Amtrak restoring staff at some stations

[Superliner Diner]

With the upcoming timetable changes next week, AMTRAK will be restoring staff coverage of some stations that had previously lost it. This comes from Gene Poon, posted elsewhere on the internet:

FULL STAFFING RESTORED AT MANY STATIONS

EFFECTIVE MONDAY, APRIL 28, 2003, THE FOLLOWING STATIONS WILL

BE OPEN DAILY FOR ALL TRAINS AND, IF THERE ARE JOB VACANCIES

FOR VACATION, SICK, ETC., THEY WILL BE FILLED. CHECKED

BAGGAGE, AS SHOWN IN THE TIMETABLES AND ARROW, WILL AGAIN BE

HANDLED, AS WILL AMTRAK EXPRESS WHEREVER THE EXPRESS RATE

QUOTE SYSTEM SHOWS RATES. UNACCOMPANIED CHILDREN WILL AGAIN

BE HANDLED BETWEEN ESTABLISHED HOURS (0600-2100).

TRAINS 1/2: HOS, ELP, MRC.

TRAINS 3/4: LMY, LAJ, RAT (01MAY-30SEP), SNB.

TRAINS 5/6: LNK.

TRAINS 7/8/27/28: CBS, LSE, WIN, FAR, GFK, MOT, WTN,

GPK (01MAY-30SEP), PSC.

TRAINS 11/14: SNS.

TRAINS 19/20: GRV, MEI.

TRAINS 58/59: CHM.

SLS DIST & CUST SVC/2003-04-22

-source: AMTRAK

(but note that the Texas Eagle is NOT on the list -GP)

 

[AlanB]

With the upcoming timetable changes next week, AMTRAK will be restoring staff coverage of some stations that had previously lost it.

Speaking of the new timetables, I picked up my new one's today at Penn.

 

[jccollins]

Did Maricopa, AZ lose its station agent, or will it now be staffed six days for all six trains arriving/departing, as opposed to the previous (current?) five out of six trains it was/is staffed for? I know that it was previously staffed for all of the Sunset/Eagle arrivals/departures, with the exception of EB train 2/422 on Mondays.

Also, will checked baggage service now be available in Maricopa? I know that the station was previously staffed but checked baggage was not offered. This is an inportant station in the Amtrak system since it is what they consider to be their Phoenix, AZ station stop, serving the sixth largest city in the country. Thanks for your input.

 

[AlanB]

Did Maricopa, AZ lose its station agent, or will it now be staffed six days for all six trains arriving/departing, as opposed to the previous (current?) five out of six trains it was/is staffed for? I know that it was previously staffed for all of the Sunset/Eagle arrivals/departures, with the exception of EB train 2/422 on Mondays.
Also, will checked baggage service now be available in Maricopa? I know that the station was previously staffed but checked baggage was not offered. This is an inportant station in the Amtrak system since it is what they consider to be their Phoenix, AZ station stop, serving the sixth largest city in the country. Thanks for your input.

JC,

I can't answer the first question with certainty, although from the text of Gene's post it would seem that the station will now be open any time there is a train arrival.

However for your second question, the new National timetable that I just picked up today, does indeed indicate that checked baggage will be available at Maricopa. This would also further support the fact that the station would need to be manned 6 days a week now, in order to facilitate checking baggage.

 

[EmpireBuilderFan]

TRAINS 7/8/27/28:  CBS, LSE, WIN, FAR, GFK, MOT, WTN, GPK (01MAY-30SEP), PSC.

To be selfish, this is good news for me. My "home" station is Williston, ND (WTN), so now I'll be able to check my bags again instead of carrying everything on board. Yay! Anyone else affected by this?

Of course, I'm just glad to see any expansion in services, especially since there have been so many cuts in recent years.

 

[Bill Haithcoat]

That is great news about restoring staff.....some stations need additional staff restored to what they have at present. Gets really bad at train time in ATL and BHM for two examples.

 

[Viewliner]

Nice to hear, hope these are just the first of many stations to regain checked baggage service.

 

[Superliner Diner]

With the upcoming timetable changes next week, AMTRAK will be restoring staff coverage of some stations that had previously lost it.

Speaking of the new timetables, I picked up my new one's today at Penn.

I got the new National timetable in the Orlando, FL station this past Saturday 4/19. I don't expect to see the Northeast one until I get to Washington, DC this coming Sunday on my way home. Meanwhile, I've printed off some of the individual new timetables (only some are available now) from Amtrak's website. Note that some of them are being combined, such as the New York -Washington and the Acela Express/Metroliner schedule together (all on form W2) , and the Boston and Virgina schedules are now one (all on form W4).

 

[battalion51]

Well I hate to be a party pooper, but the Amtrak Tallahassee station has been closed in recent weeks. This is not a very good thing, they're opening some station but cutting others at the same time.

 

[Bill Haithcoat]

And that Tallahassee is the state capitol makes it even more of a shame, in a symbolic kind of way.

