New L.A. Waiting Room

[rickycourtney]

Where is the new waiting room being installed at in the Los Angeles station. Last time I was there, they had the Coast starlight sleeper passengers near the information desk to the right as you walked in, but that was only for Coast Starlight passengers......

Here's a map I recently made up for another topic... the purple box behind the Amtrak ticket window shows where the elevator to the lounge will be located:

The lounge will be on the same level as the platforms and an easy walk or ride on a redcap cart.

View attachment 339

 

[CHamilton]

I was in LAUS on Friday night, and couldn't find any signs of the new lounge. I don't know that station well, but whatever construction is going on is very well hidden.

Edit. Ricky: Ah, thanks for the map. So the elevator to the lounge will go down a level?

 

[rickycourtney]

I'm having fun with maps and Photoshop this afternoon so here's another view of the platform area from overhead.

From what I can tell the Metropolitan lounge will be located somewhere in the purple box (on the second floor of the concourse, above the Amtrak ticketing area). The purple line is the path carts (and likely passengers) will take from the lounge to platforms 9-14 (platform 13 & 14 not shown in this satellite image).

The green line is the path passengers currently take through the tunnel under the platforms.



FYI: The green box is the portion of waiting room in the concourse that is open from 1am - 4am, the red boxes are the historic ticketing area and the portion of the waiting room closed during the overnight hours.

So the elevator to the lounge will go down a level?

Actually Charlie, the lounge will be on the second floor above the Amtrak ticketing area.

Edit: Respond to Charlie, clarify location of lounge.

 

[CHamilton]

Great, thanks so much for the clarification. Your diagrams are really helpful.

 

[Donctor]

I do realize that about Chicago as that is where I have gone on my only two long Amtrak trips. But I don't know anyone there so don't have to say goodbye somewhere in the station. Los Angeles was much more laid back when I left from there. We left from LA on coach and the attendant let my wife and other kids come on and see where we were sitting.

Chicago used to be like that. As a kid, I used to help my grandmother onto the train. If I recall correctly, they started enforcing stuff somewhere after 9/11.

 

[The Davy Crockett]

I think virtually all stations had 'open' platforms in the past. WAS did.

Can't remember when that changed...

...But I do remember in the late 1960s when my ticketless uncle got on a plane to see my cousins off at DCA when they were flying back to my aunt's in SF. The flight crew almost shut the cabin door before they realized he needed to deplane!

Yeah airport security was REAL tight back then. :giggle:

 

[jimhudson]

Every Amtrak Station in Texas still has Open Access to the Platform(s) except Temple and El Paso where there is a Fence with a Gate controlled by Amtrak Personnel, either the Station Agent or Conductor!

And talk about Security Aboard Planes, Back in the Day the Pilots would let people into the Cockpit to Check it Out, especially Kids!

I even got to ride on a Jump Seat in the Cockpit one time on an old Braniff DC-3 Flight from DAL-AUS when the Plane was Overbooked!

 

[gswager]

LA Metropolitan Lounge to sleeper car on SWC? That's a really long way than the general waiting room. The SWC sleeper cars are located on the closer side to main line tracks.

 

[Acela150]

Dan - I agree it's kind of sad. That's my biggest pet peeve with airports. I miss being able to greet and say goodbye to people at the gate. I'd happily go through security if it meant I could spend another two hours with that person and then say goodbye as they boarded. I went through that with B when he lived in Albuquerque. I hated that we were in the same city as each other for two hours but couldn't see each other.

It's not very well known, but if a loved one is flying without you, and you're needed to provide assistance to them, you can request a "gate pass" from the airline when the passenger checks in. This gate pass allows you to enter into the secure area with the passenger and wait with them until departure, or if obtained in advance, allows you to meet them at the arrival gate.

