First refunds, now baggage

[Train2104]

http://www.amtrak.com/baggage-policy

Effective Sept 10:

-2 free bags and 2 paid bags per passenger ($20 fee)

-Size reduction...76 linear inches free, up to 100 for $20 a bag

-45 min checkin deadline, instead of 30min

-Storage fee increase

-No more tandem bikes or kayaks

 

[the_traveler]

It's getting more like the airlines!

At least you get 2 bags free, not $25 (or whatever it is) for the first bag!

And I don't like going from 6 bags down to 4 bags - it makes moving harder!

 

[Acela150]

Why are they going from 3 to 2.. That's BS.. And 75 Linear inches???? Someone like myself doesn't know what that means along with half of the passengers. I'll take a gander and say it means total inches..

 

[the_traveler]

Yes - 32x32x10 would be 74 Linear inches. 35x35x8 is 78 Linear inches - throw the bum out!

 

[TraneMan]

How is this going to work for non-staffed stations? Not like they going to hold the train while to collect money before they board the train.

 

[Ispolkom]

I'm impressed. I think that they decreased every parameter, and increased each charge.

You can check fewer bags, but smaller ones, with a cut-off time that's increased.

Is there any aspect of checked luggage that has escaped Amtrak's baleful gaze?

 

[the_traveler]

1344478240[/url]' post='385937']How is this going to work for non-staffed stations? Not like they going to hold the train while to collect money before they board the train.

How are you going to check bags at a non-staffed station anyway?

 

[EB_OBS]

1344478240[/url]' post='385937']How is this going to work for non-staffed stations? Not like they going to hold the train while to collect money before they board the train.

How are you going to check bags at a non-staffed station anyway?

You can't check bags at an unstaffed station and the usual carry-on policy still applies.

 

[EB_OBS]

http://www.amtrak.com/baggage-policy

Effective Sept 10:

-2 free bags and 2 paid bags per passenger ($20 fee)

-Size reduction...76 linear inches free, up to 100 for $20 a bag

-45 min checkin deadline, instead of 30min

-Storage fee increase

-No more tandem bikes or kayaks

This is the first I've heard of this. I work with station and baggage personnel most nights and I'm not sure they're aware of this policy change either. It's still more then a month away though. I'm sure Amtrak will receive lots and lots of feedback about it. Possibly it'll change a little.

 

[Peter KG6LSE]

I just called and asked about

the line . NO PLASTIC LUGGAGE .

What a bunch of fools .... OK so ANY hard Based case is not gonna be kosher .

I guess my $600 in pelican cases are now banned OH and yea so is half the rolling Samsonite is banned . :help:

the 1st person I called at USARAIL confirms this .. I am gonna call again and see outta 4 calls what percent is able to think with both halfs of there brain . .

#1 said " no ,more plastic of any kind .I am not gonna quibble with you " .........

#2 "kenny " just said "" as long as its is Really real luggage and not a Rubbermaid box then its OK .

#3 Very nice lady .. she was unaware of the new 2 and 20 rule.. she was thanking ME for alerting her to the new gig " the plastic was to keep people from useing "totes" for boxes" . " this rule has been in effect for years"

I am on hold with the lady and LOVE TRAIN comes on the hold music ! ( :wub: )

( at least they have some music taist )

While she was looking at the website.

She just came back on and was SO happy once Again that I called .

She said " Ill bet the week of Sept 10 Ill get a memo the night of" :giggle:

I am not gonna bother with a 4th call... but this goes to show how things need to be updated ..

Peter...

 

[TraneMan]

Guess I was thinking the rule will apply to carry on as well like a long trips where a person will have 3 bags.

 

[Train2104]

it makes moving harder!

That may be one of the motives behind this policy, to drive moving boxes to Amtrak Express.

 

[afigg]

I just called and asked about

the line . NO PLASTIC LUGGAGE .

What a bunch of fools .... OK so ANY hard Based case is not gonna be kosher .

I guess my $600 in pelican cases are now banned OH and yea so is half the rolling Samsonite is banned . :help:

Pelican cases or other hard shell carry cases with handles are obviously ok. Relax. The new policy - which will undoubtedly be refined on the phrasing states:

"Each bag checked must be packed within a suitable container; plastic/rubber storage containers are prohibited."

A Pelican is not a "plastic storage container". Pelican sells carrying and shipping cases. Seems clear to me what Amtrak wants is to avoid a rubbermaid or cheap storage container wrapped in bungee cords or a rope to keep it closed.

