Staffed (and Unstaffed) stations vs. Number of Daily Trains

[Ashland Train Enthusiast]

So last night, my Fiancée's family surprised me with a late-night Polar Express ride on the Saratoga and North Creek RR (https://www.sncrr.com/the-polar-express.html). I'll post more about that trip later, but this was the first time I got to visit the Saratoga Springs station, and I was impressed with the station infrastructure for the size of the town, including the level of staffing.

I am comparing this in my head to what must be one of the most frequented (in terms of number of trains that stop) unstaffed* stations in the Amtrak system: Ashland, VA. I was there on vacation (staying at the Henry Clay Inn, which I'd recommend, but that's another story), and noticed looking at the timetable that there are 8(!) trains that stop here daily, and it doesn't have any official Amtrak presence.

I was wondering, within the Amtrak system, what is (are) the full time staffed station(s) with the fewest number of daily boardings and conversely, what stations(s) see the greatest number of trains and/or pax without being staffed? I know at least along the Crescent route, I've boarded at places like Greenville before that are fully staffed, yet don't seem to have as high of ridership, so it's got me thinking about some places further out west...

* I say unstaffed here to represent a professional Amtrak presence; there is a volunteer host from the town's historical society there who can answer questions and is fairly knowledgeable about train times, but can't sell tickets or process any sort of official Amtrak business.

~ DCTE

 

[AlanB]

First, please keep in mind that the Adirondack is a State sponsored train. So it is potentially possible that NY has asked for that stop to be staffed. Could even be that the town is contributing something, although I don't believe so.

But then, it's also not so much about the number of trains, but the number of passengers. Ashland only saw 24,041 passengers, while Saratoga Springs saw 32,513 passengers. So that could well be the only reason that Saratoga is staffed and Ashland is not.

 

[roadman3313]

I'd imagine you have stops that just service 2 LD trains per day like some stations on the CS (since you said "West"). Conversely, there are also unstaffed stations that see a high number of trains and boardings such as Richmond, CA with about 40 weekday trains and around 282,000 annual boardings/alightings.

In CA I believe the staffed station with the lowest number of annual boardings/alightings is Van Nuys with around 74,000 give or take? Amtrak has around 14 trains per day and limited Thruway bus service with Metrolink having additional trains during the week.

 

[Train2104]

There are some stations on the SWC that are staffed, see nothing but the SWC, and offer no checked baggage service. Example: Garden City, KS annual ridership 7,887.

 

[Bob Dylan]

Galesburg, Illinois has Two LD Trains Daily in each Direction (#3/#4/#5/#6) plus the State Sponsored Carl Sandburg #381/#383 and the Illinois Zephyr #380/#382 (as well as Shuttle Vans to/from SPI and Busses to/from Indianapolis) and is staffed by Two Agents yet does NOT offer Checked Baggage! :blink:

 

[amtkstn]

The Newton Kansas stop on the SWC has an agent Monday through Friday for just two trains each morning. It does not have baggage service. With the new E-ticket i can now bypass the agent which would have to issue my paper tickets.

 

[PaulM]

Galesburg, Illinois has Two LD Trains Daily in each Direction (#3/#4/#5/#6) plus the State Sponsored Carl Sandburg #381/#383 and the Illinois Zephyr #380/#382 (as well as Shuttle Vans to/from SPI and Busses to/from Indianapolis) and is staffed by Two Agents yet does NOT offer Checked Baggage! :blink:

You've hit on my number one pet peeve regarding Amtrak - no baggage service at GBB or for that matter anywhere on the CZ or SWC between Chicago and the Missouri River.