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  • Ticket Office and Station Closings

  • Discussion related to Amtrak also known as the National Railroad Passenger Corp.
Discussion related to Amtrak also known as the National Railroad Passenger Corp.

Moderators: GirlOnTheTrain, mtuandrew, Tadman

 #1401723  by CVRA7
 
Just saw today that the Amtrak ticket office at Back Bay Station in Boston is closing, and the ticket office and station building is closing at Westerly, RI (just in time for the arrival of colder weather), effective October 1. Earlier this year Amtrak ticket office and station buildings at Berlin and Meriden CT closed, as did the Worcester MA ticket office. Most people these days can get their tickets on line or make reservations over the phone - many could foresee the e-ticket being the end of many ticket office jobs. For those who wish to deal with human ticket agents or pay cash, go to a staffed station while you can! You are not Amtrak's target market and your business just isn't that important to them.
 #1401730  by hi55us
 
Unfortunate that they're closing the ticket office in Westerly, it was a very nice small town station and Amtrak carries a lot of passengers for the small number of regional trains that stop there. I hope they keep the waiting room open.

As far as Back Bay goes, I can't say I'm surprised. The station has gone right downhill and I usually make a concerted effort to board my train from South Station.
 #1401775  by deathtopumpkins
 
I thought Back Bay's ticket office closed sometime like last year, due to the T's failure to fix the diesel exhaust problem at BBY? I remember there was some drama about it.

I don't see any station notice on Amtrak.com, though it is mentioned on the station page for BBY.

EDIT:

Apparently it closed in October 2014: http://railroad.net/forums/viewtopic.ph ... 6#p1296495" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Then it reopened in spring 2015: http://railroad.net/forums/viewtopic.ph ... 5#p1346876" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Maybe this closure will just be temporary as well.
 #1401790  by The EGE
 
Rumor with Back Bay is that they repaired the ventilation system to allow the ticket office to reopen, but the (temporary?) ventilation fixes were so loud that nearby residents complained. The $30 million overhaul (partially funded by Boston Properties as part of the air rights deal) should make the station somewhat nicer and include more permanent ventilation fixes.
 #1401799  by Ridgefielder
 
Very surprised they're closing Westerly. That's a busy station, particularly in the summer-- it's the closest station for the South County beach towns like Watch Hill and Charlestown. I've been on Sunday afternoon southbound trains that boarded almost as many people there as they did at Kingston.
 #1401809  by The EGE
 
Currently, the ticket office and station building at Westerly are open 530am-115pm, weekdays only. That hits only 4 of the 9 weekday trains, and none of the weekend trains. So this is no particularly great loss.
 #1401833  by R36 Combine Coach
 
Keep in mind many smaller stops in rural and lesser used areas on LD routes have been unmanned for a long time (and most have no QuikTrak machines either).
 #1401885  by Jehochman
 
Ticket offices are unneeded when all they do is sell tickets. The phone or app work better. I am glad to see Amtrak saving costs. They should offer the waiting rooms to the local chamber of commerce to be staffed by volunteers, and as a way to promote local business and tourism. This is what you find at White River Junction, for example.
 #1401919  by peconicstation
 
One good thing about Back Bay no longer having a ticket office is that it will force convention groups to use South Station, where they can be checked in, and pre boarded.

On more than 1 occasion we had delays there as a group insisted on boarding at BBY (their contracts stated they could use any "staffed" station), as Amtrak only had a minimal staff there.

The ticket office was closed briefly for the ventilation issue, but it reopened soon after.

Ken
 #1402196  by Arborwayfan
 
Those convention groups sound like a good reason to staff BBY, or to have roving staff who can go over to BBY to precheck convention groups. With at least two hotels connected to BBY by indoor walkways AND a couple others very close by, the ability to board the train at BBY has got to be a reason that convention groups would take the train at all. Make them go to South Station eliminates a lot of the convenience and costs a fair amount of money.

And in general, it makes sense to have an easy-to-use station in that convention-and-hotel district.
 #1402198  by electricron
 
And Boston should move their convention and hotels closer to downtown.
How many cities in America does Amtrak fully man two stations, or even use three stations?
Let me answer that, just one!
Guess which city that one is?
Isn't it obvious!

While I appreciate having people at train stations to assist passengers boarding and alighting the trains, I expect to see these workers very busy working, not sitting idly by most of the work day with nothing to do.

Now, I'm not suggesting ticket agents in Boston aren't needed or not, but do they need to be at all, is it two or three, the different stations?
 #1402209  by TomNelligan
 
North Station in Boston does not have full-time Amtrak ticket agents "sitting idly by". Rather, an Amtrak ticket window is staffed for a half hour or so before departing Downeaster train times by one of the two or three people from the adjoining MBTA commuter ticket windows. (These folks are actually employees of Keolis, the MBTA's operating contractor.) I'm sure that Amtrak pays something for this service but it's got to be much less than that the cost of a full-time Amtrak person.

Also, BTW, the Back Bay neighborhood is very much part of downtown Boston and includes the city's two largest office towers. Since that station sees roughly hourly Amtrak departures on weekdays, I presume that Amtrak has until now found the passenger volume sufficient to justify their own separate agent separate from the MBTA/Keolis staff.
 #1402248  by jamesinclair
 
Some of you seem not to realize that Amtrak operates BECAUSE of these paying customers, not in spite of them.

Seriously? Arguing that too many paying customers want to board and they should be sent elsewhere that's more convenient for rail ops?

Come on.
 #1402269  by JimBoylan
 
When Amtrak started, it used 4 stations in Philadelphia, Pa. - Penn Center Suburban Station, PennCentral Station 30th St., North Philadelphia, and 52nd St. The 1st 3 had ticket agents.