New procedures at WAS beginning Monday 5/4/20
- Thread starter GaSteve
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Also saw this earlier and posted on the Corona virus topic as well - if you PAID FOR priority boarding by buying a Business Class ticket you no longer get that? I can understand the FREE priority boarding (seniors/kids, etc.) but if you are paying for that and you are still paying the same price for the ticket, I don't get that. Anyone know? Anyone know if they are going to be doing this at other stations? Thanks!
They don't want people bunched up next to each other. With the current loads, Priority is virtually meaningless.
crescent-zephyr
Engineer
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Qapla
Engineer
I have not been there recently - perhaps they have the floor marked at 6' intervals like may of the places here do to prevent/discourage "crowding" so having one line wouldn't matter if people do as asked.
RebelRider
Service Attendant
Everyone has priority boarding these days. If you're the only passenger boarding a train does it really matter what line you stand in?
the_traveler
Engineer
I never understood some of these “rules”.
For example, some stores have “one way aisles”. Does that mean that if peanut butter is at the end of the aisle, but the aisle is “the wrong way”, do I have to go to the next aisle, go down 100 yards to the end and then come back 98 yards up this aisle, or can I reach in 5 feet for the peanut butter?
I’ve also had a cashier tell me she can’t handle my (store) discount card or my bags (which you are required to bring in NYS), yet they can handle cash and coupons!
I’m sure these crowding rules are the same kind of stupidity.
For example, some stores have “one way aisles”. Does that mean that if peanut butter is at the end of the aisle, but the aisle is “the wrong way”, do I have to go to the next aisle, go down 100 yards to the end and then come back 98 yards up this aisle, or can I reach in 5 feet for the peanut butter?
I’ve also had a cashier tell me she can’t handle my (store) discount card or my bags (which you are required to bring in NYS), yet they can handle cash and coupons!
I’m sure these crowding rules are the same kind of stupidity.
Lots of confusion out there, but since the New Rules are made by Politicians, that's understandable!
Make it up on the fly!
Yes. If you’re driving and come to a one-way street, and the driveway entrance you want to reach is two doors from the corner, do you have to go to the next street and go all the way down the block to turn around, or can you just drive the wrong way for 50 feet just to get to get to the driveway?
Sometimes individuals have to face inconvenience and make sacrifice for the betterment of all. Not sure why that is surprising.
Is priority boarding even an advertised benefit of business class, or was it always just a station-specific policy? There’s no priority boarding at New Carrollton, just load and go, yet the fares would be essentially the same as boarding in WAS. So does a NCR-NYP passenger PAY FOR priority boarding and not receive it?
If that is seriously something you’d complain about at a time like this, then I don’t know what to say. An airline executive a few years ago called some passengers “overentitled,” and I think that would perfectly describe a situation like this.
At a big station yes it matters as they are very busy and that makes for a less hectic overall trip. When you do it every week, anything that makes the trip less hectic is a plus and worth paying for IMO.
On my return trips I get on in a smaller station without any priority boarding. I don't care there as it is a small station. I'm really not trying to be difficult, particularly at a time like this but think about it...while we are all trying to create more space around ourselves this would be EXACTLY the time priority boarding would be even more valuable for distancing in a busy city station. JMO
On my return trips I get on in a smaller station without any priority boarding. I don't care there as it is a small station. I'm really not trying to be difficult, particularly at a time like this but think about it...while we are all trying to create more space around ourselves this would be EXACTLY the time priority boarding would be even more valuable for distancing in a busy city station. JMO
Qapla
Engineer
Let me see if I understand this ...
If there is "priority boarding" that is separate from "regular boarding" there would be two crowded lines instead of one crowded line .... trying to see how that is better
If there is "priority boarding" that is separate from "regular boarding" there would be two crowded lines instead of one crowded line .... trying to see how that is better
Sheesh people. This change is only for now - when the load for the trains is LIGHT - aka no crowded lines. Station is NOT busy.
the_traveler
Engineer
But is it not also possible to park your car on that “wrong” cross street, get out of your car and
WALK 10 feet down the sidewalk to your friend’s house?
