Amtrak Express

[Guest]

Amtrak.com has a page that says:

Amtrak Express Shipping
Ship with Amtrak

We offer small package and less-than-truckload shipping services between more than 100 cities. For information regarding rates, schedules and permitted articles, please call 1-800-377-6914.

(Please note that only shipping information is available at this telephone number. For other customer inquiries, please call 1-800-USA-RAIL (1-800-872-7245).)

Note: New York Penn Station does not originate Amtrak Express (or human remains) shipments. This station only receives such shipments originating at other Amtrak stations. The Newark, NJ station provides full Amtrak Express services.

Kinds of Shipping Services Offered

Small Package Shipments

* Weight limit for each item: 50 lbs (23 kg)

* Size limit for each item: 3 ft x 3 ft x 3 ft

(90 cm by 90 cm by 90 cm)

* Weight limit for each shipment: 500 lbs (227 kg)

Heavy and Commercial Shipments

Many major stations handle pallets and packages.

* Individual pallets of up to 500 lbs (227 kg)

* Weight limit for each non-palletized item: 50 lbs (23 kg)

* Size limit for each non-palletized item: 3 ft x 3 ft x 3 ft (90 cm by 90 cm by 90 cm)

* Weight limit for each shipment: 500 lbs (227 kg)

Human Remains

Amtrak Express offers station-to-station shipment of remains to many express cities. At smaller stations, funeral directors must load and unload the shipment onto and off the train.

Now with the death of Amtrak Express (and all the ExpressTrak cars off the active roster), is this a real service or just a sign of lack of updating?

On the Winter 2008 timetable, it says the same thing on page 126.

Do they ship in baggage cars?

 

[AlanB]

ExpressTrak was a whole car, box car type of operation. Essentially trying to do what the freight companies do, but in an expidited fashion. After all most freight doesn't go coast to coast in 3 days on a freight train.

That should not be confused with Amtrak Express, which allows one to ship small packages kind of like UPS or FedEx, where you don't exclusively fill up the car. These packages are carried in the baggage cars on Amtrak trains.

 

[jackal]

ExpressTrak was a whole car, box car type of operation. Essentially trying to do what the freight companies do, but in an expidited fashion. After all most freight doesn't go coast to coast in 3 days on a freight train.

If you've got high enough volume and are willing to pay (although still quite a bit cheaper than an equivalent trip by air freight), BNSF, in partnership with NS (or maybe it was CSX) offers coast-to-coast expedited freight (across the country in 72 hours). UPS Ground contracts with BNSF to pull their trailers on their high-priority Z trains. BNSF claims their Z trains are time-competitive with team-driven trucks at a lower cost.

That should not be confused with Amtrak Express, which allows one to ship small packages kind of like UPS or FedEx, where you don't exclusively fill up the car. These packages are carried in the baggage cars on Amtrak trains.

I emailed Amtrak last year about providing an online quote system for Amtrak Express shipments. Here is the conversation:

(Sent March 22, 2007 at 7:26 am EDT)

Message:
You really should provide an online quote system for Amtrak Express shipments. And barring that (i.e. if the variables are too complicated to allow a purely automated system, although I fail to see how it could be), you should at least allow an email-based quote system (fill in the forms and an advisor will get back to you). In today's day and age, sometimes we don't have time for a phone call.

Don't make it hard for people to give you money! UPS and FedEx make it easy--you should, too!

(Sent March 22, 2007 at 1:42pm EDT)

Thank you for your email.
We appreciate your taking the time to bring your ideas to our attention

regarding Amtrak's Express Shipment Service. Comments from our

customers play an important role in our decisions about how we offer our

services. Please be assured that we have taken note of your

suggestions.

Also, we are working to automate our Baggage and Express Shipment

Service information and provide better capabilities via Amtrak.com.

This project involves additional passenger-related automation and is

taking place over the next two years. Waybill automation is likely to

occur first.

Once again, thank you for writing and providing us with your very

worthwhile comments. We hope that you will continue to support rail

passenger services.

Sincerely,

Carolyn A. Gilmore

Customer Relations Specialist

Amtrak Office of Customer Relations

Washington, DC

It's been almost a year, but we've got another year before the timeline she gave is up...

If it were substantially cheaper to do this than, say, UPS Ground, I'd definitely consider it for some cross-country shipments, even if it meant I had to drive down to the train station instead of have the UPS guy come to my door!

(And all of my email questions and comments have been handled in a very similar--i.e. rapid, personalized and articulate--manner, so when people complain about not getting adequate service from Amtrak's email-based support, I always wonder why, when my questions and comments are handed like this!)

 

[Guest_TransAtlantic_*]

Any Amtrak train with a baggage car (i.e., long-hauls) can carry a coffin or similar object between any two stations served by that baggage car that have checked luggage service - there are coffins (yes, occupied) on most of the western long-hauls at least once a week...

 

[had8ley]

Not to butt in on a topic but I found out there is one thing Fedex will NOT carry; human remains! They'll take corrosive chemicals and flammable liquids but not Aunt Josephine's urn!

 

[socalsteve]

Now with the death of Amtrak Express (and all the ExpressTrak cars off the active roster), is this a real service or just a sign of lack of updating?

They might be off the active roster, but they're still clogging up the LA yard!