Legacy Club at CUS

[Palmetto]

Amtrak could take a cue from the airlines in major cities especially in the Northeast. They offer a $50 day pass and it's good for more than one visit a day if you can fit more than one visit in. How about an annual membership fee? People are used to "buying up", especially frequent users of the service.

 

[dlagrua]

If the Legacy club provides ALL of the amenities that the Metro lounge provides and more, it might be worth paying for it. Really what more do you get right now for $20 besides a brighter room, nicer seats, outlets and a better table? Do they at least offer you coffee, soft drinks and snacks for your $20? What I really think is happening is that this club is a preview on the shape of things to come-paid memberships, but it first has to pay off for the company that built it, doubtful unless they are getting free rent from Amtrak. I believe the location of the legacy club at CUS may be in the old location of the Harvey House restaurant that was there years ago.

 

[TylerP42]

If the Legacy club provides ALL of the amenities that the Metro lounge provides and more, it might be worth paying for it. Really what more do you get right now for $20 besides a brighter room, nicer seats, outlets and a better table? Do they at least offer you coffee, soft drinks and snacks for your $20? What I really think is happening is that this club is a preview on the shape of things to come-paid memberships, but it first has to pay off for the company that built it, doubtful unless they are getting free rent from Amtrak. I believe the location of the legacy club at CUS may be in the old location of the Harvey House restaurant that was there years ago.

It's 10 dollars, there are outlets EVERYWHERE. Unlimited canned soft drinks, coffee, chips, snacks, and a restroom that is nice. It's also a nice ambiance and when it isn't very busy you get to pick the channel on the 6 TVs they have.

 

[Manny T]

It's definitely headed in the direction of paid memberships. There are signs announcing it. The daily fee is only temporary.

 

[pennyk]

When I was in Chicago earlier this week, Kevin K and I walked over (from the Metropolitan Lounge) to "check out" the Legacy Club. We got extremely lucky because the lounge manager was there and gave us a tour of the lounge. He also gave us a tour of the former "ladies lounge" and former Harvey House location, together with a bit of history thrown in. It was fascinating to get a glimpse "behind the scenes." We were told that the new Metropolitan Lounge will be 2 stories and should be open in the spring AND the funding for the renovation is in place.

(again my apologies to Shanghai who was watching my backpack while I was "touring." I did not expect to be gone long, but I could not turn down that opportunity)

 

[boxcarsyix]

Does the Legacy Club day check baggage?

 

[jis]

At present the thing going for the Legacy Club is that it is not the zoo that the Metropolitan Lounge is in the afternoon. Very often the Met lounge is SRO, which is not very nice for a lounge experience.

it is advertized that you get some sort of preferential boarding from the Legacy Club. I don't know what that means. But at least it might be more consistent than what you get at the Met Lounge.

As it turns out the preferential boarding from the Met Lounge is hit and miss if you happen to be a Coach passenger visiting using your Select+ status. It depends on whether the grumpy old man is in charge or the nicer younger lady is in charge. Grumpy old man will send you off to the regular gate area to stand at the back of the line, whereas younger lady will board you through the lounge gate! The usual Amtrak service inconsistency at work.

 

[pennyk]

Does the Legacy Club day check baggage?

I do not know. I did not ask the question. I know that Amtrakwolverine used the Legacy Club on Tuesday. Hopefully, we will answer the question. I believe he said he got priority boarding.

 

[Bob Dylan]

Thanks for the info Penny! And did they say where the new 2 Story Metro Lounge will be located in the Great Hall?

Is it where the Metro Deli used to be or somewhere else?

 

[pennyk]

Thanks for the info Penny! And did they say where the new 2 Story Metro Lounge will be located in the Great Hall?

Is it where the Metro Deli used to be or somewhere else?

In a location near the Great Hall. I believe it was said that the former Metro Deli location was needed for the construction of the new Metro Lounge.

 

[OlympianHiawatha]

I have a Texas Eagle to Cap connection this Tuesday and am interested in checking out the new Lounge. Does the Conductor come in and do check in and meal times like they do in the Metropolitan and do you get the Kindergarten Walk to the train from there?

 

[willem]

At Amtrak Train Day in Chicago last May, one of the guides for the Hard Hat Tour said it would be under the staircase opposite the Legacy Lounge. The entrance will be to the left of the staircase, and the Metropolitan Lounge will wrap under the staircase.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

It depends on whether the grumpy old man is in charge or the nicer younger lady is in charge. Grumpy old man will send you off to the regular gate area to stand at the back of the line, whereas younger lady will board you through the lounge gate!

Sounds like the perfect job for a grumpy old man. Naturally I'm rather intrigued.

 

[PVD]

Metro Lounge is primarily a place for Amtrak passengers to wait for afternoon and evening departures, Legacy serves a broader audience since it caters to the upscale commuter crowd that has to deal with the Union Station Zoo on a daily basis. Large numbers of passengers may be willing to pay to be insulated from the madness.

 

[neroden]

Thanks for the info Penny! And did they say where the new 2 Story Metro Lounge will be located in the Great Hall?

Is it where the Metro Deli used to be or somewhere else?

In a location near the Great Hall. I believe it was said that the former Metro Deli location was needed for the construction of the new Metro Lounge.

I thought it was more complicated than that, but I still haven't seen any layout plans. In addition to relocating the Metro Lounge, the Amtrak ticket windows are also supposed to be relocated out of the concourse into the Great Hall, and so is the Amtrak Police office, and so is the Customer Relations office. I'm not sure which one exactly is requiring the closure of Metro Deli, but that is a lot of things to move.

