How early at Station prior to departure

[amamba]

When you ride a train and board where the train originates, how early do you like to arrive?

Personally for me, if I'm in a location with a lounge, I like to arrive about an hour before departure. I sit in the lounge, check out the materials on hand, and hopefully board early with a redcap.

If I'm leaving from a mid point I like to arrive about 15-20 minutes before departure. I'm also nervous about cutting it too close and missing the train.

How about you?

 

[SarahZ]

Local: 20-30 minutes beforehand. I get nervous when I cut it too close; I'm one of those people who's always 10 minutes early.

Chicago: About an hour or so. It gives us a chance to eat dinner and hang out in the lounge.

 

[Ryan]

A lot of it depends on how far I have to travel to get to the train station.

I get there early to account for delays en route to the station - if I'm right around the corner from the station and not worried about parking, no need to be early at all.

If I'm a bit further away and have to worry about finding parking, I'll aim to be much earlier.

I do agree that if there's a lounge there, that's enough to make me want to be an hour or so early. Nothing like starting the journey off relaxing, grabbing a free drink and waiting for the train.

 

[Railroad Bill]

Since we have at least an hour and half to drive to our station, we must allow for traffic issues and therefore; we usually leave at least two hours before the train is to arrive and sometimes more. Better to be early than watch the train leaving the station as you pull into the parking lot.

E-ticketing has allowed us to avoid getting tickets at the station, but it would not give us an opportunity to drive to Sandusky or Toledo if we miss our WB CL to Chicago unless we could quickly notify Amtrak before they cancel our tickets from CLE. This part of E ticketing I do not like..

 

[NorthShore]

Ten to fifteen minutes. Given, I may not get the first choice in seating (but I won't anyway) though at least I won't have to wait around too long. Get on the train and go.

 

[Acela150]

1 Hour - 90 Minutes. Sometimes more. Usually cause I like to use the lounge and get a bite to eat.

 

[jis]

10 Minutes typically on the NEC. For example, I am catching an Acela at Metropark today at 11:29. I will get there by around 11:15, 11:20. Of coruse at Metropark there is close to zero chance of getting a good seat, so that is nothing worth worrying about. It is pretty good if I get a seat. Today being a weekend day that should not be problem.

 

[OlympianHiawatha]

Almost all of my journeys start in Norman OK and I like to arrive about 30-45 minutes early to get ahead of the Courthouse birds who poach the Amtrak parking (no charge). From there it's a quick walk to the corner, across the tracks and back to the station. The volunteer will have coffee on (no charge) and if it is busy I can pitch in at her request making sure folks have their tickets in order and know what to do and where to go. It's fun when new travelers actually start looking around wondering where the Security Checkpoint is!

 

[oregon pioneer]

Our journey to the train takes the long-distance prize here! We live in the "middle of nowhere" so it is a 3-5 hour journey to the AmBus or train, no matter which direction we go (Bend, Chemult, Portland, Pasco or Winnemucca). Where we go depends on what train we are boarding, and on our parking arrangements. A couple years ago, I went to PDX alone to catch the EB. I took the bus (not an AmBus) all the way, and it was a little late, so I got there just in time to check out the Metropolitan Lounge for a couple minutes and get a cup of tea before I needed to board the EB.

Hubby decided the same-day bus was cutting it a little too close, so this past fall, we took the bus a whole DAY early, stayed overnight with friends and then caught public transit (TriMet bus and Max train) down to Union Station in plenty of time to stash our bags in the met Lounge, walk around downtown, and thoroughly enjoy the lounge/boarding experience! Then we got to board a BUS to SPK, because of the Empire Builder Mess, but that's another story...

 

[tim49424]

Even though it was totally unnecessary, when I'd ride the Empire Builder to Chicago from Tomah, WI, I'd arrive about an hour early, grab some lunch and eat at the station. When I rode the Pere Marquette out of Holland, MI, I'd arrive about 25 minutes before departure. The couple of times I've boarded in Portland, OR, I was at the station around an hour or more early, so I could enjoy the lounge.

 

[June the Coach Rider]

I think it depends on if you are going to check luggage. I try and be there an hour early even if I am not checking luggage. Being disabled, I find that getting to the station can be the harder part of the trip. So unless I am making a connection which dictates when I am there, I get there early to make sure I can connect with red cap or station assistance.

 

[Guest]

Like others, I get nervous, pretty anxious, if I cut it too close. I typically shoot for an hour early.

When I have a sleeper, and thus a place that's reserved for me, the extra time is spent relaxing in the (Acela) lounge.

When I am in coach, the extra time is spent making sure I get a good place in line. I have been shut-out of finding a seat at all, on some trains. This is when too many passengers "save" the seat next to theirs, and the conductor allows such behavior to go unchallenged. The result, I am left to stand for most, if not all, of the trip.

 

[JoeRids]

This is when too many passengers "save" the seat next to theirs, and the conductor allows such behavior to go unchallenged. The result, I am left to stand for most, if not all, of the trip.

Have you asked them to move their bags off of the seat? This is what many passengers do; normally they move them once you ask. I have never heard anyone say "I'm saving this seat for someone",and come to find out they are traveling alone. Me, when I see a coach is filling up I move my bags under my seat as a polite gesture. Normally it gets me a seat mate, but not always, plus I already have the window seat and I can chance in to a nice seatmate.

