stations without Quik-Trak machines or ticket offices

[Joel N. Weber II]

If you're departing from a station that has a Quik-Trak machine and/or a ticket office, you can make a reservation online and not have the tickets printed until shortly (days or hours, or even 15 minutes if you cut it close and are lucky enough to not get stuck in a line and everything works right) before you depart, which means that you can cancel the tickets if you change your plans, and since the tickets haven't been printed, you can get a full refund without the 10% penalty. (Though with sleeper accomodations you need to cancel 7 days in advance.)

What happens where there's no Quik-Trak machine or ticket office, though? If you make a reservation via amtrak.com, does Amtrak insist upon immediately printing the tickets and mailing them to you?

 

[AlanB]

What happens where there's no Quik-Trak machine or ticket office, though? If you make a reservation via amtrak.com, does Amtrak insist upon immediately printing the tickets and mailing them to you?

Yes, if leaving from an unstaffed station. Although they don't typically mail them out right away if your trip is three or four months down the road.

I believe if you call Amtrak to make the reservation that the agent can set things up so that you can pickup the tickets elsewhere. I don't think that they can undo things though if you first made the reservation on Amtrak.com, so as to set things up for pickup.

 

[TransAtlantic]

If you're on a long-haul train and boarding at an unstaffed station, they should have your tickets available onboard (of course, these are all-reserved trains); if it's a train like a Surfliner or Capitol Corridor, you will need to pick up your ticket at some staffed station ASAP - otherwise, you'll have to buy a whole new ticket onboard, and hope that your original reservation (and payment) are automatically cancelled (usually they are, but glitches happen)

 

[the_traveler]

I believe if you call Amtrak to make the reservation that the agent can set things up so that you can pickup the tickets elsewhere. I don't think that they can undo things though if you first made the reservation on Amtrak.com, so as to set things up for pickup.

I forget if I just called or attempted to reserve online, but last year I tried to book a cheap RT from SPG-MDN (to rack up points ). Because MDN is only staffed M-F (and this was on Sa), they insisted on mailing the tickets to me! (It didn't matter that SPG is staffed and has a Quik-Trak, and I could have pick it up a few hours before the MDN-SPG departure! :angry: ) And since this trip would have been in a few days, and the mailing would never arrive in time, I cancelled the ride!

 

[jackal]

I believe if you call Amtrak to make the reservation that the agent can set things up so that you can pickup the tickets elsewhere. I don't think that they can undo things though if you first made the reservation on Amtrak.com, so as to set things up for pickup.

I forget if I just called or attempted to reserve online, but last year I tried to book a cheap RT from SPG-MDN (to rack up points ). Because MDN is only staffed M-F (and this was on Sa), they insisted on mailing the tickets to me! (It didn't matter that SPG is staffed and has a Quik-Trak, and I could have pick it up a few hours before the MDN-SPG departure! :angry: ) And since this trip would have been in a few days, and the mailing would never arrive in time, I cancelled the ride!

I thought that if your trip was leaving within 10 days or something, rather than mailing the tickets to you, they would be held by the conductor for pick-up on board the train. Seems to me you should have been able to do this! Maybe next time, call to make the reservation and ask about this option.

 

[D.P. Roberts]

I thought that if your trip was leaving within 10 days or something, rather than mailing the tickets to you, they would be held by the conductor for pick-up on board the train. Seems to me you should have been able to do this! Maybe next time, call to make the reservation and ask about this option.

As Amtrak's web site says,

" We permit onboard ticket pick-up from a conductor in limited circumstances, for example, when:

*You pay for your tickets in advance of travel, and

*Your departure station is closed at the time of departure, and

*No other delivery option exists.

Based on you itinerary, our online booking system will determine your eligibility for onboard pick-up. If you are eligible, you will be presented with the option to pick up your tickets onboard at Step 4 of the booking process. When making reservations by phone, your reservation agent will tell you whether you are eligible for this service." (see this link

I've been wondering about this too, as I'm thinking about a last-minute trip to Chicago this summer on the LSL, if I can get a good last-minute deal on a hotel room. However, it looks like the LSL may sell out during the summer anyway. However, I'm still confused, as my departing station (WTI, Waterloo, IN) doesn't have a staffed station, but it won't even sell me a ticket if I try to make a reservation for a trip within the next few days. If I try to book more than 3 days out, it allows for express shipping only. But that's it - no option for picking up the tickets onboard.

 

[jackal]

I thought that if your trip was leaving within 10 days or something, rather than mailing the tickets to you, they would be held by the conductor for pick-up on board the train. Seems to me you should have been able to do this! Maybe next time, call to make the reservation and ask about this option.

As Amtrak's web site says,

" We permit onboard ticket pick-up from a conductor in limited circumstances, for example, when:

*You pay for your tickets in advance of travel, and

*Your departure station is closed at the time of departure, and

*No other delivery option exists.

Based on you itinerary, our online booking system will determine your eligibility for onboard pick-up. If you are eligible, you will be presented with the option to pick up your tickets onboard at Step 4 of the booking process. When making reservations by phone, your reservation agent will tell you whether you are eligible for this service." (see this link

I've been wondering about this too, as I'm thinking about a last-minute trip to Chicago this summer on the LSL, if I can get a good last-minute deal on a hotel room. However, it looks like the LSL may sell out during the summer anyway. However, I'm still confused, as my departing station (WTI, Waterloo, IN) doesn't have a staffed station, but it won't even sell me a ticket if I try to make a reservation for a trip within the next few days. If I try to book more than 3 days out, it allows for express shipping only. But that's it - no option for picking up the tickets onboard.

The electronic ticketing system can't come soon enough...

 

[Green Maned Lion]

Try the phone?

 

[transit54]

Try the phone?

I'd second that. The way things work on the Vermonter is that if you're beyond the window for regular shipping, you can call and make your reservation with an agent (Julie can't do it all the way through, though she tries) and they will give you a reservation number. You just bring this with you, and the conductor writes your ticket out on board, and accepts your payment (card or cash, I'm not sure about checks) on the spot. Probably about half the people on the train getting on at ESX do this every time I ride.

 

[Joel N. Weber II]

The Amtrak System Timetable says that personal checks are only accepted for group travel by prior arrangement; traveler's checks are accepted in denominations of $100 or less if endorsed in the presence of the conductor; and corporate checks are accepted from known corporations with proper identificatation.

Of course, there may be cases where the system doesn't quite work the way the printed timetable claims.