Amtrak plans to close its ticket offices in Cincinnati and Charleston, West Virginia, in early June, which will mean that no stations in that state will have Amtrak agents.
Charleston Mayor Danny Jones called the closing a terrible inconvenience for anyone who rides trains.
The mayor said many people are not Internet savvy, and information about trains is not always up to date.
Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari said the station waiting room will remain open. Charleston, which closes on June 6, and Cincinnati, which closes on June 5, are served by the tri-weekly Chicago-Washington Cardinal.
Magliari said the closings are being done to save money and because the volume of business done at ticket counters continues to decline. Altogether, Amtrak plans to close 15 ticket offices and eliminate 22 agent jobs over the next few weeks.
“Nine out of 10 tickets across the country are purchased online,” Magliari said.
Amtrak within the past year also closed ticket offices in Huntington and Prince, West Virginia. The carrier is targeting stations serving 40 or fewer passengers a day.
Passengers boarding the Cardinal in Charleston or Cincinnati will have to purchase their ticket online, from a travel agent or aboard the train by paying cash to the conductor.
Closing of the Amtrak ticket office in Cincinnati will mean the only ticket windows still open in Ohio will be in Cleveland and Toledo.
Tags: Amtrak, Amtrak in Cincinnati, Amtrak in Ohio, Amtrak in West Virginia, Amtrak ticket agents, Amtrak ticket offices, Amtrak tickets, Charleston West Virginia, Cincinnati, Marc Magliari
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