standby on an earlier train
 

can you "standby" for an earlier amtrak train then the one you are ticketed for?

Really, no such thing. If a seat is available, you buy it at whatever price it's going for at the time, getting a refund on your original ticket (usually 100% in Amtrak credit or 90% according to your original method of payment) if you are not in the midst of travel. They don't let you trade a paid seat for the same route to keep the train from going out with an empty seat.

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However, at Amtrak stations where you can get to the platform without having to show your ticket, you can always ask the conductor on the earlier train if (s)he will honor your ticket from the later train. The downside to this approach is that, if the conductor turns you down, the earlier train will leave before you can buy a ticket for it.

I've used a ticket on an earlier train just a few times, but I've never been denied by a conductor.

(Of course, if seats on the earlier train are available for no more than what you paid, go ahead and change the ticket to the earlier train.)

ill be going out of providence. can you get to the platform there without showing your ticket? and is it true the conductor doesnt check your ticket until the train has already left?

Yes, and yes.

I was able to get on an earlier PHL-DC train just by going to the ticket counter and asking. The TA just took my ticket and printed out a new ticket for the earlier train.

thanks for the help guys!

Of course there is also nothing that stops the conductor from saying you don't have a ticket for his/her train and putting you off at the first stop, or even an unscheduled stop.

ouch. that doesnt sound good. it seems odd that the conductor is the one managing all of this. rather then someone at the station checking tickets.

That's how it is on trains worldwide, actually. Very few stations have any sort of gate or platform enforcers. (I was just at Gare de Lyon in Paris a couple of weeks ago and they didn't check the tickets until the train was pulling out of the station.)

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Hence the suggestion to ask the conductor on the earlier train before you board whether (s)he can accommodate you on the earlier train. If you just board without asking, the conductor might think you are trying to get away with something, and subject you to the fate suggested by AlanB.

Anyone with more recent experiences?? I have booked an Amtrak segment as part of a CO ticket, but haven't gotten any response over there. Basically, I want to know if I have any shot of convincing the conductor to honor the ticket on an earlier train. Thanks.

LAX

CO cannot help you with Amtrak tickets
 

If you're departing from a staffed station then the easiest thing to do is ask the ticket agent if you can switch the ticket. I think that convincing the conductor really depends on the conductor. If the train is full then I would not recommend boarding with a ticket for a later train. If it's an empty train then asking the conductor as you board is probably your best bet. Of course if you missed your train and are taking a later train, then you have a much better shot at being let on the train by the conductor. If you have a business or first class seat then I would never attempt to get on a earlier train as those seats are limited and have a greater probability of being sold out.

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This is one area where Amtrak is at a competitive disadvantage to the airlines on the NE Corridor.

Agreed entirely. I've had both experiences. I've boarded an earlier train only to be ejected by an assistant-conductor, and I've also been warmly greeted on an earlier train by a more reasonable conductor.