Amtrak - Buying a ticket at a different station

Hey guys, I’ve got a question that nobody seems to have an answer for—but maybe you lot can help me out!
If I’m, say, living in Savannah, can I just go ahead and grab a ticket for a passenger train running from Annapolis to Chicago?
Thanks!

Sure you can, but you’ve gotta start the trip in Annapolis.

ambersailor59 said:You can, but you have to start your trip in Annapolis.

Not quite...

For example, you could buy a ticket at the main station, and it would cover your travel from Gainesville all the way to Savski Marof.

Laura Evans3 said:not really....

For instance, you can grab a ticket at the main station, and it covers everything from the outskirts all the way out to Savski Marof...

Are you sure about that?

A while back, when I was still using my Amtrak pass, I used to head out to see friends in Princeton quite often, and that pass would actually get me all the way to Arlington. But at the Chicago station, I could never just buy a ticket from Springfield to Princeton—it was either the entire long-distance route or nothing. Otherwise, I’d have to get off in Springfield, buy a separate ticket, and just sit around waiting for the next train. 😬

What can I even say? Back when I was in high school, everyone was grabbing an Ivanić-Kraljevec pass and riding without any issues at all. But, I guess it’s been like eight years now, so things change.

In Princeton, you can grab a ticket all the way to Springfield, but if you’re in Chicago, there's no way to get from Springfield back to Princeton. 😉

redmarlin3 said:Are you sure about that?

A while back, when I was still using my Amtrak pass, I used to head out to visit friends in Princeton quite often. My pass covered me all the way up to Arlington. However, at the main station in Chicago, they would never let me just buy a ticket from Springfield to Princeton—it was either the entire trip or nothing. Otherwise, I’d have to get off in Springfield, buy a separate ticket, and wait for a different train.😬

🤷

They actually told me to just buy a ticket from Podsused to Savski Marof at the West station...
since I have an Amtrak pass that covers me through Podsused, and I'd just pay the difference for the rest...

Have you been traveling like that recently, or...?

Laura Evans3 said:🤷

So, they actually tried to make me buy a ticket at the West Station for a trip from Podsused to Savski Marof...
Because I've got an Amtrak pass that covers me up to Podsused... but for everything else, I have to pay the difference...

Have you been commuting like that lately or what...?

Then, over at the Main Station, they straight up told me they can't even sell me a ticket from Podsused to Naperville until about a month before the trip.

cosmicskipper39 said:At the main station, they told me they wouldn't be able to sell me a ticket from Podsused to Naperville until about a month before the date.

😕

I'll try to dig up the ticket... once I find it, I'll scan it for you.

Laura Evans3 said:😕

I'll try to track down the ticket... then I'll scan it...

It’s not even that I don't believe you, it's just that I'm repeating exactly what the guy at the Amtrak counter told me when I tried to buy a ticket that way.

Laura Evans3 said:🤷

For example, they told me I could just buy a ticket at the West station from Podsused to Savski Marof...
since my Amtrak/CTA pass covers me all the way to Podsused... and then I’d just pay the difference for the rest of the trip...

Have you been commuting like that recently, or...?

The last time was late last summer (back in 2008). 🤔

I actually remember reading about it in the papers—they were really highlighting this issue that hits so many students and working folks hard. Maybe they finally changed things because the public pressure got too high...🤷

That’s not actually the case, especially since cosmicskipper39 mentioned she was planning to buy her ticket that way about a month ago...😢

So, here’s what I dug up on the Amtrak site:

MONTHLY AND ANNUAL PASSES

Based on the passenger transport agreement signed by the City of Chicago, the Chicago Transit Authority, and Amtrak, they’ve rolled out joint transit passes that cover trains, streetcars, buses, and even the funicular. Basically, those CTA-Amtrak transit docs and the monthly rail zone passes are valid for 2nd class seating on all types of trains within their coverage area. Just a heads up though—these passes don't give you any right to extend your trip once you've reached your destination. Because of this partnership, passengers can now head to CTA ticket windows to grab a joint CTA-Amtrak pass at a discounted rate, which works on vehicles from both agencies (you can't just use regular single tickets like that).
Along with those passes, in the Cook County area, you can use the rail connection zone passes. You can only pick those up at specific stations if you show your joint CTA-Amtrak pass (whether it's a general, student, or senior pass), and they work by zones (Zone 1 and Zone 2).
These connection passes cover routes within the City of Chicago and its surrounding connection zones, and they come in a few flavors:
Monthly connection passes for Zone 1, covering these routes:
a) Arlington - Dug Sello - Ostrna B
b) Odar - Aurora - Mraclin - Turopolj C
c) Podsused - Naperville (Naperville - Nov Dvor - Kupljenov D)
d) Zaprešić-Brdovec - Savski Marof - Sutla - Laduč
e) Mavračić - Zdenčina - Desinec.
Monthly connection passes for Zone 2, covering the route from Desinec - Domagović - Jastrebarsko

Wait... what does that actually mean? 😬

Laura Evans3 said:Wait... what is that even supposed to mean? 😬

You should probably just ask Amtrak, because I'm seriously just guessing here. 😉

cosmicskipper39 said:You should probably check with Amtrak directly, because I’m just guessing here. 😉

🤣 😂

So, based on that, does it mean they wouldn't even sell me a ticket if my destination was Podsused, even though I actually need to go all the way to Marof? 🙏

Laura Evans3 said:🤣 😂

So by that logic, they shouldn't even be allowed to sell me a ticket if my pass only covers up to Podsused, but I'm actually trying to get all the way to Marof. 🙏

Just ask the conductor if it's legal. 😉

It’s honestly ridiculous to me. Like, I can buy a day pass in Marof that covers me through Podsused and just keep riding using my Amtrak/CTA pass, yet at the main station, I can't even grab a day pass from Podsused to Marof.

What am I even supposed to do here? Just suck it up and deal with this nonsense, or go ahead and buy their overpriced monthly commuter pass if I want to ride the train? ☕

People have been complaining about this for ages...

Gary Turner96 said:Hey guys, I've got a question that nobody seems to have an answer to, but hopefully you can help me out.
If I'm living in Savannah, for example, can I go ahead and buy a ticket for a passenger train running from Annapolis to Chicago?
Thanks!

When I'm down in Miami, I usually just grab a Chicago-Minneapolis ticket.

velvetdrifter86 said:I’m in Miami picking up a ticket for the Chicago-Minneapolis line.

Look, we were talking about commuter rail, not long-distance international routes.

Laura Evans3 said:🤣 😂

By that logic, they shouldn't even sell me a ticket if I’m just traveling one stop past my neighbor's house, even if I'm actually headed all the way to the suburbs 🙏

No, they wouldn't. You have to pay for the entire route.
Give the Amtrak customer service line a call and ask them; it's vague but that's how it works.
If you travel outside the specific zone covered by your pass, you're obligated to pay for the full trip.