Flag stop procedure

[racer1735]

My son and I are have reservations to take the Cardinal on Dec. 1 from Crawfordsville, IN to Chicago (then connecting to the Texas Eagle to Fort Worth). The most recent Amtrak timetable denotes CRF as being a 'flagstop - with sufficient notice being given to the agent or conductor. The Amshack at Crawfordsville is a 4x8 plexiglass structure, no agent at all.

How do I go about giving notification that we need to board at that location, or do I rest assured that the conductor is aware of our reservations for that particular day?

I've enjoyed traveling by rail during my 45 years and don't want my son's first experience to begin with the train gliding past at 40 mph!

 

[Save Our Trains Michigan]

Your name will show up on the trains manifest on where your getting on and off. This tells the Conductor what stops passengers are getting on and off at.

 

[battalion51]

This is basically for the people that usually show up day of and purchase a ticket on board. They are encuraging people to call reservations and let them know they plan on traveling so it will show up on the manifest. Many times though even if no one is showing on the manifest they will approach the station prepared to stop, if the Engineer sees no one they will continue on. It's still recommended though that you make a Reservation or at least let Reservations know.

 

[racer1735]

Reservation has been made, tickets are in hand (we've found our compartment on the various schematics, too!).

What worried me was that I called the AMTRAK '800' phone number and the agent 'assured' me that the station was 'staffed'. I know better than that!

We'll be standing in the cold (hopefully not snow) at 7:30 a.m. awaiting the sound of the horn.

 

[Rafi]

Reservation has been made, tickets are in hand (we've found our compartment on the various schematics, too!).
What worried me was that I called the AMTRAK '800' phone number and the agent 'assured' me that the station was 'staffed'.  I know better than that!

We'll be standing in the cold (hopefully not snow) at 7:30 a.m. awaiting the sound of the horn.

Make sure you check the train's status before you leave the house, either by going to Amtrak's Train Status Tool, or by calling 800-USA-RAIL. The Cardinal, God bless it, loves to take its time through the mountains, especially if there's inclement weather.