If I remember correctly, one can see the capitol building from Amtrak.

 

[Viewliner]

And that Tallahassee is the state capitol makes it even more of a shame, in a symbolic kind of way. If I remember correctly, one can see the capitol building from Amtrak.

Guys I agree about Tallahassee, but don't forget, Trenton, NJ doesn't have checked baggage, and not only is it the state capital, it also was #7 in ridership last year.

 

[Bill Haithcoat]

I did not know that Trenton, NJ did not have checked baggage. That is pitiful,especially considering its ridership. Hope that changes someday. How long has that been the case?

 

[Viewliner]

I did not know that Trenton, NJ did not have checked baggage. That is pitiful,especially considering its ridership. Hope that changes someday. How long has that been the case?

I don't know if it ever had it. I've just looked at the past few Atlantic Coast Service timetables, Trenton does deserve the service, I agree. Although, one must remember that a good portion of the ridership probably is on the Corrdor/Clocker trains. But Trenton is a major hub, as its where NJT and Septa End, and Amtrak Runs through. It may have something to do with NJ Transit owning the station though.

 

[Bill Haithcoat]

Sounds like a good explanation....there are all sorts of little "things" out there---like NJ Transit owning the station , that one might never think of, as an explanation for something like not allowing long distance trains, Amtrak, or before,to have checked baggage.

Ours can be a complicated hobby/industry at times.

 

[Bill Haithcoat]

Funny thing about checked baggage. In the pre-Amtrak past, a few-- very few-- trains gloried in the fact that they did NOT carry checked baggage at all, at any station. The idea, I think, was to run as fast as possible and have as few delays as possible....similar to a point I made in a recent post about mail cars. They felt it was a sign of "exclusivity" to not be bothered with anything as pedestrian as checked baggage. Now that logic, in regard to hauling tons and tons of mail CAN make sense....but it really was a twisted mis-guided way of thinking to deprive passengers of the fully expected convenience of checked baggage just so the train could appear more exclusive. As I say, not many trains did that.

 

[steve_relei]

Olympia-Lacy, Washington, stops for the Coast Starlight and Cascadia Corridors trains, also does not have checked baggage. Olympia is Washington's state capital. Interestingly enough, it is the state of Washington that has been funding many of the improvements (including stations) and additional trains on the route.

 

[Bill Haithcoat]

I need to possibly modify what I said above about "no checked baggage"....it truly happened, to be sure, but I could be wrong about the motive....but I do not remember reading any alternative to the motive as suggested above. I did get the distinct IMPRESSION that the motive of "no checked baggage" on a few of the snootier trains was as stated. But if anybody out their can prove me wrong, that is cool, because I would like to be wrong about this one(the motive,that is).

 

[PRR 60]

The PRR’s Broadway Limited was among those trains that did not carry checked baggage.

Since the Broadway was all Pullman, the theory was that a “reasonable” volume of luggage could be carried on board, and if you needed to take more than you could fit in your room, there was always #49, the General, leaving 55 minutes earlier. The Broadway was marketed primarily to business travel. The typical luggage for that type of passenger (then and now) is an overnight bag and a briefcase. This was an easy fit in a Pullman room. This also eliminated the need to arrive in time to check bags or wait at the other end to reclaim them. For most Broadway Limited passengers, the carry-on requirement was not only acceptable; it was actually preferable (in much the same way airline carryon is preferable to checking bags for business travel today).

With no baggage handling, station stops for the Broadway were very quick. Having seen #29 at North Philly on numerous occasions, I can attest that it made Acela-like stops. Pulled in; doors open; doors closed, gone. Just 3 minutes of extra time at each of the nine intermediate stops would have resulted in nearly a half hour of time lost. Even into the 60’s, the operation of the Broadway was a point of pride for the Pennsy. Maintaining a 16-hour schedule New York to Chicago (equaling the arch-rival Twentieth Century Limited) took every trick in the book. This was one trick.

So, although I can’t disprove that snob appeal wasn’t at least a secondary driver (the lack of checked baggage certainly was a disincentive for family travel and probably put most families on the General), I do think that keeping an aggressive schedule was the primary focus.

 

[Superliner Diner]

I don't know if it ever had it. I've just looked at the past few Atlantic Coast Service timetables, Trenton does deserve the service, I agree.

Trenton, NJ did, in fact, have checked baggage service. I believe it ended about 5 or 6 years ago. I remember seeing signs in the station announcing its end, and advising those who absolutely needed to check their bags to try boarding in Newark, NJ or Philadelphia, PA. Kind of a long haul to board in a different place, and certainly a multi-seat ride is not conducive to maintaining ridership.

 

[Bill Haithcoat]

PRR60, many, many, many thanks for bringing another voice into that issue of "no checked baggage"..and for the clarication, which expands well beyond what I offered. The way you explain it, it makes some additional sense.....though as you note, there may still well have been some snob appeal in it, which was my theory. Sounds cool to me....think we are on the same track.