Chicago Metropolitan Lounge

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Bob, I have never had my ticket scanned inside the ML. That may depend on the particular train but I have ridden the CZ, EB, SWC, and CONO in sleeper and my ticket was scanned or collected in old days either in my roomette after boarding or train side prior to boarding but never in the ML.
 
Tennessee Traveler said:
Bob, I have never had my ticket scanned inside the ML. That may depend on the particular train but I have ridden the CZ, EB, SWC, and CONO in sleeper and my ticket was scanned or collected in old days either in my roomette after boarding or train side prior to boarding but never in the ML.
Click to expand...
Hmmmm, I was referring to e-tickets that replaced paper tickets, ever since they were implemented I have had my Sleeper tickets scanned inside the Metro Lounge by the Conductor before the Kindergarten walk for every LD Train out of Chicago.
 
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Bob Dylan said:
Tennessee Traveler said:
Bob, I have never had my ticket scanned inside the ML. That may depend on the particular train but I have ridden the CZ, EB, SWC, and CONO in sleeper and my ticket was scanned or collected in old days either in my roomette after boarding or train side prior to boarding but never in the ML.
Click to expand...
Hmmmm, I was referring to e-tickets that replaced paper tickets, ever since they were implemented I have had my Sleeper tickets scanned inside the Metro Lounge by the Conductor before the Kindergarten walk for every LD Train out of Chicago.
Click to expand...
For my last ride on the EB a few days back my E ticket was not scanned in the ML. In the past I have only occasionally had it scanned in the ML. Since now non-ML Amtrak staff are apparently not allowed to enter the ML in Chicago, it is unlikely that tickets will be scanned there.
Besides scanning tickets far from the boarding gate and the train almost defeats the purpose of getting an accurate list of people on board anyway.
 
Bob Dylan said:
Tennessee Traveler said:
Bob, I have never had my ticket scanned inside the ML. That may depend on the particular train but I have ridden the CZ, EB, SWC, and CONO in sleeper and my ticket was scanned or collected in old days either in my roomette after boarding or train side prior to boarding but never in the ML.
Click to expand...
Hmmmm, I was referring to e-tickets that replaced paper tickets, ever since they were implemented I have had my Sleeper tickets scanned inside the Metro Lounge by the Conductor before the Kindergarten walk for every LD Train out of Chicago.
Click to expand...
For my last ride on the EB a few days back my E ticket was not scanned in the ML. In the past I have only occasionally had it scanned in the ML. Since now non-ML Amtrak staff are apparently not allowed to enter the ML in Chicago, it is unlikely that tickets will be scanned there.
Besides scanning tickets far from the boarding gate and the train almost defeats the purpose of getting an accurate list of people on board anyway. This fails to meet one of the requirements placed on Amtrak by the FRA after repeated criticism following accidents from the NTSB about Amtrak's inability to provide accurate accounting regarding who was actually on the train.
 
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jis said:
Bob Dylan said:
Tennessee Traveler said:
Bob, I have never had my ticket scanned inside the ML. That may depend on the particular train but I have ridden the CZ, EB, SWC, and CONO in sleeper and my ticket was scanned or collected in old days either in my roomette after boarding or train side prior to boarding but never in the ML.
Click to expand...
Hmmmm, I was referring to e-tickets that replaced paper tickets, ever since they were implemented I have had my Sleeper tickets scanned inside the Metro Lounge by the Conductor before the Kindergarten walk for every LD Train out of Chicago.
Click to expand...
For my last ride on the EB a few days back my E ticket was not scanned in the ML. In the past I have only occasionally had it scanned in the ML. Since now non-ML Amtrak staff are apparently not allowed to enter the ML in Chicago, it is unlikely that tickets will be scanned there.
Besides scanning tickets far from the boarding gate and the train almost defeats the purpose of getting an accurate list of people on board anyway.
Click to expand...
On my recent trip over to sby and back, our tickets were scanned by the outbound conductor more than half an hour before the train arrived at sby! He got out of his personal vehicle and began scanning tickets!
 
