I disagree. The conductor mentions the time to get back. If I have an hour in Albuquerque, I am not just going to sit on the train or look at the jewelry there, I am going to walk into town and check out those shops. Unless it's a "L" or "D" stop, the train can't leave early. Now if the train is behind schedule all bets are off... but servicing a train takes time. Even the EB waits at Havre for 20 minutes, regardless of how late it is, because you can't fuel a train in five minutes. Follow directions of the staff and you will be fine.
I disagree.
The conductor will leave early if he/she sees nobody near the train... especially at smaller stations.
Last October, my train stopped at Richmond(RVR). The train was already running late and was trying to make up
time at the last few stops.(i.e. no smoke stops) Before we pulled into RVE, he conductor announced "my apologies
to the smokers, we will now finally give you a chance to smoke here at Richmond Staples Mill... we will leave in
exactly 25 minutes, so please don't wonder off too far" blah blah blah....
I remained in my seat, but my seatmate left the train. Less than
15 minutes later, the train started moving. I saw
my seatmate running back on the train. Perhaps the conductor meant 25 minutes from the time he made the
announcement, not 25 minutes from when the train came to a complete stop?