Is It Necessary?

[DesertRat]

So we'll be catching the SWC in our humble Barstow station at 3:39 am. :blink: It is unstaffed but according to the Amtrak site the rule is to always arrive at the station 30 minutes before the train's scheduled stop. Does this really apply to unstaffed stations, anybody know?

 

[Trogdor]

Really, there is no "rule," per se, about how early you should arrive. They just tell you that so you can be protected against any delays in arriving at the station. It also applies more to larger stations where it might take you a while to get through the station and to the tracks (especially if you have to pick up your tickets).

Even at airports, their "rule" is more of a rule-of-thumb than an actual, enforced standard. Even though airlines suggest getting to the airport an hour before departure, last month I got to Midway barely 30 minutes before my plane left, and went through security 20 minutes ahead of time. No problems.

In Chicago, you can board your train up to two minutes before departure. I've arrived within 10 minutes of departure a few times and made it on (and just missed my train once, because I was under that two-minute window). At a small, unstaffed station like Barstow, I'm sure you could arrive at the station just as the train is coming to a stop.

The real issue is, how close are you willing to cut it and possibly risk having the train leave without you?

If you feel comfortable getting to the station at 3:35, then feel free to do so. Just make sure your watch isn't running slow (or hope the conductor's watch isn't a minute fast), and hope that you don't get delayed by four minutes en route.

 

[Amtrak OBS Gone Freight]

So we'll be catching the SWC in our humble Barstow station at 3:39 am. :blink: It is unstaffed but according to the Amtrak site the rule is to always arrive at the station 30 minutes before the train's scheduled stop. Does this really apply to unstaffed stations, anybody know?

Try to be there fifteen minutes ahead of the train at least. The idea is that you be ready on the platform as soon as the train arrives in most cases. Just for fun, time yourself on how long it takes to actually unload your baggage and do the lookover to make sure you haven't forgotten anything that may be in the car from the time you (or your driving party) park the car and turn it off. You might be amazed at how the time passes so quickly, with a train pulling into the station at the same time or if you are merely hearing it closely in the distance. You are already in a state of anxiety I would think, and with cutting the time so close it puts even more pressure on you as well as those with you.

So as rmadisonwi has already stated, it is just a matter of how close you want to cut it. But remember, others may be doing the same! And I personally think it is safer to allow plenty of time, especially when someone else is "doing the driving" and we're on "their" schedule!

OBS gone freight...

 

[OlympianHiawatha]

At an intermediate stop like yours, I would be sure to arrive with plenty of time to watch the train arrive, as there is always something exciting about hearing the horn in the distance, seeing the lights and finally having the train pull in. To me, this is especially true at night.

 

[DesertRat]

All good points. Thanks.

 

[Chessie Hokie]

"To be early is to be on time...to be on time is to be late...to be late is to be left behind"

Take note that 3:39 AM is the scheduled DEPARTURE time from Barstow!

You may also want to check train status on #3 before heading to the station at Amtrak Train Status or call "Julie" at 1-800-USA-RAIL, but take such information with a grain of salt.

The westbound SWC into Barstow has a variable on-time record recently...check Amtrak Train Status History for an idea of how it has been doing recently.

Have a great trip!

 

[AmtrakWPK]

Unless you live next door to the station, always consider the possibility of a car wreck (not yours, somebody else's) on the road on the way to the station, or some road construction, or a tree-trimmer's truck, or something like that adding a few minutes (or a half hour) to your drive to the station, and unless you are absolutely sure of finding a close-by parking space, add a few minutes to search for a place to park and then to walk to the station, even if you stopped at the station and offloaded your luggage first. And as has already been pointed out, an hour early beats 10 seconds late if that 10 seconds means getting left behind.

 

[MStrain]

In my family, its tradition to get to the station early enough to see the train arrive (Jackson is a Union station, not a terminus). My grandfather always salutes the engineer when they are pulling up, usually resulting in a small horn return-salute. I'm 26 now, but I get excited still as if I were 5 again when that happens.

I'm known to be slightly OCD when it comes to time schedules, so I would have to agree with Chessie.

"To be early is to be on time........" You can always take some photos of the old Barstow station and yard for us here while you wait

 

[the_traveler]

My home station (KIN) is staffed, but I would still get there even 10-15 minutes early. Especially if I'm taking a southbound train leaving from Track 1, where you have cross the tracks via a bridge using either stairs or an elevator. Once I was taking a southbound train, and dropped off my sister with the (carry on) luggage at the station, and went to park the car.

Before I even parked, the train came in!

Two things were in my favor: The train came in on track 2 (the station side), and KIN is a (semi) open platform so I didn't have to walk all the way to the station to get to the tracks - one of the gates in the fence was open!

 

[gswager]

I like to come a little early, like 30 minutes or later, so that I can explore its station and its vicinity. Even, you can talk to other people who are waiting for the train.

For me, the nearest station is 2 1/2 hours away, so I have to be there early in case there's a wreck, road construction, flat tire, or even witnessing a "Kodak" moment while driving.

