Updated Amtrak.com Coming 6/28

[KmH]

It looks a lot better, more up-to-date, and I liked it immediately.

We will all get used to the new look/layout pretty quickly.

Since the same functionality remains the same, we don't have all that much to figure out.

I bet Amtrak knows it's easier to keep a current customer than it is to create a new customer, so I think you can figure current customers and proponents of passenger rail are a high priority to Amtrak.

 

[C855B]

Attractive, but the functions are maybe too spread out. First thing I noticed was having to slightly scroll down (on a large screen, too) to fully see where to click for Track-a-Train, yet when the window popped-up, I had to scroll back up to see the entire map. The old site may have been cluttered and in need of a freshening, but everything you needed most of the time could be clicked without scrolling.

EDIT: I dunno... even with the slight amount of scrolling, it's growing on me already. Nice job.

 

[Train2104]

I pulled up the website and my first reaction was "This looks like crap!" until I realized that they were using Adobe Typekit which my Ghostery was blocking. Without it, all the headers were in Times New Roman + "Other Travel Options" wrapped.

 

[AmtrakBlue]

I like it - except the scrolling issue on the main page.

I like the drop downs at the top because, I believe, they get you to where you want to go quicker or it just seems that way.

 

[Train2104]

• Track a Train and Check Train Status should not be kept apart

The wall of text options under "Destinations" is naturally aversive + doesn't correlate with the four icons
SmartFares shouldn't be showing on the days of the week when they're not available for sale
There is an undue emphasis on the LD services (experience front and center, sleeping accommodations, route guides, travel planning
I can't find anything selling "downtown to downtown" or other Corridor benefits on the front page!

 

[C855B]

• There is an undue emphasis on the LD services (experience front and center, sleeping accommodations, route guides, travel planning

Makes sense to me that they would weigh any new promotional content toward the LD trains. NEC is wonderful and all that, but ridership is good there already - they need to increase patronage on LD service (like the mess in Iowa is helping that at the moment. Ugh. :blush: )

 

[StriderGDM]

Hah, already found a bug!

Click on round-trip.

Then click on multi-city

Then hit the back arrow

Round trip is still selected, but now you can't select a return date!

 

[Chey]

:Check Status is unresponsive, at least for me. Does it work for anyone else?

EDIT: I can reach it from the home page - just not from the tickets-check status-modify trip tabs once I get off the home page

It's attractive and I'm sure I'll like it better than the old one once it's fully functional (and I've learned my way around it)/

 

[shelzp]

Looks and feels similar. Most businesses work on and update their websites on an ongoing basis.

 

[Everydaymatters]

Heads Up Another Bug

If you made your reservation and then changed it, and you check your reservations on the revised site, you will see the original reservation before the change.

I'm probably not the only one this has happened to.

 

[Triley]

Heads Up Another Bug

If you made your reservation and then changed it, and you check your reservations on the revised site, you will see the original reservation before the change.

I'm probably not the only one this has happened to.

Is this immediately after? Does it still show after say, five minutes?

 

[Everydaymatters]

Heads Up Another Bug

If you made your reservation and then changed it, and you check your reservations on the revised site, you will see the original reservation before the change.

I'm probably not the only one this has happened to.

Is this immediately after? Does it still show after say, five minutes?

I changed the reservation on May 21st.

 

[afigg]

Looks to me that this upgrade is mostly a cosmetic revision for the front end. Click down a couple of levels to various pages and most of the stuff is the same. As for the reported bugs, are these new bugs or were they there before the 6/28 revision?

 

[Everydaymatters]

IDK. I had not checked my res prior to the change.

 

[Chey]

Heads Up Another Bug

If you made your reservation and then changed it, and you check your reservations on the revised site, you will see the original reservation before the change.

I'm probably not the only one this has happened to.

Is this immediately after? Does it still show after say, five minutes?

I logged into my account and looked at the summary of current reservations. There was one that I modified end of April, and the summary showed the original reservation (w/o the modification). But when I clicked "view/edit" for that reservation it showed the modified reservation. Then when I clicked back to the summary again, that reservation was showing correctly.

 

[Tennessee Traveler]

As for the reported bug round trip vs multi city. If you change to multi city, round trip is no longer valid since you must enter a city and departure date for each stop including the return from your ultimate destination. I do not see this as a bug. Round trip and multi city are not compatible.

 

[Anderson]

Well, when I go to make a reservation (I tested out DLD-RVR since I'll be doing that) the reservation "window" (that is, the area where I choose my trains, etc.) drops below the "find trains" area (which is the same as it always has been...).

 

[iPat09]

Working on a trip I am hoping to take in January of next year and when clicking on individual route names, it links to a page saying the site is under construction. Hopefully this will pass soon. I would like to get my trip planned!

 

[BCL]

AGR website looks the same. The way to get there from Amtrak.com is different. There's a hidden drop down menu.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

The humongous "DISCOVER MORE OF AMERICA" Travel Planning Map that takes up most of the homepage doesn't appear to actually plan anything. I tried to plan a route from SAS to PDX, or from SAS to LAX, or from SAS to ELP and was told that Amtrak was "Currently unable to process your request." each time.

Meanwhile both the planning map and the status map continue to display routes that are not only operationally incorrect but also physically impossible for a train to traverse. How does a company with commercial GPS tracking and recording technology still not know where their own trains actually travel? Did they somehow fail to realize that actual trains cannot navigate 90° turns between tracks with no physical connections built at substantially different elevations?

Were new customers avoiding Amtrak simply because their website wasn't "fresh" enough to keep them interested? Is this what a "fresh" website looks like? I honestly don't recall a single suggestion that Amtrak.com needed a new visual design prior to this update. I realize that IT and F&B expenses come out of different budgets but in an era of service and amenity cuts this seemingly arbitrary and largely unnecessary update to the website draws more of my ire than would normally be the case.

-DA

 

[SarahZ]

I like that it matches the AGR site. Plus, it looks a bit more modern.

It takes a second to find things, but it should feel familiar after a few uses. I've been playing around with it for a few minutes.

 

[Bierboy]

AGR website looks the same. The way to get there from Amtrak.com is different. There's a hidden drop down menu.

If it's "hidden" how did you find it?

 

[SarahZ]

The AGR dropdown works like most other dropdowns. When you hover over the little arrow, the dropdown menu opens. Some websites require you to click it. This design is actually easier for those who may not realize they have to click the arrow.

 

[Bierboy]

If you try to use the "Redeem points for Amtrak travel" drop down, this is what you currently get --

We are currently conducting site maintenance.

Sorry, our site is temporarily unavailable. We are working to address this issue.

Please try again shortly. Or, for immediate assistance, please call 1-800-USA-RAIL (1-800-872-7245).

Thank you for your patience.

 

[jebr]

Once I get past the home page, the website feels really disjointed.

For one example, the "sleeping accommodations page" is just...ugh. Why is the AGR window not right-aligned with the rest of the page? What does that random A next to the AGR popup mean, or what is it covering up? The different blues and grays also aren't great, and the "old" website is just a bit narrower than the new banner, which is annoying.

It's like they threw a new home page and top banner on top of the existing website. Bleh. In my opinion, update it all or just the home page, don't throw random elements from the old website into the new website.