 

[Acela150]

I just called

With all due respect. I'm kind of curious to know why everyone calls about new policies once they are posted. That was most likely posted today or yesterday. So they most likely don't know much. I've yet to call about the new refund policy. I will call after work today. Give the poor people a chance to learn about the policy. I would be annoyed to no end if people kept calling me about something I just learned about or hadn't heard about.

 

[EMDF9A]

I just called

With all due respect. I'm kind of curious to know why everyone calls about new policies once they are posted. That was most likely posted today or yesterday. So they most likely don't know much. I've yet to call about the new refund policy. I will call after work today. Give the poor people a chance to learn about the policy. I would be annoyed to no end if people kept calling me about something I just learned about or hadn't heard about.

Well, perhaps it is because AMTRAK is notorious for not knowing policy.. old or new... but most companies provide in-service and training for their front line staff BEFORE implementing a policy and letting the general public know. AMTRAK doesnt seem to follow the conventional wisdom.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

On the one hand Amtrak seems to be shooting themselves in the foot with more and more focus on fees and restrictions such as these changes to their baggage policy. I travel light. One carry-on and I'm done. And yet even I find these new rules of questionable benefit in the grande scheme of things. Was Amtrak really hurting as a result of their luggage services? On the other hand Amtrak is under more and more political scrutiny by the day and are at risk of losing more and more funding as the anti-rail chorus continues to grow in size and power. I guess when your back is against the wall you have to look for additional revenue whenever and wherever you can manage to find it. It sucks to think that the fees and restrictions will probably only increase further over time as Amtrak is forced to follow the US airline model for cost recovery.

 

[NW cannonball]

Even if the worst-case guesses for the actual meaning of this policy are correct - and at this point it's all just guesses - AMTK staff hasn't been briefed yet --

Even if -- So what? Amtrak has to keep up with the competition -- if that competition is air -- then rail has a natural cost advantage -- because on rail the weight of baggage costs very little to carry - don't have to lift the 120 pound/per pax 5-6 miles high.

So two free checked bags seems like a very rational answer to what the airlines have been doing. The rail passenger gets for free what the airlines now take $50 for -- makes the rail advantage clearer to passengers with lots of luggage who are just now getting used to all those airline add-on fees.

And having the policy does something to defuse the anti-amtrak congress-critturs -- "So - the airlines have been raising baggage fees - we'll put in a cost-based and really competitive fee structure that will cost 95% of our current passengers nothing, zero -- and will look like a real good deal to those people who are accustomed to flying but are considering alternatives.

Looks like a very reasonable policy to me. -- But -- yeah -- nobody knows yet what it really means

 

[Anderson]

Ok, I get the checked bag fees going up. I don't think there had been an increase on that front in a while (at least since 2008, probably before), so I'll concede that a bump there was likely in order just to cover inflation. I can also get reducing the checked baggage allowance from 3 to 2 to at least some extent, though I don't like where that's going. What has me scratching my head is reducing the "payable" allowance from 3 to 2 as well.

 

[Aaron]

What has me scratching my head is reducing the "payable" allowance from 3 to 2 as well.

I wonder if it's possible that the combined effect of these changes would reduce baggage load down to the point where some routes could drop the dedicated baggage cars and switch to coach/baggage cars? Even if that's not the primary motivation behind making the changes, I wonder if that could have influenced it?

Pure wild speculation on my part, of course.

 

[Anderson]

What has me scratching my head is reducing the "payable" allowance from 3 to 2 as well.

I wonder if it's possible that the combined effect of these changes would reduce baggage load down to the point where some routes could drop the dedicated baggage cars and switch to coach/baggage cars? Even if that's not the primary motivation behind making the changes, I wonder if that could have influenced it?

Pure wild speculation on my part, of course.

That I could believe, though I don't know how they are on capacity versus demand. It's also plausible that there's been a serious enough uptick in LD traffic over the last five years that "nudging" the limits down is becoming desirable. The Silver Service (Star, Meteor, and Palmetto) and CONO have both seen ridership increases in the 33% range since 2006, and a few others have seen ridership jump by around 20% as of FY11.

Your thought actually makes me wonder why they didn't order more bag-dorms and less full baggage cars; absent actual information on checked baggage loads, I can't help but wonder if a few Superliner trains (Sunset Limited, Texas Eagle, and CONO in particular) couldn't "make do" with a bag-dorm to free up space in the Transdorm for another 8-10 roomette passengers. The same actually applies to the Twilight Shoreliner IMHO (though that might require altering the bed situation in the bag-dorm or selling "single occupancy roomettes"...revenue space is revenue space, after all.

