Assigned seats on the train?

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There were several red caps on duty in Alb when I passed thru a few months ago.....
Maybe they started it recently, but it does not show on the website. I do not recall seeing any there when I went through there twice in November and went and hung out up in the station both times. I fully realize what is published on the website does not always accurately reflect ground truth with Amtrak

If I were @Voxish I would not plan on them being available, but would be pleasantly surprised if they were and utilize them.
 
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I know I've seen passenger assistance, whether they are full time red caps, or other titles doing some of what we think of red caps for I can't say. Might be a good idea to call the station itself and ask, If anyone has the direct number maybe they can pass it on to the OP.
 
I've read that when you make a reservation in coach you are assigned a seat. No where on my downloaded ticket do I see a seat assignment. I know when I booked the trip I chose upper level. Will I be assigned a seat when I check in at the terminal?
 
I've read that when you make a reservation in coach you are assigned a seat. No where on my downloaded ticket do I see a seat assignment. I know when I booked the trip I chose upper level. Will I be assigned a seat when I check in at the terminal?
If the crew is assigning seats, they will usually be assigned at the train door, not in the terminal. There is no formal check-in required at Amtrak stations. At some stations with controlled access to the platform, the conductor will assign seats at the door to the platform, rather than trainside.
 
All of the above is true most of the time. The Auto-Train does have check-in. There is seat selection with your reservation, but only on a limited set of trains, the Acela service, and NER business class only and a few other Northeast trains in business class only as well.
 
I've read that when you make a reservation in coach you are assigned a seat. No where on my downloaded ticket do I see a seat assignment. I know when I booked the trip I chose upper level. Will I be assigned a seat when I check in at the terminal?
Amtrak does not assign seats except in the Northeast Corridor in Business Class and Acela First Class.

There is no such thing as "check in". It's not an airline.

How seats are assigned, if they are assigned, varies widely depending on the station and crew.

1. No assignment. Board the train and select a seat that doesn't have a person in it or a seat check above it.
2. No assignment but designated seating areas by group size. Some attendants designate seats for "Groups of 3 or more" and "Groups of 2". Same as 1 except select an open seat appropriate for your party.
3. Directed to a specific car. At many intermediate stops not all doors will be opened. If boarding at a major city, you may be asked your destination and directed to a specific car, the one that will be opened at that stop.
4. Assigned by attendant/conductor at trainside. It seems a bit more common on non-NEC business class. It also is more likely at zero dark thirty stops where they don't want you wandering around disturbing people.
5. Assigned by conductor at entrance to platform. At some terminal stations and intermediate stations where the operating crew changes, conductors will lift/scan tickets and assign seats at the entrance to the platform. They'll give you a seat check with the car and seat on it. This used to be the process at Seattle and Portland, but no longer is. They still lift tickets before going out to the platform, but no longer assign seats.

Don't worry about getting a seat on the upper level. There are 62 seats on the upper level of a Superliner coach, and just 12 on the lower level. IIRC, boarding passes for lower level seats will say "Lower Level Seat" while those for upper level will just say "Coach Seat" since upper level is the default.
 
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Don't worry about getting a seat on the upper level. There are 62 seats on the upper level of a Superliner coach, and just 12 on the lower level. IIRC, boarding passes for lower level seats will say "Lower Level Seat" while those for upper level will just say "Coach Seat" since upper level is the default.
Thank you that explains it.
 
If the crew is assigning seats, they will usually be assigned at the train door, not in the terminal. There is no formal check-in required at Amtrak stations. At some stations with controlled access to the platform, the conductor will assign seats at the door to the platform, rather than trainside.
Do Portland and Seattle still assign Seats inside the Station like they did Pre-Pandemic?
 
When boarding the Crescent at NYP, the train was very full and at the train door they were handing out little chits with our seat assignment. I had just gotten on advance of the track number while seated in the Metropolitan lounge and didn’t expect to have a seat assignment.

When I got to my seat wow.

I nearly fainted when my seat mate was a beautiful woman that is having a beautiful life and a beautiful mother and wife. Her husband plays back up for David Matthews Band. They also owned the studio where David Matthews records in Charlottesville

In Tucson, 2018, I was assigned to seat. By the time we arrived in El Paso, they were flushing out someone who is transporting illegal drugs.

I’m going to guess that that was the reason my way we’re given six assignments. The train was barely 40% full. Two or three years later, a drug dealer was in an armed conflict, and a DEA agent was killed in the Tucson - the very car that I had ridden in.
 
I guess my situation a few years ago was an exception to those general rules. I boarded the Southwest Chief in Albuquerque heading west and we were given seat assignments in the station before the train arrived. When I got on the assigned car and went to my assigned seat, there was already someone there along with a chit above their seat. I looked around for another seat (I didn't see any Amtrak people yet in the car) and found what was the last seat in the car and it was at the front left side of the car. After I made myself comfortable, an Amtrak person came into the car to help people get to their seats (I guess others may have had my issues also). He was looking for me and some other people who had boarded in Albuquerque, but seemed satisfied that I had found my own seat and everyone was ok. The lady I was sitting with had the same experience I had. Since the car was full, I wonder if the whole train was full and maybe that accounts for the assigned seating experience.
 
Do Portland and Seattle still assign Seats inside the Station like they did Pre-Pandemic?
In April of this year Portland was not doing that. However, they did extract Business Class passengers from the wrap-around queue of customers waiting to board. They were shown into the Metropolitan Lounge. In the past, they were assigned seats by the lounge attendant. As I was waiting for the no-BC Coast Starlight, I didn't find out if they were still assigning BC seats.

One problem with assigning seats in the station is the transfer from Train 14 to Train 28. Sometimes this is tight, and I recall seeing Train 28 departing late because passengers making the connection had to go into the station to get their seats. Of course, if they sold the seats in advance like Greyhound/Flix...

The historic check-in desks are still there.
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When i rode the WB Empire Builder from CHI on 5/13, they had a sign saying to check in near the Metro Lounge. I showed the lady my tickets and she gave me the little paper strips with the destination, seat numbers (with a sticker), and the door number. The sign was gone about an hour before boarding. Very few people actually checked in though.
 
Maybe they started it recently, but it does not show on the website. I do not recall seeing any there when I went through there twice in November and went and hung out up in the station both times. I fully realize what is published on the website does not always accurately reflect ground truth with Amtrak

If I were @Voxish I would not plan on them being available, but would be pleasantly surprised if they were and utilize them.
Thanks - I'll look out for them. As an aside, we don't do tipping in the UK (not for stuff like this anyway) and we don't usually carry cash. Will they be expecting a tip and if so, how much? I've barely used cash in London in the last 5 years or so.
 
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