<p>Our BS sent out a special one-time letter in spring of 2013 stating that Amtrak had notified them that they would be enforcing the under-16 rule, and that students under 16 were not to take Amtrak unaccompanied. We never tried pushing that envelope to see what would happen.</p>
<p>As we had been promised, he traveled with a group on the way home. More of an issue was finding the group on the way back. He hasn’t communicated much since then, but at least I know he made it back to school.</p>
<p>My daughter’s friend (14yo girl) takes the Amtrak from CT to NJ. Her mom always buys the tickets online, and she has never had an issue. </p>
<p>On some routes you can buy tickets for an unaccompanied minor - ages 13-15. Someone has to sign the child in and out. Some routes do not allow this (depends on the kind of stations on the route).</p>
<p>You need to call Amtrak to buy tickets for a minor.</p>
<p>If the route is between NYC to Pennsylvania towns, you should buy tickets for Keystone Service. It’s an express train and there is no train transfer.</p>
<p>All has gone well and he loves taking the train. I still have misgivings but it is impractical to let them get in the way.</p>
<p>I take the NJ transit to and from the airport. There’s no problem that I have encountered. </p>