 

[Anderson]

I've got mixed feelings on this. On the one hand, Amtrak could certainly rake in quite a bit from the presence of a "paid" lounge (even if only in rental fees...bear in mind that at many airports, the airport gets a cut of the paid entrance fees as part of the lease agreement) and having something like this has room to make a number of station stays more pleasant for those paying for it. On the other hand, there's room for this to kill off the presently free nature of the CA, which is a decent part of the higher status tiers (knowing that I can relax in the CA at WAS until someone I'm meeting gets off work even if I showed up on a Regional is a big plus).

Probably the biggest motive here is the sheer load of sleeper pax in CHI. Per NARP data, Sleeper/First pax counts at major stations were:

NYP: 338,468

CHI: 222,542

WAS: 215,575

LAX: 77,078

BOS: 69,824

PHL: 69,460

SEA: 50,601

NOL: 40,025

EMY: 34,426

NWK: 30,966

PDX: 27,825

Now NYP wins on the sheer passenger count...but a huge share of those are Acela pax who may or may not be in the station for more than 15 minutes (even if they use the lounge, most will be on one of the next Acelas out). In CHI, a ton of those are transferring passengers who will end up around there for 4-6 hours.

 

[CHamilton]

Per NARP data, Sleeper/First pax counts at major stations were:

NYP: 338,468

CHI: 222,542

WAS: 215,575

LAX: 77,078

BOS: 69,824

PHL: 69,460

SEA: 50,601

NOL: 40,025

EMY: 34,426

PDX: 27,825

Now NYP wins on the sheer passenger count...but a huge share of those are Acela pax who may or may not be in the station for more than 15 minutes (even if they use the lounge, most will be on one of the next Acelas out). In CHI, a ton of those are transferring passengers who will end up around there for 4-6 hours.

Slightly OT, but that list is interesting. SEA and EMY are the only two that don’t have a Met Lounge, and EMY probably has very few passengers that stay more than a few minutes due to most arriving by Ambus. So I sure hope that the rumors are true that SEA is getting a lounge soon.

 

[Railroad Bill]

Thanks for the info Penny! And did they say where the new 2 Story Metro Lounge will be located in the Great Hall?

Is it where the Metro Deli used to be or somewhere else?

In a location near the Great Hall. I believe it was said that the former Metro Deli location was needed for the construction of the new Metro Lounge.

I thought it was more complicated than that, but I still haven't seen any layout plans. In addition to relocating the Metro Lounge, the Amtrak ticket windows are also supposed to be relocated out of the concourse into the Great Hall, and so is the Amtrak Police office, and so is the Customer Relations office. I'm not sure which one exactly is requiring the closure of Metro Deli, but that is a lot of things to move.

I am sure this is progress? But we will miss the quiet Great Hall to just sit and relax looking at the architecture and enjoying the ambiance without the hustle bustle of the traffic that will now engulf the Hall. :unsure:

 

[Ryan]

On the other hand, I've never liked the quiet, empty Great Hall. It's *supposed* to be filled with the hustle bustle of a busy train station, much like GCT.

 

[jis]

Probably the biggest motive here is the sheer load of sleeper pax in CHI. Per NARP data, Sleeper/First pax counts at major stations were:

NYP: 338,468

CHI: 222,542

WAS: 215,575

LAX: 77,078

BOS: 69,824

PHL: 69,460

SEA: 50,601

NOL: 40,025

EMY: 34,426

NWK: 30,966

PDX: 27,825

Now NYP wins on the sheer passenger count...but a huge share of those are Acela pax who may or may not be in the station for more than 15 minutes (even if they use the lounge, most will be on one of the next Acelas out). In CHI, a ton of those are transferring passengers who will end up around there for 4-6 hours.

One thing that this suggests to me is that NYP needs a Club Acela that is probably three times the size of the current one.
Do the Chicago and LAX numbers include Business Class passengers? Similarly for SEA and PDX. Are these actual lounge usage counts or arrived at by counting O/D tickets sold for those locations?

What proportion of EMY boardings actually arrive by Ambus?

 

[Manny T]

Anderson is totally correct about NYP and CHI lounges. The lounge in Penn is like "Grand Central Station" with loads of people going in and out all the time heading to Boston & WAS on Acela. In Chi people are literally parked for hours. As a Chicagoan, I check my bags in the Metro lounge and hang out in the city before my LD departures. When I return to the lounge to board, many of the same people have been sitting there for hours. I would say these folks deserve a somewhat nicer place to wait than today's Metro Lounge, and if a new lounge or the Legacy Club provides it, that is a good thing.

I understand RRBill's concern about losing the sleepy ambiance of the Great Hall and to some extent I share it. But overall I think the progress is good. And if you've spent any time in the Great Hall, you know I mean "sleepy" literally, not figuratively. There are always homeless people sleeping in the Great Hall (sadly). Not great for ambiance.

 

[PVD]

I too love the ambience of the Great Hall. But lately it has been used to lineup passengers for departures to help with the traffic problems that the station has. Sort of kills some of its beauty. I think the staircase rebuild is what required some of the Metro Deli space. Too bad, I liked that place. If the weather was lousy (not shocking in Chicago) it was way better than the food court.

 

[jis]

I was under the impression that the Met Lounge will go where the ladies room used to be. But I could be wrong.

 

[pennyk]

I was under the impression that the Met Lounge will go where the ladies room used to be. But I could be wrong.

Kevin and I seem to recall that we were informed that the Ladies lounge location would become an event room and the new Met Lounge would be located on the other side of the Great Hall (close to the former Metro Deli location). But we could be wrong also.

 

[PVD]

I've attached the most current CUS plans I've got for entertainment. What is eye opening, are the daily passenger numbers. Compared to the Amtrak sleeper/first class numbers, it is easy to see why the place is such a fiasco.

Union-Station-Master_Plan_Tech-Memo-1-FINAL-12-20-2013.pdf