Amtrak Dining and Cafe service 2023 H2

[blueman271]

It most likely will as Congress has instructed Amtrak to restore traditional dining to all LD trains. I just have not been following what is the plan for the Cap.

Does Amtrak have enough Viewliner Diners to equip the Cardinal with one if they wanted to?

 

[Bob Dylan]

Does Amtrak have enough Viewliner Diners to equip the Cardinal with one if they wanted to?

Yes, but they're assigned to the yards,just where Diners need to be!

The real reason the Card doesn't have a Diner( it didn't have one before the Pandemic)is Labor, the SCA heats up the Sleeping Car Passengers Meals and serves them in the Cafe Car which is shared with the Coach Passengers, who are served by an LSA.

 

[Bob Dylan]

The answer to that question which presumably is rhetorical is that it takes 2 SAs to serve a single First Class Car with that level of service. If the reason you cut down food service is to reduce the number of SAs down to one, this level of service cannot be provided. At this point with traditional dining just around the corner using 2-3 SAs (1 LSA +1-2 SAs) it seems pointless to try to do this for a few months.

The last 2 times I rode in Acela FC( between NYP and WAS last Fall) there was only 1 OBS serving Passengers and the Service was Excellent.

The real problem with Flex Meals IMO is the Quality and the Method of Heating, not the Service!

I would love it if the Menus from Acela FC could be served on the Crescent,Cardinal,CONO,Eaglette,LSL and Cap until Traditional Dining returns to these Orphans!

 

[jis]

The last 2 times I rode in Acela FC( between NYP and WAS last Fall) there was only 1 OBS serving Passengers and the Service was Excellent.

The real problem with Flex Meals IMO is the Quality and the Method of Heating, not the Service!

I would love it if the Menus from Acela FC could be served on the Crescent,Cardinal,CONO,Eaglette,LSL and Cap until Traditional Dining returns to these Orphans!

That is unlikely because of crew training and supply chain setup issues is my guess. But maybe others know more about it.

 

[jis]

Does Amtrak have enough Viewliner Diners to equip the Cardinal with one if they wanted to?

Once they get all the mothballed cars out on the road they will have enough.

Just like 25 Amfleet II Lounges (actually 24 remaining ones) are enough to put one in each single level train, 25 Diners are enough to put one in each train. Now if they wish to staff them to provide actual service is a separate matter.

 

[user 14106]

The last 2 times I rode in Acela FC( between NYP and WAS last Fall) there was only 1 OBS serving Passengers and the Service was Excellent.

The real problem with Flex Meals IMO is the Quality and the Method of Heating, not the Service!

I would love it if the Menus from Acela FC could be served on the Crescent,Cardinal,CONO,Eaglette,LSL and Cap until Traditional Dining returns to these Orphans!

I personally have not observed a large measurable difference in quality between flexible dining meals and Acela First and I had an occasion last year when I had both in a relatively short period of time. Though the latter is certainly presented better, refreshed more often as far as the menu and the new Starr group items are pretty good, I'm not sure I'd agree that the actual food quality is any great degree lower for flexible dining than Acela first meals. Acela first meals have largely the same issues - if not heated properly they don't come out that great particularly the omlette/egg breakfast choices. I myself have experienced a breakfast meal overcooked on the Acela and it was basically just like when they overheat the flexible dining omlette - all dried out. Having said all that I do like salt so the sodium content in the flex meals doesn't really get to me. In fact I even sometimes add salt.

 

[Steve4031]

I suspect recent derailments and then subsequent issues with leftover superliner diners have caused the diners to be removed from the City of New Orleans. This train has been operating with only a sightseer lounge as the food service car.

 

[MARC Rider]

Yes, but they're assigned to the yards,just where Diners need to be!

The real reason the Card doesn't have a Diner( it didn't have one before the Pandemic)is Labor, the SCA heats up the Sleeping Car Passengers Meals and serves them in the Cafe Car which is shared with the Coach Passengers, who are served by an LSA.

Actually pre-pandemic (Nov. 2019) I rode the Cardinal with flex dining, and the LSA was assisted by the coach attendant. I think they may also have has a separate attendant to run the cafe side, too. Despite the flex food and the paper p;ates, the attendants tried to approximate the service of traditional dining. Of course, there were only about 10 of us in one sleeper, so the workload wasn't as bad as it could be.

 

[cassie225]

Wow, I had my hopes up lol

 

[Rasputin]

Wow, I had my hopes up lol

With Amtrak, if you expect nothing you will never be disappointed.

 

[oregon pioneer]

... I know that tentatively LSL is slated for late this year or early next year...

Will they have to replace the VLII diner on the LSL with a traditional diner to bring back full service?

