But we were required to stop and wait for the scheduled departure time before continuing.  We were early at practically every station.

(IIRC, we had people at Minot, Willison, Havre, Whitefish, and Spokane, but none of the other stations in between -- not even Shelby.)

Wouldn't that be prudent to stay on schedule, since the timing of trains is carefully mapped out?

Still - the thing I would think might be an issue would be passengers with multi-ride/monthly tickets or passengers who bought a reserved ticket at the last possible moment.  I think some conductors might even give a passenger a chance to do the purchasing on-board with portable devices.  Even "reserved" trains can be ridden by

It was kind of an obscure rule, but there is one section of the San Joaquin that overlaps with Capitol Corridor.  Someone with an unreserved Capitol Corridor ticket can ride between stations on that route on any San Joaquin train.  I don't know if there's anything similar on the Northeast Corridor.  But I would think to have that work they would need to stop at every scheduled station.

 

[ehbowen]

While reservations are required for long-distance trains, if you board at an unstaffed station at the last second and space is available the conductor is supposed to accommodate you...and sell you your ticket on board with no penalty fee and add you on to the manifest.

 

[jis]

The conductor usually asks you to call the Amtrak Res Center after boarding and get yourself a ticket. I have done that a couple of times.

 

[Bob Dylan]

This won't work where there is No Cell Service such as out in the Desert or on the High Line.

 

[ehbowen]

Or if you're paying cash...which is still accepted as legal tender in most places!

 

[Thirdrail7]

While reservations are required for long-distance trains, if you board at an unstaffed station at the last second and space is available the conductor is supposed to accommodate you...and sell you your ticket on board with no penalty fee and add you on to the manifest.

The conductor usually asks you to call the Amtrak Res Center after boarding and get yourself a ticket. I have done that a couple of times.

This won't work where there is No Cell Service such as out in the Desert or on the High Line.

Or if you're paying cash...which is still accepted as legal tender in most places!

There is a penalty for paying on a reserved train, even if you use cash. There is a reason they've told people like Jis to call the 1-800 number, make a reservation and pay for it online:

https://www.amtrak.com/planning-booking/tickets-reservations/purchase-train-tickets.html

Onboard




In most circumstances, you must purchase a ticket before you board a train. On most Amtrak trains, only the full, undiscounted, unrestricted fare will be available for purchase onboard the train. This is regardless of reservations made or fares previously quoted by ticket agents, Amtrak.com or elsewhere. Higher fares usually apply when purchasing tickets onboard the train. To secure the best available fare, passengers should purchase tickets prior to boarding the train.

This has been the policy for quite some time. It has gradually gotten worse and spread to other trains, including unreserved trains and some of the state supported trains.  It is extremely likely that the last thing you'd want to do is purchase a ticket from a crew member on board the train.  

 

[BCL]

The conductor usually asks you to call the Amtrak Res Center after boarding and get yourself a ticket. I have done that a couple of times.

I've sort of seen that.  One time a passenger just boarded and sat at my table after the conductor told her to just buy a ticket online using her phone and it would get scanned later.  She asked me to help since she wasn't familiar with how to do it.

I've also bought a ticket from a conductor once, and he didn't seem to happy about it.  He asked if I knew how to buy a ticket any other way and if I had a smart phone.  I said yes, but I just wanted to try it out once.  And despite all his complaints that I was wasting his time, he starting going in detail over what all the stuff on the ticket meant.

 

[jis]

This won't work where there is No Cell Service such as out in the Desert or on the High Line.

In my experience Conductors have been extremely accommodating as far as that goes. They have been willing to wait until you get a cell signal, of course assuming you are not departing the train before that happens.

 

[fairviewroad]

Or if you're paying cash...which is still accepted as legal tender in most places!

Well, at least you can use cash for on board food/beverage purchases on Amtrak. No longer the case on most US-based airlines!

 

[BCL]

Well, at least you can use cash for on board food/beverage purchases on Amtrak. No longer the case on most US-based airlines!

There's certainly no legal requirement to accept cash for any purchase.  I've been to gas stations where there were no attendants, but was pay at the pump after hours.  And legal tender is a rule that only applies to paying off debts - that an offer to pay in legal tender means that the debt has been discharged even if it isn't accepted.

 

[neroden]

There's certainly no legal requirement to accept cash for any purchase.  I've been to gas stations where there were no attendants, but was pay at the pump after hours.  And legal tender is a rule that only applies to paying off debts - that an offer to pay in legal tender means that the debt has been discharged even if it isn't accepted.

Note, however, that if you receive goods or services before paying, then you owe a debt and so the legal tender rule applies.  So, if you get on the train without a ticket, and are carried to the next station, and offer to pay for the trip in cash, if they don't accept the cash, then when they put you off the train... you don't owe anything.  Probably a reason Amtrak still accepts cash on the train...

 

[jis]

Note, however, that if you receive goods or services before paying, then you owe a debt and so the legal tender rule applies. So, if you get on the train without a ticket, and are carried to the next station, and offer to pay for the trip in cash, if they don't accept the cash, then when they put you off the train... you don't owe anything. Probably a reason Amtrak still accepts cash on the train...

I guess they could set someone off at the next grade crossing for free too Juuust kidding of course.

 

[Thirdrail7]

It is funny that I was just in this thread yesterday to update it and Jis adds a post to it. In any event:

Which leads to another question--I assumed all Regionals stopped at TRE as a matter of course

Perhaps the train was behind schedule and just slowed down, but did not fully stop.

A great idea for all trains that have to go through TRE! The sooner you get through there, the better! :giggle:

Well, you're in luck @Mystic River Dragon! To fight the ever-crowded conditions on the NEC, a new train has been added on Sundays. Train 121 will depart NYP at 1029 am and operate between the extremely packed train 143 and extremely packed train 195 ( even though you still have 91 taking NYP-WAS passengers) to alleviate congestion.

On the return, you have train 122, which departs WAS at 345pm (just ahead of the 4 pm Acela) and operates between the extremely packed train 132 and extremely packed train 124.

Neither of the trains will make Trenton, although they both make Princeton Junction.

I'm also very interested in how they plan to handle train 121 during periods of single tracking. 143 is usually manhandled waiting for the inbound trains to clear at that is towards the top of the hour. I can't imagine what they will do to a train that departs in the thick of the inbound swing.