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DC’s Union Station among first to get new Amtrak kiosks

Amtrak is upgrading its trains, updating its terminals and now replacing its old station ticket kiosks.

D.C.’s Union Station, along with the Joseph R. Biden Jr. station in Wilmington and the Moynihan Train Hall in New York City are the first to have the new kiosks installed. Amtrak will install more than 200 new kiosks through the remainder of this year, replacing its more than 20-year-old Quik-Trak kiosks, which will be retired by the end of 2021.

The new kiosks can be activated by touch, card swipe, barcode scan, or by inserting a headset. Customers can select a seat on their trains for reserved seating. The kiosks will also soon be able to send electronic tickets to a customer’s email address.

The new kiosks will eventually be installed in more than 150 stations across the country.

“As we continue to modernize our trains and stations, we are concurrently providing modern amenities to our customers, and we are accomplishing that goal with the new Amtrak kiosk,” said chief marketing and revenue officer Roger Harris.

Amtrak is renovating Union Station’s commuter rail concourse, nearly doubling its current capacity. 

It will also put its new, faster Acela transits into service on the Northeast Corridor next year.

Amtrak ridership has not entirely recovered, but as of October, ridership numbers both nationally and on the Northeast Corridor are back to 73% of pre-pandemic levels.

Massachusetts court hears arguments in lawsuit alleging Meta designed apps to be addictive to kids

BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts' highest court heard oral arguments Friday in the state's lawsuit arguing that Meta designed features on Facebook and Instagram to make them addictive to young users. The lawsuit, filed in 2023 by Attorney General Andrea Campbell, alleges that Meta did this to make a profit and that its actions affected hundreds of thousands of teenagers in Massachusetts who use the social media platforms. “We are making claims based only on the tools that Meta has developed because its own research shows they encourage addiction to the platform in a variety of ways,” said State Solicitor David Kravitz, adding that the state's claim has nothing to do the company's algorithms or failure to moderate content. Meta said Friday that it strongly disagrees with the allegations and is “confident the evidence will show our longstanding commitment to supporting young people.” Its attorney, Mark Mosier, argued in court that the lawsuit “would impose liabilities for performing traditional publishing functions” and that its actions are protected by the First Amendment.
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