Kindergarten Walk

[battalion51]

The issue of families being split up is much more prevalent on trains where folks seat themselves like the Regionals, Midwest, and California services than they are on long hauls. I would say itd be nice to get a breakout of party size on the manifest. For example:

• NYP - 24
• 1 x 2
• 2 x 6
• 3 x 2
• 4 x 1

That's something that would be a lot easier to implement and create a more efficient boarding plan.

 

[Steve4031]

The operating characteristics of Amtrak is quite different than Europe or India. In Europe, where I have traveled extensively, I've never seen a train make two stops at a station. Even the smallest stations have long enough platforms to accommodate the entire train. And the doors are automatic or operated by passengers pushing a button to open it.

On Amtrak outside of the nec only crew Members open the door. Maybe with the newer Midwest corridor bilevels which do have automated doors Amtrak will be able to implement reserved seating picked by passengers ahead of time on the Internet.

 

[VentureForth]

I coined the phrase Kindergarten Walk several years ago after realizing that I couldn't go straight to the platform at LAX to board the SWC back to Albuquerque. Perhaps I could have. When I arrived in the concourse at LAX, I proceeded to the tunnel where there was an Amtrak station agent at a podium. I asked where my train was, and she directed me to sit and wait until called.

This was a new experience for me as I grew up in Japan where the platforms are gated and everyone is expected to know where to go. There are plenty of employees and sign boards available to help one find not only the right platform, but where to line up for the door of the car that you are going to board (which open pneumatically as opposed to manually).

I tend to be a person who likes to operate autonomously. I'll take my bags to the platform, wait for the train to arrive and board. The concept of having to wait for someone to call and then usher 100 passengers in a walk to the platform was foreign to me. I still don't think it's completely necessary. Did the legacy railroads have a Kindergarten Walk?

Back to being off-topic: I believe that the Acela is poorly designed for seating management. All the seats should swivel, and they should be rotated at the end of each run. There should be no tables as these have shown to be deadly in crashes (ie: the Bombardier Bi-Levels on Metrolink). Tray tables should be designed to be sufficient. The fact that a train makes multiple stops should have no bearing on the capability of operating an efficient algorythm for seat assignment. Again - this is Standard Ops in other countries. I would hope that Acela II can be built with scalable train lengths, a combination of reserved seating, first class, and unreserved seating.

 

[rusty spike]

I coined the phrase Kindergarten Walk several years ago after realizing that I couldn't go straight to the platform at LAX to board the SWC back to Albuquerque. Perhaps I could have. When I arrived in the concourse at LAX, I proceeded to the tunnel where there was an Amtrak station agent at a podium. I asked where my train was, and she directed me to sit and wait until called.
This was a new experience for me as I grew up in Japan where the platforms are gated and everyone is expected to know where to go. There are plenty of employees and sign boards available to help one find not only the right platform, but where to line up for the door of the car that you are going to board (which open pneumatically as opposed to manually).

I tend to be a person who likes to operate autonomously. I'll take my bags to the platform, wait for the train to arrive and board. The concept of having to wait for someone to call and then usher 100 passengers in a walk to the platform was foreign to me. I still don't think it's completely necessary. Did the legacy railroads have a Kindergarten Walk?

Back to being off-topic: I believe that the Acela is poorly designed for seating management. All the seats should swivel, and they should be rotated at the end of each run. There should be no tables as these have shown to be deadly in crashes (ie: the Bombardier Bi-Levels on Metrolink). Tray tables should be designed to be sufficient. The fact that a train makes multiple stops should have no bearing on the capability of operating an efficient algorythm for seat assignment. Again - this is Standard Ops in other countries. I would hope that Acela II can be built with scalable train lengths, a combination of reserved seating, first class, and unreserved seating.

My only big city terminal experience with "legacy" railroads was in St. Louis' and Kansas City's Union Stations, both of which had a dedicated "gate" through which you walked when opened by the gate agent or appropriate Conductor (Pullmans had their own Conductors). There were usually two lines: one for Coach and one for Pullman passengers. Your ticket envelope showed your Car # and Seat or Room #. Trains were still a common mode of inter-city transportation in those days (1950's). Most folks knew how to navigate a big city terminal and no kindergarten walks were necessary.

 

[Railroad Bill]

:giggle: here is the kindergarden walkchicago union station

I really like the walk--the noise of the diesel engines, the bells, the excitement of being in between the large behemoths of power- and the never ending quest to avoid being run over by the red caps and their speeding go carts

 

[AlanB]

Back to being off-topic: I believe that the Acela is poorly designed for seating management. All the seats should swivel, and they should be rotated at the end of each run. There should be no tables as these have shown to be deadly in crashes (ie: the Bombardier Bi-Levels on Metrolink). Tray tables should be designed to be sufficient. The fact that a train makes multiple stops should have no bearing on the capability of operating an efficient algorythm for seat assignment. Again - this is Standard Ops in other countries. I would hope that Acela II can be built with scalable train lengths, a combination of reserved seating, first class, and unreserved seating.

Save the H seats and the seats that butt up against the galley walls, technically all seats on Acela do swivel or rotate 180 degrees. Of course turning a seat that faces a table wouldn't be practical. And the cleaning crews do turn the non-table seats in Boston & DC so that they will face forward. They don't turn the train. In NY, unless they're having major problems, all Acela's terminating there go to Sunnyside yard for cleaning. All trains entering the yard automatically go around a loop, so no seat turning is needed.

 

[VentureForth]

OK - I was under the impression from a previous post that half the seats faced one direction and the other half faced the other all the time. Thanks for the clarification.