Amtrak Kicks 13 Y/O off Train in BC

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Jetlink
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Re: Amtrak Kicks 13 Y/O off Train in BC

Unread post by Jetlink »

I respectfully disagree lurker. If the policy is stated as such on the website or internal handboks then the employees are obligated to follow it to the letter or be subject to discipline or possibly legal action. The station's policy is probably also to turn the minor over to law enforcement. Agents may not be trained to properly identify legal guardians of undocumented minors. The Police are though I bet. The policy need not make sense to us all at the surface. But the policy was developed and vetted to protect the employees and the corporation legally; and also to protect the minor child. By following the policy as written everyone remains safe and employed. Amtrak may look bad in the court of public perception but everyone remains employed, indemnified from the lawyers, and safe. I think they did it correctly. In the end the parents screwed up, and Amtrak's website and policy may become more clear as a result of the publicity.
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justalurker66
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Re: Amtrak Kicks 13 Y/O off Train in BC

Unread post by justalurker66 »

Jetlink wrote:I respectfully disagree lurker.
Disagree with what? I didn't say that the crew or Amtrak didn't follow policy to the letter.

if Amtrak is going to immediately turn the juvenile over to the police what is the role of the person manning the station? Do they call the police to meet the train?
I have read about troublesome adults being put off trains into police custody at grade crossings (no station involved). I am glad that Amtrak's policy is better than that when it comes to situations such as described in this thread. This rider wasn't troublesome so no extreme measures would be needed. Appropriate and following policy as stated in my previous post.

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Doktor No
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Re: Amtrak Kicks 13 Y/O off Train in BC

Unread post by Doktor No »

Amtrak acted very responsibly and by the book IMHO. As for turning her over to the police? SPOT ON! Who else? It is not the station agents job description to be a babysitter or guardian. A law enforcement agency would be the first thing on the list and that's what they did. A police department is the exact agency to safe keep (if you will) this teen. As for the parent? She made a mistake and rectified it. So it goes.
And have you ever tried to navigate Amtrak's website? Try to get a price for a ticket from Sacramento to Reno. It took me around in circles. told me all about departure and arrival and seating and ammenaties (such as they are) but when I asked for price? OY! One long circle jerk and yet...I still have no idea what a ticket would cost.
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PerRock
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Re: Amtrak Kicks 13 Y/O off Train in BC

Unread post by PerRock »

Doktor No wrote: And have you ever tried to navigate Amtrak's website? Try to get a price for a ticket from Sacramento to Reno. It took me around in circles. told me all about departure and arrival and seating and ammenaties (such as they are) but when I asked for price? OY! One long circle jerk and yet...I still have no idea what a ticket would cost.
Admittedly the site is a little worse than before... but for ticket information... from the main page right front & center is the booking fields where you can put in your departure city of Sacramento, CA (SAC), the arrival city of Reno, NV (RNO), the date(s) you wish to travel on & how many people are traveling... just like any airline website!

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Doktor No
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Re: Amtrak Kicks 13 Y/O off Train in BC

Unread post by Doktor No »

PerRock wrote:
Doktor No wrote: And have you ever tried to navigate Amtrak's website? Try to get a price for a ticket from Sacramento to Reno. It took me around in circles. told me all about departure and arrival and seating and ammenaties (such as they are) but when I asked for price? OY! One long circle jerk and yet...I still have no idea what a ticket would cost.
Admittedly the site is a little worse than before... but for ticket information... from the main page right front & center is the booking fields where you can put in your departure city of Sacramento, CA (SAC), the arrival city of Reno, NV (RNO), the date(s) you wish to travel on & how many people are traveling... just like any airline website!

peter
I did all that...but a price? Nope, no price. Even went to the talkie computer rep who also ran me around then wondered if 'she' had helped. Ummm no you didn't. "Why thank you for your input. It is very valuable to us at Amtrak. Have a great day." "Yeah, you could give me a price." "Where would you like to travel? What date would you like to travel on?" answered it all again. Got dates, times but NO PRICE. Then the same from Miss Talkie...I did it a few times just to get annoyed and it worked. I know, call 1-800-USA-RAIL.
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justalurker66
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Re: Amtrak Kicks 13 Y/O off Train in BC

Unread post by justalurker66 »

sac-reno.png
I have redacted the prices for the screen shot ... but they are on the page.
Filled out SAC to RNO and today on the Amtrak Home page. Clicked submit. Got the results including pricing.

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kd_1014
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Re: Amtrak Kicks 13 Y/O off Train in BC

Unread post by kd_1014 »

Saturnalia wrote:
EFE13163-6D58-40A5-80ED-0CE0A9097585.jpeg
I love this lol

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Doktor No
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Re: Amtrak Kicks 13 Y/O off Train in BC

Unread post by Doktor No »

justalurker66 wrote:
sac-reno.png
I have redacted the prices for the screen shot ... but they are on the page.
Filled out SAC to RNO and today on the Amtrak Home page. Clicked submit. Got the results including pricing.
I couldn't for the life of me get into this page the other day....its there for me now though. $47 bucks one way. darn if I know why it wouldn't come up.
One thing though, the UNACOMPANIED MINORS part came up just fine. Kind of smacks you right in the nose and was right in plain sight.
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NYCMan
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Re: Amtrak Kicks 13 Y/O off Train in BC

Unread post by NYCMan »

I fail to understand why there seems to be any outrage or chagrin over what Amtrak may or may not have done here. Plain and simple, Amtrak policy prohibits a 13 year old from traveling unaccompanied. Frankly, I question the sanity of the child's parents -- there are many "undesirables" out there.

Amtrak put the child off at the first attended station stop into the custody of a police officer. What someone may or may not have done in 1940 is not relevant today.

WHAT IF the child got lost or injured? THEN the parents would be suing Amtrak for its "negligence".

Airlines are slightly different, but have similar policies. An airplane flies from one staffed location to another. Flight attendant can pass the minor to a staff member.

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