Originally Posted by schwarm

Now that EWR Amtrak station is no longer staffed, there are 2 steps that are mandatory for anyone venturing the Amtral codeshare via EWR to Philadelphia 30th St Station:

1) Prior to traveling, call Amtrak to obtain your Amtrak confirmation number. The phone agent can get this from name and UA confirmation number. This is needed since the only way to get train ticket at EWR is via Fastrak machine, and the Fastrak machine can only do this by inserting credit card to "unlock" and then entering Amtrak confirmation number. Of note, Amtrak confirmation number is not printed on train coupon.

2) It is nearly certain that the Amtrak system will not relay that you actually took the train trip ex-EWR to UA. Therefore, it will be necessary to call United prior to return to argue that you were on the train and did not miss the segment. If I ever do this codeshare again, I actually plan to call United from the train to tell them that I am indeed on the train. Why wait? Time-stamped selfies from the train could also be useful, I suppose.

In summary, this is a very problematic connection. Use at your own risk.