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I agree that the schedule change has made the Crescent much less desirable for Atlanta passengers, and I have to believe it's hurt patronage.

This is true, but there is one significant difference. The private railroads could cover the fixed costs with freight revenues. Amtrak must cover the fixed costs with government subsidies,

Well, I should perhaps clarify what I mean by "profitable." By profitable, I mean providing enough additional revenue to an otherwise all-coach train to decrease the train's overall loss. My fear is that while many taxpayers are willing to support coach trains as a public service, some may balk...

If that is the case, would it be conceivably possible to develop an argument that sleepers and diners -- considered as a single business unit -- are profitable? Figures backing that up could go a long way, in my opinion, to preserving both services.

One possibility for dealing with that would be allowing coach passengers (and possibly sleeper passengers) to pre-pay for dining car service (maybe even for specific meals) when they make their reservations. That way, demand could be anticipated.

I don't know if I've ever actually been in a train with a Cross Country Cafe, so that makes it hard to respond to this observation. What I am advocating is a diner-lounge car like many pre-Amtrak trains had, offering full sit-down waiter service in the dining room, and counter service in the...

Well, that gets to a question that has always intrigued me. Do the sleeper fares really reflect the cost of providing meals, or do they just reflect the highest price the market will bear, regardless of whether meals are included or not? If it is indeed the latter, then we would have to conclude...

We've heard many recent complaints on this forum about high sleeper fares, and removing the dining car surcharge would be one of the few practical ways to reduce those fares. While it is undoubtedly true that fewer sleeper passengers would eat in the diner after such a decoupling, lower diner...

It wasn't that way until Amtrak started offering complimentary meals to sleeping car passengers. It used to be first come, first served for everyone. If it were up to me, I'd decouple the sleeping car fares from dining car purchases, allowing a prepayment option for all passengers.

Or simply remove the dining car surcharge from sleeper fares, and give both coach and sleeping car passengers a pre-paid dining car option. That way, Amtrak would know how many people really want dining car meals, and it could stock and staff the dining cars appropriately.

I suspect high speed trains could open up new markets for overnight service. Chicago-New York, for instance.

It's worth remembering that even before Katrina, the Sunset Limited was the route that Congressional Amtrak critics targeted the most frequently. Those critics cited the financial losses and the abysmal timekeeping, and frequently used those issues to attack the entire system. Amtrak likely...

I recall hearing that the B&O operated open sections later than most other railroads because its principal trains ran to Washington, and the government wouldn't compensate traveling federal employees for the full price of a roomette.

Amtrak could always offer meal refunds when trains are running too late to serve dinner. They already do this for sleeping car passengers. Another possibility is just adding an optional ticket surcharge that would cover all food items available on the train. Amtrak could also offer this option...

Not that many people book roomettes between NYC and DC, so if you are getting on in DC, you will likely be the first person to occupy that room since it was cleaned in New York. Since roomettes are primarily used for overnight travel, it's also likely that when you get on the train in...

No. It just makes a brief stop in Washington. The train originates in New York.

I don't like the new Crescent schedule either, but these figures are not optimal for determining how much the change has hurt patronage. The new schedule was adopted only half-way through 2021, and the Crescent was on a less-than-daily schedule for much of that year.

Unfortunately, I really haven't seen any evidence that Georgia is interested in funding such a train.

If memory serves me, Amtrak did not use the "Spirt of St. Louis" name. The story goes that by the time Amtrak took over, Penn Central's "Spirit of St. Louis" had such a bad reputation that Amtrak decided to call the train the National Limited, which was originally the name of the B&O's New...

Yes, these cancellations were strike-related. They don't want any trains stranded en route when the strike breaks out. As the strike deadline gets closer, other long-distance trains will be suspended.