Boarding at Our Busiest Stations

Ever wonder why the boarding procedures in our big stations work the way they do? Why we check your ticket multiple times and escort you to the platform at New York Penn Station and Washington, D.C.,’s Union Station?

Well, it’s all meant to get you safely on the correct train and to your destination on time. Here are three more reasons for special boarding at our two busiest stations.

1. It’s the law
Security is super important to us and to the TSA. We work with lots of agencies and commuter partners like LIRR and NJT in New York City and MARC and VRE in Washington to ensure you’re safe when you ride our trains. Making sure there’s one ticket per passenger is an important step in that security process.

2. It keeps you safe
We adjust our boarding procedures at stations with narrow platforms like New York Penn Station and D.C.’s Union Station. Those efforts mean we can help board customers who need special assistance and that passengers don’t experience over-crowded platforms when trains are coming and going.

3. There are lots of people
Thanks to our record-breaking ridership, our busiest stations host tens of millions of people a year. In fact, 650,000 people use New York Penn Station everyday and trains are dispatched at a rate of one every two minutes. To keep Amtrak travelers, commuters and our employees safe, we limit the number of people allowed on the platforms at a time.

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