What if there is no ticket office or Qwik-Trak?

[makai1976]

I did a search but couldn't find what I was looking for, and although the answer is likely somewhere on Amtrak's site, I couldn't find it.

What do you do if you buy a ticket departing from a station with no attendant and no machine? I know you can have tickets mailed if you purchase online far enough in advance, but what if you go a day or two before?

Thanks

 

[AlanB]

You call up Amtrak and they'll make a reservation for you. You then board the train and give the conductor the reservation number. He'll cut a ticket for you and take the money for the ticket. You can either use cash or credit card, the conductor will accept both forms.

 

[Murjax]

This has been an issue for me personally. Living about an equal distance between both Jacksonville and Palatka stations here in Florida, Palatka has always been the preferred choice, but they don't have a quik-trak machine or a ticket office. Your only other choice in this case is to hope there is a travel agent in the area that sells Amtrak tickets, and in my area there aren't many. You might just be left with the option of driving to a station that does print Amtrak tickets.

 

[Murjax]

You call up Amtrak and they'll make a reservation for you. You then board the train and give the conductor the reservation number. He'll cut a ticket for you and take the money for the ticket. You can either use cash or credit card, the conductor will accept both forms.

My mom tried doing that a few months ago and they told her she had to get off at the next stop and get a real ticket printed. :unsure:

 

[apbIowa]

I did a search but couldn't find what I was looking for, and although the answer is likely somewhere on Amtrak's site, I couldn't find it.
What do you do if you buy a ticket departing from a station with no attendant and no machine? I know you can have tickets mailed if you purchase online far enough in advance, but what if you go a day or two before?

Thanks

Last October I was starting a trip from Fort Madison, IA on a Sunday, traveling west on the SW Chief. Knowing that the station was un-staffed on Sundays, I attempted to pick up my previously reserved ticket on a Friday afternoon at the Mount Pleasant station, which had posted hours until 5pm I think. When I got to the station (around 4pm maybe?), there was no staff and station was closed for the day (or weekend?). I immediately called Julie for advice, and the live agent said my ticket would be printed and given to the conductor in CHI or GBB. Upon boarding, I was required to sign an additional receipt for the ticket, and the ticket itself I believe. I had booked a sleeper if that makes any difference.

 

[AlanB]

You call up Amtrak and they'll make a reservation for you. You then board the train and give the conductor the reservation number. He'll cut a ticket for you and take the money for the ticket. You can either use cash or credit card, the conductor will accept both forms.

My mom tried doing that a few months ago and they told her she had to get off at the next stop and get a real ticket printed. :unsure:

Who told her that, the conductor?

 

[Murjax]

You call up Amtrak and they'll make a reservation for you. You then board the train and give the conductor the reservation number. He'll cut a ticket for you and take the money for the ticket. You can either use cash or credit card, the conductor will accept both forms.

My mom tried doing that a few months ago and they told her she had to get off at the next stop and get a real ticket printed. :unsure:

Who told her that, the conductor?

No, the agent over the phone.

 

[wayman]

You call up Amtrak and they'll make a reservation for you. You then board the train and give the conductor the reservation number. He'll cut a ticket for you and take the money for the ticket. You can either use cash or credit card, the conductor will accept both forms.

My mom tried doing that a few months ago and they told her she had to get off at the next stop and get a real ticket printed. :unsure:

On the other hand, this worked just fine for my parents last fall: they were onboard the SWC with tickets from CHI to ABQ, and while they were en-route (somewhere around Trinidad, I think) I convinced them to change their plans and continue on the SWC past Albuquerque to Winslow, AZ. I called Amtrak and made a reservation in my parents names for two tickets ABQ to WLO, and then called my parents (on the train) to give them the reservation number. They took that to the conductor, gave him a credit card, and he took care of things. They never had to leave the train.

This must be another thing which varies by conductor--some conductors may not want to deal with the paperwork involved, or may be worried they won't do it right, and thus say "it can't be done" when really, it can be done and they are supposed to do it.

 

[wayman]

You call up Amtrak and they'll make a reservation for you. You then board the train and give the conductor the reservation number. He'll cut a ticket for you and take the money for the ticket. You can either use cash or credit card, the conductor will accept both forms.

I've seen this happen several times boarding the Keystone in Ardmore. There's a QuikTrak inside the Ardmore station, but the station is operated by SEPTA and the building closes at 5pm (cutting off access to the QuikTrak). Occasionally someone's taking a 6pm Keystone to NYP from Ardmore, expects to print their ticket prior to boarding, but discovers they can't because the station is closed. (Amtrak's website does give the QuikTrak's hours correctly, but I imagine few people bother to look this up.) So these passengers just give the conductor a reservation number and he writes them out a ticket and takes their money; it must happen frequently enough on the Keystone that those conductors are very used to it, since the times I've seen it happen they just whip through the process lickety-split.

 

[PaulM]

Things may have changed, but in the past in this situation the phone agent would also give me a "protect code" in addition to the reservation number. Never had any problem.

 

[AlanB]

You call up Amtrak and they'll make a reservation for you. You then board the train and give the conductor the reservation number. He'll cut a ticket for you and take the money for the ticket. You can either use cash or credit card, the conductor will accept both forms.

