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Yea, that's a crying shame. I never could understand why anyone would give up a good paying job with good benefits for a hand full of peanuts. It makes us honest Conductors look bad.
Coaststarlight99, It's easy to sell that much in cash fares on board. I have remitted over $2000 in one day from on board cash fare sales. My aversge is around $800 per day. The reason being is that you have unmaned stations where you pick up passengers who need tickets. There are no ticket agents at these stations so we sell them the tickets on board. Most of the Conductors are honest as the day is long but you will always find (no matter where you look)a bad apple in the barrel from time to time.
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If u reserve tix online or at 1800usarail, they cant just give you the ticket on-board? What if you want a sleeper..Can the conductor avtually take like $500 cash????
A.
Posts: 1082 | From: Los Angeles, CA. USA | Registered: Aug 2003
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posted
To coaststarlight99, Yes you can go through the 1-800 reservations for a ticket on board the long distance trains but you don't have to have a reseveration on some of the commuter trains like the Californis Capitol trains. You simply give the Conductor the res. number and he wil sell you a ticket. Yes we sell sleepers all the time on board if we have one available. We also have the option to sell the rooms cheaper. I have given as much as a 50% discount for a delux sleeper.
Posts: 100 | From: Sacramento,CA | Registered: May 2003
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thank you very much for your valuable input on this board!
i have a couple of questions for you
1) if i understand you correctly, i can pay for a ticket on amtrak's website or on the 800 number, get the reservation number, and give that to a conductor on the train to get my ticket at an unmanned station?
2)i am moving to DC soon. Right now i will have a full time job on capitol hill. Say in the future though, do you think its possible i could get a job with Amtrak out of DC as an assistant conductor or car attendant even though i dont have any train experience? i want to work for amtrak someday but i dont have any experience and i dont really want to be stuck washing dishes in the dining car or something like that......
thanks again for your great info!
Posts: 416 | From: St. Albans, Vermont | Registered: Feb 2003
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shangahiamtrak: #1. Let me try and streighten you out on the ticket. You can board any long distance train (reserved train)at an unmaned station as long as you call the 1-800# and make a reservation. Once you have the reservation # to give the conductor upon boarding the train he can then sell you a ticket. If you have made a reservation we will have you listed on our manifest and be expecting you. In some cases you can pre-purchase the ticket through the 1-800# and we can pick the ticket up at the next maned station after you board. We will not have the ticket with us because their is no guarantee you will show up for the train.
#2. To the best of my knowledge Amtrak does not hire part time help. They may hire you full time and only work you part time. But you do have to be ready to go with 2 hours notice. We do have guaranteed wages. If we (Conductors/Assistant Conductors/Engineers) only work 15/20 hours a week we do still get paid for 40 hours.
RRRICH: At present I am disabled due to an injury but do hope to be back to work before too long working on my old job as Conductor on one of the California Capitol Trains. In the past I have worked the Coast Starlight, Zephyr, and San Joaquins out of either Oakland or Sacramento.
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