Checking bags on 14-28

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wayman

wayman

Engineer
Joined
Sep 6, 2007
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2,312
Location
Northampton MA
Went to the counter in Los Angeles, tickets in hand for a 14-28-448 trip (guaranteed connections, starting and ending at stations with baggage handling, etc), a good twelve hours before departure, and got an agent who nearly refused to check our bags at all :wacko: :wacko: :wacko:

Now, I understand the timing of the 14-28 connection is very tight, and I can see how that would pose a difficulty for checked bags. And I can imagine it would add complications to any bustitution that may occur. But I was stunned to hear that they "didn't allow checked bags on my itinerary".

The agent even insisted that I should never have been given the reservation I had in the first place, but ultimately we just agreed to disagree about whether or not my connection as a passenger was guaranteed. The issue was the bags, and for them I could understand that different logic applies.

I suggested that, since I was trying to check them through to Springfield anyway, I didn't really care how they got there, so it was fine by me if they went on the Southwest Chief to Chicago, and then on 448. And I was stunned to hear from this agent that "we don't want bags traveling on different trains from their passengers; however, in this instance we'll break that rule for you". This was after a conference between the agent and her supervisor, who apparently also thought this was "breaking a rule". :wacko: :wacko: :wacko:

Moreover, the agent made a point of telling me that, instead of the bags arriving in Springfield a day earlier than I would (4-448 takes 3 days, 14-28-448 takes 4), the bags would be held in Chicago for one day to be on the same 448 as I will be, because of the above "rule".

So, is this some new rule? I've never heard of this before, and I've checked bags that had to travel on a different set of trains as recently as August (traveling on daytime regionals PHL-SPG, bags on 66-449, with no problems whatsoever checking them in PHL).

Ultimately, I saw the bags correctly tagged for 4-448, so I'm confident they'll be in Springfield for me, but wow, this was an annoying customer service experience. I want to be sure I know what the actual rules are before contacting Amtrak about it, though.
 
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Last May, on my x-country trip, I checked a bag CHI- NOL (CONO) even though I was going CHI-CVS-NOL.
rolleyes.gif
 
If it's "a new rule", I never hears of a change!
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That would also mean the end of checking bags from say PHL-WAS, because #67 doesn't offer checked baggage on #67 and you can't travel locally on the LD trains that do!
 
I've not heard of any rule changes, re: bags must be on the same train as the passenger. And such a rule would cause major problems for many people. Additionally, such a rule would require Amtrak to stop doing Amtrak Express Shipping, where one can simply drop off a package that someone else will be picking up in some destination city.

Regarding the hassle over shifting bags at PDX, that could have been caused by the employees getting the memo about the connection being broken starting next month for 3 months. Could be that they just forgot the dates that it was going to happen, or didn't fully read and comprehend the memo.

But the close connection has nothing to do with it at all. Many trains have close connections in Chicago, yet baggage is still permitted to be checked through Chicago. Yes, sometimes it does miss the train and the passenger's have to return the next day to get their bags at their destination station, but the baggage does get through.

And Chicago won't be holding that bag to await the correct day that you'll be on 448. There isn't even any place on the baggage check tag to indicate that such a hold is needed. The only way that bag ends up on your train is if the Chief is so late as to miss connecting with the LSL the day before. Besides, with all the luggage that Chicago handles, the last thing that they'll want is a bag just sitting around for a day. Even if the LA agent did somehow manage to put special instructions on the ticket, I'm sure that a baggage handler in Chicago will ignore them. He'll just throw the bag onto the next LSL to get it out of his hair.
 
the_traveler said:
If it's "a new rule", I never hears of a change!
blink.gif
That would also mean the end of checking bags from say PHL-WAS, because #67 doesn't offer checked baggage on #67 and you can't travel locally on the LD trains that do!
Click to expand...
What do you mean, "#67 doesn't offer checked baggage on #67"? If I search PHL-WS, 67 has the luggage icon...
 
Guest said:
the_traveler said:
If it's "a new rule", I never hears of a change!
blink.gif
That would also mean the end of checking bags from say PHL-WAS, because #67 doesn't offer checked baggage on #67 and you can't travel locally on the LD trains that do!
Click to expand...
What do you mean, "#67 doesn't offer checked baggage on #67"? If I search PHL-WS, 67 has the luggage icon...
Click to expand...
You can check bags to/from PHL on #66 (northbound) but for #67 (southbound), the baggage room is not open at the arrival time for #67!
 