I am scheduled to take the LSL eastbound leaving CHI on Jan 10th, and returning westbound leaving BOS on Feb 9th. I hope to have full dining service by at least the return trip, and will report on the experience!

 

[PVD]

With proper staffing and desire, you can do a decent job in the AM-2. Not as good as a VL-2 Diner but not bad. When the Heritage diners were on their way out, the Lake had decent meals, minus a few choices, but clearly better than flex.

 

[trimetbusfan]

Will they have to replace the VLII diner on the LSL with a traditional diner to bring back full service?

I am scheduled to take the LSL eastbound leaving CHI on Jan 10th, and returning westbound leaving BOS on Feb 9th. I hope to have full dining service by at least the return trip, and will report on the experience!

They can run traditional dining service with the VLII diner. However, they need trained staff and other stuff before they can implement it. In the mean time, they will run Flex dining out of the diner. This is what happened on the Silver Service trains before traditional dining was brought back to those routes.

 

[fdaley]

More so, the VLII diners were designed specifically to support traditional dining, unlike the Amfleet cars. What really galled me at the time was that the Lake Shore, having gotten by with "diner lite" service in an Amfleet car for at least a couple of years while we waited for the VLII cars to be delivered, lost its dining service altogether the moment the VLII cars actually appeared in the consist in 2018. It was as though Anderson and company were determined not to allow these cars to used for the purpose for which they were built. So, five and a half years later, maybe we'll finally get to see the new dining cars actually used for dining service on the LSL.

 

[crescent-zephyr]

More so, the VLII diners were designed specifically to support traditional dining, unlike the Amfleet cars. What really galled me at the time was that the Lake Shore, having gotten by with "diner lite" service in an Amfleet car for at least a couple of years while we waited for the VLII cars to be delivered, lost its dining service altogether the moment the VLII cars actually appeared in the consist in 2018. It was as though Anderson and company were determined not to allow these cars to used for the purpose for which they were built. So, five and a half years later, maybe we'll finally get to see the new dining cars actually used for dining service on the LSL.

I know that feeling... my first experience riding in a new VLII diner was October 3, 2019... just a couple of days after Flex was introduced. I thought I was sad but even more sad was my sleeping car attendant who had been a waitress on Amtrak for decades!

 

[drdumont]

It most likely will as Congress has instructed Amtrak to restore traditional dining to all LD trains. I just have not been following what is the plan for the Cap.

That's the best news I've heard since that Shore Patrolman fell down the forward torpedo room hatch!

 

[fdaley]

I know that feeling... my first experience riding in a new VLII diner was October 3, 2019... just a couple of days after Flex was introduced. I thought I was sad but even more sad was my sleeping car attendant who had been a waitress on Amtrak for decades!

Well, you missed it by a few days, but at least the Crescent did get to use the VLII diners for a couple of years as they were intended.

Here's the northbound Crescent set up for lunch service on Sept. 22, 2019, barely a week before the end, as it blows through Perryville:

 

[John Santos]

Well, you missed it by a few days, but at least the Crescent did get to use the VLII diners for a couple of years as they were intended.

Here's the northbound Crescent set up for lunch service on Sept. 22, 2019, barely a week before the end, as it blows through Perryville:

Oh, rats! I took the Crescent round trip to Atlanta approximately Oct 2-6 2019, about 3 days after traditional dining ended.

 

[xzperu42]

On Acela 2155 right now returning to Metropark from Boston. Just finished the Frittata for breakfast. Better than anything I can recall being served in Business Class on an international flight. Acela First dining has definitely been improved IMHO. Very nice service again too.

My wife had the mushroom omelette and she was less enthusiastic about her choice (I can’t recall ever having a good transportation omelette). The Danish was just so so.

Some “unforeseen track maintenance” earlier near Old Saybrook has the train 19 min late out of NYP.

 

[fillyjonk]

If any train should be the next to return to traditional dining,it should be the Eagle, mainly because it’s a 32 hour run. Would be nice to get a Sightseer on that train,too.

However,Amtrak considers that train as an afterthought. Of course, it travels through some of the largest cities in the US like St Louis,Dallas and Austin. Guess that doesn’t matter.

Yeah I suspect if the Eagle EVER gets trad dining back on the eastern leg, they'll be the last one to.

I just looked up the new menu (am traveling next week for T-giving) and will have to, I guess, decide between enchiladas or chicken parm - a lot of the other things MIGHT include allergy/food intolerance triggers for me.

I miss getting a good steak. I rarely eat beef and it was a treat.