I'm with you, though: best to get in line and get your choice of seats.

 

[Eric S]

I agree, some of the responsibility falls on the part of the passenger desiring the seat to ask for the other person to move his/her belongings. Certainly, as trains fill up, the crew should make announcement that most or all seats will be needed and request that passengers remove their belongings from other seats. (My experiences suggest that they often do make such announcements.) However, it is impractical if not impossible for the conductor (on corridor trains, so no coach attendants) to go car-to-car and seat-to-seat before every station on a busy and full or nearly-full train. As a rider of public transit, I see this nearly every day - people routinely place belongings on the seat next to them; some people ask to have them moved so they can sit down, others choose not to ask and to stand instead. Yes, the polite/considerate thing to do is remove your belongings from the seat next to you as the train car (or bus) fills up. As JoeRids mentioned, even if most people don't move their items without being asked, it seems that most will move them if asked.

I think that it is somewhat different, though, on a long-distance train when a crew member will sometimes assign a seat to a boarding passenger at the door or on the platform. In those situations, particularly during the overnight hours, the conductor or coach attendant should make sure the seat is cleared and available.

 

[Guest]

This is when too many passengers "save" the seat next to theirs, and the conductor allows such behavior to go unchallenged. The result, I am left to stand for most, if not all, of the trip.

Have you asked them to move their bags off of the seat? This is what many passengers do; normally they move them once you ask.

Of course I have. They always come up with some kind of excuse. Such as the person sitting there, has done to the bathroom, or café. Of course, there is only one seat-check overhead. So, I know for sure that's not true.

Yea, you could make a scene. Call them out for lying. But with conductors not caring, it an unwinnable situation. And after all that, do you really want to sit next to that person?

I agree, some of the responsibility falls on the part of the passenger desiring the seat to ask for the other person to move his/her belongings.

Duh, of course I ask. Again, you can't do much without causing a scene. They clearly don't want anyone sitting next to them, be it for additional personal space or for their packages/luggage.

I guess you don't haven't really road Amtrak much. Especially on the NEC where "NYC" rules dominate.

 

[oregon pioneer]

I guess you don't haven't really road Amtrak much. Especially on the NEC where "NYC" rules dominate.

I've operated under "NYC" rules, and I found the best way to de-fuse that situation is to put on a wide smile, plunk yourself down in the seat (moving stuff onto the floor if necessary), and say innocently "Oh, I just HAVE to get off my feet for a minute, and there's nowhere else to sit! I'll get up again as soon as they come back!" You've called their bluff without challenging them. You've given them the opportunity to say ungraciously "Oh, OK then." If they don't immediately change their attitiude and get sociable, you can just bury your head in a book and ignore THEM. They can't really complain to the conductor if there's really no other person, can they?

 

[Eric S]

So, back to the original question:

Where the train originates - around an hour or so, if my schedule permits, otherwise perhaps 20-30 minutes.

At a mid-point station - closer to the 20-30 minute range.

Of course, many variables apply, including my schedule prior to the departure time, how far and by what mode I am traveling to the station, weather, and so on.

 

[JayPea]

I would rather wait at the station than at home, so I take off waaaay early when I want to catch the train nearest my home, the EB. It's a drive of about an hour or so from my home to the station in Spokane, and I leave about 4 hours early. I want to leave plenty of time in case of car trouble (or worst case scenario, hit some critter that is out and about at that time of night, up to and including moose. That way I can drive at a leisurely pace as my night vision isn't the greatest. Fortunately I take back roads that aren't heavily traveled. Usually I have a late dinner in Spokane first so I usually end up at the station a couple of hours before departure. I check the status maps on a regular (some would say to the point of being compulsive!) :lol: basis. My rule of thumb: when catching the EB westbound, I leave for the station around the time the train leaves Whitefish. Eastbound, I leave when the train has left Wenatchee. Way overdoing it leaving that early, but that's just me!

 

[amtkstn]

You luckly you only have an hour drive. Most of my trips I have to drive three hours and board the Chief at 3 AM. I arrive around one

 

[neroden]

A lot of it depends on how far I have to travel to get to the train station.

Yep. I *like* to arrive at the station 15 minutes before departure (if no checked luggage) or 1 hour before (if I'm checking luggage, since Amtrak wants the luggage checked 45 minutes before departure).

But if I'm driving there, I have to take the expected driving time and add a full hour to account for possible delays. So I end up leaving very early, and usually arriving several hours before scheduled departure. If it's supposed to take an hour and a half under ideal conditions to get to the train station, and I'm checking luggage, I leave 3.5 hours before departure. Bleah.

 

[NJCoastExp]

At least 3 times during last year I was still in process of purchasing ticket as I was boarding the train. LOL. Boarding not at terminal on NEC and the app for a win. Talk about cutting it close.

 

[jebr]

I try to arrive about a half-hour before the train arrives. Usually that means leaving home about 15 minutes to a half-hour after the train leaves Detroit Lakes (in the case of my trips from St. Cloud.) I try and track the status of the train and schedule the time I arrive around that instead of the schedule of the train.