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Two years ago I was going on 11-6-30, and wanted to check bags through to CHI as ALC has no checked bags. The agent at PDX had no problem checking them on 28 to CHI and gave me instructions to pick up a bag from downstairs.
 
Rail Freak said:
Last May, on my x-country trip, I checked a bag CHI- NOL (CONO) even though I was going CHI-CVS-NOL.
rolleyes.gif
Click to expand...
Heck, in November I checked a suitcase MOT-CHI-WAS-NOL (I saw that that was what was written on the pink tag), and it ended up going MOT-CHI-NOL, arriving a day early. Wayman's experience is yet another example of an officious Amtrak agent inventing rules. Amtrak doesn't care about luggage traveling on the same train as passengers.
 
They sure do. Aside from being able to track lost bags and access to luggage in case on emergency (a bustitution, say) there is an emphasis from law enforcement to keep bags with their people. The DEA wants to make sure their narc dogs can find the person that made them bark.
 
I checked bags EMY-PHL, and I wasn't even going on a train that day! According to the tags, it went EMY-CHI on the CZ, CHI-PIT on the Cap, and PIT-PHL on the Pennsylvanian. I asked the baggage agent, but she didn't remember if it came in on the Pennsy (which would be bizarre), or on 66.
 
There's no checked bags on the Penny. They don't have a baggage car, so it had to come in on one of the regionals holding the bag-- 66 is likely.
 
I think there is a rule about agents not short checking bags unless the passenger signs a waver. We have several passengers each day boarding in Dallas to go to Michigan. The agents encourage people NOT to check bags to Chicago in case the train is late and they barely have time to make their connection to the Michigan train. They wouldn't have time to claim their bag and make their connection. So if the passenger insists on still checking, they are made to sign a liability tag saying they are responsible.
 
While this is tangential to the thread, it does have to do with connections and short checking. A few years ago on the trip from h**l our first problem arose when the Acela we were to take to NYP did not op due to the New London bridge debacle. We took 449 to ALB where we were to do the across the platform cha cha to the Chicago bound section up from NYP. It was running late (surprise, surprise) and I decided to check the brides "large" bag to Chicago because of the paucity of room in the Viewliner bedroom; claim it there and carry it on board the EB which had space for bags in the lower level racks. The clerk at Albany refused to "short check" the bag, but I was able, to do an end around by over tipping a red cap who checked the bags to Chicago...where we picked them up. The trip really turned "south" when the EB was terminated at St. Paul due to flooding and we were bussed (tortured) for 8 hours from Chicago to St. Paul. The "service" rendered at Chicago would take too many pages and resurrect too many horrors to relate here. Enough to say it, the trip from Boston to Seattle and return was enough to turn even the most ardent train fan into a "never again" person. But the next year we were back and the services were as one would expect from Amtrak.

Best regards,

Rodger
 
Guest said:
the_traveler said:
Or one of the LD trains that do (like the Silvers or Crescent) also! A passenger just can't travel locally on them, but bags can!
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For all passengers? If I rode 2155, I could check bags on 91?
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Yes, but as there are no checked bags included in the fare, you would have to pay extra. When I sent the bags EMY-PHL, it was an extra $50 charge for 2 50-lb bags. Still cheaper than an airline!
 
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Nickrapak said:
Yes, but as there are no checked bags included in the fare, you would have to pay extra. When I sent the bags EMY-PHL, it was an extra $50 charge for 2 50-lb bags. Still cheaper than an airline!
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Really? Is this a new policy? I've definitely checked bags NHV-PGH while ticketed on a Regional and the Pennsylvanian. The bags went on the overnight Regional and the Capitol Limited. There was no charge for this, but that was about two or three years ago. Has Amtrak's policy in this area changed?
 
transit54 said:
Nickrapak said:
Yes, but as there are no checked bags included in the fare, you would have to pay extra. When I sent the bags EMY-PHL, it was an extra $50 charge for 2 50-lb bags. Still cheaper than an airline!
Click to expand...
Really? Is this a new policy? I've definitely checked bags NHV-PGH while ticketed on a Regional and the Pennsylvanian. The bags went on the overnight Regional and the Capitol Limited. There was no charge for this, but that was about two or three years ago. Has Amtrak's policy in this area changed?
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I've never heard of that happening before and I've not heard of any change in policy. As long as you are going from A to B and A & B both have checked baggage, then there should be no charge for checked bags, even if one of the trains you're riding doesn't actually carry the bags.

Sounds to me like you got some agent Nick who didn't know what they were doing.
 
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