Can baggage be checked to station beyond passenger's destination?

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brianpmcdonnell17

Conductor
Joined
Mar 5, 2016
Messages
1,560
Location
Chicago, Illinois
In my case, I would be getting off of Amtrak in Richmond, CA but would want to the baggage checked to the Temporary Transbay Terminal in San Francisco. I plan on using BART between the two stations. I know this is an unconventional thing to do, but I want to save a segment on my Rail Pass. In addition, I wanted to ride BART during my time in San Francisco, and I am only there for a day so this presents a good opportunity. If it is possible, can I also check baggage in San Francisco with a departing ticket from a different station when I leave?

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If your ticket reads a final destination of San Francisco, but you get off ahead of time in Richmond, I imagine that would be possible. If your ticket only reads to Richmond, then requesting your baggage to travel further to San Francisco would immediately tag you as a terrorist and a meeting with Homeland Security will be arranged.
 
When I boarded the bus to SF, the Emeryville Agent announced that anyone with checked bags to Transbay had to identify them before they would be loaded onto the bus. This could cause you a problem. If your ticket doesn't say Transbay, I doubt they would check the bags to that destination. Another thought is that the bus connections from EMY and OKJ are zero cost to passengers, so would it really use a segment since it appears to be an extension of various trains.
 
One complication that could work for or against you:

Richmond CA does not offer checked bag service. This could work against you, because the agent at your departure station might simply look at your itinerary and say "no checked bags, end of story." But...you could make a case to the agent that since your arrival station does not offer checked bags, perhaps you could simply check your bag through to San Francisco and pick it up there.

My guess is the first scenario is going to be your reality. But as the saying goes...asking's for free.
 
I thought that asking for it short of your destination might be possible. I don't know how interested you'd be in picking up your bags in Martinez though.
 
When I boarded the bus to SF, the Emeryville Agent announced that anyone with checked bags to Transbay had to identify them before they would be loaded onto the bus. This could cause you a problem. If your ticket doesn't say Transbay, I doubt they would check the bags to that destination. Another thought is that the bus connections from EMY and OKJ are zero cost to passengers, so would it really use a segment since it appears to be an extension of various trains.
They count as a segment. No way around it. I think all the buses are the same cost, but it's still a nominal additional cost. When I've done Capitol Corridor to SFC just to collect minimum AGR points, the bus ride added $1 to the fare. For the CZ I tried a sample booking for tomorrow, and I got RNO-EMY for $100 flexible (no value) and RNO-EMY-SFC for $103 flexible. It doesn't show a price breakdown for the segments though.

Strangely enough I'm seeing a $105.50 value fare for RNO-EMY-SFC. It seems strange that it's available at all (when RNO-EMY doesn't have value fare), and that it's higher.
 
Amtrak will not check your baggage to arrive farther than the destination on your ticket. Amtrak will check your baggage to arrive at a layover stop before your final destination. On our trip from Denver to PHL (CZ-CL-NEC) this June were able to check our luggage to WAS before boarding the regional to PHL. To do this we had to sign a loss liability waiver but they did take our bags.
 
San Francisco is actually only going to be a one day stop for me on a rail pass. I will be coming from Colorado and going to Seattle, so would it be possible to show them both tickets and have them check the bags straight to Seattle? Also, would any charge be involved since I would arrive a day after the bags?

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I doubt that Amtrak would allow you to check the bags straight thru to Seattle if you are not scheduled to ride that train to Seattle. Best bet, I think would be to retrieve the bags upon arrival in Emeryville, keep them with you overnight, then return to Emeryville station the morning of your departure and check the bags then for your train later (much later) that evening. There is reasonable public transit available between Emeryville and San Francisco aboard AC Transit, if you are wishing to save your Amtrak pass route segments.
 
Amtrak does not care whether or not you are on the same train as your bag, where did you get that? it is not an airline.

Last time I checked bags, I was going NYP-WAS-CHI-LAX-SEA, my bags went NYP-CHI-SEA and arrived the day before I did. They held them at without charge at Seattle's King Street Station.

As you are able to show Amtrak travel through to Seattle and you are not laying over an excessive amount, I think you would be able to check it through. Amtrak traditionally has allowed checking baggage to your final destination even when your itinerary includes layovers, which this is.
 
Well, if your ticket shows the full routing to seattle after a stopover in sf, and others have done it, then by all means just ask to check your bag all the way to Seattle and it will likely arrive there before you do.

Taking AC Transit between Emeryville and San Francisco instead of using two of your allowed travel legs on your Amtrak Pass to ride the Amtrak connection buses is still a reasonable alternative if you have other uses for those pass segments
 
I have done that too though it's been a few years. I checked my luggage all the way to NYP even though I was getting off for a few hours in Philly to go to an opera and then continuing on to NYP later in the evening where I picked up my luggage at no charge. They were separate tickets to Philly and from Philly.on to NYP.
 
Just a few thoughts which may or may not work.....

