A Few CUS changes I noticed

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Reno89502

Reno89502

Service Attendant
Joined
Jul 29, 2007
Messages
124
Location
Hartford, CT
While I was in CUS on my layover from KCY to WAS, I noticed a couple of new areas.

1. They have opened a Amtrak Store next to Passenger Services (Across from the ticket counters). Bought me a new Amtrak Fleece Jacket. :) (Credit Cards ONLY!!)

2. There are new restrooms (At least I have never seen them before) off of the Great Hall across from the Office Elevators on the Jackson Street side of the Great Hall.

3. The sign that I saw on the way to KCY that said that the Legacy Lounge would be closed until 2/1/16 has been removed and the lounge is open.

Also, my car attendant told me that all Amtrak on-board staff now has business cards to hand out to the passengers. So if you have a attendant that you like, make sure to ask for their card!!
 
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The Amtrak attendants have had the cards for some time now. They're generic, and the attendant fills in his/her name and presents it to the passenger who requests it.
 
The one I got today was pre-printed with the attendants name and title. He said he was surprised that Amtrak was willing to fork out the money for them.
 
Steve4031 said:
The indoor walkway to the parking garage is closed.
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This walkway will be closed for many months because Chicago is constructing a new bus stop/transfer facilities on the east side of the parking garage at street level. There will be a staircase and elevator connecting the lower pedestrian tunnel to the new street level bus stop facility. The bus stop facility will have three lanes for buses and is being built whet the 1990s planned 3 track light rail station was going to be built. That is why the parking garage was built the way it was many years ago. Chicago's light rail line was to be funded by 1/3 each of private funds, state funds and federal funds. The project died when the state backed out of its funding commitment.
 
As seen in the metropolitan lounge:

metroLounge.jpg
 
PaulM said:
As seen in the metropolitan lounge:

metroLounge.jpg
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Am I missing something? I'm not sure what that picture is supposed to represent - regarding the lounge, that is. It's a picture of the Canal Street entrance to the Great Hall.
 
Canal St. direct entrance to the new Metro Lounge. I remain unsure how long that entrance will be staffed... but it'll definitely exist, it's on the architectural plans.
 
neroden said:
Canal St. direct entrance to the new Metro Lounge. I remain unsure how long that entrance will be staffed... but it'll definitely exist, it's on the architectural plans.
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Ah, now the red carpet makes sense. ;)
 
PaulM said:
As seen in the metropolitan lounge:

metroLounge.jpg
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I posted this back in early November when I last was there. Shortly after I shot my own picture, I overheard the attendant tell someone that the target finish date of the relocation is June 1.
 
So a regular Canal St. entrance is being repurposed as a direct entrance into the Metropolitan Lounge?

I foresee that becoming a problem.

I wonder how many regular riders will just walk in those doors expecting to find access to the station. Yeah, I'm sure there will be signs, but people don't usually read signs.
 
The future Metro Lounge access point is one of the Canal St. doors which is currently permanently locked. Someone linked to the architectural plans not long ago.
 
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The entrance to the Great Hall is three doors wide, double doors if I recall correctly. The entrance to the new lounge is one door wide. They are not going to close the stairs to the Great Hall to provide an entrance to the lounge.
 
Red carpet outdoors? I can see all the salt stains on it during the winter months right now. :huh:
 
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D.P. Roberts said:
I'm sure there will be signs, but people don't usually read signs.
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Having seen dozens of Amtrak stations with poor or missing signage over the years I'm not sure of that at all. Many Amtrak stations are lucky to have a sign telling you what the name of the station is. Even major stations often have signs that are so small or so cryptic or so randomly employed/enforced that they're easy to miss and/or tedious to understand. It's amazing to me how much airports have improved and streamlined their signage over the last several decades while clear and concise train station signage has become a distant relic of a bygone era.
 
Devil's Advocate... Was there ever a post in the last 7,281 when your "glass half empty" attitude failed and you posted something happy and uplifting? Ommmmmmm.

Ed :cool:
 
What I saw with the upstairs reception as well as the lower level reception is that the Lounge will require more staff, unless the upper doors are only open limited hours. The upper entry will be good for those arriving by taxi, walking, etc. and the lower for those connecting from other Amtrak trains as well as METRA. Obviously, after looking at the layout , the main lounge is downstairs and appears to have direct doors to the South Tracks.
 
Lonestar648 said:
What I saw with the upstairs reception as well as the lower level reception is that the Lounge will require more staff, unless the upper doors are only open limited hours. The upper entry will be good for those arriving by taxi, walking, etc. and the lower for those connecting from other Amtrak trains as well as METRA. Obviously, after looking at the layout , the main lounge is downstairs and appears to have direct doors to the South Tracks.
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On the positive side, they won't need to employ anyone at the baggage check, so the total number of employees may not change. Also, considering how swamped they can get when a fully loaded connecting train arrives, it will be nice to have the option of another entrance.
 
I am unsure when they're going to have that upper entrance open. I would lay bets they'll open it for bustitutions though!
 
caravanman said:
Devil's Advocate... Was there ever a post in the last 7,281 when your "glass half empty" attitude failed and you posted something happy and uplifting?
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Although I remain a staunch proponent of fast, clean, safe, and dependable passenger rail I have no specific need or desire to support Amtrak specifically. Ask me what I think of passenger rail in countries such as Japan, France, or Germany and you'll see far more positive commentary from my end. I actually have plenty of positive things to say about modern airports and aircraft despite the fact that most members here seem to hate flying. In simple terms I'm a consensus counterweight. If our membership was mostly negative about Amtrak then I'd be the rare positive guy, which is not that unusual on other forums and comment sections. That being said, I'm really not the warm fuzzy group hug type who willingly sets aside what I perceive to be the truth in order to blow smoke up posteriors.
 
caravanman said:
Ah well, as long as you are happy, that's the main thing. :p

Ed. :cool:
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I used to think Amtrak was great simply because I hadn't explored or experienced any alternatives and didn't know any better. I believe that many of Amtrak's strongest supporters today continue to suffer from limited knowledge and experience with other passenger rail systems just as I once did. After I saw firsthand how things worked in other parts of the world I had a hard time accepting Amtrak's perpetual stagnation and regression, let alone admiring it. Just out of curiosity what was it that drew you to Amtrak and what keeps bringing you back for more? That is to say which of Amtrak's accomplishments are worthy of praise from a world traveler such as yourself?
 
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