Amtrak Dining and Cafe service 2023 H2

[JRR]

Wow- a big part of riding the train for me was the interaction in the diner among everyone. I loved that.

I totally agree that sharing the dining experience with others is one of the pleasures of train travel. Eating in the room or roomette is not a great experience for me but an option for those who do not wish company. My first long trip was on the Canadian where we met people from all over the world and it probably influenced my views on sharing.

 

[SantaFe69]

I've made two multi-day round trips this year traveling alone. Both with multiple LD trains involved, so quite a few meals. If I'm in a chipper mood, I've gone to the diner ready for whatever seating I'm given. A couple times I was in a quieter mood, and went to the diner kind of hoping to be seated alone and ending up seated with others anyway. Each time I was seated with others, I ended up having very interesting, intellegent, enjoyable conversations that added quite positively to my vacation experience. I had a couple meals in my room and there was no salt & pepper, no drink refills, just not very convenient. Maybe I've just been lucky, but with only one exception, I've found my fellow Amtrak travelers in the station lounges and on the trains to be fun & interesting additions to my adventures.

 

[Palmland]

Communal dining on Amtrak is one of the few places you can meet and have pleasant conversations with people with a widely varying social and economic background.

For my wife and I that has included a Microsoft exec and his son, a WalMart truck driver and wife, a homeless single mom (heading to CA to start a new life) and child, and fellow Florida transplants. We really enjoyed those meals. However, given a choice I probably wouldn’t have chosen a communal seating but I’m glad that wasn’t an option.

But, we also enjoyed even more the meal on the PPC where just the two of us were seated across from each other. We did not like the Covid era meal where we were confined to our room.

I guess because of the high number of passengers, our AutoTrain meals have always been in a crowded dining car and last trip I only saw SCA’s with two carry out dinners.

 

[drdumont]

At least if you are going CHI-LAX the Eagle sleeper becomes a Sunset sleeper, and sanity is returned to the dining experience.
As to the CHI-SAS, on our trip ending Sunday, the FSA had to close the snack bar, heat the glop in the galley, come upstairs and serve the patrons, and deliver to the sleeper! Absolutely unacceptable, IMHO.
So IF you can, go to the dining car and give the FSA a favor. We even bussed our own trays.
I know on some trips the SCA would deliver the meals, but our lackluster SCAs did not on our trips North on Tues and South on Sat.

 

[WBG Station 1935]

On a previous cafe service thread I wrote this --

I'd say dislike of QR codes for restaurant menus is certainly not generational or a lack of being tech savy. Personally I find them low class and lazy and I won't go to restaurants that want to digitize my experience while expecting me to increasingly subsidize their payroll with larger tip percentages. On the otherhand I like the ordering kiosks at Sheetz and WaWa. Now I'd be all for a QR code at my seat on Amtrak where I could order from the café car, pay, and an attendant delivers to my seat. I'd be happy to tip for that service too.

Well well well...

Look what's getting reported this morning --
Amtrak is testing in-seat delivery, online ordering from the cafe car

 

[MccfamschoolMom]

On a previous cafe service thread I wrote this --


Well well well...

Look what's getting reported this morning --
Amtrak is testing in-seat delivery, online ordering from the cafe car

I'd love to see this expanded to Midwest Corridor trains, too! At least the "order from your phone" part. Unless one has mobility issues, getting up and walking to the Cafe Car is useful exercise -- even in a car which is split Business Class/Cafe.

 

[crescent-zephyr]

So if you are handicapped and unable to walk to the cafe car they are going to charge you $2.50? Is that legal?
Or am I missing the part where it says the service will continue to be free for those who need it?

 

[MccfamschoolMom]

So if you are handicapped and unable to walk to the cafe car they are going to charge you $2.50? Is that legal?
Or am I missing the part where it says the service will continue to be free for those who need it?

I didn't see anything about at-seat delivery being free for mobility-impaired passengers in the linked article from The Points Guy; of course, it would be nice to see the official text of the announcement from Amtrak itself. At-seat delivery ought to be free for mobility-impaired passengers; presumably on-board staff (such as the conductor checking one's ticket upon boarding) should be able to confirm that. Maybe there could be a coupon code waiving the at-seat delivery fee for mobility-impaired passengers?

 

[WBG Station 1935]

Well only speaking for myself, with a disability, I don't see the issue. As described it is the planned fee for the service charged to everyone equally.

 

[railiner]

I wonder if the “service charge” is supposed to cover a gratuity, or will the attendant expect a tip on top of that?
Maybe the online order will provide a separate line to add a tip?

 

[Steve4031]

It would seem that the 2.50 would help cover the cost of an additional employee being used to deliver this service. This type of service was available on an Austrian railjet train train when I rode it a few years ago.

 

[trimetbusfan]

So if you are handicapped and unable to walk to the cafe car they are going to charge you $2.50? Is that legal?
Or am I missing the part where it says the service will continue to be free for those who need it?

Car attendants and conductors are supposed to provide at seat service for those in mobility devices. I wouldn’t expect that to change

 

[sporksradiant]

I wish they gave the option of dining without shared tables.

