Let's say there's a small town depot with only one Amtrak train a day each way, and they come at very different times of the day or night (probably a lot of towns are subject to this, I'd think). In this case, just hypothetically, the WB is scheduled to depart at 7:30 a.m. and since the station is supposed to be open one hour before train time and half an hour after, one of the Station Agent's duties for that part of a day is to open the station at 6:30 a.m. and keep it open until 8:00 a.m. But this day, word comes around 7:00 a.m. that the WB is running almost three hours late and won't be in until 10:15 a.m. at the earliest, and perhaps later.
Now, is the Station Agent obliged, contractually or otherwise, to keep the station open until the train shows up? Or does s/he simply keep the stated hours on the theory that nobody else knew how late the train was either (a dubious assumption these days, but still) . This leads to further questions such as, does the weather matter? Would he put a dozen people out in the cold during a Great Plains visit? Does it matter more at night? Is there overtime involved? Does a lot of it have to do with how warm-hearted the Agent is? Are the cops used to giving the depot extra security during long waits on bad days like this?
Perhaps there's a simple answer to this but with Amtrak, I seldom expect one. What do you say?
Also I apologize if this topic has been dealt with in the recent past, but I can't get my search function to work. - a.s.
Al:
Next time you are in Salisbury waiting for the Piedmont, ask the station agent there.
I think he works for NCDOT, not Amtrak, but he has a lot of spare time to think about these things. He looked really bored the last time I was there. We were waiting for the Carolinian which was running an hour and a half late.
Dave
Lackawanna Route of the Phoebe Snow
Aha! A new wrinkle! What looks like a Station Agent may in fact not be a Station Agent but an NCDOT employee (or volunteeer?). Shameful for the Carolinian to pick up that much lateness on its relatively short run, a good portion of which is now on NCDOT-owned rails.
The Piedmont runs between Raleigh and Charlotte on track owned by NCRR and operated by NS. It is usually on time, though the $150 million in upgrades being done to the track in anticipation of the Southeast corridor project causes some delays.
The Carolinian runs between Charlotte and NYC Penn Station. It is usually on time outbound in NC, but once it changes to CSX track near VA, it becomes a crap shoot.
The one we were awaiting was inbound from NYC. It is often late.
Charlotte has Amtrak agents, but many of the smaller stations that serve only the NC trains do not, so NCDOT picks up the slack.
Hi Al,
In small towns such as those you describe (one train a day each way), the person is known as a station attendant. Their main duty is to open the station about an hour before scheduled train time and close it after the train departs, which may be several hours later if the train is running behind schedule. This might be a twice a day occurence if the schedule so demands (example: Osceola, Iowa, approx 7AM and 7 PM) or just once a day (example:Hastings, Nebraska, approx.1AM for both trains). The attendant does not sell tickets or even make reservations for you. You have to do that online, on the phone, use a travel agent, or go to a station that has a ticket agent. Over the years, the attendent has done varying levels of "security checks" (for lack of a better term), sometimes asking to see my ticket and photo ID, and other times not. The main job, besides opening and closing the station, seems to be keeping passengers in the station and off the tracks and platform until the train comes.Other duties seem to be running a small gift/snack shop (if there is one) and general clean-up. Probably each station has a few different odd jobs that the attendant must do, including listening to a scanner for info as to when the train will arrive. All in all, it's probaly not a great job or even high paying, especially when the train is late. Bill
al-in-chgo Aha! A new wrinkle! What looks like a Station Agent may in fact not be a Station Agent but an NCDOT employee (or volunteeer?). Shameful for the Carolinian to pick up that much lateness on its relatively short run, a good portion of which is now on NCDOT-owned rails.
Al: In defense of the Carolinian and other east coast trains it is unbelievable wet over the whole southeast. VRE trains are slowed because of flood warnings. All the east coast trains are taking rain delays. BTW that rain producing low is headed your way and then you will take the delays.
william6 Hi Al, In small towns such as those you describe (one train a day each way), the person is known as a station attendant. Their main duty is to open the station about an hour before scheduled train time and close it after the train departs, which may be several hours later if the train is running behind schedule. This might be a twice a day occurence if the schedule so demands (example: Osceola, Iowa, approx 7AM and 7 PM) or just once a day (example:Hastings, Nebraska, approx.1AM for both trains). The attendant does not sell tickets or even make reservations for you. You have to do that online, on the phone, use a travel agent, or go to a station that has a ticket agent. Over the years, the attendent has done varying levels of "security checks" (for lack of a better term), sometimes asking to see my ticket and photo ID, and other times not. The main job, besides opening and closing the station, seems to be keeping passengers in the station and off the tracks and platform until the train comes.Other duties seem to be running a small gift/snack shop (if there is one) and general clean-up. Probably each station has a few different odd jobs that the attendant must do, including listening to a scanner for info as to when the train will arrive. All in all, it's probaly not a great job or even high paying, especially when the train is late. Bill
Thanks, william6, you answered my questions and in a lot less space than it took me to pose them!
