Keystone Priority Boarding ? - Club Acela Philly

[ExtonFlyer]

ok - so I need to vent a little - and ask a question at the same time.

I am a frequent (3-4 times a week) Amtrak customer (both personal and business travel). I am a Select Plus member for 2009 and looking to probably achieve the same for 2010. In addition to traveling the NEC regularly, I also frequently travel the Keystone corridor as my house is just a few minutes from the Exton (EXT) station.

Far and away, my favorite perk of being a SELECT PLUS member is the access to Club Acela and most specifically, the priority boarding.

My frustration, and question, comes from the fact that there seems to be inconsistency around the attendants in Club Acela (Philadelphia) granting priority boarding for Keystone trains. Just today, I was told that I would have to exit Club Acela and get in line with the rest of the folks. I politely asked why I couldn't be granted priority boarding and the attendant (nicely, but rather dismissively) said that the elevator was not working. Just last week, I was sent down on the elevator for the same train (on the same track - stairway 7) without question.

After heading out to main atrium to get in line (which had already begun wrapping far around the station) I noticed that the red caps were assisting some travelers to the very elevator that the Club Acela attendant told me was not working. I asked a Red Cap nearby if that elevator was having any issues today and he said that he had been riding it up and down all day.

Now, I assume it is possible that the elevator for some reason could not ascend all the way to Club Level, but on my train ride home I started to wonder if maybe the attendant just didn't feel like bothering with me since I was not a 1st class Acela passenger? This is not the 1st time this has occured to me - just the 1st time I decided to investigate a bit.

Has anyone else had a similiar experience? This is no way for Amtrak to be treating their top level customers, regardless of which train I was taking. If in fact the elevator was having mechanical difficulties, they should offer pax a Red Cap escort to track level before the hoardes descend the escalator. Anyway, next time I am in town I plan to (very politely) investigate a little further as I was running behind on time today. Curious as to whether anyone else has run into this issue or can shed any light?

Thanks!

ExtonFlyer

 

[AlanB]

Next time take names and let Amtrak know what's going on.

Just keep in mind that not all tracks have elevators that serve the lounge, so be sure that your train is indeed boarding on a track that the lounge can serve.

 

[ExtonFlyer]

Next time take names and let Amtrak know what's going on.
Just keep in mind that not all tracks have elevators that serve the lounge, so be sure that your train is indeed boarding on a track that the lounge can serve.

will do AlanB, thanks. I'll report back when I can. For the record, in the issue that I described above, I made certain that the train I was boarding was serviced by an elevator. But as I check this out a bit further will certainly heed your advice to keep in mind that some tracks are not, in fact, serviced by an elevator.

 

[had8ley]

Next time take names and let Amtrak know what's going on.
Just keep in mind that not all tracks have elevators that serve the lounge, so be sure that your train is indeed boarding on a track that the lounge can serve.

will do AlanB, thanks. I'll report back when I can. For the record, in the issue that I described above, I made certain that the train I was boarding was serviced by an elevator. But as I check this out a bit further will certainly heed your advice to keep in mind that some tracks are not, in fact, serviced by an elevator.

And if you feel that the Club Acela attendants public relations elevator ain't working when you question them ask to see the station manager. I'm sure their attitudes will change either before or after he/she shows up. Good luck.

 

[AlanB]

Next time take names and let Amtrak know what's going on.
Just keep in mind that not all tracks have elevators that serve the lounge, so be sure that your train is indeed boarding on a track that the lounge can serve.

will do AlanB, thanks. I'll report back when I can. For the record, in the issue that I described above, I made certain that the train I was boarding was serviced by an elevator. But as I check this out a bit further will certainly heed your advice to keep in mind that some tracks are not, in fact, serviced by an elevator.

Just to clarify Exton, I believe that all platforms have an elevator. However, not all elevators reach the club level, or at least the club. For example tracks 1 & 2 I believe do have an elevator, although I've never gone looking for it, but that elevator doesn't go to the club. IIRC, tracks 3/4, 5/6, 7/8 all do reach the club. I'm not sure about 9/10.

 

[Ricky]

We experienced a similar issue riding the Keystone from Philadelphia to New York today. Train was announced to arrive at Track 9, which was not accessible, the attendant informed us, from the club Acela elevators. So we trooped down, believing we had been given advance notice on the track information for priority boarding, similar to what occurs in other Acela lounges. Imagine our surprise when we discovered the track information posted on the main central board of the station, and an incredible lineup had already developed! We had just been about the last people to be informed. Only after an period of desperate and anxious searching from car to car were we able to, by the skin of our teeth, secure two seats side-by-side on the crammed train.

For us, just about the sole benefit of Acela lounge access is precisely this aspect of early boarding, since Amtrak doesn't assign seats, and it's distressing to have to hunt for free adjacent seats with one's family. The least the Acela lounge attendant could have done was to give us advance notice of even a minute, so that we could reach the lower level in time for an equal shot at lining up with the regular pasengers. Instead, we felt maligned, the club access, which normally is such a wonderful perk, being rather a curse!

Does this only happen with Keystone, or with the Northeast regional too? By the way, we had taken the Keystone a couple of days prior, this time the train coming on track 7 --- and we *were* able to go down the elevator from the lounge. I remember that particular elevator being the very last elevator in the series --- farthest from the club entrance, so it does indeed suggest that tracks 9/10 don't have elevator access from the lounge.

 

[jis]

Even in Boston I have noticed that merely being a Select Plus in Club Acela does not always give you any boarding priority. You have to have a First Class ticket or tag along with a Red Cap somehow to get that privilege.

 

[AlanB]

Being in a Club Acela does not guarantee priority boarding at all. In Philly, because of the elevators, one often gets priority boarding. But again it is not guaranteed.

In DC, simply being in the club for either Acela trains or long distance trains, you are assured of priority boarding. If you're boarding a regional, they tell you at checkin that you must return to the main waiting area prior to boarding.

In NY, there is no priority boarding period for any train. Probably 90% of the time they will announce the train before it goes up on the boards outside, but that is your only advantage in NY.

And in Boston, only if you are in First Class are you given priority boarding. A good agent will tell you to go down before the line builds if you're not in FC, but some won't even tell you that your train is boarding if its not an Acela.

 

[jis]

Moral of the story is, if you want early boarding find a Redcap and let him carry your bags down to the train, and tip him adequately. You will more likely than not, get on the train way earlier than anyone else.

 

[ExtonFlyer]

Moral of the story is, if you want early boarding find a Redcap and let him carry your bags down to the train, and tip him adequately. You will more likely than not, get on the train way earlier than anyone else.

Great advice jis. As the OP here, I have done a bit more research via talking to the Club Acela agents my past few visits & thought I would share....

So... Keystone trains arrive and depart from tracks 9/10 & 7/8 probably 99% of the time. Club Acela Philly does not have elevator access to 9/10 and the elevator to 7/8 has developed a nasty habit of getting stuck between station level and club level (no problems between station level and track level) with passengers on board. At least this is what the station agents have told me (and I believe them).

Next time (for anyone else with this issue), when you arrive in Club Acela, ask the club agent on duty to radio a red cap to meet you at the elevator on station level (so that you can bypass the line). Depending on who is working the desk - they'll usually be happy to oblige you as the red caps do depend on their tips as part of their income.