As someone with food allergies, it simply isn't safe for myself and my daughter to share a table with someone eating peanut items or who recently has eaten them. So we forego the dining car & eat in room unless we can get the first slot and it's not busy.

 

[PVD]

Car attendants and conductors are supposed to provide at seat service for those in mobility devices. I wouldn’t expect that to change

Other than FC on the Acela, a typical NEC train has no car attendants.

 

[trimetbusfan]

Other than FC on the Acela, a typical NEC train has no car attendants.

Hence why I said ‘or conductors.’ I was riding my home train (the cascades, which also doesn’t have car attendants) last week and witnessed the conductor bring a paper cafe menu to someone in a wheelchair. After taking their order and payment they came back with their food.

 

[crescent-zephyr]

Hence why I said ‘or conductors.’ I was riding my home train (the cascades, which also doesn’t have car attendants) last week and witnessed the conductor bring a paper cafe menu to someone in a wheelchair. After taking their order and payment they came back with their food.

That's my concern - will Conductors / Attendants refuse to help cause they "should order on the app."

 

[joelkfla]

Car attendants and conductors are supposed to provide at seat service for those in mobility devices. I wouldn’t expect that to change

It's not limited to passengers in mobility devices. The SSM has it in the section covering assistance to passengers with disabilities, not the one specifically covering mobility devices.

 

[trimetbusfan]

That's my concern - will Conductors / Attendants refuse to help cause they "should order on the app."

I hear your concern but respectfully, it's also not really worth making a big deal out of an issue that doesn't exist yet.

 

[WBG Station 1935]

I hear your concern but respectfully, it's also not really worth making a big deal out of an issue that doesn't exist yet.

Exactly. I just cannot see getting wound up over hypotheticals for a service in developedment, being tested, and not fully rolled out.

 

[crescent-zephyr]

I wasn't aware that commenting on a concern = making a big deal or getting wound up.

We will see how the test goes. I'm gonna guess that most cafe attendants keep the feature turned off anyway.

 

[jis]

They are testing only on Acelas, and the trains on which they are testing has an additional SA.

I have experienced food ordered over the so called Ecatering App in India, which allows you to order from the Pantry Car on the train, or a static kitchen at a selected station or from select other vendors (like Dominos, KFC, other local vendors) at a station that you designate for delivery. In addition the IRCTC staff on board is happy to take orders in person. All food is delivered to the seat. You do need to provide your PNR to access the feature. The App finds where you are located from the PNR unless you are in unreserved accommodation in which case you have to provide the information. But in general no PNR no food. It works very well, but that is perhaps because it is just a E-veneer slapped onto things that already existed in the no-E world (except the alternate vendor part of it).

I think if managed well this would be quite useful, specially for ordering significant meals. I don't think it makes sense for ordering a bag of chips. Eventually even delivery from local vendors could be managed if the Union issues can be resolved. Somehow, in the highly unionized Indian Railways things were worked out, I suppose since OBS was never really strongly unionized, as the operating crew is.

 

[jpakala]

We've always enjoyed those with whom we have dined, such as a couple from the UK who came to NY on the QE2 and headed to CA and back by train, and a couple from western Canada on the CL, a retired teacher taking the train to FL as her husband flew down, a lady & daughter from China going north from LA and then an Australian, a CA native & us at the next meal. Nice.

 

[Sunrobber]

We just finished taking the Sunset Limited from New Orleans to LA. Our tablemates were always enjoyable. One was a couple on their way to see their daughter and husband who is an Airline pilot. The enjoyment with this couple is they had little English just as we had little of their language. We managed to laugh and figure out the basics of what we were trying to communicate.

The second tablemate was retired military (as am I). He was extremely hard of hearing and apologized for sometimes missing parts of the conversation. He laughed when I pulled one of my hearing aids out and told him I'd share.

The third couple were truly Cajun, they had a thick Cajun French accent accent and the and the charming to go with it. This was the conversation that covered diversity and eventually to the “diverse” conversation into the realm of the kitchen. We stayed talking so long, the attendant finally asked to go to the observation car and continue to chat there. She even offered to serve another round of drinks to take with us.

This last couple is on their way to their daughter’s place. She will be makingvgumbo and he will be doing a Cajun fried Turkey.

All of us found and out that we were all traveling to see family for Thanksgiving. We all parted with Thanksgiving well wishes. There was truly a spirit of Thanksgiving on this particular journey.

 

[niemi24s]

One cherished memory is dining with a couple from the UK on the Empire Builder while in Montana. They were simply flabbergasted at the expanse of Big Sky Country.

 

[BlackDiamond]

Our last LD trip was at the tail end of the pandemic so they were still seating people apart but one trip on 448 a lady traveling alone was accidentally seated with us as the attendant thought she was part of our party. We had a nice conversation as she had just finished a visit in Boston to attend a spiritual conference and was returning home to Erie PA (which meant detraining at O dark 30 I didn't envy her). Seems you always meet interesting people on trains.