Raton station goes staffless

[battalion51]

The following is a quote from the Trains.com news wire:

Amtrak removes staff at New Mexico station
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Effective at the close of business today, the Raton, New Mexico, station will no longer be staffed, eliminating on-site ticketing, baggage, and express services. Raton employed an agent Monday through Friday and a relief agent on weekends.

Raton, 230 miles northeast of Albuquerque and just south of the Colorado border, is on the Burlington Northern Santa Fe and serves Amtrak trains 3 and 4, the Chicago-Los Angeles Southwest Chief, westbound in the morning and eastbound in late afternoon. The trains will still stop at Raton, and a guaranteed bus connection at Raton to and from Denver, Colo. will remain.

The route is the original Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe transcontinental main line, relegated to mostly passenger service with some freight service after the Belen Cutoff via Amarillo, Texas, was put in service in the early 1900’s.

This is not good news, I don't know what traffic was like at the Raton station, but it's never good to hear of stations going unstaffed.

 

[AMTRAK-P42]

That is sad. It is bad for the people who prefer to travel to staffed stations only, because of a saftey concern. I have one friend like that, so I guess they wont be traveling to Raton anytime soon.

 

[Amtrak Railfan]

So into this Station is close the Amtrak Passagers need to buy tickets on board the Train or on the web thats right?

 

[AMTRAK-P42]

So into this Station is close the Amtrak Passagers need to buy tickets on board the Train or on the web thats right?

Unless they have a quick-ticket machine there, then yes, I believe that is correct.

 

[battalion51]

Very few stations outside of the Northeast have Quik Trak machines, although it'd be great if they could be put at the unstaffed stations. Anyone without a ticket will have one cut by the Conductor on board.

 

[Amtrak Railfan]

Oh will this a very Sad Story because this station was close.

 

[coachseats]

This is also disappointing because Raton is the station stop that many, many Boy Scout groups use to get to Philmont Scout Ranch every summer. Not having checked baggage will make it tough for them to travel by train because of all of their camping gear. Hopefully this is just a seasonal thing and next summer the agent will be reinstated.

 

[Bill Haithcoat]

I know budgets have to be trimmed, but this seems so counter-productive. What's a station without a live human on duty? Not a machine, but a person.

 

[battalion51]

I personally hope they would add a baggage coach for when they have groups like the boy scouts so that they can have that baggage area to themselves, with the Conductors, bus driver, and parents helping to load/unload it. I know back in December we made a stop at Sebring on a Sunday (station was closed for the weekend, and there was no baggage service there at the time anyway). So both Conductors and the bus driver were in the back trying to load all the bags for a group of 55 into the rear coach. Man a baggage coach would've been nice then.

 

[railman]

Raton is NOT becoming unstaffed. The original decision was reversed.

 

[AMTRAK-P42]

Raton is NOT becoming unstaffed. The original decision was reversed.

Where did you hear this? Do you have a link to the source?

Thanks

 

[Amfleet]

According to an unconfirmed report on Trainorders, Amtrak backed out at the last minute and the station will remained staffed with checked baggaged 7 days a week. I'm sure more will pop up in some of my e-mail Amtrak groups.

 

[Viewliner]

According to an unconfirmed report on Trainorders, Amtrak backed out at the last minute and the station will remained staffed with checked baggaged 7 days a week. I'm sure more will pop up in some of my e-mail Amtrak groups.

This is good that it's maintaining baggage, it would have done a lot of harm otherwise.

 

[Anthony]

Amtrak ticket office closes

http://www.ratonrange.com/RATONRANGE/myart...=318&PubID=9760

The Raton Range

By Todd Wildermuth, Editor Amtrak ticket office closes

October 14, 2003

Seven weeks after Raton's Amtrak ticket office was initially scheduled to close, the office apparently finally did shut down Sunday.

On Monday morning, the office at the train depot on First Street was locked and the windows were covered by closed blinds. An hours-of-operation sign was still posted in the window, but no employees were to be found. On Friday, the office's only full-time employee said that if the office was still in operation this week it would be open on Monday, Columbus Day, because it never closes for holidays.

However, that employee anticipated Sunday as the final day of operation for the local ticket office. He said he received a fax from the office's Albuquerque supervisor last Tuesday that informed him that his "job is abolished" as of Sunday, Oct. 12.

In mid-August, public notices were posted on the ticket office window and the door of the passenger waiting area saying the office would close as of Aug. 26. But the office remained in operation until this past weekend. No public notices were posted about the Oct. 12 closure date.

The passenger rail service will continue to run its Southwest Chief through Raton twice a day, although the ticket office closure has some local residents questioning how long financially-troubled Amtrak will continue to keep Raton as part of its route.

The closure leaves Raton - which annually handles more Amtrak passengers than any New Mexico stop other than Albuquerque - as an "unmanned station" along the route of the Southwest Chief, which runs between Chicago and Los Angeles. The ticket office closure means people will no longer be able to purchase Amtrak tickets in Raton, and baggage handling will not be provided. Tickets can be purchased on the Internet or by calling 800-USA RAIL.

The Amtrak employee at the Raton ticket office last week speculated that the company may want to close the local office for the winter and then open it during the summer when train travel through Raton increases with traveling vacationers and Boys Scouts from throughout the country heading to and leaving Philmont Scout Ranch near Cimarron. Amtrak officials in Albuquerque could not be reached to comment on any future plans for Raton's ticket office.

For many years, the Boys Scouts of America have relied on Amtrak to get them from all over the country to Raton in order to head to Philmont Scout Ranch near Cimarron. The Scouts usually spend time in Raton on their way each summer. However, the Scouts have already been trying other transportation means this summer, such as flying into Denver and Colorado Springs, Colo., and then being bused directly to Philmont, usually without stopping in Raton.

The ticket office closure impacts three Amtrak employees: one full-time, one part-time, and a third who fills in for the other two when needed.

 

[jccollins]

Very few stations outside of the Northeast have Quik Trak machines, although it'd be great if they could be put at the unstaffed stations. Anyone without a ticket will have one cut by the Conductor on board.

It sure would. As tech-savvy as many people now are, it would allow them to book their tickets online or at 800-USA-RAIL and then pick them up at the ticketing machines. This would give the train conductors less work... but maybe even sometimes less "tips". I am referring to the recent articles where four or five separate conductors were caught after pocketing thousands in cash fares paid on the trains. Don't take this comment the wrong way - I know 99.99% of the conductors are honest as can be, but it would just help the system become more efficient as ALL boarding passengers could have tickets prior to boarding.