I have done that once at PHL Airport. My GF had a broken ankle and we asked SWA for a WheelChair to take her to the gate. Well someone from a private firm that assist Fliers in PHL gave me the wheelchair and took off.. SWA gave me a gate pass to take her to the gate and wait with her. That was my first time going through the security gates since before 9/11.. I was a mess. I'm just glad no one was behind me. We got to the gate, sat for a while, SWA put her on the flight, I left paid for my parking and hit 95 to 476. I wasn't about 3/4 of the way home when she called me and told me she landed at TF Green. It's about a 45 minute drive from the airport to my home. I was stunned to the max! I couldn't believe it at all.

 

[JoeBas]

Sorcha, an even easier and foolproof way out there is to buy a fully refundable ticket for a later flight, and then cancel it once through security.

Yes, but that is wicked expensive and totally not worth it.

Actually, it's free, if you have the room on the credit card to "hold" the ticket.

 

[SarahZ]

Sorcha, an even easier and foolproof way out there is to buy a fully refundable ticket for a later flight, and then cancel it once through security.

Yes, but that is wicked expensive and totally not worth it.

Actually, it's free, if you have the room on the credit card to "hold" the ticket.

I'd feel bad taking a seat I'm not planning to use, though. It's really not worth it in the grand scheme of things. Also, it's a moot point since B lives here now.

 

[the_traveler]

LA Metropolitan Lounge to sleeper car on SWC? That's a really long way than the general waiting room. The SWC sleeper cars are located on the closer side to main line tracks.

You don't have to board from there, or even go there, if you don't want to. Same in CHI - nobody makes you go to the ML. You can wait in, and board from the "general" boarding area. At LAX, all you have to do is go out of the lounge into the station if you want to.
And if you use a Red Cap to get to the train and ride the cart, who cares if it's "longer"? :huh:

 

[zephyr17]

The location of the new Metropolitan Loun

LA Metropolitan Lounge to sleeper car on SWC? That's a really long way than the general waiting room. The SWC sleeper cars are located on the closer side to main line tracks.

You don't have to board from there, or even go there, if you don't want to. Same in CHI - nobody makes you go to the ML. You can wait in, and board from the "general" boarding area. At LAX, all you have to do is go out of the lounge into the station if you want to.
And if you use a Red Cap to get to the train and ride the cart, who cares if it's "longer"? :huh:

The location of the new Metropolitan Lounge is actually physically closer to the platforms than the main waiting room, and also on the same level as the platforms. However, since the sleepers are on the front of all long-distance trains, making a big U-turn around the other end of the platforms, instead of using the tunnel down the middle, could make it longer.
That "U" turn route crosses the live Gold Line tracks, but in the future, it would cross the proposed run-through tracks as well. I guarantee you there will be a kindergarten walk from the lounge out to the platform because the route crosses live rail. At least it would be justified from a safety standpoint at LAUS.

 

[amtkstn]

Are they going to allow early boarding like Chicago's first class lounge.

 

[Sactobob]

Are they going to allow early boarding like Chicago's first class lounge.

I assume so, since they now allow early boarding of the Coast Starlight from the temporary TRAXX lounge. I see no reason they would not continue to do so from the new location.

 

[rickycourtney]

LA Metropolitan Lounge to sleeper car on SWC? That's a really long way than the general waiting room. The SWC sleeper cars are located on the closer side to main line tracks.

From my very rough measurements on Google Maps the current walk from the TRAXX Bar to the northern end (where a transition sleeper would be) of Amtrak's furthest platform (tracks 13 & 14) is 1,200 feet. The walk from where I think the Metropolitan Lounge will be to the same area would be 1,750 feet (1/3 mile).

While that is not a hard walk for me... I realize that it could be a lot to ask of some people (as is the current 1,200 foot walk from the main waiting room.) It also involves dragging your luggage across live railroad tracks (the Gold Line) on a bridge that is only big enough for two golf carts or one car at a time.

I assume that at the very least Amtrak will require passengers do a kindergarten walk together... but seeing as this is a "first-class service" I think what's more likely is that Amtrak will hire more red caps and invest in a fleet of "stretch golf carts" to shuttle people and their luggage out to the platform.

