For the geeks out there, I ran another barcode that appears on an e-ticket printed by a Quik-Trak kiosk through a barcode decoder, and have one correction to my previous post. I also discovered one quirk, as you'll see below.

The only data that the bar code contains is the reservation number and date of issue (not travel, as I originally thought). However, the format of the reservation number differs depending on the barcode format.

The QR code that appears on the e-ticket PDF that Amtrak emails you or that appears on the mobile app, the data embedded in the code is formatted "123ABC-11FEB13".

However, the PDF417 barcode appearing on the old ticket stock has the same data embedded as "0119468420130211", where 01194684 is the reservation number and 20130211 is the date of issue (in this case the 11th of February, 2013).

The computer geeks out there may be quick to notice that these reservation numbers are actually the same--the only difference being that the QR code has it expressed in hexadecimal (and the way it would be read to you over the phone and printed on your itinerary), while the PDF417 barcode printed on old ticket stock is the decimal version of the number.

Why do they do it this way? Only Amtrak IT would know--after all, alpha characters can be embedded just as easily into a PDF417 formatted barcode as into a QR code.

However, it does explain why all Amtrak reservation numbers only use numbers plus letters A through F, unlike airline PNRs, which make use of numbers plus all letters (with the exception of easily confused letters like I and O). I highly suspect that the database behind ARROW is set up so that a reservation number uses exactly three bytes of memory (each hexadecimal number requires four bits, or half a byte)--to use a full alphanumeric scheme like an airline PNR would traditionally require six bytes of memory. And while the difference may be trivial now, when the computer reservation systems were first implemented decades ago a difference of three bytes (both for data storage and data communication purposes) would have represented significant savings and efficiency.

Actually, it's the PNR creation date, not necessarily the date of issue for any of the tickets therein. The two dates can be, and often are, different.

Fascinating. This is the stuff I dig.

Amtrak's reservation numbers used to be all numeric; the system was upgraded to include letters sometime in the late 90s. IIRC, there were some conversion issues with duplicate numbers being assigned, but it all worked out fairly quickly. The upgrade significantly increased system capacity which was approaching the limits a six digit numeric reservation number could provide. That's a great example of a good problem to have.

We continue to have this "good problem" -- it used to be that reservation numbers would only ever begin with a 0 or 1, but the rest of the characters could be 0-9, A-F. Late last year, the first digit was also expanded to accommodate the full 0-9, A-F range due to capacity constraints.

I too recently rode an AMTRAK train and the conductor had issues scanning the code on my Android device. Eventually he was needed elsewhere and said he would be back later to scan it.

I forgot (as did the conductor) and today received an email RE: a voucher in the amount of the train "I missed".

I called AMTRAK and the agent was completely unsure of what to do and after a lengthy hold she came back, thanked me for being honest and said that she escalated the issue and somebody from AMTRAK higher up would take a look at it.

I have no idea if I will receive AGR points for the ride or not (as AMTRAK think I missed the train), but if AMTRAK is giving out vouchers for train travel actually used, that cannot be good.

Dan

It happens occasionally -- if you want to follow up directly with me via private message, we can look into it.

I wonder why he didn't just look you up by name. That's what I've seen them do when the scanner's not working.

I have no idea, other than to say the Conductor was an older Gentleman and seemingly was suspicious of technology as he kept saying he wished he had the paper tickets back.

Dan

Unless you desperately need the points, don't look a gift horse in the mouth.

I completely get that, but part of me really wants AMTRAK to make money (they seem to have a hard enough time as it is making money without giving out vouchers for used train travel due to some IT glitch). Plus, even with the changes to Guest Rewards as of late I find it to be still a rewarding program (for my needs).

Dan

You could look at this as a problem of Amtrak's making. They have a less than perfect system of ensuring the on board scanning of tickets, with the result that some passengers don't get scanned and, with a voucher issued for the "no-show", effectively ride for free. In that sense, if someone takes advantage of the shortcomings of Amtrak's fare collection system, it is really Amtrak's fault. I suspect that for every one person who calls to correct the error, ten simply smile and use the voucher for future travel.

Having said that, I could not do it either. That's not because I feel sorry for Amtrak's sorry financial situation, but simply because it is dishonest. However, I would not jump through hoops to make it right. If I called to report it and they gave me the classic Amtrak CSR run-around, I would consider that an honest effort that was rebuffed by Amtrak, and walk away with the voucher.

You can also send me a private message to make it right!

I had a round-trip (four-segment) e-ticket, of which I only used two segments the other day and missed the last two. When I called Reservations today to confirm that the unused return segments were automatically converted to an e-voucher, the rep told me that I would have had to call the same day of travel to make that conversion happen and that I now need to speak with Refunds to get the value processed either into an e-voucher or a refund. Unfortunately I gave up after 30 minutes on hold after she transferred me.

If I do nothing, and call Reservations back at a later date to use the remaining value of the reservation, what would happen? Would they tell me again to speak to Refunds first? Is there a default action that happens to unused tickets after any period of time if not auto-conversion to an e-voucher? And is there any way to schedule an appointment with the Refunds line if their hold times are so long?

I don't think there is any real difference between an e-voucher and a cancelled, unused ticket, so I don't think there is any conversion that needs to happen besides just generating the email to you with the eVoucher info in it. In fact, I strongly suspect that when Amtrak gives you a 13-digit eVoucher number, they are really just giving you what was formerly the internal (now well-hidden) ticket number for the e-ticket you had before cancellation.

I think you just got an agent who was confused. If you try again you should be able to get an agent who can issue the voucher info to you by email. Alternatively, you could just leave things as they are and use the PNR to access the stored value for new travel on a future call.

It is also worth noting that new tickets purchased with an eVoucher inherit the form of payment from the original funds. So, even if you do want the value refunded to the original FOP rather than reused, it may be easier to use it to buy a new ticket, then refund that ticket, rather than wait for Refunds to refund the eVoucher directly.