Trip to Chicago on CON this Summer

[MStrain]

Howdy all from balmy Mississippi. Well, I have planned a trip to Chicago for this June for a pal and myself. He lives at Fort Campbell Kentucky and would meet me at Fulton, KY around 1:45AM when City of New Orleans stops.

My question is this: how will he get his ticket since the station is unstaffed? Will they be able to have it onboard and he can get it from the conductor? I would hate for him to pay for the tickets to be mailed. But that might be his only option.

Just wondering.

Thanks for all the help!!

MStrain

 

[amtrakwolverine]

Howdy all from balmy Mississippi. Well, I have planned a trip to Chicago for this June for a pal and myself. He lives at Fort Campbell Kentucky and would meet me at Fulton, KY around 1:45AM when City of New Orleans stops.
My question is this: how will he get his ticket since the station is unstaffed? Will they be able to have it onboard and he can get it from the conductor? I would hate for him to pay for the tickets to be mailed. But that might be his only option.

Just wondering.

Thanks for all the help!!

MStrain

they mail the tickets for FREE theres no extra charge. if the station has a quick track machine he can order his tickets online and use ANY credit card to pick them up. or he can just go to the station and order the tickets from the machine

 

[greatcats]

A few years ago, while driving from North Carolina to Texas, I passed by the Fulton station. It is on a side road off a U.S. highway out in a rural area and was easy enough to locate by day, but by night might be another story. I would suggest your friend locate the station by daylight first. The station may have changed, but when I stopped by in the middle of the day it was a trailer with a waiting room and restrooms - wide open and unattended! There is a fairly long platform that is lighted. No agent or Quik Trak machine - I would have his tickets mailed in advance, but I believe they can be picked up from the conductor under certain circumstances. ( I don't know if travel agents still handle Amtrak tickets, but I have done that in the past many years ago. )

 

[jackal]

No agent or Quik Trak machine - I would have his tickets mailed in advance, but I believe they can be picked up from the conductor under certain circumstances. ( I don't know if travel agents still handle Amtrak tickets, but I have done that in the past many years ago. )

I believe those limited circumstances are if booking within three days of travel (and you must call; it won't allow you to do this online). If booking nine or more days before travel, they will mail the tickets for free; if between four and eight days, they will mail them but charge you an express mail fee of $15.

You can also call and have the agent hold the tickets for pickup at another station, so if he'll be driving through a bigger city with a staffed Amtrak station (or Quik-Trak machine) between now and when he leaves, he can pick them up there.

 

[Joel N. Weber II]

Just to try to make sure things are clear, the free mailing option is only available for trips that start at stations that neither have a human selling tickets, nor a Quik-Trak machine.

 

[amtrakwolverine]

Just to try to make sure things are clear, the free mailing option is only available for trips that start at stations that neither have a human selling tickets, nor a Quik-Trak machine.

thats not true. I ordered my tickets online and got free shipping and the starting location has a quik-trak machine but no ticket agents

 

[Green Maned Lion]

Question, sort of unrelated:

I want to pick up my Train Day tickets early, but do not think I'm heading into NYP between now and then. I could, however, head to Metropark, Trenton, or NWK before then. Can I pick up the tickets at those other stations, or only at NYP from a QuickTrak? Also, if my reservation is AGRed, I only need my (non-credit) AGR card to pick them up, right?

 

[AlanB]

I want to pick up my Train Day tickets early, but do not think I'm heading into NYP between now and then. I could, however, head to Metropark, Trenton, or NWK before then. Can I pick up the tickets at those other stations, or only at NYP from a QuickTrak? Also, if my reservation is AGRed, I only need my (non-credit) AGR card to pick them up, right?

I'm not quite sure why you think you can only pick up your tickets in NYP. The fact that it was a special sale has no bearing on things and you can pick up tickets for any train going anywhere at any station with an agent or a Quik-Trak machine, even if said train doesn't serve that station.

I've picked up Auto Train tickets in NYP and Boston for example. Oddly enough though, having mentioned the AT, you cannot pick up AT tickets from a Quik-Trak machine. They can only be issued by an agent for some odd reason.

 

[stlouielady]

Howdy all from balmy Mississippi. Well, I have planned a trip to Chicago for this June for a pal and myself. He lives at Fort Campbell Kentucky and would meet me at Fulton, KY around 1:45AM when City of New Orleans stops.
My question is this: how will he get his ticket since the station is unstaffed? Will they be able to have it onboard and he can get it from the conductor? I would hate for him to pay for the tickets to be mailed. But that might be his only option.

Just wondering.

Thanks for all the help!!

MStrain

The conductor should have it. I travel from the Kirkwood station most of the time, which is 'staffed' only with volunteers, with no ticket windows, and no Quik Trak machine. After I board, the conductor comes through to take the tickets, and when I give my name, he produces the ticket(s) for me (both the out bound and the return trip). They are printed at the St Louis station before the train departs. Of course, I usually don't book more than a week or two before the trip, which doesn't allow them enough time to mail the tickets to me. But, as others have mentioned, he should be able to get them mailed at no charge because he is departing from an unstaffed station.

 

[jackal]

Just to try to make sure things are clear, the free mailing option is only available for trips that start at stations that neither have a human selling tickets, nor a Quik-Trak machine.

thats not true. I ordered my tickets online and got free shipping and the starting location has a quik-trak machine but no ticket agents

Makes sense--QT machines can't print all tickets (i.e. some booked with certain promo codes), so what would you do if it told you to see an agent and you were at an unstaffed station and your train is leaving in 30 minutes?

 

[Green Maned Lion]

What about the Train Day promotion?

 

[AlanB]

What about the Train Day promotion?

The Train Day promo changes nothing, you can pick up those tickets anywhere from machine or agent. It's only when the promo is something unique, like maybe you have to prove that you have a membership card or you need to turn in a coupon, that one has to visit with an agent. And even then, it doesn't matter if the agent's in Miami, but you're departing Amtrak from Boston.