I'm in Alburquerque and a freelance writer.

[Otis]

I'm in Alburquerque (that's the original spelling and nobody seems to know what happened to that extra "r") on the old Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe line - home of the SW Chief and I'm a freelance writer and an advocate for the hard of hearing.

Back in 2013 Amtrak installed some hearing loops at ticket windows in New York's Grand Central and at Union station in DC. Since then, to the best of my knowledge, Amtrak has done little to accommodate the needs of hard of hearing travelers until this year when they placed an order for 80 some new "train sets" that will feature hearing loops in all of the passenger cars. These loops allow hearing aid wearers whose devices have receivers called telcoils to wirelessly connect to the PA system to better hear announcements. I'm curious as to what comments members of this group would have re communication access on Amtrak trains and in stations. Are you aware of hearing loops and do you look for them when traveling? I've attached an article about the growing presence of hearing loops in transportation that explains in detail the technology that's found on trains and in stations throughout the UK and Scandinavia.

 

[Bob Dylan]

I'm in Alburquerque (that's the original spelling and nobody seems to know what happened to that extra "r") on the old Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe line - home of the SW Chief and I'm a freelance writer and an advocate for the hard of hearing.

Back in 2013 Amtrak installed some hearing loops at ticket windows in New York's Grand Central and at Union station in DC. Since then, to the best of my knowledge, Amtrak has done little to accommodate the needs of hard of hearing travelers until this year when they placed an order for 80 some new "train sets" that will feature hearing loops in all of the passenger cars. These loops allow hearing aid wearers whose devices have receivers called telcoils to wirelessly connect to the PA system to better hear announcements. I'm curious as to what comments members of this group would have re communication access on Amtrak trains and in stations. Are you aware of hearing loops and do you look for them when traveling? I've attached an article about the growing presence of hearing loops in transportation that explains in detail the technology that's found on trains and in stations throughout the UK and Scandinavia.

Welcome to AU, and thanks for the info about the Hearing Loops and the Spelling of your City, many places have done this thru the years!

Even those with good ( or partial hearing Loss) have trouble hearing announcements in Stations, and especially on Trains, due to the age and conditions of the Cars.

 

[Trollopian]

Thanks, and welcome, Otis! This is good news and I know there are a lot of AU members who'd be glad to read it.

If you wouldn't mind, and if the moderators agree, I wonder if they'd consider retitling this thread? Perhaps "Amtrak To Improve Audioloops For Hearing-Impaired Passengers?" That might put it directly in front of more eyeballs that'd like to see it. Thanks for considering.