No more waiting in pesky lines to print out boarding passes for Amtrak passengers. As of Monday, riders will now be able to ride the company’s trains using only e-tickets as opposed to paper documents. The service is now available on all trains within Amtrak’s national network, according to a statement from the company.
Riders may now go either print their e-tickets, which will be emailed to them, at their convenience and bring them directly to their gate, or they may use their smartphones to show the conductor their ticket on the train.
“eTickets deliver the convenience and flexibility expected by passengers and its innovative technology is transforming other aspects of how Amtrak does business,” said President and CEO Joe Boardman.
Amtrak piloted the program on five routes before the national rollout. Passengers quickly adopted the system, resulting in fewer lines at ticket counters, fewer tickets sold on trains, and fewer lost ticket claims - since the tickets are emailed to customers and lost tickets can easily be re-printed. Travelers using group tickets or Multi-Ride tickets will continue to require paper tickets.
In addition to the convenience to Amtrak riders, the electronic ticket system allows for real-time knowledge of which passengers are on a given train, as well as more efficient financial reporting.
See the video below for more on the new ticketing system.
Photo: Flickr/John Mueller
