Cornershot

Last Sunday, I wrote about my recent Amtrak adventure for the travel section in Extra.

In it, I mentioned how apprehensive I was about traveling alone with my young son and managing him and all our baggage on our trip from Lynchburg to Boston.

In response, reader Gene Stuckey of Roanoke — who writes that he and his wife “have logged well over a 100,000 miles on Amtrak as well as railroads throughout Europe” — brought a great, useful detail to my attention.

Amtrak offers Red Cap service at all major stations — including Washington, D.C., and New York, both stations where we transferred — something that the Stuckeys have used often.

According to its website, Amtrak’s uniformed Red Cap agents provide free baggage-handling assistance. Stuckey said that in addition, the agents help seat passengers who use this service first before the gates open for boarding — so no waiting in lines!

You can look for a Red Cap stand in the station or ask a conductor to call you a Red Cap. Amtrak’s website advises to only ask for help from uniformed Red Cap agents.

Best of all, the service is free, though a tip to the agent would be nice.

Take note, future Amtrak riders! This one did.

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