Amtrak

<p>Our son would like to come home for an upcoming long weekend and Amtrak is the most practical way to go. However, they require unaccompanied minors to be checked in by a specified adult, and apparently the school just drops the kids off at the station. The school's transportation coordinator says a lot of kids will be going together. Do other parents buy adult tickets for their kids and ignore the security restrictions? I suppose it is within the rules if some kids in the group are 18, but I don't know that. My son is 14 and has never traveled independently before this. How have you experienced prep parents handled this situation?</p>

<p>CK headed in to New Haven via Amtrak today. I did not know you needed to be 18 to travel alone. I guess they didn’t ask him. </p>

<p>You have to be 16. He’s fine. But 13- to 15-year-olds have to have an over-18 with them or be checked in and out by designated adults. </p>

<p>Personally I recommend playing by the rules because if by some chance he gets carded, now you’ve really got a problem. </p>

<p>My D had to fly as an unaccompanied minor, complete with ID band around her wrist, after she had flown all alone on another airline, because it was the schedule that worked best. I had to pay extra too. We’re happy those days are behind us. She was already quite an experienced traveler though not many times all by herself.</p>

<p>I would look into the possibility of one of the students being old enough to be the “adult.” Also, I thought Amtrak allowed younger kids to travel alone if there is no connection, but maybe I’m misremembering…D never never has taken Amtrak though we looked into it. It’s hard to imagine that the school would drop kids off at the station if lots of them were not old enough to travel alone by Amtrak’s rules.</p>

<p>I can’t speak for your son’s school, but from my own BS school search experience, Amtrak’s policies are pretty strict, unlike some airlines. As I wrote earlier, I did not apply to some schools because of their UM policy. However, if some members of the group are 18+, your S should have no issues. Official info here:
<a href=“Amtrak”>Amtrak;

<p>My kids have taken Amtrak many, many times alone as minors without issues. Never knew of this policy. I guess ignorance is bliss. :)</p>

<p>Not sure what 2 points your son is looking to travel between, but look at buses, too. In the northeast corridor, buses are the easiest and cheapest way to go e.g. Bolt Bus, Megabus. </p>

<p>I can’t speak for Amtrak, but we didn’t buy unaccompanied minor status for friendlydaughter when she was 14 (even though the airline required it until 15) and nobody asked any questions. </p>

<p>Thanks for the input, everyone. I’m only really concerned for his safety at this end (Philadelphia). If he travels as an unaccompanied minor, Amtrak will keep him until we pick him up (and they will also text us the train’s expected arrival time). None of us are familiar with the station, so that would prevent a lot of potential problems. I’m just surprised that I was apparently the first parent to ever ask the transportation coordinator about this. </p>

<p>Last year Amtrak started checking age carefully and my Ds boarding school no longer allows students under 16 to use Amtrak unaccompanied - it is possible to be removed from the train if the conductor checks at any point. </p>

<p>

No they don’t. GMTson2 bought a ticket in NY Penn Station himself & boarded the Acela Express by himself just a couple of months ago. He wasn’t 16 yet.</p>

<p>GMT: Is your son tall/mature looking? CK hasn’t had any issues with Amtrak (and I didn’t know about age restrictions), but he is quite tall and doesn’t travel in school gear, so I’m thinking his looks don’t trigger suspicion. And now, he’s over 16, so it doesn’t matter.</p>

<p>GMTson2 looks and dresses like a 15 year old teenager. </p>

<p>Pretty ridiculous that Amtrak has a nanny-state, hand-holding policy that under 16 needs an accompanying adult. Both GMTsons have been flying unaccompanied since they were 15, on int’l flights involving multiple change of planes in successive foreign countries.</p>

<p>When D was 14 she looked 16, now going on 17 but only 15. Believe me, the speed bumps are in place. When the boys were 16 they looked 13. S1 traveled with bigger guys and never questioned. I do recall some issues with S2 once or twice and when questioned he told them he was 16 and that was the end of it.</p>

<p>Just because a particular student did or did not get carded on Amtrak is no reason to presume every trip will be the same. As a parent of a teenager traveling alone, I like to feel confident they will not be pulled off a plane or train, or delayed for questioning and miss their flight or train, etc.</p>

<p>Amtrak policy is at the discretion of the conductor, which is to call the police to have the kid met at the next stop. Yes, a hassle it would be. </p>

<p>We decided to just let him go with the group and hope for the best. I have some qualms, but it is not a long or complicated trip. He is tall enough for 16 and even shaves…maybe once a month. :-)</p>

<p>There will likely be seniors taking the train to Philly who are 18. I wouldn’t worry about it.</p>

<p>DD has been using Amtrak for years(since the age of 14) to go to NYC. She has never had an issue. As long as the teens aren’t acting like 3 year olds, the conductors don’t bother them. </p>

<p>My daughter’s friend took Amtrak to visit us in NYC 2 yrs back. When I got to the station to pick her up…I was scolded by the Amtrak employee because she was under age. Apparently they saw her traveling alone and asked her for ticket. Her mom bought her an adult ticket but she was 12 yr old. She looked 15 (very tall kid) but she was still 6 mo shy of her 13th Bday (still way too young to travel alone in their eyes). I received a lecture that I was not expecting. I had no clue that her parents didn’t check her in as an unaccompanied minor. They flagged her return ticket and I had to change it, etc. What a pain this was. </p>

<p>My son took Amtrak on a 2 hour trip this summer. He was a few weeks shy of his 16th birthday and looks his age. He was asked both times for his age (told them he was 16) and was told to bring ID next time. He could not have travelled as an unaccompanied minor on this route due to Amtrak rules. He was close enough to the age. I would follow Amtrak rules because the conductor can ask and can kick kids off. Greyhound bus had a 12yo age for traveling alone if that is an option.</p>