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Dan O

Conductor
Joined
Feb 21, 2008
Messages
1,168
Location
So Calif
I may be in NYC this winter (January) and was hoping to go to DC on a train for the day. However, if I get too cold wandering around I'd like to be able to come back to NYC on the train earlier than I would originally have planned. Are the tickets on the NE Regional such that one can go on an earlier train (or later for that matter) if one decides to do so?
Thanks.
 
All Northeast Regional tickets are "reserved." Thus, if you want to take an earlier train, you will need to change the reservation. I think you can do that on the app. Otherwise, there is an understaffed ticket office at Washington Union Station. The fare for the changed reservation may well be higher than your original, but now always. When I take my day trips on the NEC, I tend to keep my return open and don't book until right before travel. In the last couple of years, I've been pleasantly surprised at what I can buy at the last minute. Note that on the Northeast Regionals, coach is open seating, but in business class you're assigned a seat (which can be changed by the traveler.) Also, be aware that lately, I've been seeing many Acela business class fares that are cheaper than the Northeast Regional business class fares. I think that ridership on the Acela hasn't been recovering as quickly as ridership on the Northeast Regionals.
 
Note that on the Northeast Regionals, coach is open seating, but in business class you're assigned a seat (which can be changed by the traveler.) Also, be aware that lately, I've been seeing many Acela business class fares that are cheaper than the Northeast Regional business class fares. I think that ridership on the Acela hasn't been recovering as quickly as ridership on the Northeast Regionals.
Is Acela business class open seating?
 
Is Amtrak running extra sections on the NEC? One would think Amtrak would want a bigger slice of the travel pie on a weekend that many say will surpass pre Covid.
 
Is Amtrak running extra sections on the NEC? One would think Amtrak would want a bigger slice of the travel pie on a weekend that many say will surpass pre Covid.
They’ve added a few Acelas.
Don’t forget they’re short staffed so are limited by how many engineers & conductors are available
 
Took an opportunity to meet someone in NYC while I was in DC and chose Amtrak business on the Northeast Regional there and the Acela back. Man neither ride was worth what was paid. Jesus Christ if that track ride quality is indicative of Amtrak standards I don’t want them to touch anything out West!

You know the ridges you drive over if venture to far off the highway and into the median? That what it felt like the entire way up there. The Acela was a smoother ride but not by much. The seats in the Northeast Regional were horrendous. My seat immediately heated up to the surface of the sun and thank God the seat next to me was empty to keep swapping back and forth And the cabin being what felt like 80 the entire time didn’t help either.

The Acela on the way back had better seats but cabin just as hot and man alive how are them cars still holding themselves together? My power outlet didn’t work the entire time either. The Acela is a straight up ripoff with the one perk being the speed that gets you between the two an hour earlier. Not worth it pay less and take the Regional.

I feel sorry for those who have to take these on a regular basis. I’m from Dallas so care more about LD but now I understand all the complaints about the NEC stuff. Is there any aspect of train ridership that Amtrak actually does right?

I don’t think people complain about NEC trains enough after having experienced them myself now.

EDIT: thank you whoever moved my post. Either the search function doesn’t work well or I don’t know how to use it properly.
 
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I just got a $5 ticket with a free business class upgrade because there was an LD cafe on the train. NER 178 if the sign isn’t readable.
 

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I just got a $5 ticket with a free business class upgrade because there was an LD cafe on the train. NER 178 if the sign isn’t readable.
If you’re saying that car is an LD cafe, you’re wrong. Business class cars with cafes do run on the NEC on a regular basis. The Vermonter is one that always has one, and though it is a long trip from Washington to St Albany’s, it’s not an LD train.
 
If you’re saying that car is an LD cafe, you’re wrong. Business class cars with cafes do run on the NEC on a regular basis. The Vermonter is one that always has one, and though it is a long trip from Washington to St Albany’s, it’s not an LD train.
Right. The half cafe half BC cars are Amfleet I Corridor Cars. They are not part of the LD fleet.
 
If you’re saying that car is an LD cafe, you’re wrong. Business class cars with cafes do run on the NEC on a regular basis. The Vermonter is one that always has one, and though it is a long trip from Washington to St Albany’s, it’s not an LD train.
Right, I forgot about those lines I'm only used to seeing on trains to WNY and Chicago. But I was also just a bit excited to see it on a regular NER set because it had a normal business-class car in the back. So the one by the cafe was declassified and open to everyone. I apologize for that, I was rushing through the station at the time of posting that so I didn't get to write out my thoughts as clearly as I wanted to.

Bus basically I was excited for a business class section open to coach passengers that's arguably better than the normal business class.
 
Bus basically I was excited for a business class section open to coach passengers that's arguably better than the normal business class.
There was a period in the mid 2000s when an Amfleet 1 full business class (Metroliner?) car would be randomly placed in the coach section of Northeast Regionals. I always liked finding them, as they had much more legroom and window curtains. Occasionally there would even be a split club-cafe with the 2X1 seating placed in the coach section. Not sure why they did it, but I took advantage of the upgraded seating at coach prices when I could.
 
