Could a "pass through" fare work?

[BCL]

In the recent talk about stations that have been repurposed, I was thinking of the old Fremont-Centerville station that was converted into a restaurant. I haven't been there yet, although I'm thinking of trying it when commuting in my car. However, I was thinking it would be great if I could somehow hop off one train, have a long breakfast while reading a paper, and continue my commute on the next train without having to spring for two fares.

I've taken Caltrain before, and they do have a deal where the fare is good for 4 hours. A passenger can get off and continue on the route on a one-way ticket as long as one doesn't reverse direction. This is especially useful at certain commute times where the trains have limited stops and there are timed transfers at specific stations to cover all stations. The current fare collection structure (proof of payment) sort of lends itself to this.

I know this would work if I had a monthly pass. Right now it doesn't work out with the 10-ride ticket I use sometimes.

I thought of maybe trying this by getting off and hopping on the next ACE train, but that one way fare is $5 and the schedules aren't too amenable to it. Still half of what Amtrak charges for the same route.

 

[the_traveler]

I'm moving this as it does not pertain to Amtrak, which by the way allows you to "stopover" on a regular ticket for up to 23 hours and 59 minutes. (This of course eliminates any once daily train, since it arrives at say 2;17 and departs at 2:17 - or 24 hours later.)

 

[Anthony]

I'm moving this as it does not pertain to Amtrak, which by the way allows you to "stopover" on a regular ticket for up to 23 hours and 59 minutes. (This of course eliminates any once daily train, since it arrives at say 2;17 and departs at 2:17 - or 24 hours later.)

Pretty sure the threshold between transfer and stopover is 23 hours, 30 minutes, not 23:59.

 

[Trogdor]

I thought the question did pertain to Amtrak.

That said, this is already doable. I'm not sure what your O/D is, but many (most?) Amtrak rail fares in corridors are the same if you ride one train straight through, or if you ride one train part way, then continue on the next train. Just look it up in Amtrak.com.

I believe all trains have to have the same bucket available for it to work, and it doesn't apply to any upgraded accommodations.

Using Fremont as an example, OKJ-SJC is $17, and OKJ-FMT-SJC is also $17 (OKJ-FMT by itself is $12, and FMT-SJC by itself is also $12).

So, what you're asking for already exists. I also suggest this be moved back to the Amtrak forum since this is an Amtrak question.

 

[roadman3313]

This is an Amtrak question. And on a 10-ride ticket you can not hop on and hop off which is what the OP was stating he sometimes gets I believe.

In order to do this you would just enter it as a multi-city and purchase the ticket that way using Origin-FMT and FMT-Final Destination. Or you could buy a ticket from Origin-FMT and use your 10-ride ticket when boarding at FMT-Final Destination as you can board anywhere within the boundaries of the ticket.

Capitol Corridor fares are based on a specific fare table so they do not change unless the CCJPA makes a change to their fare matrix so no need to worry about fare buckets on this one.

You could also take ACE but as you mentioned you would have to travel pretty early to be able to do it.

 

[BCL]

I thought this was an Amtrak question. I know I didn't use the magic word, but I was talking about Capitol Corridor.

I wasn't sure if it would work. I use a 10-ride (now RIC-GAC to give me some flexibility to use any station from RIC/BKY/EMY/OAC) most of the time, and on one occasion the conductor didn't even find me until after we passed Fremont (and I got on at Richmond). I was under the impression that I would either need another ticket for that portion or get another punch. I was actually sitting in the cafe car with my ticket on the table, and a conductor never came in there for almost an hour.

I'm also not sure how it would work if I had a regular fare with an eTicket. I know when I've purchased tickets on my phone app, once the eTicket is "pulled" the app says "paper ticket required" and the QR code no longer displays.

I looked up a multi-city ticket for BKY-FRT-GAC. $17 total (same as BKY-FRT) and it was broken down into $10.20 for BKY-FRT and $6.80 for FRT-GAC. So I guess it can be done as long as the regular ticket was purchased. I'm also wondering what they would do if you decided not to get off. I'm thinking that the second portion is good any time for a year, and they'd simply just scan it.

 

[the_traveler]

I thought this was not pertaining to Amtrak, since the OP specifically stated Caltrain and ACE - which are commuter options not Amtrak.

With the op's clarification, I will move it back.

