Hi all -- I was reading some dated material about Amtrak Express as an inexpensive alternative to UPS or FedEx. Anyone here have any experience using this service? How are the costs determined? Thanks!
Posted by JONATHON (Member # 2899) on :
I think if there is a shiping service by Amtrak, then I just found my new way of Shiping!
Posted by Mr. Toy (Member # 311) on :
Amtrak flirted with the express shipping business for several years, attaching freight cars to the passenger trains. The express business is being phased out because it was not bringing in as much money as hoped, and it was causing problems with the passenger schedules.
But that may not be what you saw. There is also an express parcel service in the UK called Amtrak. It is not related in any way to the American passenger railroad. See: http://www.amtrak.co.uk/ Posted by MDRR (Member # 2992) on :
Are you talking about the package express service?
This basically conssists of shipping packages from/to any station with checked baggage service.
You can ship anything from an envelope to pallets of boxes, but the receiver must pick up from the receiving train station, there is no door to door delivery.
The cost is driven by weight and is relatively reasonable.
Posted by Mr. Toy (Member # 311) on :
Ah, yes, I had forgotten about that. Amtrak ships fresh flowers from Salinas in the baggage car. There are often boxes of these stacked in the corner of the station prior to #14's arrival. The flower growers made quite a fuss when Amtrak suspended checked baggage service for about a year.
Posted by Pojon (Member # 3080) on :
Try shipping a coffin loaded with a body! It works as long as you will pick it up in a timely fashion!
Posted by George Harris (Member # 2077) on :
For those that remember passenger trains pre-Amtrak, Pojon mentions something that was very commonly done. In fact, the funeral directors and their associations were amongst those objecting to train offs in quite a few areas of the country for that reason.
IIRC, a coffin moved in baggage service at the rate of one unrestricted first class fare.