I took my family of four on a few trips on Amtrak and the one major stress point was the lack of assigned seating. The gate-rushing at NY Penn Station and Union Station it wasn’t very fun and is downright stressful for keeping a family together. It’s obvious to me that people rush the gates to get good seats and for no other reason because Amtrak’s trains are all reserved in the Northeast.
It would seem to me that having assigned seating would reduce gate-rushing and keep our family together. I would gladly pay an extra fee for assigned seating.
Before Acela service was initiated, I was asked to take several surveys by Amtrak and in the comments I stressed the importance of reserved trains, which did go into effect on all Northeast trains to my great relief. Today, however, I would be much more inclined to take my kids if we could have assigned seating, too.
In case you haven’t seen the Acela it has an unused electronic assigned seating system installed on it.
Your problem is understandable but it is a matter of money and manpower. Having worked a little around the IT section of an airline; seat assignment takes a lot of memory and the present AMTRAK system may not have the capability of doing seat assignment. Part of the ARRA ( stimulus money ) is designated to upgrade the ARROW system. When that is done maybe there will be the seat assignment capability but does anyone know for sure?
Completely agree! No reason not to do it - especially for the overnight trains. The car attendant will make sure families are sitting together, but for a single traveler, it would nice to reserve a window seat in the middle of the car instead of getting stuck in a aisle on the bathroom end! I might even try it again…
On Saturday I took the Texas Eagle from Taylor, TX, which is about 25 miles southeast of my home in Georgetown, TX to Fort Worth to attend a concert. I stayed over night and caught the train home yesterday afternoon.
When I got on the train at Taylor, the car attendant told me that I was assigned to Seat #19. That was a first for me, so I asked her if Amtrak is assigning seats for coach travelers. “No”, she said, “I thought that you would like a window seat, so I blocked one for you.” She also recommended seats for the other three passengers who boarded at Taylor. Finding a desirable seat probably would not have been a problem, since the train appeared to have a load factor, at least in the coaches, of between 30 and 40 per cent. On the way home from Fort Worth, passengers were invited to board the train when it arrived in the FW station, which was approximately a half hour ahead of schedule, and pick whatever seat they desired. The load factor coming home was even less than the load factor going to Fort Worth, so finding a desirable seat was no problem.
Ironically, I find the coach seats on Superliner equipped trains to be more comfortable than the seats in a roomette. That might not be the case if I was seated next to a porker or someone who was a stranger to a shower, but I think that I am going to try a coach seat to Chicago when I go there in October. If I pick a light travel date, e.g. Tuesday or Wednesday, which retired people can do, I should be able to get a seat to myself, at least as far at St. Louis. And it will cost me a lot less than a roomette.
Although I did not have a problem getting a desirable seat on the Eagle, I would vote for Amtrak to adopt assigned seats if the process was similar to that found on the airlines, i.e. pick you seat from a seating diagram when you make your reservation, Southwest to the contrary not withstanding.
i totally agree! every time I travel with my family short or long distance the stress of finding seats together ruins the trip. Recently I found paper tickets from a family trip in 1966 on the PA railroad and Sante Fe and believe it or not, we had seat assignments…imagine that, two railroads and long distance travel with seat assignments!
I didn’t say at first but I also sent that letter to Amtrak.
Just like I have nightmares of idiots cutting the line to get into the Holland Tunnel, I have nightmares of idiots rushing the gates in NYP and WAS, but that’s one dangerous situation when the people really aren’t idiots.
At the very least, Business Class on the Regional and Quiet Cars on all trains should offer assigned seats for a fee.
It’s madness. The Holland Tunnel stress is much less than gate-rushing.
I guess part of the problem is that getting there is not half the fun and most any mode of transportation requires some manner of social cooperation among strangers that may result in some crowd stress. Whether it is a plane, train, or bus, it is still a common carrier mode of transportation where you have to sit in close quarters with strangers of varying personal habits for long periods of time. In the automobile, you have your own cabin and personal or family space, but you still have to share the road space with others.
A train has slightly wider seats and generally more legroom than a bus or plane, and people go on about the joyful socializing taking place among strangers in Amtrak lounge cars, making it sound like the cliches about comraderie in old war movies, but a some level, a train, like a plane, is just another kind of bus.
I remember one of the students in our lab, who explained how in Japan if you bump into someone on a crowded train or train platform, you don’t say “sorry” or “excuse me.” It is sort of assumed that some crowd contact is unavoidable, and to say “excuse me” is considered rude because it is calling attention to oneself rather than accepting the circumstances of the crowd, and when it is explained that way, and given the urban crowds in major cities in Japan, and the cultural adjustments made for that way of life, it all makes sense.
Even the reserved seat system that is common across airline travel (is Southwest different?) is not perfect. There is a kind of “gate rush on the Internet” these days to get seat assignments, and one can reserve weeks in advance and find it is hard to find two seats together. That airlines have caught wise to passenger preferences in seats, and the “good seats” required paying extra fees. Especially exit row seats – it is kind of scary that exit rows, which most regard as a boost in legroom rather than any extra responsibilit
While riding the Lakeshore two weeks ago, we found sections of coach seats reserved for “couples” and another set reserved for “groups.” It was nice that my wife and I didn’t have to be split up. We were given assigned seats on the Empire Builder and Capitol Limited as well.
