Originally Posted by
YVR Cockroach
I take it you didn't study operations management/logistics? Minimises queue processing time when there's a large rush/surge of pax. Knowing travellers, can you imagine if there's 100-200 pax and they have to show the QR code or whatever for scanning (which may no work as smoothly as expected)? I'd be surprised if it didn't take at least 2x as long. Better to check the masses in and give a physical BP ahead of time so it's quicker to get the masses through the gate.
Not so important at smaller, downstream stations perhaps as there are fewer pax to deal with. I didn't observe what the situation is like at larger downstream stations such as Portland Union Stn.
No they don't/didn't (though British Rail had ticket collectors at the entrances to platforms in the '70s and most likely earlier), but they also don't restrict passengers going to the platform ahead of time so there's no rush.
I've worked in the passenger rail industry, actually.
You might want to observe trains a bit better. And you might want to learn about other posters' backgrounds before attempting to disparage them.
There's no reason why Amtrak can't do like lots of other railroads and...simply let passengers board the train without lining up beforehand. Trains have lots of doors and train stations have lots of platforms. Boarding can be quick, with few if any lines. Lots of US railroads, with passenger volumes much higher than Amtrak's...simply let passengers board the train without lining up beforehand.
Amtrak has been asked why, unlike lots of other railroads, it makes people line up before boarding and it hasn't ever given a valid reason.
When Amtrak shares a station with other railroads with much higher passenger volumes, such as NYP and Grand Central (from time to time), those other railroads simply open up access to the platforms and let people board. Amtrak, conversely, makes people line up at some stations, which simply creates congestion. When Amtrak uses Grand Central from time to time, it places a ticket checker at the south entrance to the platform, making people line up (and with the ticket checker screaming at people); at the north entrance to the platform, conversely, you can simply board the train without having to line up, which shows the insanity of Amtrak's "line up for no reason" boarding procedures. And you can board an Amtrak train without lining up beforehand at Newark, but at Charlotte, with much smaller passenger volumes, you have to line up first; if Newark can handle normal passenger boarding, why can't Charlotte, for example?