"Carry by"

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SarahZ

SarahZ

Quality Control
Joined
May 8, 2011
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On the SWC just now, someone came over the PA and said, "Conductor, we've got a carry by."

The conductor said, "Too late now."

We were about a quarter-mile from the station stop. What's a "carry by"? Was someone running for the train?
 
Sorcha said:
On the SWC just now, someone came over the PA and said, "Conductor, we've got a carry by."

The conductor said, "Too late now."

We were about a quarter-mile from the station stop. What's a "carry by"? Was someone running for the train?
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Someone on the train who was supposed to get off at a station did not get off.

(I took care of your double post.)
 
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Ouch. Guess someone will have to pick them up in Raton. We were leaving Las Vegas.
 
Who ends up being responsible for this? On a Corridor where trains are frequent in both directions, I can see where the guilty pax can be dumped on a return train without too much inconvenience but in the case of one train a day or less it could get interesting.
 
The passenger is responsible, in my opinion. They made frequent announcements before we arrived and upon arrival. We were at the station for about five minutes, too.
 
Sorcha said:
The passenger is responsible, in my opinion. They made frequent announcements before we arrived and upon arrival. We were at the station for about five minutes, too.
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Sorcha said:
The passenger is responsible, in my opinion. They made frequent announcements before we arrived and upon arrival. We were at the station for about five minutes, too.
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That is a good question.....Does that mean the passenger must pay additional fare to the point they carried by to? And then to get back?

If not, that could mean that a few people might intentionally do it to save money when they book ticket....

And what if the next train back is a couple of days later in the case of a tri-weekly? Who takes care of accommodations, etc.?

And what if the passenger was asleep and the attendant didn't awaken the passenger? Who's at fault in that case on an overnight train during the 'wee' hours?

Lot's of what-ifs to consider...
 
nightrider said:
That is a good question.....

Does that mean the passenger must pay additional fare to the point they carried by to? And then to get back?

If not, that could mean that a few people might intentionally do it to save money when they book ticket....

And what if the next train back is a couple of days later in the case of a tri-weekly? Who takes care of accommodations, etc.?

And what if the passenger was asleep and the attendant didn't awaken the passenger? Who's at fault in that case on an overnight train during the 'wee' hours?

Lot's of what-ifs to consider...
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I'm no expert, and I've never experienced a 'Carry-By' before, but I'll take an educated stab at what happens.

Depending on just how a carry-by occurred, in most cases it could very well incur an additional charge to the offending passenger. It would be entirely up to the conductor, of course. In the case listed above, it sounds like there was ample time and warning given for the stop that was missed by this one individual.

For the accommodations, that would probably be on the shoulder of the passenger. They would need to get ahold of Amtrak, and change their reservation to embark at an earlier station than originally reserved. Or find transport to the original station. Either way, probably going to pay more.

With e-ticketing and electronic, real-time manifests now in use, missing a passenger in the middle of the night in coach is less likely. But it could still happen. There is still a bit of responsibility on the part of you, the passenger. I always set an alarm if I know my stop is in the middle of the night, even when I'm in sleeper. Worst case scenario at that point is the train is running late, and you wake up early.
 
Blackwolf said:
nightrider said:
That is a good question.....

Does that mean the passenger must pay additional fare to the point they carried by to? And then to get back?

If not, that could mean that a few people might intentionally do it to save money when they book ticket....

And what if the next train back is a couple of days later in the case of a tri-weekly? Who takes care of accommodations, etc.?

And what if the passenger was asleep and the attendant didn't awaken the passenger? Who's at fault in that case on an overnight train during the 'wee' hours?

Lot's of what-ifs to consider...
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I'm no expert, and I've never experienced a 'Carry-By' before, but I'll take an educated stab at what happens.

Depending on just how a carry-by occurred, in most cases it could very well incur an additional charge to the offending passenger. It would be entirely up to the conductor, of course. In the case listed above, it sounds like there was ample time and warning given for the stop that was missed by this one individual.

For the accommodations, that would probably be on the shoulder of the passenger. They would need to get ahold of Amtrak, and change their reservation to embark at an earlier station than originally reserved. Or find transport to the original station. Either way, probably going to pay more.

With e-ticketing and electronic, real-time manifests now in use, missing a passenger in the middle of the night in coach is less likely. But it could still happen. There is still a bit of responsibility on the part of you, the passenger. I always set an alarm if I know my stop is in the middle of the night, even when I'm in sleeper. Worst case scenario at that point is the train is running late, and you wake up early.
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I was stumped at the question, but Blackwolf has a good answer. I alwaysa thought that pax might just do a carry-by to to save money.
 
I think it would depend on the situation. If there's a mixup in the middle of the night (a missed passenger or an inattentive SCA) and/or you've got speaker problems and a staff error at a stop, it might not cost the passenger anything. If it's a clear passenger error, though, I suspect that if the stop is more than a very short distance (i.e. within the same metro area), the passenger might get slapped with an extra charge.
 
I have no idea how they got missed. My first thought was they were either in the restroom or the SSL (and didn't hear the announcements, depending on the noise in the SSL). In my Coach experiences, the CA comes through and bends the colored seat tickets while giving a heads-up/wake-up. In the sleepers, our SCA always comes by to collect trash and let us know our stop is coming up.

For that particular train, they would have had to wait overnight, as the westbound SWC had passed Las Vegas a few hours earlier. We'd already passed a few intersections, so there would have been no safe place to stop the train and let them off. The platform was probably 1/4-mile or so behind the end of the train.
 