While reading your answer, I did think of something regarding ticketing -- is it possible to board an Amtrak train (which has room) and pay the fare on board (w/ or without penalty)? Perhaps there are people who are unaware that all Amtraks, all the time, except for the Hiawatha, require standing reservations. There may be people who don't have e-mail and printers and thus cannot ticket themselves; I even understand that Amtrak will not mail tickets out, and even if they do, certainly one could secure a reservation a couple of days ahead of time and not have time to get the ticket.
Thanks again, it's great to know these things, especially since I might have reason to go thru a depot that is only open part of the day. - a.s.
http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Amtrak/am2Copy/Title_Image_Copy_Page&c=am2Copy&cid=1080080553490
A few years ago, when Akron, Ohio still had Amtrak service, there was a station attendant there who was an employee, not of Amtrak, but of the city of Akron. He was a young man and a railfan and he knew enough to call the tower at Newton Falls, Ohio to find out if the westbound Broadway or Three Rivers had passed the tower, and not to call Amtrak, which often had no idea where the train was. He would sometimes help women with their luggage but that was not his job. In fact, his job was really whatever he wanted it to be, since he was not an Amtrak employee; he was simply a railfan who found an interesting job for a little while.
To answer the question, he frequently stayed past his quitting time if the train was late; he went above and beyond the other fellow at the station in Akron, who was an employee of the parking garage, not the city, and couldn't care less about the comfort or safety of Amtrak patrons. When it was 7 AM he locked the station and left. Period.
I think each small Amtrak station has its own story to tell, and I believe a phone call to the station, at the right hour, of course, could tell the caller a lot about what to expect at a station in the middle of the night when the train is way late.
Going only on my own experience, Amtrak will mail your tickets to you if the reservation is made far enough ahead of departure. My wife has gotten on the train without a ticket in hand, but did have a reservation and paid the conductor with a credit card. I don't think you can get on any long distance train without a reservation. Have a great trip if you go! Bill
NKP guy A few years ago, when Akron, Ohio still had Amtrak service, there was a station attendant there who was an employee, not of Amtrak, but of the city of Akron. He was a young man and a railfan and he knew enough to call the tower at Newton Falls, Ohio to find out if the westbound Broadway or Three Rivers had passed the tower, and not to call Amtrak, which often had no idea where the train was. He would sometimes help women with their luggage but that was not his job. In fact, his job was really whatever he wanted it to be, since he was not an Amtrak employee; he was simply a railfan who found an interesting job for a little while. To answer the question, he frequently stayed past his quitting time if the train was late; he went above and beyond the other fellow at the station in Akron, who was an employee of the parking garage, not the city, and couldn't care less about the comfort or safety of Amtrak patrons. When it was 7 AM he locked the station and left. Period. I think each small Amtrak station has its own story to tell, and I believe a phone call to the station, at the right hour, of course, could tell the caller a lot about what to expect at a station in the middle of the night when the train is way late.
I hope that "Amtrak Guy"'s bosses at the City of Akron know they have an outstanding employee! - a.s.
If you want another "new wrinkle," this situation exists in large cities. The one I've experienced is Pittsburgh, PA, and although it's a larger city, the Amtrak station there sees only two trains a day, the Pennsylvanian (western end, arrival and departure), and the Capitol Limited (through train, east and west). When I went through there about four years ago, it was a one woman show. She had to close the ticket window to handle checked baggage and assist disabled passengers, then close the baggage room to sell tickets. The "food service" was three vending machines and she had menus from a couple local restaurants that would deliver to the station.
Most of the situations described so far are those of caretaker (unstaffed) stations. Amtrak has many stations with bona fide ticket agents, who are Amtrak employees and work only 1 train a day each way.
I would say in most cases the Amtrak agent will wait for a delayed train (and collect overtime if need be). This is especially true where the station is equipped to handle checked baggage; then the ticket agent must remain there until the train arrives to work the baggage, if nothing else.
An Amtrak employee would be better able to explain the situation with regard to the agreement, but I do know that when there is a full-time position, Amtrak is allowed to have part-time positions (like 2 days per week, for instance). There are also stations with "split shifts" when there is one train in the morning (for example) and another in the evening that can't be covered in one 8-hour shift. In these instances, the total time worked each day is only 6 hours instead of 8 to somewhat compensate for having to report to work twice during the day.
--Mark Meyer
Mark Meyer
william6 Hi Al, Going only on my own experience, Amtrak will mail your tickets to you if the reservation is made far enough ahead of departure. My wife has gotten on the train without a ticket in hand, but did have a reservation and paid the conductor with a credit card. I don't think you can get on any long distance train without a reservation. Have a great trip if you go! Bill
Johnny
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