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Do you live on the west side of Indy by chance? If so, I'd strongly consider a Crawfordsville, IN (CRF) to CHI round trip instead of IND-CHI. IND is a lousy station with expensive parking. CRF is small, but parking is free and safe (the station is across the street from the police station)...

Email and phone-bot. Hadn't seen the email yet - the phone-bot got my attention first.

Lucky me! Generally, I've ridden a fair number of trains and have very few horror stories. So I'm not going to feel too sorry for myself. But after several flights in a row – I was ready to ride the train. While I do everything I can to make the airline experience as positive as possible -...

I was booked on an Empire builder segment (CHI-MSP) round trip departing Monday afternoon and returning Friday morning. I was just informed that both trains were canceled and had to get a refund. Does anyone know what's going on? I'll be flying instead. Bummer.

With a few exceptions - this matches my experience as well. Supposedly, some of the airlines are really "upping their game" in domestic first class. I haven't seen it. Traditional dining is WAY better than anything I've had recently on a domestic airline. I'm not a fan of Flex - but it falls...

But suffice to say - neither of those fine establishments are offering a large window seat as you cruise accross America... 😉

I'm disappointed my Meteor ride will not include traditional dining as I had hoped as of a few months ago. However, that butter cake IS to die for, and I might just smuggle in some strawberry or raspberry sauce and some whipped cream - and "go to town" as my grandmother used to say...

Sorry I haven't been paying closer attention – but which cars on train 97 are the VLII's these days? I'm on 97 Wednesday out of Richmond. Right now I'm in 9710. Last year that was typically a VLII...

Isn't the Auto Train already at/near it's maximum allowed/practical length? If so, that might make continuing use of refurbished Superliners less doubtful.

Thanks for that - done!

Yes - the thermostat was set to 41F...

FWIW on the LSL 49(12/31) - 4911 was a VLI & 4912 was a VLII. The SCA (Karen) on 4912 and Tim in the Diner were very, very good. Tim was a relatively new hire, not sure about Karen. For dinner in the VLII Diner out of Albany, Karen took orders and delivered food. Tim prepared the food...

It's a New Year's Eve Miracle on the Lake Shore Limited! I just boarded with my wife and daughter in 4912. Karen is our SCA. She gave us a quick tour of the VLII. As we rounded the corner past the bedrooms and towards our roomettes - she said "here is the drink station, with water, coffee...

There is actually a "conductor's office" in some Cafe cars - a small enclosed space with a desk. Usually that's where they throw their junk - so it doesn't clutter up the half dozen booths they need to do their job... Once I saw a conductor actually sitting in one and I immediately...

Let's hope jis is correct about new ADA regulations. Accessibility is important and is the law - but intercity trains should have different, common sense requirements just like the airlines do.

If "in addition" to Cafe service - great - even if I'm not a fan, personally. But I feel like with the US's continuous efforts to minimize onboard labor - it would be an "either or" proposition...

...Or they take up an entire section for the entire trip - which is the norm on the Cardinal... I'll say it again - I hate carts. Lousy selection never available when you want it. Europe and the rest of the world can keep that aspect of their onboard experience...

Yes - I used it. Not a proper substitute for a Lounge Car - but at least offered tables and ample outlets to get work done. I believe having outlets at every booth was a new concept then. Definitely better than no Lounge at all - but I am not a fan of the concept on anything but the shortest...

Qualify food service, on-time performance, good equipment condition, positive employee attitude, using new equipment (you already own) to provide a better customer experience. These are all things they don’t prioritize that makes it obvious management has no interest in running LD trains well...

I agree that a set of basic minimum standards should be sought. But I for one I’m not a fan of cookie cutter implementation across the entire network. It puts up barriers to prevent innovation in local markets , and you end up with the “McDonald’s” effect where you don’t know which part of...