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One item to note is that Amtrak’s load factor (the number of seat-miles occupied by passengers, divided by the total number of seat-miles offered by Amtrak) is much lower than airlines’ load factors. If I recall correctly, Amtrak’s load factor, even in the NEC, is only about 50%. This means...

Amtrak’s model of short trains, limited supply of seats/rooms and high prices isn’t the only way to approach breaking even or making a profit. Railroads have such high overhead costs that another way to approach breaking even or making a profit is to offer lots of long trains, with large...

Compare fares on Thalys between Paris and Brussels, which is equivalent in distance to the Acela between NY and DC. Thalys is far cheaper. Also, compare fares on European night trains: far cheaper for rooms than Amtrak. That isn’t a full picture but it is two examples of comparable services...

Sure, you may well be right. But that’s 1 in 20 who don’t need an attendant. And probably more than 1 in 20 who don’t need Flexible Dining. Companies increase sales by differentiation in their products and pricing, and even if Amtrak offered a small number of rooms without an attendant...

Similar to how Amtrak had lower-fare sleeping car rooms on the Silver Star when it lacked a dining car, Amtrak should try offering lower-fare sleeping car rooms without a sleeping car attendant and without meals included. I can board, make my bed, wake myself up and get off the train. I don’t...

Plane tickets can be found for low prices even at the last minute and they can be changed for no fee (or cancelled for a credit that can be reused). Given how Amtrak cancels trains for so many reasons, I often book a plane ticket as a back-up.

If you want fruit, or any particular food, bring it yourself, as ridiculous as that sounds.

I have worked 72 hours straight, without leaving the office, and without sleeping. Plenty of jobs have long hours and stress. I would be fired and shown the door immediately if I were as hostile to clients as some Amtrak SCAs are. Question: when passengers contact Amtrak to complain about a...

I’m siding with Steve4031, having had a similar SCA. The SCA should have smiled and said “Welcome aboard” when Steve4031 walked up. When Steve4031 didn’t show up on the manifest, the SCA should have said, “I don’t see you listed; could you please show me your ticket so that we can get this...

Wouldn’t Amtrak probably have higher sales in cafe cars if customers were allowed to sit at cafe car tables? When I walk into a cafe car, and all of the tables are taken up by crew members, and I get yelled at if I try to sit at one, of course I buy less. Other transportation companies don’t...

If you board at a flag stop or otherwise are the only passenger boarding, and you board through a car that’s not the car where you seat or room is, does the crew scream at you for boarding through another car, as the crew does in the Northeast?

Sleep masks (a lot of light gets through curtains in sleeping cars).

Airlines run operations that have a lot more employees, customers, destinations and moving parts and they seem to manage. There is no “impossibly huge distance” in the US; railroads have covered it since 1869.

Amtrak advertises its “experience” on its website, specifically stating that “it’s about more than just getting from place to place” and describing on-board amenities. Even the commuter railroad Metro-North had lounges until recently.

Amtrak needs to simply hire better people. The last few crews on American Airlines flights have been outstanding: 1. Calling me “Mr. ____”, with a smile. 2. Offering me a pre-departure drink even though I was in coach. 3. Coming to me and upgrading me to first class even though I had already...

I wish every train station had fare gates. It reduces crime, and Amtrak could ease up on its idiotic boarding and ticket check procedures if tickets are (somewhat) verified by the gates. Brightline has fare gates and basically everything that Brightline does is good.

My thoughts exactly. American Airlines employees are on average more helpful, friendlier and more professional than Amtrak crews. I’ve been flying at times weekly (or more), and at least once a month, since the 1990s and I’ve never had an experience on any airline as bad as on Amtrak.

The butter cakes are good, but I wasn’t given a choice: dinner came with a brownie. At 4:30pm.

In my case, the sleeping car attendant also brought the wrong entree with dinner. I took a look and declined, and told the sleeping car attendant that I was fine and didn’t need dinner. The sleeping car attendant came back to my room, twice, to argue that I ought to eat what I was given and...

I asked for a Maker’s Mark on the rocks (for my complimentary drink) was handed a mini bottle, which was warm. No glass and no ice. I was told that the drink was free and so what I received was correct.