The full story is here.NILES - For the past week, people going into the Niles Amtrak Station saw a flier on the front door stating that the station would be closing down. The flier has since been moved into the ticket counter window. The message, however, may not be accurate at all.
Niles, MI: Amtrak ticket window will close effective 3/1/18
#1
Posted 06 February 2006 - 01:22 PM
New York, NY/Philadelphia, PA
#2
Posted 06 February 2006 - 04:08 PM
Bad information -- the rumors (emphasis: rumors) are that Niles may well be destaffed -- or as Chuck Noll might put it, the station agent will "have to get on with his life's work" -- or Amtrak might "be moving in a different direction" with station staffing. That's considerably different than closed.
Quit worrying about the wolves outside the fence; the ones inside the fence are enough to keep the shepherds busy, thank you.
#3
Posted 20 January 2018 - 01:20 PM
12 years later......
WSJM Radio, St. Joseph, MI, 1/18/18:
Niles Amtrak Station Closing Ticket Window
The Niles Amtrak station is getting rid of its ticket window this spring. Amtrak spokesperson Marc Magliari tells WSJM News March 1 will bring that change. He says ticket windows aren’t really needed at Amtrak stations anymore.
Kevin Korell
OTOL Board Leader
Lakewood, NJ
#4
Posted 05 February 2018 - 11:35 AM
And now from Amtrak's website:
Niles, MI Station Ticket Window Closing
Effective March 1, 2018
Effective March 1, Amtrak station in Niles, MI, will no longer have a staffed ticket window, but trains will continue to stop at the station daily. If you are traveling to or from Niles, please refer to the following:
- Waiting Area: Passengers will continue to have access to the station waiting area and restrooms for all train arrivals and departures during normal station hours 8:30 am to 5:00 pm.
- Passenger Assistance: Amtrak personnel on the train will assist customers boarding and detraining.
- Ticketing Options: Customers with credit cards can make reservations and obtain eTickets at Amtrak.com, using our free mobile apps, or by calling 800-USA-RAIL (1-800-872-7245). Your eTickets can be printed at home or displayed using a smartphone (no printing necessary). Customers using cash can pay for tickets on the train. Please note that tickets paid for in cash on the train will be priced at the highest fare and subject to availability.
- Closest Ticketing Station: Customers who require full customer service for checked baggage, unaccompanied minor travel or other services provided by employees, can use the South Bend station located approximately 14 miles south of Niles.
We appreciate your patronage and apologize for any inconvenience. Thank you for traveling with Amtrak.
Kevin Korell
OTOL Board Leader
Lakewood, NJ
#5
Posted 05 February 2018 - 08:25 PM
After 125 years, my favorite ticket window closes
A friend forwarded me a news item a couple of weeks ago and the headline brought me up short: “Niles Amtrak station to cease ticket window operations March 1.”
As most who know me have heard ad nauseam, I grew up in Niles, Michigan, and the old Michigan Central station there was my hangout. In childhood. In high school. Even during the first years of my newspaper career. The building was as much a home to me as my family’s little ranch house a mile away.
The Michigan Central depot at Niles, Mich., has been the public face of the railroad in the small town since 1892. Greg McDonnell photo
So the news was a shock. No more manned ticket window? How can that be? There have been agents standing at that counter since Benjamin Harrison was president. Over the years they’ve sold tickets marked for MC, New York Central, Penn Central, and Amtrak. They’ve booked passage for people riding behind streamlined 4-6-4 Hudsons and lightning-stripe E units, for people boarding the GM Aerotrain and the French Turboliners and, in recent decades, Amtrak’s Horizon cars.
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