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The six-foot "rule" is there for the safety of anyone who is next to someone who sneezes or coughs without doing so in an elbow or armpit, as some very inconsiderate people still do. It is thought the vast majority of droplets are not present in the air at the six-foot mark. It's not perfect, but it likely prevents disease. I see it as a science-based measurement, not a political one. Ditto face masks, most of which don't protect the wearer so much as anyone nearby.
brianpmcdonnell17
Conductor
I haven't seen the rules actually enforced, so in the situation described I would encourage just using your discretion provided that the aisle is clear. It's not only inconvenient but also counterproductive to take a longer path where you will likely have to pass multiple others rather than just walking on the "wrong way" aisle where you can see that you will not have to pass anyone.
Or put your thinking caps on. If an item is near the end of the one way aisle, back into the aisle.
tricia
Conductor
"They say that the trick is to walk in backwards like you're walking out."
crescent-zephyr
Engineer
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Does business class have access to the lounge in DC? I think you would still board from the lounge if so.
the_traveler
Engineer
BC never had lounge access at WAS. Unless you have lounge access another way (Status, day pass, etc...).
And Business Class on an Acela Is like coach is on a Regional. Thus business class on a Regional is not the same as Business Class on an Acela!
And Business Class on an Acela Is like coach is on a Regional. Thus business class on a Regional is not the same as Business Class on an Acela!
crescent-zephyr
Engineer
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Oh yeah.... that silly “business class = coach” thing about Acela. Don’t get me started! lol.
Another silly inconsistency, BC = Lounge access in Chicago but not NEC.
bratkinson
Conductor
I'm sure I took measurements, but just can't find them right now. But I think that BC in the Acela is the same seat spacing as BC on the NEC...20" from front of seat cushion to rear of seat ahead vs 12" in NEC coaches.
As for BC getting lounge access from Chicago west (LAX & PDX), it's a matter of not that many BC seats leaving on trains plus lounge space availability. In CHI, I'm thinking only the Detroit- and St Louis-bound regional trains offer BC. There's more than enough room, even with all sleeper passengers on 4 western trains boarding in the afternoon and 3.5 eastern trains in the evenings.
At LAX, except for #14 leaving at 10:10AM, the other 2 LD trains leave after the majority of BC passengers have already left for home, so even in the smallish lounge, there isn't major problems. The temporary crowding for #14 and a Surfliner departure is very temporary, at worst. And PDX, only #11, #14 board enough sleeping car passengers to fill the seats in the lounge. The rest of the time, it's empty. And #28? Maybe a dozen sleeper passengers? A long way from being packed.
Since Amtrak is paying for someone to staff the lounges at CHI & west, why not keep them busy almost all the time, vs they get 2-3 hour 'breaks' between having to do something.
At WAS, it's strictly a matter of available space as Acela FC (1 or 2 trains per hour) and LD trains (5 day) sleeping car passengers keep the place about 50-70% full at all times, and at times, 100% full. Throw in 10-15 passengers entering per hour with passes or AGR Select Plus or Select Executive status, there's often fewer than 10 seats open, from what I've observed.
And NYP? That's a ZOO no matter how you define it. Acelas leaving both ways about the same time really clogs things up. Adding BC passengers to the mix is not an option. And when they get the 'new' lounge? They'll still have terrible access to the tracks like they always have.
BOS and PHL have only Acela FC and LD sleeping passengers (#449 only at BOS - PHL does not seem to have many boarding sleeping car passengers on any of the 4 trains that pass through) to deal with, making it rare, except about 5PM in PHL, that they're anywhere near full...but neither accepts BC passengers, last time I checked. But they DO offer purchased passes for $20 IIRC.
At NYP you also have Empire Service, Vermonter, and Ethan Allen BC in the mix. No way.....
keelhauled
OBS Chief
Obviously elimination of all possible vectors is impossible. The point is to minimize them as much as possible. If a cashier previously handled bags, discount cars, cash, and coupons but now handles only cash and coupons, half the potential routes of transmission just vanished. I imagine the impetus for eliminating the priority boarding line is similar, in that while they can't eliminate interaction between employees and passengers they can at least reduce the points of contact.
So the majority of changes would apply to either area residents or those completing a hotel stay in the Washington, D.C. area. Those passengers changing trains in Washington, D.C. on the same day will obviously be at the station longer than 30-60 minutes. Hoping there is sufficient room in lounge to accommodate social distancing for several hours. Will there still be quick service restaurants available to get meals and somewhere to eat while dragging luggage around? Any helpful information would be appreciated.
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