Getting Off The Train Early

[Railroad Bill]

Hello AU Gang,

Have a couple of last minute questions regarding our trip to CA in two weeks.

1) Although we have tickets via Guest Rewards from LA to SAC, we have decided to detrain at Merced. stay in a hotel there and ride the YARTS bus to and from Yosemite for a couple of days. Since our tickets will say we are getting off at SAC, will this be a problem when we ask to get off at Merced? Will Amtrak allow us to check our bags from LAX to MCD? :unsure:

2) When our bags are placed on the Amtrak Thruway bus at LAX for Bakersfield, will/can we gain access to them at Bakersfield to make sure they are not put in a baggage car headed for Sacramento?

3) I suspect we, of course, need to let the conductor on the SJ know of our plans. Since these tickets are Guest Rewards and are part of a complete trip from TOL To SAC, we were concerned with trying to change them at this late date and perhaps totally mess up the rooms, trains on the entire trip.

Any and all advice is greatly appreciated.

Railroad Bill

 

[Sam31452]

I have the same Problem with Flagstaff/Williams Jct. (for Grand Canyon Railway).

 

[saxman]

Hello AU Gang,Have a couple of last minute questions regarding our trip to CA in two weeks.

1) Although we have tickets via Guest Rewards from LA to SAC, we have decided to detrain at Merced. stay in a hotel there and ride the YARTS bus to and from Yosemite for a couple of days. Since our tickets will say we are getting off at SAC, will this be a problem when we ask to get off at Merced? Will Amtrak allow us to check our bags from LAX to MCD? :unsure:

2) When our bags are placed on the Amtrak Thruway bus at LAX for Bakersfield, will/can we gain access to them at Bakersfield to make sure they are not put in a baggage car headed for Sacramento?

3) I suspect we, of course, need to let the conductor on the SJ know of our plans. Since these tickets are Guest Rewards and are part of a complete trip from TOL To SAC, we were concerned with trying to change them at this late date and perhaps totally mess up the rooms, trains on the entire trip.

Any and all advice is greatly appreciated.

Railroad Bill

You'll have no problem getting off early. When you hand your tickets to the conductor, just simply tell him, you want to get off in Merced. When you check your bag, simply tell the agent you are going to get off in Merced and to check your bags to Merced. They should give you no problems at all.

 

[Amtrak OBS Gone Freight]

Hello AU Gang,Have a couple of last minute questions regarding our trip to CA in two weeks.

1) Although we have tickets via Guest Rewards from LA to SAC, we have decided to detrain at Merced. stay in a hotel there and ride the YARTS bus to and from Yosemite for a couple of days. Since our tickets will say we are getting off at SAC, will this be a problem when we ask to get off at Merced? Will Amtrak allow us to check our bags from LAX to MCD? :unsure:

2) When our bags are placed on the Amtrak Thruway bus at LAX for Bakersfield, will/can we gain access to them at Bakersfield to make sure they are not put in a baggage car headed for Sacramento?

3) I suspect we, of course, need to let the conductor on the SJ know of our plans. Since these tickets are Guest Rewards and are part of a complete trip from TOL To SAC, we were concerned with trying to change them at this late date and perhaps totally mess up the rooms, trains on the entire trip.

Any and all advice is greatly appreciated.

Railroad Bill

It shouldn't be a problem at all to get off at an earlier stop. But there are some things you should keep in mind.

1) Amtrak will not refund any difference of fare between the two points.

2) If you check luggage, most likely it will be automatically checked to the destination of where you're ticketed. If you need to change that, then inquire with the ticket agent/clerk where you're beginning you're trip. They may agree to check the bags to the station you want to get off the train at if it has checked baggage service. And OTH, they may ask you to change your ticket to reflect it. It will depend on the agent you deal with. To be honest with you, by going off the info you have provided in your post I would simply transport my luggage as carry on luggage to be safe so as long as you are within Amtrak's guidelines for checked baggage.

3) And then you have the issue as you have already stated in regard to these tickets already have been printed and obtained through the guest rewards program. I would at least cover that with an agent with Amtrak Guest Rewards, first to see if there are any options. You do not have to follow through with any other options if you believe they won't work. After that, then you can try speaking to the agent of the station you're starting out of.

4) And if you are able to implement a provision between yourself and Amtrak in order to make this work, then yes it would be a good idea to let the conductor know (the conductor who will be aboard at the end of your trip) of you're plans. And being you are in the sleeper, by all means communicate with your attendant (TAS-"train attendant sleeper") of your plans as he/she will be with you for as long as your on his/her train.

Good luck.... keep it simple, now. It is very easy for things to get fouled up on their own with helping it along.

OBS gone freight...

 

[AlanB]

Just make sure that the person checking your bags puts a MCD tag on them, and not a SAC tag.