There was a period in the mid 2000s when an Amfleet 1 full business class (Metroliner?) car would be randomly placed in the coach section of Northeast Regionals. I always liked finding them, as they had much more legroom and window curtains. Occasionally there would even be a split club-cafe with the 2X1 seating placed in the coach section. Not sure why they did it, but I took advantage of the upgraded seating at coach prices when I could.
Yeah, this is the first time I've ever seen it so I was really surprised. I ran to the front got my bags and ran all the way to the back.
 
There was a period in the mid 2000s when an Amfleet 1 full business class (Metroliner?) car would be randomly placed in the coach section of Northeast Regionals. I always liked finding them, as they had much more legroom and window curtains. Occasionally there would even be a split club-cafe with the 2X1 seating placed in the coach section. Not sure why they did it, but I took advantage of the upgraded seating at coach prices when I could.
Usually those are last minute substitutions for bad ordered regular consist cars.
 
Northeast Regional 168, June 17, NYP -> RTE, 7:10pm - 11:21pm

I took the Northeast Regional from Penn Station to Route 128, near Boston, a couple of evenings ago. At a number of the lesser stops, the conductor announced that only the doors near the Cafe car would be opening. But at Providence and elsewhere, he said all doors would open. He also said "all doors" for the Route 128 station. About half a dozen of us lined up at the doors between the Quiet car and the adjacent coach car. But when the train stopped, the doors did not open. We waited patiently, and after about 30 seconds, began to get nervous. No amount of button punching opened the doors. Finally a teenager sprinted down toward the Cafe car, and we followed, for two car lengths. We saw the conductor, just standing in one place, and I shouted that the other doors were not opening. He said something about the doors which I cannot remember exactly, but it was not reassuring. We exited.

Have you experienced a similar situation? Needless to say this was nerve-wracking. I wonder whether we would have missed getting off if we had simply remained waiting. Was the conductor going to walk the length of the train to check? I did not see any way to alert the conductor remotely. Would Amtrak have arranged for us to get back to our station? It was about 11:20pm, and there were no commuter rail or Amtrak trains in the opposite direction until many hours later in the morning.
 
This is my impression based on having been on seriously late eastbound Lake Shore trains (No. 448) several times.

On arrival in Boston, the conductor will be anxious to book off and head home soon after arrival and is unlikely to offer any assistance or can even be found. Amtrak station personnel will probably have gone home for the night and will not be available to assist. There will be no welcoming party except for the security officers and the cleaning crew. My understanding (as well as my experience) is that security at the station has been advised by Amtrak that incoming passengers on seriously late trains are allowed to stay at the station overnight.

Again, this is my impression and experience of how things are handled at South Station. Corrections would be welcome.
 
Technically that would be a "carry by" that is the fault of the conductor since he announced all doors would be open. Theoretically, Amtrak should cab all passengers back to Route 128 at Amtrak's expense. Also the conductor has to write up a report on the carry by.

Note the "technically" and "theoretically". As we all know Amtrak can be very inconsistent is applying policy. With BOS staff gone and a conductor anxious to book off, who knows. I wouldn't trust to it. But I'd also make darn sure the conductor is aware of it and that you intend to contact Customer Relations about it. That may prompt him to action. I know a retired conductor that was based in LA, and I know from him that carry-bys are one thing Amtrak takes seriously and really doesn't like (at least in the West). If you tell him your intentions to contact Customer Relations, he'd know he couldn’t get by with not reporting it.
 
I’ve only had this happen once—at Trenton—but I think it was malfunctioning doors in our car that had worked fine til then, so not the conductor’s fault. We had time to dash down to the next car and get off there.

I did notice in New Haven recently (where I believe all doors should open?) that the doors at the end of my car were shut. Nobody was getting off from my car so it wasn’t an issue, but maybe it’s time for a general “working door” check on NEC trains.
 
@danh Sorry to hear about your stressful experience. Maybe the conductor messed up, but it could've also been the engineer. I was on a northbound Acela a couple weeks ago that overshot RTE by 2 Acela car lengths. That was a bit of a mess.

Or it could've been a problem with the door itself or the signal for them to open.

Anyway, even on the NEC, at stops where not all doors open, they usually announce a last call. Sorry they didn't and you had to sprint down two cars.

I did notice in New Haven recently (where I believe all doors should open?) that the doors at the end of my car were shut
Was this in the quiet or BC car? Since NHV is a crew change point, the engine has to platform, so sometimes the last one or two cars hang off.
 
Hi, it's been quite a while. But here I am to ask my like-minded Amtrak fanatics if they've ever seen anything like this. Recently I'm booking a number of upcoming trips (excited to do so), and while checking the seat assignments automatically made on my business class reservations and changing them if necessary, I was stunned to see this strange chart for a trip on the 186. I am not familiar with this extremely short car and have never seen anything like it. Would part of the car be taken up by cafe seats (doubtful - I don't think they put cafe and business together) or by machinery? I have not seen a car that short. Is that really the back of the car (as drawn) or only the back of the seating area, with maybe luggage being a different compartment of the car?

Anyway, I've been on the business car many times, but it's always been a typical-length car. Is anyone familiar with this?Amtrak Seating Chart.jpg
 
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