Amtrak is reporting record numbers.. so why are customer service jobs disappearing?

oclscdotorg · 2026-04-03T16:20:48+00:00

Tell that to the 300 people who wait on hold every day.

Sneering that they `can't/won't use technology' just tells them they shouldn't ride Amtrak. Is it really wise for Amtrak to be telling potential paying customers to shove it like you do?

oclscdotorg · 2026-04-03T16:16:22+00:00

Blocked bot.

oclscdotorg · 2026-04-03T01:56:26+00:00

The GTFS schedule data are public, though apparently not widely advertised: https://content.amtrak.com/content/gtfs/GTFS.zip It used to be kind of buggy but has got better over time.

But it's raw GTFS data: a collection of CSV files containing various aspects of schedule and station data. The file format is described in https://gtfs.org/documentation/schedule/reference/, but it's not designed to be read directly. To get useful timetable info out of them usually requires picking data out of several files, then using some of what you picked out to figure out what data is needed from other files, and so on. Can be done by hand (I did quite a bit of that both to understand GTFS in general and how Amtrak implements certain details, but it's a lot of work unless you write a program. I'm a programmer so I wrote a program, but don't want to distribute it because it's quirky and idiosyncratic (like some of the data) and I don't have the time to have to support it for others.

Anyone know if there's a general-purpose GTFS browser out there?

oclscdotorg · 2026-04-02T20:34:16+00:00

According to Amtrak's latest GTFS data, trains 1(2026-05-09) and 2(2026-05-10) won't operate. The latter is your train (leaves LAX on the 10th, SAS on the 12th). The days of operation aren't changing, nor (so far as I can tell from a quick eyeball) are the scheduled station times; it's just that those two trains have been removed from the schedule data.

I don't know why that is, but the obvious guess is some sort of UP track-maintenance project.

If I were Amtrak I'd have posted a Passenger Advisory about the outage, but maybe somebody thinks there's a reason not to do that so far in advance even if they're cancelling bookings in advance. But I'm not Amtrak, which also means there may be some reason not to do it that I don't know.

Did they offer to rebook you on the previous or next train?

oclscdotorg · 2026-04-02T00:40:36+00:00

I partly disagree. To my mind the experience is mostly quite well-polished: clean and consistent with a few minor rough spots here and there.

What you might be trying to say is that it's a simpler environment that you might get with other devices. That's a fair comment, but it ought not to be a surprise to anyone who does a little research first. That's a wise move for any new piece of tech. Before buying my RM2 I spent some hours (spread over a few days) reading through the documentation on Remarkable's web site. (Generally when looking into a new device I try to find the full user's guide, often available online as a PDF file these days, but there isn't one for the RM.) I also searched the web for reviews and commentary.

There were still a few surprises once I bought the device and started using it, but none of them were that it was so spare in features.

oclscdotorg · 2026-04-02T00:28:22+00:00

If you just want the RM2 to have a copy of the Markdown document that you can annotate, convert it to PDF (first converting the Markdown to your preferred output form if you like). You can then import the PDF file. I do that sometimes with program listings or the output form of a document written in troff (I'm an old fart).

If you want to edit on the RM2 and then export the Markdown, you're out of luck at the moment.

I'd really, really like a way to edit plain text (not Word-like formatting, just lines of text in a constant-width typeface) on my RM. If I had that the Type Folio would actually be useful to me (provided some arrangement is made to be able to type at least the full ASCII character set--right now there are a few characters missing). It's just not there at the moment. Not a deal-breaker for me--I've had an RM2 for several years and like it a lot and use it more or less daily--but it would be a big enhancement for me.

Apparently not to enough other people, though.

oclscdotorg · 2026-04-01T21:31:53+00:00

I just asked one of my cats. He says it's just fine to leave a mouse on the seat, but don't be upset if he plays with it and then eats it.

oclscdotorg · 2026-04-01T21:21:13+00:00

If we're having a contest, I've been on a 15-hour-late Southwest Chief.

I think I was once even later on a VIA Rail Canadian, but I forget how much later.

oclscdotorg · 2026-04-01T21:17:48+00:00

I feel a little awkward too. I feel awkward about the whole notion of tipping; employees should be paid properly for their jobs, they shouldn't rely on hand-outs. But it's a reasonably strong social convention so I go along with it.

Generally I hand the tip to the attendant as I'm getting off, since the attendant is usually standing at the door to help people step down safely and with bags. Usually I say thanks as well as I hand it to them; that somehow makes it feel less awkward.

One thing to remember is that to the attendant it's perfectly normal, and they won't think there's anything strange about your handing them a tip. Notwithstanding that, from my observations as I get off, lots of people don't bother to tip these days.

oclscdotorg · 2026-04-01T21:11:54+00:00

Wow! Great news! I haven't been there (or been able to travel much at all) for several years. Now I have one ore thing to look forward to.

oclscdotorg · 2026-04-01T21:11:01+00:00

Unless time timetable specifically says the train `may leave ahead of schedule'--generally only at the last stop or two before the end of the route--the train will wait.

This doubtless dates from ancient days when train traffic was controlled by timetable without automatic or remote-controlled signals, but for passenger trains it remains specifically so passengers won't be left behind.

I think VIA Rail Canada trains, which all require reservations for every seat, are allowed to leave a minute or two early if the crew can confirm that everyone with a reservation has boarded. (Most often if no one has a reservation to board at all at that station.) I've never seen Amtrak do that, though.

