Cafe Car Question?

Is it common on the NE Regional to shut the credit card terminal down in westerly, ri en route to Boston? There is still an hour and half left on the trip. This happened on train 178. They said they would take cash only.

I'm not sure on the correct answer.. But after Providence they shut down to do paperwork and inventory.

bigblue2007 said:

Is it common on the NE Regional to shut the credit card terminal down in westerly, ri en route to Boston? There is still an hour and half left on the trip. This happened on train 178. They said they would take cash only.

Click to expand...

The credit card terminal must have went down. Doesn't happen often but it happens. That is why cash only.

The machines are old, and have a limit on how many transactions we can run before we absolutely have to settle the transactions and close out the machine, before we can reopen it and process more transactions.

When we're settling, we need to maintain a signal the entire time, or we get an error message and have to settle out. On some of the more problematic machines, with the transaction limit hit, it can take upwards of 30-45 minutes from start to finish. And remember, lose the signal for more than maybe a minute, and we get an error and restart.

I remember one trip, I think on 176, the machine hit the limit at Stamford. I desperately tried to get that machine up and running again, but it was down until New London.

Unfortunately...stuff happens. We still try to do our best, given the circumstances.

Triley said:

The machines are old, and have a limit on how many transactions we can run before we absolutely have to settle the transactions and close out the machine, before we can reopen it and process more transactions.

When we're settling, we need to maintain a signal the entire time, or we get an error message and have to settle out. On some of the more problematic machines, with the transaction limit hit, it can take upwards of 30-45 minutes from start to finish. And remember, lose the signal for more than maybe a minute, and we get an error and restart.

I remember one trip, I think on 176, the machine hit the limit at Stamford. I desperately tried to get that machine up and running again, but it was down until New London.

Unfortunately...stuff happens. We still try to do our best, given the circumstances.

Click to expand...

Thanks for providing this information. That stinks that the equipment doesn't work and it outdated. You would think that they would give you an iPad terminal with a cash register type software. It could settle the transactions and reduce the amount of paperwork.

It is terrible that it is a 50/50 shot if you want to use your card. Especially those of us who have amtrak credit cards would get 3X the points.

bigblue2007 said:

Triley said:

The machines are old, and have a limit on how many transactions we can run before we absolutely have to settle the transactions and close out the machine, before we can reopen it and process more transactions.

When we're settling, we need to maintain a signal the entire time, or we get an error message and have to settle out. On some of the more problematic machines, with the transaction limit hit, it can take upwards of 30-45 minutes from start to finish. And remember, lose the signal for more than maybe a minute, and we get an error and restart.

I remember one trip, I think on 176, the machine hit the limit at Stamford. I desperately tried to get that machine up and running again, but it was down until New London.

Unfortunately...stuff happens. We still try to do our best, given the circumstances.

Click to expand...

Thanks for providing this information. That stinks that the equipment doesn't work and it outdated. You would think that they would give you an iPad terminal with a cash register type software. It could settle the transactions and reduce the amount of paperwork.

It is terrible that it is a 50/50 shot if you want to use your card. Especially those of us who have amtrak credit cards would get 3X the points.

Click to expand...

There's been discussions, including on here, about new POS. It's in the works, but long story short, there's a bunch of specific requirements that need to met, so it'll still be some time. It is supposedly in the works though. Same with new credit machines.

And I wouldn't really say it's fair on calling it a 50-50 shot on being able to use a credit card. On crazy busy trains it may tend to force us to settle around New Haven (heading northbound), though most trains are able to make it further. Many last until closing. Southbound shouldn't be an issue until BWI, because to be completely honest, we have issues settling them in the station, so I try to close mine somewhere in between the airport and New Carrollton, depending on how quiet it is at that point. If I have issues, or wait until I'm in the station, it means I'm going to be standing around the station for 45+ minutes trying to find the one spot in the crew base that the machine works. And no, being Boston based, I can't leave until I settle that machine, because the machine comes with me to the hotel, and I need to include the reports with my paperwork.

thanks for the insight. In the future I will bring cash as it seems easier for everyone involved.

There are HORRIBLE dead spots between WLY and KIN. Sometimes, the radios even have trouble.