Richmond, Va (RVR) Station Hours Have Been Altered.

[Thirdrail7]

Richmond, Virginia, which was open 24 hours a day is now open from 5:30am to 10:30pm. If 98 happens to be on time, it will be affected. You will not be able to check luggage to RVR and the waiting room will be closed. This will also impact connecting passengers to 67 and thruway passengers to CVS.

In reality, they are probably hedging their bets that 98 will usually arrive after 5:30a.

 

[kmock]

I have to go to Richmond from HAR in a few weeks. The weird thing is that the Amtrak website (and app) kept saying there was no return trip available for a Sunday. I thought maybe something was happening with the RVM station that day, and would only allow me to book out of RVR, which is not convenient. I confirmed on the station website that it was open, and checked the timetables also. Turns out I could use RVM but had to book a separate segment from PHL to HAR because of a long(ish) 1hr 45min layover, which doesn't make any sense to me why it would be that way.

 

[jis]

Since PHL to HAR is mostly unreserved, just buy a PHL - HAR ticket and use whichever train is going thataway next from PHL, after you arrive there from RVM

 

[kmock]

Unfortunately, that is the best option. The next available train after the NER arrives in PHL is to take the 4:55 Keystone. I don't mind, because it gives me a few hours to hang-out in Philly

 

[Lonestar648]

RVR has trains stopping, but is almost 10 miles north or town, though if you are using a rental car they do have locations reasonably close to the station. RVM is conveniently downtown with fewer opportunities. Richmond was always difficult for me since I seemed to connect best with RVR and if a member of the team flew in the airport is the opposite side of the city, about 20 miles from RVR IIRC. The first priority is getting out of Richmond, then work your connection to HAR.

 

[gatelouse]

The morning train from RVM has a different train number (96) on Sundays. Perhaps Amtrak forgot to enter a Keystone connection for 96 in Arrow.

 

[Anderson]

Well, this is frakking lovely. Practically speaking, I now get to choose between a return train from Florida with decent food service or one where I can check a bag. Considering that I was planning to take Amtrak to/from Florida over the next two weeks?

Hulk smash.

Edit: I would like to congratulate the CEO of Amtrak. I am presently looking at Delta instead of Amtrak for the return leg of this trip (since in practical terms, checked baggage is a necessity...I'm going to have an SF-10A parachute and a reserve and jamming all of that into a roomette is a non-starter).

 

[brianpmcdonnell17]

Well, this is frakking lovely. Practically speaking, I now get to choose between a return train from Florida with decent food service or one where I can check a bag. Considering that I was planning to take Amtrak to/from Florida over the next two weeks?

Hulk smash.

You could ride 98 and check your bags on 92.

 

[Anderson]

Well, this is frakking lovely. Practically speaking, I now get to choose between a return train from Florida with decent food service or one where I can check a bag. Considering that I was planning to take Amtrak to/from Florida over the next two weeks?

Hulk smash.

You could ride 98 and check your bags on 92.

First of all, I want to honestly thank you for suggesting the workaround. That would work fine if I lived in Richmond proper. I live in Newport News, however (75-90 minutes away), and I cannot recall if 66/67 hosts "connecting" bags or not.

(At least NB, 92 leaves after 98...were it the other way around this would be utterly unworkable.)

 

[ParanoidAndroid]

Opening the station at 5:30am instead of, say, 3:30am for Train 98 saves Amtrak 2 hours worth of pay per day, for one or two people. I doubt they're highly payed. The savings are probably minuscule compared to the rest of the budget. I can't get specific ridership data, but I wouldn't be surprised if the revenue goes down further. Maybe... perhaps Amtrak actually calculated it, but I wouldn't know.

Edit: I looked on Juckins Amtrak Records, and 98 was over an hour late into RVR (5:22am) about 40% of the time over the last year.

 

[Anderson]

Opening the station at 5:30am instead of, say, 3:30am for Train 98 saves Amtrak 2 hours worth of pay per day, for one or two people. I doubt they're highly payed. The savings are probably minuscule compared to the rest of the budget. I can't get specific ridership data, but I wouldn't be surprised if the revenue goes down further. Maybe... perhaps Amtrak actually calculated it, but I wouldn't know.

Edit: I looked on Juckins Amtrak Records, and 98 was over an hour late into RVR (5:22am) about 40% of the time over the last year.

Let's say it's $25/hr in wages and benefits (this corresponds to about $50k/yr in pay and benefits) for one person at this hour (they probably need two people later on). That is roughly equivalent to one one-way sleeper ticket to Florida per week that they're saving (or a lower-bucket one-way coach ticket every 2-3 days). The phrase "penny wise, pound foolish" comes to mind here...especially since, yet again, this seems to have been "dropped" out of nowhere. As of right now, I have no indication that VA was involved in the decision-making process on this.

 

[cpotisch]

In the past month, 98 has been sufficiently late into RVR on 17 days. So the odds are in your favor!

 

[neroden]

Well, this is frakking lovely. Practically speaking, I now get to choose between a return train from Florida with decent food service or one where I can check a bag. Considering that I was planning to take Amtrak to/from Florida over the next two weeks?

Hulk smash.

Edit: I would like to congratulate the CEO of Amtrak. I am presently looking at Delta instead of Amtrak for the return leg of this trip (since in practical terms, checked baggage is a necessity...I'm going to have an SF-10A parachute and a reserve and jamming all of that into a roomette is a non-starter).

Write to Coscia and explain to him that Mr. Anderson's boneheaded moves are driving customers to the airplanes. Explain exactly how much ticket revenue he just lost from you alone, and point out that most people who stop buying tickets don't write to him -- the rule of thumb is for every customer who writes, there are 26 who don't, so you can multiply your foregone-revenue number by 27.

 

[Anderson]

I'll actually ask RPA staff for a look-over and an address.

By the way, I was just in RVR about half an hour ago (I'm currently on 66 en route to BAL) and I can say that the in-station "notification" consists of a "no parking"-sized sign, in dark blue (Amtrak colors), simply giving station hours. No indication that there has been a change, no "notice sign" on any of the doors or boards (like showed up with the Silver Starvation). Hell, the parking lot mess gets a poster-sized sign about 6x the size of the station hours sign.

 

[Palmetto]

There's no sense in "broadcasting" bad news.

Customers get upset and that's not good for the "customer now" campaign in progress at Amtrak.

 

[fairviewroad]

In the past month, 98 has been sufficiently late into RVR on 17 days. So the odds are in your favor!

But for those who want to check bags on 98 into RVR, this stat is irrelevant. The station agents south of RVR won't check bags to RVR on the basis of "well the train runs late half the time..." If it shows in their system as "no checked bags," then there will be no checked bags.

 

[cpotisch]

In the past month, 98 has been sufficiently late into RVR on 17 days. So the odds are in your favor!

But for those who want to check bags on 98 into RVR, this stat is irrelevant. The station agents south of RVR won't check bags to RVR on the basis of "well the train runs late half the time..." If it shows in their system as "no checked bags," then there will be no checked bags.

I know that. I was making fun of both the tardiness of the Meteor and the idiotic choice to have RVR open at 5:30.

 

[Anderson]

So, I was at RVR last night (returning from Baltimore). No sign was visible indicating the hours (though the station was still open for the much-delayed arrival of 97).

 

[Triley]

Man I'd be pissed... I'd demand they send the bags up to WAS or ALX, then down to NPN on 65/67. If the train was late enough to miss the connections for baggage, then hopefully it'd be late enough to have checked bag service in RVR.