Let me tell you about the ultimate wrong destination story It was a few decades back and train 354 to Detroit was boarding next to train 59 from Chicago Union Station using the same gate. I was on 354 to "babysit" a problem unit. My unit ran great and it was an easy job. The train arrived in Jackson Michigan right on time. The conductor woke up a woman under a Jackson hat check, the woman reacted very strangely asking how we got her there so fast. I turns out that she boarded the train of the right and not the train on the left at CUS. She told the trainman that she was going to Jackson so he put her in the car with the Jackson and Ann Arbor passengers. Yep! That's right, she was going to Jackson Mississippi. The conductor when he collected her ticket never looked at the station code. She had a much longer wait than one night to get to her destination.
 
oldtimer said:
I turns out that she boarded the train of the right and not the train on the left at CUS. She told the trainman that she was going to Jackson so he put her in the car with the Jackson and Ann Arbor passengers. Yep! That's right, she was going to Jackson Mississippi. The conductor when he collected her ticket never looked at the station code. She had a much longer wait than one night to get to her destination.
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Now, it sounds like this one should belong to Amtrak to fix.
 
oldtimer said:
Let me tell you about the ultimate wrong destination story It was a few decades back and train 354 to Detroit was boarding next to train 59 from Chicago Union Station using the same gate. I was on 354 to "babysit" a problem unit. My unit ran great and it was an easy job. The train arrived in Jackson Michigan right on time. The conductor woke up a woman under a Jackson hat check, the woman reacted very strangely asking how we got her there so fast. I turns out that she boarded the train of the right and not the train on the left at CUS. She told the trainman that she was going to Jackson so he put her in the car with the Jackson and Ann Arbor passengers. Yep! That's right, she was going to Jackson Mississippi. The conductor when he collected her ticket never looked at the station code. She had a much longer wait than one night to get to her destination.
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Ooh boy! I wonder why she was travelling, if there was something important.....
 
The OBS manual as of April 2011 states the following:

2. Carry-Bysa) Passengers must not be carried beyond their ticketed destination. If a passenger is inadvertently taken beyond their destination, the operating crew may issue authorization for return travel to the proper destination.

b) Return Travel Arrangements

• The Conductor or Assistant Conductor must prepare a Conductor On-Board Ticket Stock (COTS) by punching the “RET” box and writing the train number and date in the endorsement box. Indicate the points the passenger overrode in such order that the return coupon “A” will read in the right direction for the passenger to return to their original destination. If known, indicate the next returning train. Check the passenger’s identification and put their name on the form.

• Make sure the passenger signs the form.

• Inform the passenger that the Passage Coupon (coupon A) is valid only if used on the first returning train, as shown on the form.

• The Conductor or Assistant Conductor will detrain the passenger at the station that is most convenient and safest for transfer.

• The Conductor on the return train will place Coupon A in the “Train Earnings Reports Envelope” (NRPC 158). The issuing Conductor/ Assistant Conductor will attach Coupons C and D to the Sales Report copy of the “Conductor Sales Report Book” (NRPC 193).
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Ive been on the Texas Eagle twice when there were carry-bys. In both instances the Conductor arranged for Taxis paid by Amtrak to take the pax back to their coorect station since there is only one train a day in each direction on this route! Amtrak does not like carry-bys!
 
Train2104 said:
The OBS manual as of April 2011 states the following:

2. Carry-Bysa) Passengers must not be carried beyond their ticketed destination. If a passenger is inadvertently taken beyond their destination, the operating crew may issue authorization for return travel to the proper destination.

b) Return Travel Arrangements

• The Conductor or Assistant Conductor must prepare a Conductor On-Board Ticket Stock (COTS) by punching the “RET” box and writing the train number and date in the endorsement box. Indicate the points the passenger overrode in such order that the return coupon “A” will read in the right direction for the passenger to return to their original destination. If known, indicate the next returning train. Check the passenger’s identification and put their name on the form.

• Make sure the passenger signs the form.

• Inform the passenger that the Passage Coupon (coupon A) is valid only if used on the first returning train, as shown on the form.

• The Conductor or Assistant Conductor will detrain the passenger at the station that is most convenient and safest for transfer.

• The Conductor on the return train will place Coupon A in the “Train Earnings Reports Envelope” (NRPC 158). The issuing Conductor/ Assistant Conductor will attach Coupons C and D to the Sales Report copy of the “Conductor Sales Report Book” (NRPC 193).
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Note that the policy says the operating crew MAY issue, not WILL issue return transportation--which leads to speculation that the crew has the right to use their own discretion whether the carrier was at fault, or the passenger intentionally got carried by....
 
Nightrider said:
Note that the policy says the operating crew MAY issue, not WILL issue return transportation--which leads to speculation that the crew has the right to use their own discretion whether the carrier was at fault, or the passenger intentionally got carried by....
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I think that is very unlikely.

Since the policy says they may arrange for transportation back, my bet is that they always will. The conductor wants to handle that kind of issue ASAP, and if they create a fuss with a passenger, that fuss will cause aggravation for the conductor, delay things, and could end up at Amtrak HQ where it is likely the passenger will be supported and the conductor will get dinged for not following procedure (regardless of the seemingly optional nature of the instructions). The least turbulent course of action is to follow procedure and pay for the offending passenger's trip back.
 
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I've seen this twice. Once, I was returning home from Minnesota on the EB, and a group did not get off at their stop. The conductor was ticked off but the train went back to let them off!

The second time, I'm not sure what happened to the passenger, but I heard the car attendant (it was in the sleeper) very urgently saying, "Conductor! Conductor! We have one more to get off!" but as the train had just barely left the station (IIRC, it was Texarkana), they may have just stopped and let t he person hoof it back to the station.
 
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