First refunds, now baggage

[Anderson]

I don't get the point about the knive. Like others said, a leatherman (or in my case a swiss army knive) can be sometimes be really helpfull: fixing things, cut an apple into two, open a bottle and so on... not everyone who has a knive will use it as a weapon!

since the terrorist attacks of 9/11 you haven't been able to carry a pocket knife or multi-tool onto an airplane. i believe the terrorists carried on box cutters. evidently this policy is being extended to amtrak. i don't think many of us think it will be a particularly effective preventive measure.

No, because any terrorist with half a brain cell will simply board at Newark or Metropark instead of New York Penn or Philly 30th Street. Or maybe you'll get lucky and they'll just shoot up a higher-density NJT train or open fire in a Metra gallery car instead.

 

[eagle8421]

I don't get the point about the knive. Like others said, a leatherman (or in my case a swiss army knive) can be sometimes be really helpfull: fixing things, cut an apple into two, open a bottle and so on... not everyone who has a knive will use it as a weapon!

since the terrorist attacks of 9/11 you haven't been able to carry a pocket knife or multi-tool onto an airplane. i believe the terrorists carried on box cutters. evidently this policy is being extended to amtrak. i don't think many of us think it will be a particularly effective preventive measure.

No, because any terrorist with half a brain cell will simply board at Newark or Metropark instead of New York Penn or Philly 30th Street. Or maybe you'll get lucky and they'll just shoot up a higher-density NJT train or open fire in a Metra gallery car instead.

That's the point, you can NEVER guarantee 100 percent of security. I just want to citize Benjamin Franklin: They that can give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety. But I think, now it gets too much into politics.

 

[acelafan]

Two bags per person (plus a purse/laptop) is still extremely generous. I think they're mostly trying to dissuade people from moving via Amtrak. I honestly cannot imagine a trip that would require us to bring more than four suitcases.

Everyone complains about Amtrak losing money day in and day out. Asking those people who are basically trying to avoid shipping fees to pay a $20 baggage fee for two additional bags isn't a big deal, and it's still cheaper than sending those bags through UPS/etc.

I don't see this as a "gateway" to the TSA or anything of the sort. I honestly think the issue is people who abuse the system (especially since they added the clause about "no plastic totes") and Amtrak trying to recoup some lost revenue. This is one of the easiest ways to do it since raising ticket prices and food prices would cause everyone to freak out. I don't think quite as many people are going to freak out about not being able to bring a third suitcase on a trip.

I agree with you. Amtrak has to make due with less federal funding for its operating subsidy so they are going to have to rein in a few of their liberal policies and/or start enforcing rules. Boardman has mentioned this on multiple occasions in internal correspondence and in Amtrak Ink.

I don't think the $20 baggage fee for more than 2 bags is *that* bad when you consider what the airlines charge. I have no idea what the baggage limits/charges are on buses.

Yes some people like to move via Amtrak but the reality is, is Amtrak supposed to be a moving company for free of charge? I would argue no....even if the baggage cars are mostly empty. They need to raise money somehow in environment of reduced funding that is probably not going to get any better any time soon. At least they are not charging AGR point redemptions according to the open market price....yet!

 

[Devil's Advocate]

Everyone complains about Amtrak losing money day in and day out. Asking those people who are basically trying to avoid shipping fees to pay a $20 baggage fee for two additional bags isn't a big deal...I don't see this as a "gateway" to the TSA or anything of the sort.

I agree with you. Amtrak has to make due with less federal funding for its operating subsidy so they are going to have to rein in a few of their liberal policies and/or start enforcing rules. I don't think the $20 baggage fee for more than 2 bags is *that* bad when you consider what the airlines charge.

Maybe these new fees and restrictions will be a revenue goldmine for Amtrak. Or maybe previously growing demand will begin to soften as Amtrak begins to follow the lead of our cherished airlines. Maybe the TSA is just joking when they say they have their eye on surface based mass transit. Or maybe they're not.

 

[Paulus]

The truly weird thing is the 45 minutes required for checked baggage. I'm having a hard time seeing that as really being justified.

 

[Peter KG6LSE]

I have Yet to hear of a full bag car .

That is what I wonder about. If the baggage cars weren't full why did they decrease the max from 6 to 4? They could just charge the $20/each for bags 5 and 6 and bring in more revenue.

first 3 are free ! make it a service mark! .. then No 4 5 6 charge $30 eatch.

slogan like that would kick South west in the ......... real good .