 

[Peter KG6LSE]

I just called and asked about

the line . NO PLASTIC LUGGAGE .

What a bunch of fools .... OK so ANY hard Based case is not gonna be kosher .

I guess my $600 in pelican cases are now banned OH and yea so is half the rolling Samsonite is banned . :help:

Pelican cases or other hard shell carry cases with handles are obviously ok. Relax. The new policy - which will undoubtedly be refined on the phrasing states:

"Each bag checked must be packed within a suitable container; plastic/rubber storage containers are prohibited."

A Pelican is not a "plastic storage container". Pelican sells carrying and shipping cases. Seems clear to me what Amtrak wants is to avoid a rubbermaid or cheap storage container wrapped in bungee cords or a rope to keep it closed.

I am aware of this .. I own 4 cases its All I use !

what is clear to a you and me ( and yes any reasonable person would agree with you ))

is as I Just proved by caling NOT 100% clear to "them "( staff) so far I would say 30% (#2)Really were aware of said rule and was aware how to properly use it ...

#1 was clearly Aware of the new policy and still Mis-understood it .. sattistics are a big part of my life.

If i have just One bad apple in 3 then its not looking good... ( yea I really IF was doing a Real study call 100 times .)

------------------------------------------------------------------

Even if the worst-case guesses for the actual meaning of this policy are correct - and at this point it's all just guesses - AMTK staff hasn't been briefed yet --

NW cannonball

I disagree ...

Any well ran company will tell there staff way ahead of any Public release .

perhaps I need to be a policy writer As I am aware of SO many things that most Wont catch .

: no totes or containers that are obviously not real luggage will be permitted .

* then list examples of a YES and a NO

Oh Yeeeeaaa the Airlines do this ! with pritty photos ! so any fool-on-the-hill can understand them .

not some poorly wrote one liner .

 

[VentureForth]

It's getting more like the airlines!

At least you get 2 bags free, not $25 (or whatever it is) for the first bag!

And I don't like going from 6 bags down to 4 bags - it makes moving harder!

I swear - some of the points brought up here are flat out silly. the_traveller, I know you like to use Amtrak a lot. I know you like to travel. But if you are moving frequently and using Amtrak for your moves, I still think you'll find a bargain in their new policy vs what everyone else charges to move your stuff - even the cheapest U Haul trailer....

So long as they can remain competitive, I'm all for revenue generation - especially when it comes to value-added options. I used to love checking just a small duffle bag on an airline because then I could roam around the airport unencumbered. But now, I travel with a carry on only - even if the company is paying for the trip - because the fees are ridiculous and I can manage without the service.

Adapt, or choose to pay.

 

[MattW]

Baggage isn't the only thing they've altered. They also now have a blanket ban on knives, except sheathed in checked baggage. :angry2: It seems Amtrak was the last sane holdout aside from intercity buses.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

So long as they can remain competitive, I'm all for revenue generation - especially when it comes to value-added options. I used to love checking just a small duffle bag on an airline because then I could roam around the airport unencumbered. But now, I travel with a carry on only - even if the company is paying for the trip - because the fees are ridiculous and I can manage without the service.

My guess is that this change will create only the most minor of revenue benefits for Amtrak as most folks will follow your lead and simply carry aboard most of their luggage as they become more familiar with the airline-like policies Amtrak is implementing. In theory Amtrak could use the extra room for additional freight revenue, but without multiple daily services along their LD network I would not expect much in the way of new interest from conventional shippers.

Baggage isn't the only thing they've altered. They also now have a blanket ban on knives, except sheathed in checked baggage. :angry2: It seems Amtrak was the last sane holdout aside from intercity buses.

The TSA is already on record as stating they want to get more and more involved with passenger rail and bus transit. How much do you want to bet this is a precursor to additional TSA involvement and standardization? These changes have been in the cards for years now. We can run from the TSA all we want but they'll simply follow us wherever we go. Until and unless we demand our freedoms back they'll just keep on chipping away at them.

 

[E Runs]

I understand the first inclination to any change is to complain but really, I'm skeptical that 95% of people need more than 2 full size suitcases and 1 carry on for their trip. The updated policy seems very fair.

The refund policy hasn't changed, it's finally being enforced as written.