 

[AlanB]

3) And then you have the issue as you have already stated in regard to these tickets already have been printed and obtained through the guest rewards program. I would at least cover that with an agent with Amtrak Guest Rewards, first to see if there are any options. You do not have to follow through with any other options if you believe they won't work. After that, then you can try speaking to the agent of the station you're starting out of.

There is nothing that AGR can do at this point. They would need to get the tickets back and reissue them in order to change the destination to MCD. Two weeks is not enough time to safely do that.

Unless you've got enough points Bill to cover a whole new reservation, while waiting for the current points to be refunded to your account, then there is no option for getting AGR to adjust the reservation.

 

[jackal]

Hello AU Gang,Have a couple of last minute questions regarding our trip to CA in two weeks.

1) Although we have tickets via Guest Rewards from LA to SAC, we have decided to detrain at Merced. stay in a hotel there and ride the YARTS bus to and from Yosemite for a couple of days. Since our tickets will say we are getting off at SAC, will this be a problem when we ask to get off at Merced? Will Amtrak allow us to check our bags from LAX to MCD? :unsure:

2) When our bags are placed on the Amtrak Thruway bus at LAX for Bakersfield, will/can we gain access to them at Bakersfield to make sure they are not put in a baggage car headed for Sacramento?

3) I suspect we, of course, need to let the conductor on the SJ know of our plans. Since these tickets are Guest Rewards and are part of a complete trip from TOL To SAC, we were concerned with trying to change them at this late date and perhaps totally mess up the rooms, trains on the entire trip.

Any and all advice is greatly appreciated.

Railroad Bill

While changing the tickets would be the optimal solution, I understand your hesitation to do so (especially given the relative inexperience of the new AGR contractor).

Are you through-ticketed from TOL-SAC without any stopover in LAX? If so, you may not have access to your bags in LAX and may have to either carry them on the entire trip or specify when you check them in TOL that you only want them checked to MCD, which they may or may not do. I think I've read varying reports here about the likelihood of agents short-checking bags, both to a connection point and to an actual stop you're not ticketed to on one of your trains. (Edit: I see no less than four other people posted while I was writing this and reading other topics, and OBS Gone Freight already dealt better with this issue than I can!)

If you do pick up your bags in LAX, then when departing LAX, you can ask the baggage agent if they could check it only to MCD. If they refuse and will only check your bags to SAC, I would avoid that, because you probably won't have access to your bags in BFD (they'll be taken straight from the hold under the bus and put on a baggage cart and then loaded on the SJ train, and they may not let you reposess your own bag even if you can see it). If you don't check them and do carry them on, you'll still put them in the hold under the bus, but you'll then be able to pick them up after getting off the bus and can take them with you on the train itself and put them on the downstairs luggage racks, which isn't a bad solution.

Edit: Alan, haven't I read here that AGR can make changes and then the tickets can be reissued at a station without the whole mailing back and forth process?

 

[Railroad Bill]

Thanks everyone for the advice.

I may have "misspoke" when I said I had the tickets already. We will pick up our tickets for the westbound legs in CLE when we leave that morning.

I think I will see what the CLE agents say about their policy but to be safe will just check our bags CLE to LAX and then carry them onboard the SJ when we get to Bakersfield. That way we will know where they are.

Since we are taking a roundabout itinerary (CLE-CHI)on CL and the TE from CHI to LAX I suspect any changes would cause undo stress on everyone (Amtrak and us). I was originally concerned that our checked luggage from CLE to SAC would end up on the CZ and get there ahead of us anyway. :unsure:

Now that we have decided to stop in Merced, I wanted to make sure our bags are with us by the time we reach Merced.

Thank again and with any luck we will have our luggage and a fun time in Merced and Yosemite National Park.

Railroad Bill

 

[AlanB]

If you haven't picked up the tickets yet, then AGR can easily adjust the reservation.

The only consideration is that not everyone up there seems to know what they're doing. Get the right person and it's a simple thing and will take less than 5 minutes. Get the wrong person and you could find yourself with tickets for the wrong day and/or the wrong trains.

 

[Railroad Bill]

Yes, Alan, after my experience with "Harriet" last week I would rather take my chances with my current reservations and make it work.

Best wishes

Railroad Bill

 

[amtrakwolverine]

i have a question. if i want to get off at BBY instead of BOS do i tell the conductor who collects my ticket on board i want to get off a back bay instead or if anyone is getting off there in my car just follow them.

 

[Long Train Runnin']

i have a question. if i want to get off at BBY instead of BOS do i tell the conductor who collects my ticket on board i want to get off a back bay instead or if anyone is getting off there in my car just follow them.

When it comes to a regional or Acela inside of Rt. 128 station they all become "boston" so if you can pick up your bags and walk out at BBY which is like 3 minutes from BOS anyway I don't think anyone would care or give it a second thought.