 

[Guest]

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/amtrak-guest-rewards/1503590-los-angeles-metropolitan-lounge-opening-next-monday-9-23-a.html

 

[The Davy Crockett]

'Soft' opening Mon. 9/23, Grand opening mid-October... I'll be there on the 16th of October...

Hmmmm :unsure:

Guess I'll find out! :giggle:

 

[rickycourtney]

For the convenience of our discussion, I'll post the full text from Flyertalk posting that the guest linked to:

A new Metropolitan Lounge is set to open at Los Angeles Union Station next Monday, 9/23. It will be a soft launch, with a grand opening planned for mid-October. Access will be granted to passengers in sleeping cars, Pacific Surfliner business class, and eligible AGR members (Select Plus, Select Executive, and day pass holders).

The lounge will be open from 5am to 10pm daily, and will feature the usual Metropolitan Lounge amenities (staffed ticket counter, refreshments, WiFi, conference room, TV, etc.). Direct boarding from the lounge to train will be available, but only via Red Cap motorized carts (due to Gold Line tracks crossing).

The lounge will be located on the 2nd floor of the station, above the ticket office, and can be accessed by elevator.

More info as I get it!


Best regards,

Anthony Rizos
Program Manager, Loyalty Marketing
Amtrak
Washington, D.C.

A lot of our questions were answered there. (I wonder if he was reading our posts!)

*There will be direct boarding from the lounge to the trains... but only via Red Cap motorized carts.

*Business Class passengers on the Pacific Surfliner will be able to use the lounge. (IMHO... this amenity will make the increased price of a Pacific Business Class ticket worth it!)

What I thought was interesting is that the Metropolitan Lounge will have WiFi. The main waiting room of LA Union Station doesn't have any WiFi.

 

[fairviewroad]

it will be Upstairs over the Amtrak Ticket Offices where the Employee Gyn used to be located!

Oh no! Where will the female Amtrak employees get their gynecological services now? :giggle:

I'd feel bad taking a seat I'm not planning to use, though. It's really not worth it in the grand scheme of things. Also, it's a moot point since B lives here now.

That's gracious of you (and I mean that), but in all likelihood you wouldn't have been "taking" a seat. Airlines routinely and purposefully oversell

flights/ If you buy a big bucks last-minute refundable ticket, chances are the "seat" you were purchasing doesn't actually exist, or to put it another

way, it is already occupied by someone who bought their ticket at a steep discount 4 months prior. So in a way, by cancelling, you would make it

more likely that that anonymous other traveler is more likely to get to their destination on their original flight.

 

[The Davy Crockett]

it will be Upstairs over the Amtrak Ticket Offices where the Employee Gyn used to be located!

Oh no! Where will the female Amtrak employees get their gynecological services now? :giggle:

And here I thought the employees were drinking either a)before b)on c)after or d) all above the job. h34r:

 

[the_traveler]

What I thought was interesting is that the Metropolitan Lounge will have WiFi. The main waiting room of LA Union Station doesn't have any WiFi.

If you think about it, CHI has the same situation. The ML has WiFi, but the main waiting room does not. And technically BOS also, although if you sit on the benches nearest the CA, you can use the WiFi that is only available in the CA!

 

[AmtrakBlue]

'Soft' opening Mon. 9/23, Grand opening mid-October... I'll be there on the 16th of October...

Hmmmm :unsure:

Guess I'll find out! :giggle:

They're waiting for you to come and cut the ribbon. :giggle:

 

[trainman74]

'Soft' opening Mon. 9/23, Grand opening mid-October... I'll be there on the 16th of October...

I've got you beat by a week -- I'll be there, transferring from sleeping car to Pacific Surfliner business class, on October 9th.

Sure, I could go down there next Monday and buy the cheapest available business class ticket solely to be able to check out the new ML, but that kind of feels like cheating.

 

[Blackwolf]

In the words of Homer Simpson:

"WHOO-HOO!" :lol: :giggle: :lol: