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Home > Archives > Commemorative ticket for the opening of the Western Reservation Sales Office, 1993.

Commemorative ticket for the opening of the Western Reservation Sales Office, 1993.

Commemorative printed paper ticket for a special round-trip train (Los Angeles-Riverside) marking the opening of the new Amtrak Western Reservation Sales Office (now the Western Reservations Call Center) in Riverside, Calif. on June 12, 1993.

Commemorative ticket for the opening of the Western Reservation Sales Office, 1993.

The Amtrak Western Reservations Call Center (WRCC) was first established in 1971 in Seattle, Wash.; it later moved to San Francisco and then Los Angeles where it remained for almost two decades. Due to the high costs of leasing office space in the latter, in 1990 the Amtrak Board of Directors approved capital funds for the purchase of land and construction of a new call center to employ between 600 and 1000 persons. Following a nationwide search, Amtrak chose Riverside, Calif.; the new facility was officially dedicated on June 12, 1993 and received its first call the next day.

As of 2013, the WRCC is open 20.5 hours a day. Between it and the Mid-Atlantic Reservations Contact Center in Philadelphia, Amtrak can answer customer questions and take reservations for train travel 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year. In fiscal year 2013, the contact centers handled approximately 7.3 million calls. Riverside staff can also respond to requests related to group and travel agency bookings, as well as the Amtrak Guest Rewards customer loyalty program.

To mark the opening of the WRCC, employees were invited to ride a special train between Los Angeles and Riverside.

Donated to the Amtrak Archives by Gerald Powell in November 2013.