Collecting NE Rail Passes

[Kath2003]

Bought a 15-day NE Amtrak rail pass this week, it's turned up but it says I need to exhange it for an actual pass when I arrive at the train station :huh:

Umm...yeah I'm confused. I'm from the UK and am coming over in August. I want to take my first trip on August 18th - this is the date my pass is valid from.

How do I get my actual pass?

Do I need to book on a train before I go or can I just turn up at the station the way you can in the UK?

How early do I need to arrive?

Is there anything else I need to know?

Thanks! I'm quite confused :blink:

 

[Enigma]

Once you have your actual pass, you just need to use it to get your tickets at any staffed station.

In other words, you show up at a station, go up to the ticket desk, ask for a ticket from A to B and say you will be using a USA Rail Pass. You will then be given a ticket for that particular journey. DO NOT board a train with just the pass. You need to get a ticket for the journey using the pass before boarding the train. Also, trains can sell out so it might be an idea to reserve your seats in advance, rather than on the day.

You can reserve your seats using the USA Rail Pass over the 1800 USA RAIL freephone number and then collect the tickets you have reserved at the station anytime before you are due to travel.