RTE to get Red Caps

[Acela150]

Westwood Route 128, MA, RTE is getting Red Caps. A posting on jobs.amtrak.com has openings for Extra Board Red Caps.

 

[neroden]

That's just odd. I would think other stations would be higher priorities for Red Caps. Which stations have Red Caps already? I know about NY, Chicago, and LA...

 

[RTE_TrainGuy]

I agree this seems quite odd. I am skeptical, but have no info on the topic.

The station is rather small and very easy to manage. A large percentage of passengers are business travellers on the Acela or NER who are likely exereinced with the procedures and have no need for Red Cap service.

The waiting room to platform is a 10 second walk.

 

[amamba]

How bizarre.

 

[MattW]

It's not a big station (LAUPT) and there's no platform barriers (all the other big ones) so what's the point here?

 

[neroden]

OK, found the list of stations with Red Caps:

Baltimore, MD -- major station

Boston, MA (South Station) -- junction, major terminal

Chicago, IL -- junction, major terminal

Los Angeles, CA -- junction, major terminal

New Haven, CT -- junction

New York, NY -- junction, major terminal

Newark, NJ -- junction, major station

Philadelphia, PA -- junction, major station

Portland, OR -- junction, major terminal

Seattle, WA -- junction, major terminal

Washington, DC -- junction, major terminal

Wilmington, DE

So, this is a reasonable list. Most of these are junction stations where people are likely to be changing trains; the only exceptions are Wilmington and Baltimore. Baltimore's a big city. Wilmington is a slightly odd inclusion on the list.

If I were adding Red Cap service to stations, I'd add it to Sacramento (a junction which now has exceptionally long walks from the station to the platform), Emeryville (major terminal), New Orleans (junction, major terminal), Miami (major terminal). As service builds up, eventually Charlotte, Raleigh, and Richmond Main Street might need Red Caps. Maybe Albany (NY) or Schenectady.

But Route 128? Bizarre.

 

[JackieTakestheTrain]

Not really that bizarre. There is a lot of traffic in and out of RTE and the only way to get across from the inbound tracks is up the escalator which never works and the elevator which works when it wants. The stairwell is also an option but not that easy to navigate as they are a lot of them.

When I met my mom there, I arranged for special services and one of the ticket attendants came out to meet her with me.

I suspect that with the upcoming holidays and increased traffic they want to see if Red Caps might be of use.

I have seen and used Red Caps there in the past during busy holiday travel.

 

[fairviewroad]

So, this is a reasonable list. Most of these are junction stations where people are likely to be changing trains; the only exceptions are Wilmington and Baltimore. Baltimore's a big city. Wilmington is a slightly odd inclusion on the list.

Wilmington and Baltimore have something in common with the rest of the list that RTE does not: They are served by long-distance trains.

 

[afigg]

If I were adding Red Cap service to stations, I'd add it to Sacramento (a junction which now has exceptionally long walks from the station to the platform), Emeryville (major terminal), New Orleans (junction, major terminal), Miami (major terminal). As service builds up, eventually Charlotte, Raleigh, and Richmond Main Street might need Red Caps. Maybe Albany (NY) or Schenectady.

But Route 128? Bizarre.

Adding Red cap service to Sacramento does make sense as it is the seventh busiest station in the system with 1.13 million passengers in FY13. Emeryville is less busy with 598K in FY13.
New Orleans only see 2 daily LD trains and a 3 day a week train. Miami only 2 daily trains. A Red Cap would have a lot of time on his hands waiting for the next departing or arriving train. Miami had only 84K passengers in FY13 or 7.5% of the numbers for Sacramento. A Red Cap at MIA would be getting only a few tips a day to supplement his/her income.

What the stations that have Red Cap have in common in that they are busy stations with multiple daily corridor trains, not just a couple of LD trains. At a station such as WAS, I wouldn't be surprised if the Red Caps got more business from passengers boarding corridor trains - Acela, Regionals, VA Regionals - than LD trains.

As for Rt. 128, it is not even in the top 25 stations with 426K passengers in FY13. I do find it odd that it might be getting Red Cap service - if the interpretation of the job posting is correct.

Edit: typo fix

 

[The Journalist]

Possibly some elected official requested Red Cap service there? Based on who it's named for, that might be why Wilmington is on there, though it has quite a lot more passengers than RTE.

Another thought: They could be testing how well Red Caps would work at smaller stations, and chose that one since if it doesn't work at RTE that person can likely be transferred to Boston without too much issue.

 

[neroden]

Another thought: They could be testing how well Red Caps would work at smaller stations, and chose that one since if it doesn't work at RTE that person can likely be transferred to Boston without too much issue.

That's an interesting possibility, which makes some sense.

Meanwhile, Sacramento, please. Before anyone else has a heart attack trying to get to the platform.

 

[Acela150]

I can tell you that RTE has had a type of Red Cap service upon request for some time. I actually found that out from a FCA. Also keep in mind that RTE now has baggage check and most stations have a Red Cap do the baggage work for 66/67.