Amtrak Coach Safety Concern

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NEPATrainTraveler

Service Attendant
Joined
Sep 12, 2018
Messages
172
Has anyone ever heard about anyone having their wallet, phone, etc stolen from them while they slept in coach? I was talking to a friend of mine about an upcoming LD trip and that was something they asked.

Sorry if this is an odd question.

Thanks
 
NO...not odd!!! Ever read the yahoo(!) stories about being molested while sleeping on a plane?!?!? Never ridden coach...but as a Super-regular on the A/T...I can tell you...rooms don't lock either. And with mass dinner seating's...rooms are unoccupied for a while. Leaving the door closed and drape drawn doesn't mean any more then when you leave your house - i.e., a knock on your front door and/or a phone call establishes its' state-of-occupancy!!! Though...knock-on-wood...haven't heard of any problems on the A/T. I'll clandestinely bring it up with the crews I know on the next trip. I leave computers and (Heaven-forbid) tons of liquor when I go to dinner.
 
I have been on 3 different trains where someone had a bag go missing in coach and the conductors made announcements in hopes of getting them back. One was even a diaper bag. So some element of theft happens, but I've never heard of someone being pickpocketed. If you're really worried, there are those wallets that go under your clothes. I have them for when I'm backpacking in countries where petty theft is common. Your friend could wear something like that if it would make them less nervous.
 
Theft does happen every once in a while in coach. It's not very common, and as was said it's more an issue of people stealing bags or stealing from bags rather than pickpocketing, but it is something to be aware of. That said, if you keep your valuables on you at all times and keep your wits about you, I doubt you'll have any problems.

And just as a note, though it is true that rooms don't lock, it seems exceedingly rare that sleeper passengers have stuff stolen. Only sleeper passengers are allowed in sleepers, and so long as you try to keep your door shut, curtains drawn, and valuables out of sight, I really highly doubt that there would be a problem. I've done something like 20 sleeper rides so far, and we've never had anything stolen.
 
I have been on 3 different trains where someone had a bag go missing in coach and the conductors made announcements in hopes of getting them back. One was even a diaper bag. So some element of theft happens, but I've never heard of someone being pickpocketed. If you're really worried, there are those wallets that go under your clothes. I have them for when I'm backpacking in countries where petty theft is common. Your friend could wear something like that if it would make them less nervous.
Unfortunately you would be surprised how often passengers jump to the conclusion that their bags "have been stolen" when in fact they just forget where they stored them and/or they were moved when other passengers were making space to store their bags, etc...the bags usually turn up...
 
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One thing pickpockets like is a crowd into which they can disappear and quickly hand the wallet off to an accomplice. That's not easily found in a train. Now on a crowded platform that's a whole 'nother subject.
 
My view is that train travel is pretty safe, and I have never heard of anyone being pickpocketed while asleep! I have never heard of a bag being stolen on an Amtrak train I was on either, but that can happen.

Why is everyone so fearfull of everyone else? Most of the fun of travel for me is meeting new people, folk different to me. One in 10,000 may be a rogue, but don't avoid potential friendships with the other 9,999 because of that.

Travel in hope, not in fear!

Ed.
 
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When I traveled on the Auto Train,, I used to bring a hard-cased, lockable rollaboard in which to put all the "valuables (laptop, GPS, etc.) that I couldn't carry with me to the dining car. I also brought one of those thick wired bicycle locks that I could loop around something fixed such that it would take a pair of strong cutters to cut it off. Would it have stopped a "professional?" No. But at least, it kept out the "rif raf." And, it also helps not to have these things out and about while the door to your room is open (and curtain drawn). As for traveling in coach, I'm not sure what one can do. Just be situationally aware. That said, I don't ever think I felt all that concerned about theft aboard the Auto Train. Never did I hear any announcements about any "lost/stolen" merchandise. As long as one doesn't do anything totally stupid (i.e. leave stuff out when leaving one's accommodation)....
 
No theft incidents to report on any train in the last 15 years riding the rails in the sleepers or in coach. Our only concern is the unstaffed baggage rooms in the WAS Acela and CHI metropolitan Lounges. No problems so far.but as a precaution we use bicycle cable locks to fasten our carry on luggage together or to the baggage racks.
 
The closest I've come to a communal sleeping experience since 1990 was in a four bunk Couchette when my Wagon-Lit room Madrid-Sevilla simply "wasn't", and I was shown to a Couchette. Three other guys of unknown origin were already in there.

I ended up "sleeping of sorts" against the wall with wallet and Passport in back pocket, and my bag between my legs.

Turns out come morning any concerns I may have had were unfounded, for they, one Dutch and two Spaniards were all nice guys. The Dutchman played translator for all ("we're a small country; we have to know all the languages") and all was well. At Sevilla, handshakes and fond farewells.
 
Find a way to make valuables difficult to see/retrieve while you are sleeping. We usually travel via roomette but even there we don't leave anything valuable in plain sight when we head for the diner. If I have my good camera along I take it with me.
 
My view is that train travel is pretty safe, and I have never heard of anyone being pickpocketed while asleep! I have never heard of a bag being stolen on an Amtrak train I was on either, but that can happen.

