http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer/Page/1241267278292/1241245669129
Under the above web site Amtrak announced that if you have booked an Amtrak trip on the web site only you can change your reservation upgrade to 1st class or get sleeper accommodations that were not listed available when you booked also can downgrade. This will give our loyal railfans another chance to have the service or rooms they desire AND HELP FILL available space. This appears to be another ARROW upgrade paid for by ARRA funds!
Now all they need is visibility on the travel booking web sites and some code sharing deals with some airlines and they be acting like they really mean business.
These are stop-gap measures.
There is a RFP out for totally re-doing the system. My company’s travel agent cannot interact with Amtrak’s early-1990s SAABRE system because of lack of funding on AMTK’s part. I hope the ARRA funds for this contract actually mean more than just what you found because it’s a lot of money. It’s not just the recent change of graphics on amtrak.com, either, so help us.
This may be a side item but Amtrak’s QuikTrak machines will no longer accept debit cards UNLESS they are check cards (meaning they have a VISA or MasterCard brand logo on them). They may resume accepting non-branded cards in the future. I don’t know if this is related to the change in the reservation system or merely a policy issue.