el paso to chicago via coast starlight..one or two zones?

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benale

Lead Service Attendant
Joined
Jul 11, 2006
Messages
356
It;s probably two zones, but I was wondering. The days the Sunset Limited does not run Eastbound from El Paso, AGR lets you go take the SL Westbound, The Coast Starlight and the Empire Builder into Chicago. Being you are traveling through he Western zone,does that make it a two zone on the days you can't take the SL and the Texas Eagle?
 
Interesting...the Empire Builder by itself PDX to Chicago would normally be two zones. That might require a phone call to see how they handle (charge) the route on SLs "off' days. Clearly, on the "on" days, it would be one zone heading "east" from El Paso..
 
I thought I read that going through another zone counted as a zone charge.

El Paso west to California and then up the coast would be entirely in one zone and then crossing the boundary to Chicago would make it two. Going west from El Paso, you could hardly claim that you were staying in one zone.
 
Yes, that is true but, the OP was wondering how AGR would "charge" that since that would be the routing on the SL off days. He said AGR would "let" him take the SL westbound on the off days. Obviously, its one zone one day and two zones (and longer route) the next day.

Would AGR be "nice" and charge one zone on the off day as they would on the on day? I don't know but, I suspect not. The answer may be in a phone call to AGR and ask about it.
 
If you travel thru another zone, AGR charges for that extra zone. So in the OP's example, if you travel east from ELP to CHI, you stay in the Central zone so it would be 1 zone. If you travel west, you travel in the Western zone so it would be 2 zones.

Likewise, going from DEN to ATL or BHM, you have a choice of connecting in CHI and WAS/CVS or CHI and NOL (with a night on your own dime). If you stay within the Central zone, it's 1 zone. If you travel into the Eastern zone, it's 2 zones.
 
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Last November, Amtrak booked me from Kansas City, MO to Wolf Point, MT as one zone.

I enjoyed the four night trip for 15,000 points (KCY to LAX to PDX to WPT)

Then again, everyone of those trains thought I was nuts for going west from KCY to get to RVR :wacko:
 
Yeah, you can't do that anymore.

Circle trips are not permitted using a single redemption. A circle trip is a travel itinerary comprised of a series of segments that exit, and later re-enter, the same zone.
Click to expand...
El Paso to CHI via the west coast would be a 2-zone. It's legal because El Paso is a border city, so you are technically starting out in the West Zone and then entering the Central Zone at Wolf Point.
 
I started this topic and now I see as of April 1 there is no direct connection from 14 to 8. We were planning a nice two zone trip from LA to Toledo later this year.via the Starlight and the EB. I wonder if taking the Starlight to Eugene, spending the night on your own dime and then boarding a Casades train to Portland in the morning and transferring to the EB that afternoon would be doable. The CS gets into Eugene in the early afternoon and taking a Cascades train the next morning would be under 24 hours. Wonder if Guest Rewards would allow this?

I know if the route is not listed, it can't be done, but I wonder if it is possible.
 
The NORTHBOUND CS arrives in EMY about 10 PM and SAC at midnight. The CZ leaves the next morning at 9:35. Coming from Oregon I get a good breakfast in Sacramento in between the CS and the CZ.

It's beginning to look like Portland is going to become overnight city where the connection between the EB and the CS used to be guaranteed.
 

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