What are smoke stops?

Smoke stop

You cannot smoke on any Amtrak train, but some people, including some Amtrak employees, are smokers. And some of Amtrak's routes last multiple days. So every so often on the longer routes, there are stops that are longer than the others, so people can get out of the train and walk around and, yes, smoke. Always stay within earshot of the train, in case there is something wrong with your watch or you heard the wrong time to come back.

There is one exception to the rule that you should never be out of earshot of the train station. That is if the train is early. The longer routes have extra time built into their schedules in case something goes wrong. But some routes, such as the Southwest Chief, are running on improved track and with improved overall operations and they have fewer delays than they used to. The trains will not leave a stop early, so passengers sometimes get to explore places like Albuquerque. You should be back in the station area ten to fifteen minutes before the scheduled departure or when the conductor has told you to be back, whichever is earlier.

Do not ever get off the train at a regular stop. Ever. They will leave you behind. (By the way, this is true in France, and Korea, and Japan and every other country that has trains.)