Green Maned Lion
Engineer
First, I'm heading into Newark Penn tomorrow on NJT NJCL to pay for and officially change my upgraded tickets so that I am no longer underpaying Amtrak for my g/f. I made the arrangement on the phone and she said that I could exchange the tickets and pay the difference at any time between then and my travel date. Is Amtrak's facility there equipped for this? Also, I noticed the bucket rate going up since we made that call. The reservations were already changed, but will I have to pay the higher bucket?
Second, and actually relevant to the above topic heading:
I'm arriving into Chicago on March 2nd on the Capitol Limited, and I have a friend in Chicago. She wants to take us out to lunch at a place near her house, which happens to be in Westmont. Which means I have to take the BNSF line (Burlington Northern Santa Fe owned and dispatched, I presume?) from CUS to Westmont. I have some uneasy feelings about this. First of all, I don't know how close to schedule the Capitol Limited arrives into Chicago. Second, I don't know her all that well. She's a mild net friend who I talk to and so on, but she is also very unreliable with promises and such. Not in a bad way, or anything. I mean I generally trust her.
But I don't know how her personal clock works. The train she promises that I will be on (you won't leave later than, says she) is a 6:49 train that arrives into Chicago at about 7:30, which is fine, obviously, with the Lake Shore leaving at 10:00. I'm on the Lake Shore Limited back, by the way. I know the train starts boarding at 8:00, and departs at 10:00, ideally.
However, if I miss the 6:49 train, the next one is two hours later and arrives in Chicago at 9:40, which is cutting it way too close for my tastes. So a question I have is, how good is Metra when it comes to schedule keeping, primarily on the BNSF line? Second, can I board that train at 9:59? I mean, obviously I don't want to do that under any circumstances. But can I board the train up to 10:00?
Lastly, lets say the unthinkable happens. What can I do then? Would Amtrak have the good graces to let me board the next days train? Will they let me use it to pay for a ticket on the next days train? I'm in coach, by the way. Would I have to pay the difference in bucket fares?
In otherwords, should I be pursuing a different course of action with my friend? I do want to do this, but I don't want to miss the train and be stuck with a wide range of additional costs I really can't afford.
Second, and actually relevant to the above topic heading:
I'm arriving into Chicago on March 2nd on the Capitol Limited, and I have a friend in Chicago. She wants to take us out to lunch at a place near her house, which happens to be in Westmont. Which means I have to take the BNSF line (Burlington Northern Santa Fe owned and dispatched, I presume?) from CUS to Westmont. I have some uneasy feelings about this. First of all, I don't know how close to schedule the Capitol Limited arrives into Chicago. Second, I don't know her all that well. She's a mild net friend who I talk to and so on, but she is also very unreliable with promises and such. Not in a bad way, or anything. I mean I generally trust her.
But I don't know how her personal clock works. The train she promises that I will be on (you won't leave later than, says she) is a 6:49 train that arrives into Chicago at about 7:30, which is fine, obviously, with the Lake Shore leaving at 10:00. I'm on the Lake Shore Limited back, by the way. I know the train starts boarding at 8:00, and departs at 10:00, ideally.
However, if I miss the 6:49 train, the next one is two hours later and arrives in Chicago at 9:40, which is cutting it way too close for my tastes. So a question I have is, how good is Metra when it comes to schedule keeping, primarily on the BNSF line? Second, can I board that train at 9:59? I mean, obviously I don't want to do that under any circumstances. But can I board the train up to 10:00?
Lastly, lets say the unthinkable happens. What can I do then? Would Amtrak have the good graces to let me board the next days train? Will they let me use it to pay for a ticket on the next days train? I'm in coach, by the way. Would I have to pay the difference in bucket fares?
In otherwords, should I be pursuing a different course of action with my friend? I do want to do this, but I don't want to miss the train and be stuck with a wide range of additional costs I really can't afford.