Amtrak disability assistance pilot program adds station support

Amtrak disability assistance pilot program is being tested to improve boarding support for travelers with disabilities and to better manage assistance requests at stations.

Explaining the initiative to Trains, Brian Dassell, Amtrak’s senior director of customer service, said, “We created a process for customers to put their name on a virtual list to let us know that they need assistance getting to their train.”

QR code assistance dispatching app at Chicago and Los Angeles

The program was first introduced at Chicago Union Station and Los Angeles Union Station. Passengers use a QR code assistance dispatching app by scanning codes placed at station entrances and in other visible areas throughout the facilities. In addition, for arriving passengers, assistance requests can also be entered through train manifests. “For some trains,” Dassell says, “you might have 30 people requesting support and we want to efficiently prioritize their transfers.”

Meanwhile, after scanning the QR code, passengers provide details about their departing train and their location inside the station. When someone arrives through a street entrance, a Red Cap can be sent directly there. Also, in Chicago, passengers may instead be directed to the newly refurbished Assisted Boarding Lounge. Travelers who request boarding support at stations during the booking process are contacted the day before departure and told which entrance they should use.

Chicago Union Station boarding support and new equipment

At Chicago Union Station, the Assisted Boarding Lounge shares space with a Business Class waiting area and is located between the north and south concourses. The area previously served as the Metropolitan Lounge. Separately, Amtrak Accessible Travel Services outlines the support available for passengers with disabilities.

Dassell also said Amtrak has replaced Chicago’s motorized people movers with a new fleet intended to be safer and quieter. Still, during the station’s busiest period — from 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m., when roughly eight long-distance and state-supported regional arrivals and departures may overlap if trains are on time — a recent visit to Union Station showed the new carts still depended on horn honking to move through the tight, crowded boarding concourse.

For passengers who need assistance, the updated vehicles and the new dispatch process appear to be welcome additions.

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