Bob Dylan said:
Tennessee Traveler said:
Bob, I have never had my ticket scanned inside the ML. That may depend on the particular train but I have ridden the CZ, EB, SWC, and CONO in sleeper and my ticket was scanned or collected in old days either in my roomette after boarding or train side prior to boarding but never in the ML.
Click to expand...
Hmmmm, I was referring to e-tickets that replaced paper tickets, ever since they were implemented I have had my Sleeper tickets scanned inside the Metro Lounge by the Conductor before the Kindergarten walk for every LD Train out of Chicago.
Click to expand...
I am also referring to e-tickets. I passed through the ML in January, April, May, and June and my e-ticket was not scanned until I was train side on the track near my sleeping car. No problem.
 
The only time I had a ticket scanned in the ML was for the SWC. I may have asked him to scan my incoming LSL ticket too...this was the day after the computer meltdown in Oct 2014 when they couldn't scan tickets (I'm sure they just went ahead and "scanned" everyone into the system for AGR points)
 
When I get around to it, I'll post a big fiasco I encountered due to their scanning inconsistency.

For now, there's already been a degradation in the lounge it seems. On my first entry, I was pleased to see they carried a selection of higher end teas and replaced the Lipton.

Today: all gone. Back to cheap brands. Or maybe it is temporary.
 
The only times I've had my sleeper ticket scanned in the lounge have been during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, when there were 8,000,000 people in the lounge and the conductors were trying to get ahead of the game. Those 2:00 time period boardings are a crush.

I've never had my regional, business class tickets scanned before boarding.
 
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For my westbound Empire Builder trip Monday, my ticket was never scanned, either in the lounge or on the train. I'm guessing the SCA simply checked her manifest against who actually showed up, and the conductor lifted the appropriate tickets.

I was underwhelmed with the new lounge. Despite being larger and nicely fitted out, the downstairs was a zoo while the upper level was underutilized. It is kind of amusing that they built a outside entrance to the upper level of the lounge off West Jackson Blvd, including a reception desk, and the entrance is locked and reception desk unstaffed. Since that door leads to the upper level it could help balance the load between the two levels. Right now it seems that people don't want to walk up the steps (or use the elevator).
 
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I practically ran to the upper level. I much prefer the big windows and natural light. The bottom level, while nice, still feels like sitting in a basement.

Plus, as you mentioned, the upper level is underutilized (for now), which makes it nice and quiet. :)
 
Everydaymatters said:
What about dinner reservations? Are they still being taken in the lounge?
Click to expand...
Yes, at least for us boarding Train 30. They had a clipboard & took down names and times at the desk when we checked in. A dining car attendant going through the train had the list & added people to it (those who had not been in the lounge).

It's a good thing, too, or we would have been stuck with the last seating time of 8:30 pm Central (9:30 pm Eastern), which turned into 9:15 pm CDT / 10:15 pm EDT when the meals ran late.
 
SarahZ said:
I practically ran to the upper level. I much prefer the big windows and natural light. The bottom level, while nice, still feels like sitting in a basement.

Plus, as you mentioned, the upper level is underutilized (for now), which makes it nice and quiet. :)
Click to expand...
I followed your lead and after doing a little exploring found a seat next to a window and even though it's raining, being able to look outside is pretty cool. It's pretty empty up here but the LD trains are several hours away from boarding.
 
I had a very good experience with the new ML today. None of the previously mentioned horror stories happened to me. I was a little nervous about the boarding procedure but it was simple and quick, actually easier than the kindergarten walk!
 
We went down a little hallway which is to the right of the check in desk as you exit the lounge but before the exit to the great hall. The hallway empties out by the concourse by the platform, then walked down to the track where our train was. This was the easiest, by far, boarding procedure I've ever been involved with regarding the Pere Marquette! No cattle pen, no walking through the station, no confusion, no boarding lounge goons to present my ticket to, just leave the Metropolitan Lounge and board the train! I was so pleased with the whole process!
 
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So the Amtrak section of the South Concourse is no longer roped off and you can go directly to the gate through the concourse now? Legitimately? Of course, you could always try to walk through the opening in the rope (I know it isn't a "rope" but don't know the word for it), but if they saw you they'd force you out.
 
zephyr17 said:
So the Amtrak section of the South Concourse is no longer roped off and you can go directly to the gate through the concourse now?
Click to expand...
This is Amtrak Chicago. As I mentioned earlier, when I recently boarded the Capitol Limited, there was no barrier or guard; I walked right to the gate and through to the platform. A few days later while boarding the Illinois Zephyr, there was a rope; and a guard sent be back around to the pen, just like the old days.
 

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