 

[SubwayNut]

Multi-City Stopover tickets I do all the time. They are the way that I have visited every station on The Pacific Sufliner and San Joaquin among other Amtrak corridors. You will recieve double 200+ AGR points for the trip because you've taken two segments on two different trains.

If you book a multi-city eTicket ticket on Amtrak.com the second segment won't dissapear on the app until after you've had the segment scanned by the conductor. I've done this post eTickets (my time in California were pre eTickets and I got a different paper ticket for each segment) on many reserved train along with $6.50 PHL-Paoli-EXT-DOW photo stops/points run and the conductor scanned my iPhone on the first two segment on the third the conductor simply looked me up on the manifest. Every train I boarded was the original one in the unreserved reservation.

 

[BCL]

I thought this was not pertaining to Amtrak, since the OP specifically stated Caltrain and ACE - which are commuter options not Amtrak.

With the op's clarification, I will move it back.

I was just wondering if a Caltrain like fare scheme could be applied to Amtrak ticketing. The ACE comment was about making up the rest of the way to my final destination since ACE serves that specific route for less than Amtrak.

I understand that if I have a monthly pass none of this would even matter. I could just get off and back on the next train without thinking about how much it would cost.

I actually drove there today. Pretty nice cozy place. I might have been wrong that it was repurposed. It looks like there was an existing restaurant space at the station, possibly since it was originally built. It's also a pretty nice setup they have. It's a bit chilly outside right now, but they've got a patio and one side of the Amtrak electronic sign actually faces the patio. The old station building still has a (non-operating) baggage area, waiting room, and an operating restroom, as well as a Quik-Trak kiosk. I'm not even sure I would say that it's no longer a "station building" per se although it no longer has a ticket window.

 

[fairviewroad]

Amtrak, which by the way allows you to "stopover" on a regular ticket for up to 23 hours and 59 minutes. (This of course eliminates any once daily train, since it arrives at say 2;17 and departs at 2:17 - or 24 hours later.)

Not entirely. The Ethan Allen Express runs at different times on the weekend than during the week. So you could depart Rutland on Sunday at 5:05 p.m., and hop off at Castleton at 5:24 p.m, enjoying your stopover until 8:19 the following morning, when the next Ethan Allen rolls through. Thus, on a once-daily train, you get a free stopover.

Why anyone in their right mind would do that is anyone's guess...but the timetable nerd in me is just compelled to point out that a less than 24-hour stopover on a once daily train is, in fact, possible!

 

[BCL]

Multi-City Stopover tickets I do all the time. They are the way that I have visited every station on The Pacific Sufliner and San Joaquin among other Amtrak corridors. You will recieve double 200+ AGR points for the trip because you've taken two segments on two different trains.

If you book a multi-city eTicket ticket on Amtrak.com the second segment won't dissapear on the app until after you've had the segment scanned by the conductor. I've done this post eTickets (my time in California were pre eTickets and I got a different paper ticket for each segment) on many reserved train along with $6.50 PHL-Paoli-EXT-DOW photo stops/points run and the conductor scanned my iPhone on the first two segment on the third the conductor simply looked me up on the manifest. Every train I boarded was the original one in the unreserved reservation.

Can you make such a purchase via the app, or would it have to be done online?

I'm guessing that if done online it would eventually be linked to the app and show up in my "Active Trips" reservations? I haven't bought a single ride ticket in a few months, although I do seem to recall the 10-ride tickets I bought via Amtrak.com showed up on "Active Trips" in the app until I used them up. The ones I bought via QT or at a ticket window didn't show up even though I used by AGR number.

I might just try this out just for the sake of trying it out. I could probably get the price down by starting closer to Fremont and apply the AAA discount.

 

[BCL]

Tried doing the multi city thing today. I even went to a QT kiosk to see what the regular ticket looked like. Both segments were on the same ticket, although it looked like there was only room for two segments.

I logged in to buy it online and then checked my active reservations on my phone. It showed up right there. The eTicket had segments on two pages (same QR code) that I could switch with a swipe. I also added each page to Passbook, which also was swiped to change segments.

As soon as I got on I pulled up the reservation in Passbook and the conductor asked my name. He said he couldn't get the code to work. I pulled out the ticket I printed instead and he asked me if I wanted to use both segments for the same trip. He said he could pull one or both segments at the same time.

Interesting process. I'm a bit hungry now.

 

[BCL]

Just killing time at the Fremont station and I found that I could still print up a ticket at the QT kiosk.

However, the ticket only displayed the remainder of my trip and not both segments.