How early can you check in?

[DanC]

Taking the New Orleans from Chicago to Memphis then on to NO and was just wondering how early you can drop bags off and check in .. Would like to be able to get rid of them as soon as possible so I can spend a few hrs in Chicago...

 

[AmtrakBlue]

I think you can check bags up to 24 hours before your scheduled departure.

 

[Tennessee Traveler]

AmtrakBlue is correct. You can check bags up to 24 hours before your scheduled departure. Otherwise you do not need to check-in since Amtrak provides you a boarding pass when you purchase your tickets.

 

[DanC]

Thanks good to know.. Quick question though does this mean if I arrive at Memphis at 6:27am if I waited until 6:51am I could actually collect the bags and check them straight in for the following mornings train (6.50am)to NOrleans so I don't have to have them in Memphis (just keeping a small bag for that night)

 

[the_traveler]

I don't know the exact procedure in MEM (at some stations the same ticket agent collects baggage from the baggage car), but as soon as you collect your bag you can recheck it. Or in CHI, if you show the agent BOTH tickets, you can check your bag(s) right to NOL - where they will be held by the agent.

Also, if you have a sleeper from CHI to MEM, in CHI you can use the Metropolitian Lounge where you can store your bags while you explore the city.

 

[Guest]

THanks.. though we are having a night in Memphis so I wondered if that was possible as it would be two separate trains

 

[Tennessee Traveler]

Ask when you initially check your bag for the first segment. Probably you can check through to NOL. But if not, after you collect your bag in MEM you will need to recheck the bag at the ticket counter which may or may not be manned until a few minutes after the current day train has departed.

 

[Guest]

Many thanks ... Have only ever done the odd train trip down the pacific coast to San Diego.. Really excited about having an overnight trip.. Best we can get in the UK is a few hundred miles with a soggy sandwich to Inverness

 

[me_little_me]

We traveled from Atlant to El Paso (overnight in NOL). Not only did we check a bag through but we realized there was an item in the checked bag that I would need on the El Paso train. So in NOL, I talked to the baggage guy moving the bags from our Crescent NOL train to what I guess was a temporary storage place or possibly right to the Sunset Limited. I explained the problem. He asked me to point out my bag, then he pulled it off the cart. I got the item and handed the bag back to him. He put it back on the cart and off he went.

Try that on a plane!