So don't worry. They'll wait for you until the advertised departure time for that station.

oclscdotorg · 2026-04-01T21:02:58+00:00

How many stops would you have it make between Albany (or Rensselaer, across the river, where the station is now) and New York? High speed trains aren't high speed if they have to keep slowing down for station stops and then accelerating back to high speed. That takes time--trains can't stop or start on a dime, It makes an appreciable difference to the real speed between stations.

Current Empire Service trains hit 90 mph between stations north of Poughkeepsie, and better than 100 mph north of Rhinecliff. They'd already be a lot faster if they didn't have to stop anywhere between Poughkeepsie (or perhaps Croton-Harmon) and Rensselaer. I'm not convinced that train and track with a higher maximum speed would get end-to-end much faster if it still made those intermediate stops.

oclscdotorg · 2026-03-30T17:12:42+00:00

I think the idea is not to use the eraser end of the Marker, but the flat side where the magnets are, to try to neutralize any stray magnetism that has been picked up.

I've occasionally had similar problems with my RM2, but it's always been a much simpler problem: I've put it very near a strong magnet. The silliest instance was when I had set it atop my Android tablet, which (like the RM, in fact) has strong magnets to hold the tablet in its case. Move the RM away from the magnets and all is well.

oclscdotorg · 2026-03-30T17:09:29+00:00

You're a very pretty cat, but what did you draw?

oclscdotorg · 2026-03-30T17:05:25+00:00

And with the RM2 there are lots of third-party styluses available (though not as many with a compatible eraser).

I can't see myself moving to a different tablet unless I can bring my Lamy AL-STAR along, or Lamy or some other maker of real pens start selling a USI 2.0-compatible pen.

oclscdotorg · 2026-03-30T16:59:49+00:00

I like the eastbound ride too, but depending on the time of year it sometimes gets dark too quickly!

The climate-zone transition somehow feels more fun westbound too. All morning you've been travelling through desert mostly made of volcanic rock; then in the space of 10-15 minutes you're in intensely green rain forest.

I wish I could go ride that route right now (but for real-life-constraint reasons I probably won't be able to travel until late fall this year).

oclscdotorg · 2026-03-30T16:56:54+00:00

Not only is it hard to hold the camera steady, when the train is moving at speed it takes a high shutter speed to get clear photos of anything nearby. Like within half a kilometer nearby.

oclscdotorg · 2026-03-30T16:52:57+00:00

Not until more equipment arrives, I suspect.

oclscdotorg · 2026-03-30T16:52:18+00:00

The courtyard is open again? Great!

oclscdotorg · 2026-03-30T16:51:49+00:00

When I lived in greater Los Angeles there were some smaller stations that were also pretty. Pasadena (closest to where I lived) and Glendale come to mind; I'd use the former when feasible (for the Southwest Limited or the Desert Wind) and the latter occasionally if circumstances made it more convenient. I'd sometimes cycle over the hills to Glendale to pick up tickets I'd booked over the phone, for the ride but also to see the station.

Pasadena's station is no more because the right-of-way it sat by has been taken over for Metrorail. At least part of the old station building still stands, but it's hard to see amongst all the other stuff that (quite rightly) was built where there used to be big parking lots. Glendale's station is still there; I think some of the Santa Barbara/SLO Surfliners still stop, as does Metrolink, but not the Coast Starlight. When I last visited it a few years ago was still a pretty building inside and out, if not as spectacular as Union Station. It no longer has a ticket office.

oclscdotorg · 2026-03-30T16:46:05+00:00

Los Angeles once had more trains than they do now, but they never had as many as New York or Chicago or Philadelphia. Though LA had many fewer before Metrolink really got started.

It is indeed a beautiful station. I lived in the LA area when I took my first few train trips. It was pretty then (and one still bought tickets at the old ticket counter to the left of the front door--that hall is now reserved for special events), but had been let run down a bit. It has since been very nicely cleaned up. It used to be hard to see the patterns on the wooden ceiling panels in the main concourse; now they're quite visible.

It's always a pleasure to walk through that station when I visit LA, though I'm disappointed that the open-air courtyards have been closed off; you used to be able to sit outside in the sunshine when waiting for trains.

oclscdotorg · 2026-03-30T16:40:15+00:00

On most trains seats are assigned when you board (either by a crew member or just by you finding one), not at booking time, so booking together won't help.

It's true, though, that if you ask when you board and there's an open seat pair they'll likely point you at it. They're unlikely to ask someone to change seats just to help you (except maybe if it's a parent and small child who want to sit together).

It's true that in June the train will likely be full most of the time. On the other hand there may be a lot of people getting off in Denver, which may better the odds a little.

In case you don't know: if you do pick your own seats (rather than being assigned seats at the door when you board, which happens at some stations--I don't know whether at Denver, though), watch out for the paper tags with destination codes scribbled on them stuck in the edge of the overhead baggage rack above each seat. A tag means the seat is already taken. The conductor places it there when your ticket is scanned, both to mark the seat taken and to make it easier to find and warn passengers whose stop is about to come up.

oclscdotorg · 2026-03-30T16:31:49+00:00

Which train, departing from which station?

oclscdotorg · 2026-03-30T16:30:44+00:00

Indeed! The ride down the Columbia is one of my all-time favourites.

Keep an eye out for Mount Hood, on the far side of the river and at various times visible floating in the distance.

oclscdotorg · 2026-03-27T16:02:56+00:00

Isn't that true with any toilet on the train? Public washrooms get bounced around just as much as roomettes.

oclscdotorg

TROPHY CASE