If they have the room then I say make it more lax then before .. the Things that they have going for them . Dining , AC in eatch seat . and bags galore should be capitalized on !.

Or heck put a total Lb and Ln Inch limit per person not per bag ..

then you pay per Inch over that

120 Lin inches per pax? 50 Lbs max per box .

Some of the rolling bags I have seen are not gonna fit the new rules ..

 

[afigg]

Maybe these new fees and restrictions will be a revenue goldmine for Amtrak. Or maybe previously growing demand will begin to soften as Amtrak begins to follow the lead of our cherished airlines. Maybe the TSA is just joking when they say they have their eye on surface based mass transit. Or maybe they're not.

I doubt if Amtrak will generate much revenue from the increased baggage fees for more than 2 bags per person. Has to be a pretty small percentage of passengers on the trains with baggage cars who check more than 2 bags through. There is nothing I see in the financial statements about the revenue from baggage check fees. The policy change will generate a small amount of additional revenue, but probably more of a small copper mine than a gold mine.

There may have been complaints from the crew and station personnel about the occasional person who checked 6 large bags which slowed down getting to other customers and increased the dwell time at the station. If Amtrak wanted to make more money, they could have stayed with a 5 or 6 bag limit with the first 2 bags free.

Another possibility is that with the baggage-dorms coming with a 1/2 car or less capacity which will also have a bike rack further reducing capacity is a factor in changing the policy to a maximum of 4 bags each.

 

[Aaron]

Now that I think about this some more, I'm not thinking that this is a way to limit the number of bags on the train. I'm thinking that the extra fees, the reduction in number of bags, and the change to a 45 minute cutoff is a way to limit what's required of station agents. Between these changes and the switch to e-ticketing, Amtrak can conceivably reach a tipping point in certain stations where they can go from 4 agents down to 3, or from 3 down to 2, or from 2 agents down to a single agent on duty.

In almost any business, your labor is your greatest cost, and I'm betting that the primary reasoning behind this is as one part of an effort to reduce labor costs.

 

[amtrakwolverine]

I bet REP Mica is the reason behind this.

 

[user 1215]

I bet REP Mica is the reason behind this.

Ugh.

 

[Donctor]

I don't get the point about the knive. Like others said, a leatherman (or in my case a swiss army knive) can be sometimes be really helpfull: fixing things, cut an apple into two, open a bottle and so on... not everyone who has a knive will use it as a weapon!

A Leatherman is not a knife. It is a multi-purpose tool.

 

[yarrow]

I don't get the point about the knive. Like others said, a leatherman (or in my case a swiss army knive) can be sometimes be really helpfull: fixing things, cut an apple into two, open a bottle and so on... not everyone who has a knive will use it as a weapon!

A Leatherman is not a knife. It is a multi-purpose tool.

try telling that to the tsa. mine certainly contains a knife blade

 

[Donctor]

I don't get the point about the knive. Like others said, a leatherman (or in my case a swiss army knive) can be sometimes be really helpfull: fixing things, cut an apple into two, open a bottle and so on... not everyone who has a knive will use it as a weapon!

A Leatherman is not a knife. It is a multi-purpose tool.

try telling that to the tsa.

That conversation would go well.

 

[AlanB]

I have Yet to hear of a full bag car .

I've seen more than one full baggage car over the years, and this could become even more of a problem with routes using the baggage/dorm cars which will now have only half the room of a normal baggage car.

 

[Tommy]

Well, I found out about this change today, the hard way. I had to pay $10 special item fee (instead of $5) for my bicycle and they had to put it on the next train since my box wasn't taped and ready 45 min before departure-- missed it by 5 min - within the previous 30 min rule. I wouldn't say I'm furious, but I'd mind the fee less if they'd offer a service that doesn't require me to take the bike apart and put it in a box first.

 

[fillyjonk]

I'm wondering if the "no plastic luggage" is to prevent something I saw on the TE several years back: a family was apparently moving, and tried to insist that a tall plastic trash can (packed full of clothing) counted as one of their carry-ons. It took two of them to lift it and it took a lot of time for them to find a place to stow it.

As always, it's the people who bend the rules out of any reasonable proportion that leads to everyone else getting smacked with tougher rules.

I can't see them starting to do things like search carry-ons for knives and such. I could be wrong on that, but I can't see the money being spent for personnel and x-ray machines at all the stations in the country.

It's also Amtrak is saying these things to placate the TSA, but they won't enforce them heavily.