Can I hop on a stop later?

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Marissa

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Traveling tomorrow from Boston (Back Bay) to Baltimore. Just realized we’re closer to the Westwood stop. Would we be able to just hop on there versus traveling all the way into the city?
 
Be careful on long distance train a no show will canceled the rest of the ticket. While you can get away with on the NEC, I would still call customer service.

On a long distance train with a connection train on the same ticket. Miss the first train, and your ticket gets canceled all the way. Seen a few people loose there accommodate because a conductor did not lift there ticket on one segment.
 
Seen a few people loose there accommodate because a conductor did not lift there ticket on one segment.
Yeah, I was one of them, although happily it was just a BC seat.

Since then, if an SCA said I've checked you in with the conductor, I've chased down the conductor to make sure. Happily, based on my big trip last November, that practice appears to have ceased. On five separate trains, the Builder, the Lake Shore (twice, went both ways), the SW Chief, and the Starlight, the conductor came through to scan all sleeper tickets.
 
On another same different token - boarding the train one-stop before ?
OK you may have a sleeper but won't be able to use it till at the original boarding point -
so you take a coach seat or SRO.
Reason for this is the same as boarding at the more convenient closer location -

Any event the Conductor would be ultimate judge - perhaps pray he/she is generous
 
Any event the Conductor would be ultimate judge - perhaps pray he/she is generous
These days, it really depends on whether the system cancelled the unscanned ticket or not.

If it hasn't, the passenger has valid transportation and the ticket scan will show that.

If it has, they do not have a ticket. Conductor has little choice at that point. Either purchase new transportation, from the conductor, 800-USA-RAIL, Amtrak.com, or remove passenger at the next stop.

The key point is when the system cancels the ticket. Think it is 90-120 minutes on LDs. It is less on the NE Regionals, but still think it is 60 minutes or two stops.
 
On an LD, if you call Amtrak day of trip to change your boarding & return station, but it's in the same fare zone as the original, do you have to pay the difference to the currently available bucket fare? And what if the room type you're in is sold out?
Generally if you change endpoints, you'll generally get charged current bucket. If your room type is sold out, the agent will have to do some gymnastics to keep it. A really good agent might be able to hold the price for you.
 
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