Group fights Amtrak ticket-agent cuts

Company cites online ticket sales in decision to close counters at small stations

Shanaye Watkins works in the Amtrak ticket office on Friday at Union Station in downtown Texarkana. As more passengers choose to purchase tickets online, Amtrak announced they will close the Texarkana ticket office. Watkins has been with Amtrak for 11 months and hopes to find new opportunties within the company.
Shanaye Watkins works in the Amtrak ticket office on Friday at Union Station in downtown Texarkana. As more passengers choose to purchase tickets online, Amtrak announced they will close the Texarkana ticket office. Watkins has been with Amtrak for 11 months and hopes to find new opportunties within the company.

A Texas organization has begun to take action against Amtrak's closing ticket counters at its train stations, including Texarkana's.

The ticket counter at Union Station in Texarkana was one of the latest to be shut down on May 15, and the one in Marshall, Texas, is scheduled to close in June.

Texas Eagle Marketing and Performance Organization opposes the move. According to its website, tempo-rail.org, the organization's aim is to "promote and improve Amtrak passenger train service" on the Texas Eagle route, particularly in Texas and Arkansas.

"This year, Amtrak received a record amount of federal funding, the largest received by America's passenger railroad. Amtrak received this historic level of funding because of the bipartisan support of Congress for a nationwide passenger train system," said Bill Pollard, TEMPO chairman. "Given that support, it is not appropriate for Amtrak to implement cuts affecting only national network stations without first making an effort to improve ridership at those stations."

In a previous Gazette article, Marc Magliari, Amtrak spokesman, cited online ticket sales in the company's decision to close ticket counters:

"Like so many other things in the modern economy, train passengers are buying their tickets more and more online. This has caused ticket sales volumes to fall below sustainable levels at certain smaller stations, so the company has to make decisions," he said. "We are always looking for ways to be more efficient and we try to be careful, as we are partially funded with tax dollars."

Some stations that lost their ticket counters will employ caretakers to open and close the stations and keep them clean. Some towns, such as Hope, Ark., partnered with Amtrak to provide more services at their stations.

For many, this is not enough, so TEMPO is taking action.

"There is a greater agenda," Pollard said, "The current president of Amtrak (Richard H. Anderson), wants to dismantle the national passenger train service. He sees it as inefficient. He would turn it into a regional service, primarily serving the Northeastern U.S., with some service from Chicago to St. Louis. Also, there would be a bit on the West Coast, primarily in the Los Angeles area. We see this act of de-manning stations, including the ones on the Texas Eagle route, as just an opening move to change Amtrak in this way."

TEMPO is working with other regional passenger rail advocacy organizations to save their stations.

"We've had no response from Amtrak as of yet, but a huge response from the general public and municipal officials who have strongly signaled opposition to Amtrak's announced intention," Pollard said. "We see the key to stopping this is action from Washington, D.C., specifically Congress. And the key voices for that are local municipal officials taking action for their communities and passenger train stations."

Mayors on both sides of Texarkana have joined the effort. Arkansas-side Mayor Ruth Penney-Bell is very concerned about the hardship this move puts on citizens, especially the elderly.

"The elderly and the physically or economically challenged will be most ill-affected by eliminating ticket sales at the Texarkana Amtrak office. Older riders are challenged with purchasing tickets online. Many, if not most, have no easy access to computers, and some do not possess credit cards. Those who do have cards are fearful of having them compromised in online activity," she said.

"Physically challenged riders receive help from ticket agents," she said. "Private compartments with oversized, comfortable seating and private toilets are options that a ticket agent can offer to those who appear to need them. And finally, a ticket agent on duty signals that someone is in charge. A custodian does not."

Penny-Bell also expressed concern that this was a move to eliminate passenger rail service in the city and region.

According to Pollard, not having a ticket agent not only limits those who don't have access to online service in purchasing train tickets, but makes the alternatives inconvenient or expensive: going to a train station that does offer ticket services or purchasing tickets at full price from a conductor on the train.

"This limits the ability for children to travel unaccompanied," Pollard said. "If there is no ticket agent where they are embarking or disembarking and no adult to supervise them, they simply can't travel by train."

Texas-side Mayor Bob Bruggeman also recognizes the importance of ticket agents.

"I think that personalized service is a good thing. The reason given for the closure of the local ticket counter was based on declining ticket sales. I think it would be good to verify this decision by looking over the actual ticket counter sales made over a period of time," he said.

In addition, he noted that several citizens have expressed concerns to him about this issue.

"Our citizens value this service, and it is a part of our heritage, since our city was originally established by the railroads," he said.

Both mayors have contacted their respective U.S. representatives and encourage Texarkana and surrounding area citizens to do the same.

Pollard said there is still hope for closed ticket counters to reopen.

"Even though they are closed, they can be reopened," he said. "If we can manage that, this closure will be a mere inconvenience. Right now, it is up in the air."

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