Customer Service Reps Placed in Charleston, Cincinnati

Amtrak has placed customer service representatives in its stations in Charleston, West Virginia, and Cincinnati to assist passengers booking trips and boarding the Chicago-New York Cardinal.

In a service advisory, Amtrak said that the station waiting room in Charleston has been relocated to a trailer due to construction to make the station compliant with ADA standards.

The interim facility will be open for passengers at all train times as will be the station in Cincinnati.

Passengers will be unable to buy tickets with cash but must use a credit card, reloadable credit or debit card, or an Amtrak gift card.

Foliage Train to Make Stop in Charleston

The Autumn Colors Express has announced that it will make a stop in Charleston, West Virginia, during its Oct. 25-27 excursions.

Formerly known as the New River Train, the train will be stopping in West Virginia’s capital city for the first time in 30 years.

Previously, the New River Train stopped in St. Albans, located 12 miles west of Charleston.

Rail Excursion Management Company, which is operating the excursion in West Virginia between Huntington and Hinton, said it has sold about 35 percent of the 4,000 available seats.

Most of the sales have been to residents of Ohio and West Virginia.

Adam Auxier, president of Rail Excursion Management, said ticket sales have been steady for the Saturday excursions compared to Sunday while a Friday trip is showing promise.

Most of the tickets sold have been in coach class but the most expensive seats, chairman’s class, also has seen brisk sales.

Manchin Trying to Force Amtrak to Return Agents

A West Virginia senator wants federal law to require that every state served by Amtrak have at least one station agent.

Joe Manchin of West Virginia amended a pending fiscal year 2019 transportation appropriations bill to include the requirement after his state lost its last Amtrak ticket agent.

Amtrak closed the ticket office in Charleston, West Virginia, on June 7.

Manchin’s amendment also requires Amtrak to justify its decision to increase prices for special and charter trains, and to stop accepting private railroad cars in Huntington, West Virginia.

In a statement, Manchin said removing the agent at the Charleston station will make it harder for Amtrak to attract new customers and retain the ones it already has.

“Amtrak has told me that most of their sales are now online, but West Virginians buy far more tickets at the Charleston station than most places around the country. That’s not surprising, as nearly 30 percent of West Virginia is without internet access, and mobile broadband access is also difficult in my state’s rugged, mountainous terrain, making online ticket sales difficult,” he said.

Charleston is served by Amtrak’s tri-weekly Chicago-Washington Cardinal.

Manchin Pleads for Charleston Ticket Agent

A West Virginia senator is seeking to get Amtrak to delay plans to close a ticket offices his state.

Joe Manchin (D-West Virginia) wrote to the passenger carrier to express “serious concerns” about the criteria Amtrak used to determine which ticket offices to close.

In a letter to Amtrak CEO Richard Anderson, Manchin said removing the ticket agent from Charleston on June 6 “will not only deprive the state of West Virginia of its last Amtrak ticket agent, but will also compromise safety and upkeep of the facility, and make access more difficult for potential customers.”

Manchin said that Charleston handled 9,749 passengers in federal fiscal year 2017, which works out to more than 62 passengers per day for each day that the tri-weekly Cardinal operates there.

He said Amtrak’s decision to calculate ridership on a weekly basis ignores the fact that the Cardinal does not operate daily. “The policy penalizes Charleston’s station for part-time service without allowing it to be a full-time station.”

Manchin also said 30 percent of West Virginia lacks Internet access and that mobile broadband access is limited in many parts of the state.

Cincinnati, Charleston Amtrak Ticket Offices to Close

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.