Join the discussion on the following article:
Trains News Wire EXCLUSIVE: Amtrak to cut on-board amenities
“but President Joe Boardman nevertheless has promised to eliminate food losses in five years.” Anyone remember a predecessor of his who proclaimed Amtrak to be upon a “glide path to profitability”?
Dear :MEL & MO MILLER, >QUOTE>“Fist of all there is NO mode of travel that makes money without some sort of government subsidies in one form or another”
None of these “perks” are needed if the darn TRAIN is on TIME…
Pre loading for 2 hours invites bathroom and just way to much wear and abuse as well… The newspaper, etc snacks could ALL be offered at a cost, and some with no cost to Amtrak if they dont sell…
Pennywise and pound foolish as a stop gap dog and pony show that hides the actual issue that hides in plain sight which is inadequate funding for passenger rail. Its such a transparent placebo that its laughable. That would be like Hilton hotels claiming to be slashing their expenses by eliminating mints on the beds. Its a political joke played on the public. Nobody’s laughing with them but at them.
How freaking stupid.
And taking away flowers & vases from dining car tables, just sounds so chintzy. I mean, isn’t that part of the fun of rail travel, “civilized”, beautiful surroundings?
Mr. Ludwig, there’s a simpler answer to why they don’t let you on early: the train probably isn’t ready yet. They spend every available minute (and then some, often) servicing it out in the yard. In fact, I bet part of the reason for the wine tasting for that train’s sleepers is to help keep them calm about the frequent delays.
Lets sock it to the first class customers. Charge them more money and offer less and less services. Not a good business model but a politically motivated one.
Amtrak is a losing proposition. Host RRs That don’t give a dam about on time reliability. People don’t seem to care. On Jan 7th I waited for a train 8:10 AM Regional to BWI in Baltimeor. THe train was stuck in the yard . No one knew why. TRains were very late finally at ten O’clock I tried to get on an Acela. THe ticket agents computer went down so I just walked on the train . Made my reservation in my iphone paid the extra fare and was sent the ticket via email which the conductor read on the laser. I don’t know if the 8:10 ever left NY but there were hundreds of people upset frustrated about missing their trains and not knowing what to do. Don’t you think in this day and age that Amtrak could have taken measures to keep their trains unfrozen it the yards as to keep then close to or near schedule. No let them freeze up and the passenger be damned.
Why I just rode the southbound Auto Train, Feb. 4th, which was a nightmare. The train was 8+ hours late leaving Lorton. Not the slightest attempt at notification about the delay until we reached Lorton, checked in our car and became trapped in the train station with no transportation. Rumors of a derailment in Savannah were given as the reason. The frozen turkey sandwiches were distributed for supper in the station at least staved off the hunger. The trip down south was a slow start and stop affair with CSX freights taking precedence over our train, slow running orders and defect detectors stopping the train when there were no defects.
Why I couldn’t even by a drink because it is Amtrak policy that no drinks are to be sold if there is less than 8hrs in the trip. Funny you can by a drink on the Acela or regional at any time.
My wife will not book another trip on Amtrak because of the treatment and inconvenience that one has
I feel special.
I feel as a “hotel on wheels”, various hotel chains could sponsor a particular long distance train and make their corporate culture and part of that train and make it a contest of sort. Your thoughts? eg. The Lake Shore Limited by Choice Hotels. Or the City of New Orleans by Hyatt.
On the Sleeping Cars:
Why do they have to remove the newspapers?
Please keep the coffee.
I try to ride a sleeping car several times a year: Chicago - Austin for family visits; Chicago to NY, LA, DC, etc. for conferences. Timekeeping reliability often prevents use for conferences and price is making it much more difficult for family visits. Long ago the free soft drinks were nice, the newspapers are nice for keeping up on the second day out. This cut is not make or break, but just yet another paper cut. One can eventually bleed to death after enough paper cuts. Amtrak is not a serious transportation option in the USA, just a political football without hope for a better future until there is a fundamental change in the political environment.
The Lake Shore Limited should be leaving Chicago several hours earlier would help. As for the flowers, cranberry juice, newspapers, et. al. probably will not make much of a difference. Don’t get rid of the coffee in first class though…
mr. streeter: the point i was making is: on the eastbound
lakeshore, first class passengers ARE permitted on board early –
sometimes two hours early … and, while the train is sitting in
chicago union station, they have the “wine and cheese party”.
if they cut the “free” party, and simply allowed those pre-boards
to purchase food, i believe many would. you’d still have the
amenity, but it wouldn’t be quite as costly.
in most markets, local paper publishers would gladly GIVE amtrak newspapers – the pueblo chieftain, the cleveland plain
dealer, even the chicago sun-times … all someone has to do
is ASK – circulation is down and publishers are all looking for
ways to keep the number as high as possible … many hotel
chains now obtain their newspapers in this manner. okay, some
publishers many not want to do this but, if the plain dealer
said no, the blade (in toledo) might say yes. now all you need
is to get the papers to the platform. i feel certain individual
train managers could work this out in towns like albany,
savannah, denver, minot, klamath falls, and san diego…
as someone who has been riding amtrak’s national network
since its inception, i have always enjoyed the amentities, and
i’ve watched them come and go: the wine and cheese basket
to every sleeping car passenger on every train, the glass mugs
on the capitol limited, toast in the dining cars – nice as these
things are and have been, i believe timekeeping needs to be
the primary focus of the company now. not easy, i know, but
necessary. long distance trains are being clobbered at the moment, but depending on the time of year, everything from
acelas to pacific surfliners go through periodic - but perhaps
avoidable - unreliability. amtrak probably needs to better
prepare its own yards and shops for periods of extreme weather - but there is also a need to work out real plans with
the partner railroads … ns between cleveland and chicago,
bnsf on the empire builder route – these and many other areas are spots of chronic delay. why not place some effort -
constructively - at working through the problems? the more
reliable any train is, the more useful it becomes.
and here’s an added thought: that wine and cheese tasting
on the lake shore – why not let us on early, and permit us to
BUY a drink, a bottle of wine, or a cheese plate? many
would gladly PAY to sit in the diner and have a little snack.
likewise, why can’t the cafe be open twenty minutes b4 departure? coach passengers might also like to BUY some chips, a beer or a bottle of wine…such a move would enhance revenue - the stuff is already on board.
and here’s an added thought: that wine and cheese tasting
on the lake shore – why not let us on early, and permit us to
BUY a drink, a bottle of wine, or a cheese plate? many
would gladly PAY to sit in the diner and have a little snack.
likewise, why can’t the cafe be open twenty minutes b4 departure? coach passengers might also like to BUY some chips, a beer or a bottle of wine…such a move would enhance revenue - the stuff is already on board.
Memo to Mica: If you want to cut food losses and still have a food service, take a page out of the bus service providers manual of how to turn a profit. McKFCSubwayWendysKing. When the train gets to a station, stop for an hour or so to let everybody off and grab something to eat from whatever service there happens to be at that location. I see bus drivers doing this every day. The bus is packed and I assume, making money for the bus company and the food service provider.
No one at Amtrak understands niche marketing Roger, or at least they are being over-ruled. I informed my non-rail-travel-fan-wife of these cuts, and she just stood there, hands on hips, and said, “That’s just plain stupid, they already screw-up enough other stuff, now they take away the wine and cheese…?” She then suggested I’d be better off saving more $$$ for overnight trips on Via Rail. And ya know what? She’s right. John Heffner, Attorney? KLS&C Rwy ring a bell?
Now, take each coach and turn it into a bus.