Amtrak Ticket Questions

[dengor]

I have two questions about buying Amtrak tickets at Amtrak.com

1. The Amtrak timetable says that California Capitol Corridor trains are unreserved. So I want to buy an unreserved ticket from San Jose to Emeryville and pick the train on day of departure. But Amtrak.com wants date and time. How can I buy an unreserved ticket from San Jose to Emeryville?

2. I want to buy a 8 segment multi-city ticket, but Amtrak.com has a 4 segment maximum. Is there a way to get around this and buy a 8 segment multi-city ticket? Any suggestions?

Thanks for your help.

 

[Ryan]

1. I believe the ticket is valid for one year from the date you choose.

2. There is no advantage to cramming them all on one, just make two separate reservations.

 

[the_traveler]

Normally, tickets are valid only on the one specific train. However on unreserved trains (such as the Capitol Corridor), these tickets are valid for 1 year from the date of issue of the ticket. Just chose a date and time that you expect to take. You can if necessary use it on a later unreserved train, but you can not use it on an earlier unreserved train, nor can you use it on a reserved train.

 

[BCL]

Normally, tickets are valid only on the one specific train. However on unreserved trains (such as the Capitol Corridor), these tickets are valid for 1 year from the date of issue of the ticket. Just chose a date and time that you expect to take. You can if necessary use it on a later unreserved train, but you can not use it on an earlier unreserved train, nor can you use it on a reserved train.

I believe that as long as they're not restricted by some promotional rule, you can actually use unreserved train tickets before and up to a year after the time on the ticket. I've taken a ride on Capitol Corridor before the time on the ticket and it scanned just fine and I got AGR points. But if it's a promotional rule like 3 day advance purchase, then you can use it before the advance purchase period is up. Or that's my understanding.

There are also some routes that are unreserved but can be considered reserved in peak travel periods, like the Pacific Surfliner.

I can also think of an obscure rule where an unreserved ticket may be accepted on a reserved train. Capitol Corridor tickets are supposed to be accepted on the San Joaquin for travel between Oakland-Jack London and Martinez. The ticket prices are actually higher on the CC than the SJ. I've done it myself once when it just happened to be there and didn't want to wait. I've also taken a ride on the San Joaquin when I missed my stop and the conductor wrote a note to take me back to RIC.

The only caveat is that between those stations, the San Joaquin doesn't stop in Berkeley. They list the San Joaquin schedule between those stations on the Capitol Corridor schedule.

http://www.capitolcorridor.org/downloads/schedules/trainschedule03012015.pdf

San Joaquin trains to/from Bakersfield. Capitol Corridor tickets are accepted for travel on the San Joaquin service only between Oakland Jack London and Martinez, and San Francisco bus connections.