 

[transit54]

I show up about 10 minutes early at my unstaffed home station (ESX) and about 20 early for any other station, very large stations excepted (like CHI, NYP, etc) where it's more like 30 min or more. I'll already have my tickets, so I won't have to do anything when I get there. ESX is the second stop for the train, so I know it's always either right on time or a few minutes behind, and 10 minutes is plenty of time to watch it come down the track. I also only live about 6 miles away from the station, so I don't have far to go. I'd say 10 min is the bare minimum if you're completely familiar with the train and the area, otherwise leave more time.

 

[Green Maned Lion]

One of the best parts about the train is the lack of stress. Don't add more by cutting it close. Arrive an hour early, and bring some little games to play on the platform or something. Once at NYP my girlfriend and I, waiting for the train, square danced under the arrivals sign. Somebody tried to give me money, even, which I promptly refused.

 

[jackal]

I think I'm the opposite of everyone else here--I enjoy the challenge of cutting it as close as possible. Knock on wood, I've never missed a train or plane.

This morning, I arrived at Denver Union Station all of 20 minutes before the train left. 20 seconds to enter the station from the taxi drop off out front, 20 seconds to walk over to the Quik-Trak machine, 60 seconds to locate my reservation and print my tickets, and then 10 minutes wasted waiting in line for the conductor to take my ticket and issue me my seat check (interesting, he did it from a podium inside the station rather than on the train--never seen that anywhere else).

Oh, all right, it wasn't completely wasted--I did spend the first five minutes enjoying the architecture of the station's interior.

From an unstaffed station that's nothing more than a single platform (my two main stations, SIM and PRB, are both about as plain as you can get), I wouldn't be uncomfortable until the 5-minute mark (I usually arrive somewhere between 5 and 10 minutes before departure, on the higher end if I'm driving and will have to park and on the lower end if someone's dropping me off). I'd add a couple minutes if I have to pick up a ticket from a Quik-Trak machine (more if there is none and I need to go to a ticket agent--that would necessitate me arriving more like 15-20 minutes ahead--a good example of this type of simple station without a QT machine would be CLT or CVS). And last, for big stations I'm familiar with, I usually plan to arrive 20-30 minutes ahead of departure--maybe more if it's a terminal (e.g. LAX) and I want to try and get a good seat. I once arrived at LAX with barely more than five minutes to make my Thruway bus and still found a parking spot and made it--an experience I'll probably not intentionally repeat, but the adrenaline rush woke me up far better than coffee could have...

I used to love going down to the SLO Amtrak station as a kid and run up and down the outside of the Amtrak trains and see the SP (and shortly thereafter, UP) freights passing through. I still enjoy trainwatching if I'm somewhere and I happen to see one go by (and sometimes I'll chase it for a few miles if I have nothing better to do), but I rarely go out of my way to seek them out. I don't like sitting and waiting--it feels like I'm doing nothing and not redeeming my time well--life's too short to waste time. Maybe that's why I hate arriving too early for trains and planes, too--it feels like wasted time (I even get antsy once I've boarded the train and we haven't left the station yet--come on, people, I want to MOVE!). It might also explain why I dislike purely beach vacations--a few minutes after I sit in my beach chair or wade into the water, I start to feel antsy that I'm not actually doing anything and seeing this huge wide world. Why sit on the beach in Kona when there are volcanoes and lava tubes to explore and geographical oddities (like South Point) to visit and say I've been to!

In summary, at an unstaffed, simple station like Barstow, I think if you planned on arriving at the station 10-15 minutes early, you'll be perfectly fine. That gives you an extra couple minutes to unload your luggage and walk over to the platform (rather than sprint like I do). IMHO, 30 minutes is completely unnecessary.

 

[Chris J.]

I think I'm the opposite of everyone else here--I enjoy the challenge of cutting it as close as possible. Knock on wood, I've never missed a train or plane.

I've made -2 minute published connections before (if the first train is a bit early and you know which way to run at the interchange station), but my best 'cutting it fine' and making it story was when I was heading home for i think Easter, I was still on the London Underground as time ticked on towards the departure time of my train. After a few stops and some slow-running, 2 minutes before departure, the tube train got to the station. A mad sprint across the station (reading the departures board as i was running) got me into the last open door on the train just before the guard slammed it shut and blew the whistle... It was the last train of the day too.

 

[transit54]

I think I'm the opposite of everyone else here--I enjoy the challenge of cutting it as close as possible. Knock on wood, I've never missed a train or plane.

I've made -2 minute published connections before (if the first train is a bit early and you know which way to run at the interchange station), but my best 'cutting it fine' and making it story was when I was heading home for i think Easter, I was still on the London Underground as time ticked on towards the departure time of my train. After a few stops and some slow-running, 2 minutes before departure, the tube train got to the station. A mad sprint across the station (reading the departures board as i was running) got me into the last open door on the train just before the guard slammed it shut and blew the whistle... It was the last train of the day too.

This is me every other time I'm in Grand Central. I fly into JFK, take the Airtrain to the E, to the downtown 6, sprinting between all the connections and jump on the train to go see family in CT. I always carry a 10-trip so I don't have to spend time buying a ticket - otherwise I'd never make it.