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I would argue that the 300A design (Miami, Minneapolis's Midway station) was not soulless. They were following the then trend of precast concrete common in many airports of the era.

As you do in any catering operation, anything left on the plates gets scraped off and thrown into composting/trash. That is serviced as any other trash/recycling on the train. The plates with some things left on them get thrown back in the box, which itself is cleaned between jobs. Whether or...

Not really, when you account for the loss of use of the seat.

The AT basically breaks even. Sometimes it is profitable, sometimes it runs at a loss. The thing that separates it from every other LD route is that was the first brand new product/route in Intercity rail in the US after the advent of Jet Air travel. It was designed to serve a dedicated market...

Still 4.1 miles apart.

Pretty bad. Not the worst, but pretty bad. Doesn't help that it's in an awful neighborhood far from Downtown. Here's hoping they'll just bring it back to MCS rather than trying for the QLine/Bus/Intermodal thing they want to do up there.

Also: Stations owned by a state DOT or local government are much more likely to be kept in good repair.

AmShacks were an attempt to build a national brand image at a cost savings when nothing like it existed in the US Previously. The thing Amtrak forgot was that train stations are expressions of local aspirations and accomplishments. I'm really thrilled that the DOT is making a conscious effort...

The vendor. Who waits trackside and pushes the cart onto the train. OBS need not even get off the train. This is actually the least complicated logistical issue. Most complicated: How do you plan a menu and ordering system so the right orders get to the right passengers on time? How do you plan...

This reminds me of the time that I said Kansas City was one of the most beautiful stations on the CZ. (I forgot I was on the SWC) Corrected. Thanks!

Amtrak was supposed to have its own permanent structure just to the south of the existing Intermodal hub and north of its existing temporary structure. However, according to this document it was cut for budget reasons. There's talk of running a rail trench under downtown similar to what they...

This would be impossible to implement and provide very little added benefit. TSA already has some jurisdiction over train safety but they'd never want a headache like trying to make trains and platforms an entirely sterile area. The largest group of LD travelers are probably people who can't or...

This is my driving point: Amtrak should partner with local vendors who can operate trackside or near trackside. This is not as tremendously complicated as it's made out to be. Those who are leaving NYP could place an order and have their dinner in a warming box loaded at NWK. Even with a full...

To highlight what people have said since in this thread: The AT is different. It only has terminus stops, so they know with a much higher degree of certainty who's going to be on board and what they want to eat, enough to staff the trains. It's more of a captive/predictable/niche market where...

It's a very new station, so it may not technically make the list, but I think GRR (Grand Rapids) deserves a mention here. It is the terminus of the Pere Marquette service and a short walk away from the central bus station in Grand Rapids. What if all AmShacks were built to be something like this?

Maybe we need something like an Essential Train Service program like there is an Essential Air Service. I know there's federal funding for improving railroad stations, but it seems a bit scattershot.

It also seems like a luxury amenity available on one route on a very select number of trains. Seems more like a tourist thing than anything else. That being said, it's probably still the fastest full kitchen on rails. The point here remains: Full kitchens don't appear to be a thing anywhere in...

I was unaware of that service, but it appears to be a select one available only on a few trains that qualify as "Higher" speed rail. It's slower than the Acela by a bit. They haven't even electrified that entire route yet.

Some are reporting that the coffee service is back. However, it could go away at any time due to policy or the whim of your SCA.

The easiest thing to do from BWI to Dulles is to take any train into DCUS and take Metrorail to Wiehle-Reston East, from which there is a very short shuttle to Dulles. However, that's the same transit time as flying from BWI to ATL and in that case you don't have to deal with your bags or worry...