Ashland Train Enthusiast
Service Attendant
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
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