My mom tried doing that a few months ago and they told her she had to get off at the next stop and get a real ticket printed. :unsure:

Who told her that, the conductor?

No, the agent over the phone.

The phone agent was wrong.

 

[Cho Cho Charlie]

You call up Amtrak and they'll make a reservation for you. You then board the train and give the conductor the reservation number. He'll cut a ticket for you and take the money for the ticket. You can either use cash or credit card, the conductor will accept both forms.

That is the exact procedure the volunteers (railfans?) at the White River Junction station were telling the unticketed people waiting at the station. They also provided them with Amtrak's "800" number to call on their cell phones.

The volunteers were making sure that all passengers had either a ticket or a reservation number before attempting to board the Vermonter.

 

[eatmyvolts]

Here's the easy way, and my Daughter does this monthly from ORC to EUG on the Cascades. ORC is a platform with an open air shelter; no staff, no machines. Buy and pay for your ticket on line at amtrak.com - even on the day of departure, print out the confirmation, show that to the conductor when boarding the train. Just to be sure, have your ID and, although she's never been asked, the credit/debit card you used ready. We have never had the slightest problem doing it this way.

 

[AudenHoggart]

Here's the easy way, and my Daughter does this monthly from ORC to EUG on the Cascades. ORC is a platform with an open air shelter; no staff, no machines. Buy and pay for your ticket on line at amtrak.com - even on the day of departure, print out the confirmation, show that to the conductor when boarding the train. Just to be sure, have your ID and, although she's never been asked, the credit/debit card you used ready. We have never had the slightest problem doing it this way.

Although getting a ticket from the conductor at stations without either an agent or a Quick Trak does seem to work, it only works for reservations made a day or two in advance. If you want to make one earlier, in order to get a lower sleeper fare or a AAA discount for example, this doesn't work. Your only options, at least according to the Amtrak website, are either to pick up the ticket at a staffed station or have it mailed at a high cost.

Has anyone tried indicating that they'd pick up the ticket at a staffed station, and then calling a day or so before leaving and asking to purchase the ticket directly from the conductor?

 

[PaulM]

Although getting a ticket from the conductor at stations without either an agent or a Quick Trak does seem to work, it only works for reservations made a day or two in advance. If you want to make one earlier, in order to get a lower sleeper fare or a AAA discount for example, this doesn't work. Your only options, at least according to the Amtrak website, are either to pick up the ticket at a staffed station or have it mailed at a high cost.

Before I discovered the quick trak machine at my local station, I routinely purchased tickets online way ahead of time, and had them mailed to me at no expense. Only if express type mail was required was there a cost. Lately, I have noticed that Amtrak.com has gotten choosy, presumptuous might be a better word, about the ticket delivery options. So maybe, as you say, the free mail option I mentioned is no longer available.

 

[amtrakwolverine]

when i ordered tickets online for this years gathering departing station is ROY and while the train departed while the station was open i had the option of using the QT machine or having them mailed for no charge. i had them mailed.

 

[makai1976]

Thanks for all the responses...very helpful.

 

[AlanB]

Although getting a ticket from the conductor at stations without either an agent or a Quick Trak does seem to work, it only works for reservations made a day or two in advance. If you want to make one earlier, in order to get a lower sleeper fare or a AAA discount for example, this doesn't work. Your only options, at least according to the Amtrak website, are either to pick up the ticket at a staffed station or have it mailed at a high cost.

If you are boarding the train at a station that is unstaffed and has no Quik-Trak machine, then assuming that you book far enough in advance, Amtrak will mail the ticket at no charge.

However, if you make a reservation starting from say Chicago even though you live by a station that's unstaffed, Amtrak won't mail the tickets for free as it's based upon your originating station and not where you live.

If you book without enough time to mail, then you'll have to pay the premium for express service mailing. And of course if it's last minute, then you do the conductor pickup routine.

 

[wayman]

If you are boarding the train at a station that is unstaffed and has no Quik-Trak machine, then assuming that you book far enough in advance, Amtrak will mail the ticket at no charge.
However, if you make a reservation starting from say Chicago even though you live by a station that's unstaffed, Amtrak won't mail the tickets for free as it's based upon your originating station and not where you live.

And this bit, where they base it upon your originating station and not on where you live, can lead to surprises if you're not careful! I once booked a trip PHL-ALX, MSS-PHL, two separate reservations since it wasn't a simple "round-trip" (MSS is just a commuter-rail ride down from ALX). I simply clicked through the booking process without paying attention, and assumed that for both reservations the default was "pick tickets up at station"--my plan was to simply get both from the QuikTrak in Philadelphia when I left.

A week later, as I was heading out the door to start my trip, I checked my mail and had an envelope from Amtrak. I nearly set it aside to deal with when I returned, but something told me maybe I should open it... and it contained my return ticket, to my great surprise! Boy was I glad I opened it!!! As I later figured out, because MSS is unstaffed and doesn't have a QuikTrak, the only option on the website for that reservation was to have the ticket mailed to me, but since I just clicked straight through without actually reading the screen, I completely missed the boat (and nearly missed my train as a result).

And now I pay a lot more attention to the "delivery method" screen when making reservations!