To provide travel guidelines with regard to the procurement of rail tickets for when traveling on behalf of the University.
April, 2015
revisedApril, 2015
May, 2024
Responsible OfficeProcurement Services
Procurement Services
This policy applies to the procurement of rail travel by and for all faculty, staff, students and postdocs,traveling on behalf of the University and seeking reimbursement for related expenses from the University regardless of the funding source.
It is the responsibility of Penn travelers to book the lowest rail fare consistent with their itinerary and the business purpose of their trip. Travelers should strive to be as flexible as possible and to make their travel plans as early as possible, thus taking advantage of lower fares.
Full responsibilities of the employee, student or postdoc can be found in Policy #2352.
Approvers perform a critical control function for the University. Collectively, approvers ensure that expense reports processed for payment are complete, appropriately funded, compliant with policy and are associated with activities that have a valid and necessary business purpose. Designated approvers should assist the employee or student as necessary with understanding applicable policies and compliance requirements.
The approver is also responsible for monitoring ticket usage and for ensuring that travelers are not reimbursed for Amtrak or rail tickets charged to purchasing cards.
Full responsibilities of approvers can be found in Policy #2352.
The mode of rail travel is expected to be the least costly option consistent with the itinerary and particular University business involved.