Why is everyone so fearfull of everyone else? Most of the fun of travel for me is meeting new people, folk different to me. One in 10,000 may be a rogue, but don't avoid potential friendships with the other 9,999 because of that.

Travel in hope, not in fear!

Ed.
A quote from Mark Twain...Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness.

More completely...

Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.

From his book . The Innocents Abroad/Roughing It
 
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Find a way to make valuables difficult to see/retrieve while you are sleeping. We usually travel via roomette but even there we don't leave anything valuable in plain sight when we head for the diner. If I have my good camera along I take it with me.
I feel that overnight train travel is relatively safe. As mentioned a few times, don't invite temptation. Don't publically count out $10,000 in cash, stick it into an envelope marked "cash", leave it on your seat, and announce to the car you going for dinner.

Also as mentioned, I would agree that many times people who quickly jump to the conclusions that someone was stolen, have actually simply misplaced it.
 
As mentioned a few times, don't invite temptation. Don't publically count out $10,000 in cash, stick it into an envelope marked "cash", leave it on your seat, and announce to the car you going for dinner.
Don't you tell me what to do!
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A ring of the phone or knock on the door won’t establish house occupancy if

(A) all phone calls are routed to the answering machine to screen for folks you know before picking up the phone, and

(b) using a peephole on the door to see who is a knockin’ and simply do not open the door to folks you don’t recognize. In both cases, you probably won’t miss out on claiming the Reader’s Clearinghouse Million Dollar Jackpot.
 
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Has anyone ever heard about anyone having their wallet, phone, etc stolen from them while they slept in coach? I was talking to a friend of mine about an upcoming LD trip and that was something they asked.

Sorry if this is an odd question.

Thanks
About 3 years ago while traveling coach from NYC to Toledo my travel companion (sitting aisle) had his iphone stolen while we slept. The crew said it was almost unheard of, but it happened.
 
Has anyone ever heard about anyone having their wallet, phone, etc stolen from them while they slept in coach? I was talking to a friend of mine about an upcoming LD trip and that was something they asked.

Sorry if this is an odd question.

Thanks
About 3 years ago while traveling coach from NYC to Toledo my travel companion (sitting aisle) had his iphone stolen while we slept. The crew said it was almost unheard of, but it happened.
Was the person's pocket "picked", or was the phone on display or being charged?

As the crew said, it is pretty much unheard of, but at the end of the day, anything can happen.

Just use normal common sense, as you would when out and about in a public place, relax and enjoy the trip.

Ed.
 
On my last trip in coach on the eastbound Zephyr, I spent most of the time in the lounge instead my seat. I returned to my coach seat just before the train entered Moffat tunnel and found that someone had taken my travel blanket and pillow and my shoes! I made a loud fuss and went to find a conductor after we cleared the tunnel. When I returned with the conductor, we searched the car and found my blanket and pillow about 3 rows back. The women who were sitting there were gone, hiding I guess. I found my shoes under the seat. I guess they thought I had gotten off the train and my things were there for them to take. The conductor made an announcement saying keep your hands off things that don't belong to you!
 
On my last trip in coach on the eastbound Zephyr, I spent most of the time in the lounge instead my seat. I returned to my coach seat just before the train entered Moffat tunnel and found that someone had taken my travel blanket and pillow and my shoes! I made a loud fuss and went to find a conductor after we cleared the tunnel. When I returned with the conductor, we searched the car and found my blanket and pillow about 3 rows back. The women who were sitting there were gone, hiding I guess. I found my shoes under the seat. I guess they thought I had gotten off the train and my things were there for them to take. The conductor made an announcement saying keep your hands off things that don't belong to you!
Did they end up finding those women?
 
While anything can happen, it is the rare "odd events" that flavours folks perception of safety, etc. I tend to find that a sort of travelling community spirit evolves on long distance trains in coach, so it is odd to me that no one else in your coach car noticed the women taking your items.

My point is not that bad things can't happen, but that the rare events should not overshaddow the 99.99% of the time where things go well.

Ed.
 
On my last trip in coach on the eastbound Zephyr, I spent most of the time in the lounge instead my seat. I returned to my coach seat just before the train entered Moffat tunnel and found that someone had taken my travel blanket and pillow and my shoes! I made a loud fuss and went to find a conductor after we cleared the tunnel. When I returned with the conductor, we searched the car and found my blanket and pillow about 3 rows back. The women who were sitting there were gone, hiding I guess. I found my shoes under the seat. I guess they thought I had gotten off the train and my things were there for them to take. The conductor made an announcement saying keep your hands off things that don't belong to you!
Did they end up finding those women?
The women didn't return to their seats until we stopped at Denver (their destination). I didn't press the issue any further as I had my property back, but I sure gave them the stink eye as they gathered their belongings and departed the train.
 
While anything can happen, it is the rare "odd events" that flavours folks perception of safety, etc. I tend to find that a sort of travelling community spirit evolves on long distance trains in coach, so it is odd to me that no one else in your coach car noticed the women taking your items.

My point is not that bad things can't happen, but that the rare events should not overshaddow the 99.99% of the time where things go well.

Ed.
You're right about it being highly unusual. In all my Amtrak travels over the last 30 years, this was the only time I've had anything go missing. And it's the first time I've heard of something being stolen. I've always felt safe traveling in coach and will travel in coach again in the future.
 
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