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You made several points here which (based on my own experiences) are right on the money. The trains with the new VL2 diner cars have facilities which allow for a much better preparation of the Flex Meals then do the split café cars (warming drawers, more refrigeration, etc). Having an...

There have been multiple assertions here that First class food on US airlines is a standard that Amtrak should try to meet on the East Coast. I have been on a dozen or more First Class flights in the past 24 months or so, and for the most part there is very little real food being served in...

Anyone been on the Eastbound Cardinal into DC lately? It gets into DC at 7:44pm. That makes me think that certainly they'll be serving dinner for passengers disembarking in Washington. But - with Amtrak you never know. Anyone with any recent experience?

I do it all the time now. I just use my work data. My company is more than happy for me to be working while commuting/ traveling using their data plan as opposed to “windshield time” where working is dangerous. Of course, if Amtrak wants to make their Wi-Fi better – that’ll be better for...

I’m sure all of the better SCAs will do it if you ask. I can only imagine that some of the “not-so -good” SCAs would look at you like you had two heads if you made a request like that and you weren’t obviously a mobility impaired person.

From the headline I saw, if all goes well they’re looking at a second train by 2027. No wonder we don’t have more trains in this country - five years just to add another frequency? Yikes

Jamie - unfortunately I’m going to be on a road trip of my own over the weekend so I won’t be much help in Indianapolis. Otherwise I’d have been more than happy to meet you at the station to show you around a bit and help you with your luggage. There are only two issues with Indianapolis...

I think this discussion has gotten off the rails a little bit. There’s nothing in any of the photos I have seen to indicate that the seats on the Midwestern cars are anything like Spirit, Allegiant, or Frontier. That would be a huge exaggeration. They are not 3 x 3, they are not designed for...

Unfortunately, with Amtrak you kind of have to know your own benefits (like Dining Car access). They have a lot of great employees, but management’s record on employee training is not great and a small minority of employees will conveniently “forget” duties or customer benefits if it makes...

Definitely a “buyer beware“ scenario with those seats. My flight from Indy to Las Vegas caused me to swear off that airline. I’m not particularly large and not particularly small – a little above average in height and weight. It was a brutally uncomfortable flight for me. To the point where I...

It might have been a style-based decision. Maybe they thought having the appearance of a 2nd door would improve the visual balance of the train. There are lots of decisions that are made based on form - function is not the only consideration. Just look at all the people who complain that the...

In regards to the sleeping arrangements with my two toddlers and myself in the Roomette. I had the girls share the lower bed, and I was in the upper bunk. There was little worry they could escape the room, as the latch on the door is a little bit tricky - at least to a toddler.

I was in your exact situation when mine were toddlers. We were traveling out to DC to join my wife for a long weekend. She was in the middle of two weeks of work training. The roomette was a godsend. The kids did great.

Yes. The James River bus was fine. About an hour’s ride, maybe 90 minutes. Hanging out in the station didn’t sound like fun for five hours (although I’ve done it many times other stations), so I splurged and used some hotel points to get a hotel room for those hours. A little extravagant...

I am booked on this train in March, and then again in May. I guess I shall see firsthand if the combined train lasts into May or not. In both cases, I’m having to spend the night in DC because of no same-day connections with the Cardinal. In 2020, we transferred same day Card-Meteor in...

Ultimately, that’s why BC customers need the ability to reserve specific seats. But we both know with Amtrak’s IT department, that’s probably a really long putt right now on LD. I haven’t really had a whole lot of problems with OBS pre-assigning seats for me. I did have one funny pre-assignment...

Fair enough. But the words you wrote were: That gave me the impression that for you it was all about the seat. And with their equipment situation, there’s nothing they can realistically do about the seat (in the short term).

The problem I have with your statement is that it seems to indicate that without improved seating - they shouldn’t offer BC at all. As short as Amtrak currently is on equipment, and as long as it takes to get equipment delivered even after it’s ordered – that alone would prevent any added BC on...

That business class arrangement looks great - at first peek. Has anyone seen preview photos of Midwest BC ?

I have been on probably a dozen domestic first class flights in the last six months. I have had a grand total of one meal, period. It was a meal marginally better than flex food - maybe. Other than that, the absolute zenith on every other flight has been a cup of coffee in a foam cup, with a...