 

[the_traveler]

I think any Regional or AE (or really any train) that it's no problem to depart early, as long as you take your bags AND YOUR SEAT CHECK! (On a LD train, you may want to mention it to your car attendant.) I don't think that anyone will mind if you paid for a trip to BOS but left the train early in PVD. But don't leave your seat check! Someone getting on in PVD may just get a free ride to BOS if they sit in your seat and the conductor sees the seat check and thinks the ticket is collected!

 

[AlanB]

i have a question. if i want to get off at BBY instead of BOS do i tell the conductor who collects my ticket on board i want to get off a back bay instead or if anyone is getting off there in my car just follow them.

No one will care if you get off at BBY, but were ticketed to BOS. No one would even care if you got off at RTE (Route 128) but were ticketed to Boston.

The people who keep the station statistics might care, but no one on the train will care or notice. And except for the Lake Shore Limited, all doors will open at BBY on any train coming through. If you plan to do this on the LSL, then look for a door being manned by a crew member, as not all doors will open.

 

[Rick J]

I have the same Problem with Flagstaff/Williams Jct. (for Grand Canyon Railway).

If you're getting off at Williams Junction, make arrangements ahead of time for someone to pick you up. Williams Jct. is a clearing in the forest miles from anywhere. There are lots of dirt roads leading out, and no signs. If you try to walk out, you are guaranteed to get lost.

If you are staying at the Grand Canyon Railway Hotel, let them know when you are coming in, and they will send a shuttle. I don't know if any other hotels or motels provide transportation.

 

[MrFSS]

I have the same Problem with Flagstaff/Williams Jct. (for Grand Canyon Railway).

If you're getting off at Williams Junction, make arrangements ahead of time for someone to pick you up. Williams Jct. is a clearing in the forest miles from anywhere. There are lots of dirt roads leading out, and no signs. If you try to walk out, you are guaranteed to get lost.

If you are staying at the Grand Canyon Railway Hotel, let them know when you are coming in, and they will send a shuttle. I don't know if any other hotels or motels provide transportation.

As I understand it, if you de-train or board at Williams Junction the only transportation that is provided is by The Grand Canyon Hotel. No other vehicles are permitted to access the area where the train stops. Don't believe there is even any taxi service allowed.

 

[the_traveler]

As I understand it, the stop is behind a locked gate - and the only vehicle with a key is the shuttle. I also understand the shuttle turns on the platform lights and turns them off when leaving - and locks the gate when leaving!

 

[Sam31452]

If you're getting off at Williams Junction, make arrangements ahead of time for someone to pick you up. Williams Jct. is a clearing in the forest miles from anywhere. There are lots of dirt roads leading out, and no signs. If you try to walk out, you are guaranteed to get lost.

Hey, I'm a Boy Scout, I spent months on a clearing in the forest miles from anywhere.

You may be absolutely right considering the distance, as it is roughly 4 miles (one should take the road along the tracks towards northwest) from Williams and thus may be considered to be very annoying. But i've done worse things with my scouts and even made them carry their luggage.

=>If you'll ever think whether you're just meeting me on a train, if the guy is carrying a suitcase, you're wong, backpack will be the thing.

I'll check that with the Grand Canyon Railway Hotel, but as there is a free Shuttle to the Grand Canyon Railway itself mentioned in Amtraks timetable,

I think they will provide a solution for both. Thanks anyway for the warning.

 

[amtrakwolverine]

i have a question. if i want to get off at BBY instead of BOS do i tell the conductor who collects my ticket on board i want to get off a back bay instead or if anyone is getting off there in my car just follow them.

No one will care if you get off at BBY, but were ticketed to BOS. No one would even care if you got off at RTE (Route 128) but were ticketed to Boston.

The people who keep the station statistics might care, but no one on the train will care or notice. And except for the Lake Shore Limited, all doors will open at BBY on any train coming through. If you plan to do this on the LSL, then look for a door being manned by a crew member, as not all doors will open.

i was thinking of doing it on the LSL. just take the seat check and follow the crowed correct.

 

[AlanB]

i was thinking of doing it on the LSL. just take the seat check and follow the crowed correct.

Just follow the crowd with your luggage. Forget the seat check, no one is going to be looking at them or checking them. After all South Station is only 3 minutes away, if that. Stand at the end of the platform at BBY and you can probably see South Station.

Frankly, I'd bet that the crew will pull all the seat checks before you even get to BBY.

 

[Shanghai]

I nearly always depart from NYP on a round trip ticket, but on several occasions, I get off in Newark, NJ on my return trip. I have always been able to check my luggage to NWK even when my ticket shows NYP. I tell the attendant what I'm doing and have never had any issues.