The other issue I have with the flex dining (aside from lurking allergy/food intolerance triggers) is that it's so inconsistent. If the attendant doing the heating is tired/pressed for time, you often get an overcooked meal (gluey pasta, weird hot spots). It's just.....I've had frozen "meals for one" that were better. I mean, yes, I am really paying for the privacy of the sleeper room and being able to lie down overnight, and it's worth that to me, but.....it would be nice to have an actually good dinner.

then again, if the train's really late, I just grab dinner before I get on.

 

[user 14106]

Yeah I suspect if the Eagle EVER gets trad dining back on the eastern leg, they'll be the last one to.

If they don’t bring full traditional dining to every train I’d agree that the Eagle is one of the most likely to not see it. I’d say the 3 most questionable are the Eagle, Capitol Limited, and Cardinal. The Crescent and Lake Shore seem to be the most likely (as there are current rumblings about those and indications about the physical diner returning to the Crescent.) The CONO I’d put in the middle. Having said that there are approaches other than the full boat to improving F&B to something better than the current flex offerings on any routes that do not get full service dining. We’ll have to see what Amtrak’s response to the F&B working group report says. It should be out any day now.

 

[jis]

If they don’t bring full traditional dining to every train I’d agree that the Eagle is one of the most likely to not see it. I’d say the 3 most questionable are the Eagle, Capitol Limited, and Cardinal. The Crescent and Lake Shore seem to be the most likely (as there are current rumblings about those and indications about the physical diner returning to the Crescent.) The CONO I’d put in the middle. Having said that there are approaches other than the full boat to improving F&B to something better than the current flex offerings on any routes that do not get full service dining. We’ll have to see what Amtrak’s response to the F&B working group report says. It should be out any day now.

Indeed! Before the Congress induced collapse of Dining Service, the food served to Sleeper passengers in the Cafe of the Cardinal used to be way better than anything served as Flex, both in quality and presentation.

 

[TBlack]

That the flex dining food is pretty bad is not a controversial issue, but just to add another issue: The dining car attendant seems set on seating people as far away from one another as possible; thereby, minimizing social connection which, to my way of thinking, is one of the benefits of train travel. Can't something be done about that?

 

[jis]

That the flex dining food is pretty bad is not a controversial issue, but just to add another issue: The dining car attendant seems set on seating people as far away from one another as possible; thereby, minimizing social connection which, to my way of thinking, is one of the benefits of train travel. Can't something be done about that?

Actually the procedure for seating used in Diners is highly variable. I traveled by the Silver Star and Meteor several times over the last several weeks. On different runs the procedure used were vastly different. ranging from "feel free to sit wherever you want" to " we must fill one table before starting a second table", and everything in between. So it is a mistake to generalize from one or two experiences. The only consistent thing that I found is the inconsistency between what different LSAs do. Apparently their training does not include training on a recommended procedure, or they simply choose to ignore whatever is taught.

So as a result there were occasions when I was able to chat with table mates, other occasion when I was seated with a lady who spoke 4 words of English, so not much to converse about with Yes, No, Water, and forget which was the fourth word (not the fault of the LSA). and another occasion when I was at my own table when given a choice, as that is my preference.

Actually do not under estimate how many people wish to sit by themselves if they can manage to do so. Everyone does not view the Dining Car experience as a way to enhance their social circle.

In general though a much larger proportion of Sleeper passengers are choosing to eat in their rooms than before the pandemic, at least on the Eastern trains with Traditional Dining too.

 

[pennyk]

Actually the procedure for seating used in Diners is highly variable. I traveled by the Silver Star and Meteor several times over the last several weeks. On different runs the procedure used were vastly different. ranging from "feel free to sit wherever you want" to " we must fill one table before starting a second table", and everything in between. So it is a mistake to generalize from one or two experiences. The only consistent thing that I found is the inconsistency between what different LSAs do. Apparently their training does not include training on a recommended procedure, or they simply choose to ignore whatever is taught.

So as a result there were occasions when I was able to chat with table mates, other occasion when I was seated with a lady who spoke 4 words of English, so not much to converse about with Yes, No, Water, and forget which was the fourth word (not the fault of the LSA). and another occasion when I was at my own table when given a choice, as that is my preference.

Actually do not under estimate how many people wish to sit by themselves if they can manage to do so. Everyone does not view the Dining Car experience as a way to enhance their social circle.

In general though a much larger proportion of Sleeper passengers are choosing to eat in their rooms than before the pandemic, at least on the Eastern trains with Traditional Dining too.

This corresponds to my experience 2 weeks ago. On my northbound trip on 98, the LSA wanted to seat passengers together where she chose. On my southbound trip on 91, the LSA permitted passengers to sit wherever they chose. Passengers traveling alone, sat alone. I think about half the sleeper passengers chose to eat in their rooms.