RIC-EMY-SFC is only $13, and less if you can get a discount. I was under the impression that if you could show a pile of tickets that indicates that you're going to cover an entire route that they'll check in baggage for you. I don't know if it would get past the possibility that they want all passengers to "pre-claim" the baggage in Emeryville before it goes into the bus baggage hold.

Would it be possible to use Amtrak Express as a package delivery service? I'm not sure about the price however.
 
Just a few thoughts which may or may not work.....

RIC-EMY-SFC is only $13, and less if you can get a discount. I was under the impression that if you could show a pile of tickets that indicates that you're going to cover an entire route that they'll check in baggage for you. I don't know if it would get past the possibility that they want all passengers to "pre-claim" the baggage in Emeryville before it goes into the bus baggage hold.

Would it be possible to use Amtrak Express as a package delivery service? I'm not sure about the price however.
At least in Bakersfield, you go straight onto your bus, you do not interact with your checked bags.
 
As long as you show the agent checking in your bags ALL your tickets showing that you are going to SEA, there will be no problem checking them to SEA. Luggage is stored at no charge for 2 days after it arrives. Beyond that, there is a daily storage fee.

Another this to consider is that your bags may be sent in a more direct way then you are traveling. For example, you may be going from BOS to SEA, but you may go via NOL and LAX or via WAS, CHI, SAS and LAX. Your bags may travel from BOS on the LSL and EB and arrive in SEA a few days before you do - and incur a storage fee!
 
Just a few thoughts which may or may not work.....

RIC-EMY-SFC is only $13, and less if you can get a discount. I was under the impression that if you could show a pile of tickets that indicates that you're going to cover an entire route that they'll check in baggage for you. I don't know if it would get past the possibility that they want all passengers to "pre-claim" the baggage in Emeryville before it goes into the bus baggage hold.

Would it be possible to use Amtrak Express as a package delivery service? I'm not sure about the price however.
At least in Bakersfield, you go straight onto your bus, you do not interact with your checked bags.
However, someone claimed that they were specifically asking for bags to be claimed in front of the bus before loading them for the trip to San Francisco. I've seen the baggage cart before, but I didn't pay enough attention. I thought that the transfer was automatic as long as there was an SFC tag on the bag.

However, just showing a pile of tickets that indicates one is going to Seattle may be enough to just check it through to Seattle.
 
As long as you show the agent checking in your bags ALL your tickets showing that you are going to SEA, there will be no problem checking them to SEA. Luggage is stored at no charge for 2 days after it arrives. Beyond that, there is a daily storage fee.

Another this to consider is that your bags may be sent in a more direct way then you are traveling. For example, you may be going from BOS to SEA, but you may go via NOL and LAX or via WAS, CHI, SAS and LAX. Your bags may travel from BOS on the LSL and EB and arrive in SEA a few days before you do - and incur a storage fee!
This seems to be not fair because it is unpredictable. If you pick up your luggage two days after your arrival date according to your ticket a fine/fee is ok. But does Amtrak really demand a fee for your luggage when you arrive on time to pick it up?

Just a few thoughts which may or may not work.....

RIC-EMY-SFC is only $13, and less if you can get a discount. I was under the impression that if you could show a pile of tickets that indicates that you're going to cover an entire route that they'll check in baggage for you. I don't know if it would get past the possibility that they want all passengers to "pre-claim" the baggage in Emeryville before it goes into the bus baggage hold.

Would it be possible to use Amtrak Express as a package delivery service? I'm not sure about the price however.
At least in Bakersfield, you go straight onto your bus, you do not interact with your checked bags.
However, someone claimed that they were specifically asking for bags to be claimed in front of the bus before loading them for the trip to San Francisco. I've seen the baggage cart before, but I didn't pay enough attention. I thought that the transfer was automatic as long as there was an SFC tag on the bag.

However, just showing a pile of tickets that indicates one is going to Seattle may be enough to just check it through to Seattle.
I toke the CZ last October, we arrived early in Emeryville and the bus was not available yet. Everyone had to claim the baggage from the cart in Emeryville.
 
I really don't know what would happen.

You could go WAS to SEA, and they may assume you would be going the most direct route so they send your bags on the CL and EB. But you're like me :giggle: and decide to take a Regional to NYP, the LSL to CHI, the TE to LAX (via SAS) and then the CS up to SEA and arrive days later then your bags.

A few years ago, I went from RI to PHL. Technically I could have checked my bags for the 6-8 hour trip, but I didn't. I rode the trains via LA - and I think I finally got to PHL either 5 or 6 DAYS later! :eek: (All connections were the same day!)
 
Another this to consider is that your bags may be sent in a more direct way then you are traveling.
I've done this. I finished a bike ride in Chicago, and dropped my bike at Amtrak the day before my departure, telling them that my final destination was Portland, Oregon. They were happy to check my bike in advance. I assume it went out on that day's Empire Builder.

The next day I took the Eagle out of Chicago, connected to the Sunset Limited and the Coast Starlight, and met my bike in Portland when I arrived.

There wasn't a problem checking the bike early, and there wasn't a problem with Portland holding the bike until I arrived.
 
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