arlflyer

I have a question that I am certain must be common knowledge, yet a bunch of google and FT thread searches can't seem to find the correct phrasing that will hit on an answer...

If I have bought a ticket from City A to City X on a route that goes A-B-C-D-...X, and I happen to be in city C already, can I board and ride to X? Or do I need to go back to A? This isn't any attempt at fare gaming or hidden cities or whatever, I'm just going to happen to find myself a bit up the road and don't really want to drive home just to get on a train and ride back up. Any input would be appreciated.

brownoarsman

Airlines will void your continuing segments if you don't show up at any preceding point, but I don't think Amtrak even knows.

At least on the East Coast, there's no pre-scan of your ticket at the 'gate'. Rather, the conductor comes down the aisle scanning as he goes. During some of the denser New England regional stops, I frequently didn't have my ticket scanned until three or four stops after the one where I got on.

If it becomes an issue - you could always just say you were in the bathroom or the cafe car and must have missed the conductor on their earlier round.

arlflyer

Yes, that is sort of what I was figuring as well. My (limited) experience with Amtrak has ranged from a conductor scanning tickets right away, to them asking where I am going and putting a piece of paper on my seat without ever looking at a ticket, to never encountering a conductor the whole ride. So needless to say, inconsistent.

This would be on the NE Regional, if that helps. I didn't know if, due to the route, they had more robust checking in place and would be likely to register a no-show. But I am guessing that there is no such thing as a no-show?

octr202

Actually, I believe this is no longer the case with electronic ticketing. Keep in mind that conductors now scan your tickets with mobile phones, so your "scan" (as opposed to the old method of punching and collecting tickets) means that your presence or lack there of is uploaded to the system much more quickly. I'm sure others on here know in more detail, but I don't think you can go too far down the road before you risk boarding and finding out your ticket was cancelled.

zephyr17

With electronic ticketing, your ticket will be cancelled after a certain amount of time. Unlike the airlines, I understand there is some wiggle room in it and the cancellation does not take place right away after the train departs the ticketed station. If you are boarding at the very next stop within a few minutes, it should not be a problem. If it is an hour down the line, call Amtrak and have the ticket changed so it won't be cancelled along with any travel on the rest of the reservation.

Also, bear in mind it may be a couple of stations before the conductors lift (scan) your ticket depending on how busy the train is. Boston South Station and Boston Back Bay comes to mind, they don't generally lift until after Back Bay. Even New York Penn and Newark sometimes.

fairviewroad

If this is the first leg of a multi-train trip, I would definitely NOT recommend attempting this. You risk having the entire itinerary canceled. However, for a one-train, one-way trip along the NEC, I think you're safe, especially if the intermediate stations are not major terminals such as NYP or WAS.

Be sure to let us know how it works out. Reports from real-word experience is always useful for future travelers.

arlflyer

Ok, wow...definitely way too used to airlines...I just did this, free change and was refunded money...did not realize that this was even an option! All set now.

nerd

Realize that it could have gone the other way (owing money) had ticket prices increased since you purchased yours...

arlflyer

For sure! But coming from the airline world, where as a non-top-tier elite buying nonrefundable fares, even the thought of changing anything is gonna cost you a few hundred bucks, it's a breath of fresh air!

fairviewroad

For real. I just changed a ticket on the Empire Builder to move the trip up by 9 days. The ticket price was the same, and there was no change fee. The entire transaction cost me nothing and was accomplished in about 3 minutes on the Amtrak website. A tangible benefit that Amtrak offers.