Amtrak adds booking feature to provide real-time seating availability

Amtrak earlier this week updated its website and mobile application to allow riders to view how full their reserved train will be while booking. 

When searching for travel, riders will see a passenger volume percentage next to each route. The percentage represents the proportion of seats sold based on the total number of seats on the train. 

This new feature will give riders the opportunity to book a route that is less crowded in order to best follow social distancing practices during the COVID-19 pandemic, Amtrak officials said in a press release.

Amtrak has also limited the number of riders on reserved trains to allow for more physical distancing in seating areas.