What is interesting is what the public doesn’t understand. Usually a train ticket only guarantees you a ride, not neccessarily a seat. Thus “reserved” seating which only guarantees you an available seat (100 available seats, 100 tickets sold) and not a specific seat or seating arrangment. So next step would be assigned reserved seats. But at what cost? Is that extra cost neccessary? Why?
Riding commuter trains in peak hours can be most fun. Especially if you don’t normally ride that given train. Over time commuters fall into routines and seating is by rote based on seniority; same train, same seat, same commuter, everyday. A new comer or casual rider can upset that routine by sitting in a seat usually claimed by a regular commuter. At least that’s the way it used to be. I understand today that most are lucky if they can get a seat in the same car each day much less the same seat. Do trainmen still “rent” card boards…certain seats would be arranged to face each other and a 'board" and a deck of cards would be “rented” to them by the trainman,the board on their laps and a relaxing, friendly game of Old Maid (wink) would ensue on the homebound journey.
The times I’ve ridden the Crescent, the attendant fills the car up from the rear to the front by destination, keeping groups together. (I’d pay extra for a middle of the car window seat on an overnight train…) On the NEC, there are tricks to help find cars with more open seats. First, most people will go down the stairs and either jump in the first open vestibule or congregate by the end of the stairs. It’s often a good idea to walk down to the farthest open vestibule you see and jump on there. Many times, long after you’re seated, you’ll see the “first vestibulers” walking down the aisle past you, hunting seats. If you’re in a station like 30th St that allows you down to the platform ahead of the train arrival, try to figure out where the train will stop based on where they’ve told the 1st class passengers to wait, then walk as far from the crowd as you can. You can also factor where the train came from and where those passengers likely boarded. A train from DC to NY will likely have the rear cars more full than the front since the rear of the train is nearest the gate in DC. You can use this to your advantage by walking forward in Balt, Wilmington or Phila.
I had not lived in New York City very long before I figured out how to go down the back stairs at Pennsylvania Station to best position myself for a seat on a train. It worked practically every time.
Southwest Airlines does not assign seats. Passengers vie for a boarding group, with “A” boarding first, then B, then C. The trick is to go online 24 hours in advance of your departure time and get an “A” boarding pass. This means that you will be amongst the first to board, although you will not be in the first group. The first group is reserved for Business Select passengers. Moreover, starting today, Southwest will charge $10 for passengers who want to be in a second preferred boarding group. I am not sure whether it will be the “A” group or some other group. Southwest’s boarding procedure is cumbersome. Most people line up ½ hour before boarding is scheduled to begin, partially out of habit, to ensure that they get as close to the front of the group as possible. Most veteran travelers will do anything within reason to avoid the middle seat. I fly Southwest if the fare is significantly better than the other carriers, but I always select another carrier if the price is competitive, and I can get an assigned seat. Moreover, I never have a problem with the overhead bins because I always check my luggage. Yep, it cost me $15 to check a bag, but when all is said and done, flying is cheaper than driving and in most instances taking the train, especially if traveling by sleeper.
I am not advocating assigned seats for commuter trains or extremely short haul trains. But I am advocating them for most intercity trains. With computers and on-line reservations, it could be done for minimal cost. It would take away the hassle of jostling for the best seats. However, I don’t look for Amtrak to adopt assigned seating. Its management simply lacks the imaginati
You’re right! Your risk assessment skills appear to be better than mine.
Nearly 70 per cent of Americans are over weight or obese, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. So the worst case scenario is a porker who has not had a shower in a week shouting into a cell phone. What is the probability?
For the benefit of the out west gang, how it works in the northeast.
All Amtrak northeast service is by the Northeast Regional Trains and the Acela, nobody stands, 100 mph service (up to 150 mph on the Acela). You are reserving seating space, not a special seat. Amtrak WILL NOT OVERBOOK as do airlines. This is the way it should work, and does most of the time, as a passenger on a reserved train, prior to loading, you line up and will have your ticket checked for Train, Date, and Class of travel as they load. ( if Amtrak does not have enough people to maintain a line, then that’s a “black eye” for Amtrak). Regional Trains are Reserved Coach and Reserved Business Class, the Acela is Reserved Business Class and Reserved First Class only.
Now to make you happy, Amtrak has awarded the IT Contract to IBM. IBM to
I’ve observed 125 mph on the Northeast Regionals. My stomach tries to steer the train. I call it “Metroliner 3.”
Back about assigned seating. I thought about the idea of meeting new people and how important that can be, but my kids aren’t old enough to meet strangers. When they’re older it would be great, but at these ages (below 10) I still want assigned seating.
It seems simple enough to implement for Regional Business Class and Acela First Class.
The story in “Railpace Magazine” was titled “Amtrak Awards” and starts “Amtrak has tapped IBM ----”
Back in the 1990s, long before my retirement, Amtrak ran one “Metroliner” to New Haven, parked it overnight, and then back south the next morning. I planned to take it on Mondays, it left “end of wire” in New Haven at 5:40 AM and got me to Washington a little after 11 AM. On Fridays I would book the northbound “Metroliner” (the only one to go through to New Haven) Business Class to get the free meal, it put me home about 8:30 PM.