Amtrak video: "We're Becoming a Transportation Powerhouse"

[Harmon Shay]

You have a far different experience than me. Most trips I have taken the cafe car is not open until Providence RI, many times after that station.


I'll give them 1 table. That should be more than enough. Amtrak policy states 1 table unless there is no overhead luggage storage:

https://www.amtrak.com/content/dam/...-service-standards-manual-101424-redacted.pdf

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Again, when I was on the Caledonian Sleeper in Scotland there were 2 attendants and it worked well. One person serving tables one person preparing meals and serving take aways.

Having a server for tables could help alleviate this. Also I have been on many NER where the conductor stated that the the cafe tables were for eating and drinking.

Someone should make the commissary aware. Does the commissary know that a train is sold out and thus maybe increase stock? Somehow I doubt it.

I saw this on service on the regionals for a time and it seemed to work. Sounds like they may have had the wrong cart or forgot how this was done before. This is also done on many trains overseas, it is not a new concept.

I think it could be done if done well. Not everyone will use it but right now the cafe tables are used just for the lucky few and Amtrak staff. I think the present set-up is not being utilized for maximum revenue.

Last I heard, cart service was supposed to be available on the Airo Cascades food service cars in some form, along with regular cafe service with tables.

 

[Qapla]

Instead of listening to each other and their own opinions, maybe they should listen to their customers/riders ... they might be surprised to find that what they (Amtrak) thinks differs greatly from what the paying public thinks.

 

[Cal]

Conductors obviously do have a lot of work. But I don't see why they need that much space. On Metrolink, conductors have a very small space for their work and they tend to keep it all confined there. Now, there is only one conductor on Metrolink, but the table is not a full table size. If they can do it for every single Metrolink train, I think it is feasible to make it work for Amtrak.

 

[Widfara]

Apparently the "transportation powerhouse" didn't have a spare engine to keep train 21 going past St Louis yesterday. Texas Eagle 21 cancelled at St Louis due to "mechanical difficulties". And, to find that out, because it was not in the Service Alerts, I had to try to find a train going southbound, there to be told of the cancellation. Did someone forget to change the batteries in the Transportation Powerhouse?

 

[Hans627]

I've been riding Amtrak for a long time. In general it seems as though the service is getting better but they still have a long way to go.

We recently on the Auto Train. The SCA was excellent. The service in the dining car was mediocre at best. Until they retire some of the old school employees or get them to change their behavior (which will most likely not happen) I don't think it will get much better.

I don't know what a dining car waiter is paid but it must be fairly high as they don't seem to care about receiving tips. If they did they would be nicer!

 

[Septa9739]

Everybody you see onboard an Amtrak train is a represented skilled tradesman and paid accordingly. They certainly aren’t making the $2.25 federal food service minimum plus tips.

 

[Steve's Wanderlust]

There's certainly a considerable disparity between Amtrak's marketing team & OBS. Such isn't unique to Amtrak, but closing the gap through development of all staff as one group of coworkers rather than compartments of ad-people & train crews would help. Long-standing cultural divides are difficult to bridge.

 

[GariYaMoshi]

In the hopes that someone in Amtrak management actually reads this, here's my recent experience with Amtrak:

Borealis (MSP - CHI) - on-time, decent ride, cafe offerings good with personable cafe car attendant. Will repeat this ride in the future.

Chicago Metropolitan Lounge - fairly well stocked, like that they took initial dinner reservations, well-maintained.

California Zephyr (CHI - EMY) - reasonably on-time, super sleeping car attendant (Karen) who kept us appraised of what was going on and laid out expectations at the beginning of the journey and kept us updated through-out, responsive to requests. Dining car experience was great, enjoyed great food and service, met fellow travelers. Sleeper was bit uncomfortable, bad rail in Nebraska, thin mattresses. Will repeat this ride in the future.

EMY station - helped me swap out sleeping car reservation for next leg, very helpful. Would do again.

Los Angeles Metropolitan Lounge - well stocked, took care of our checked luggage, good ride to sleeping car.

Southwest Chief (LAX - CHI) - reasonably on-time, sleeping car attendant was MIA (had to hunt down both nights to get our beds made - ARGH), dining car experience was excellent - super job by the OBS, menu sadly the same so we ended up with 4 days of the same meals on this vacation. Condition of the rail ride was abysmal in New Mexico - thought we would rock off the rails (not Amtrak's fault I know) and was amazed that the OBS could keep their balance. Sleeping car (32086) was in a less than desirable state - hallway walls dirty, windows not washed, room looked like it was last repaired/refreshed in the '00's. Won't take this route again.

Chicago Metropolitan Lounge - used a lounge pass, well worth. Same experience as above.

Empire Builder (CHI - MSP) - great ride, comfortable ride in coach. Didn't use the cafe car or dining car. Will repeat this route.

So overall, our experience was that Amtrak needs to pressure the freight lines to upgrade their tracks to improve the actual experience. Putting new or newer rolling stock on the poorly maintained rails will lead to an early destruction of the stock.

I dare the leadership of Amtrak to actually take a long ride in some of the older rolling stock on the poorly maintained areas of the system. Get rid of the Flex and Flex+ meals and serve food that actually is healthy for individuals (lower salt, etc.).

 

[Cal]

Southwest Chief (LAX - CHI) - reasonably on-time, sleeping car attendant was MIA (had to hunt down both nights to get our beds made - ARGH), dining car experience was excellent - super job by the OBS, menu sadly the same so we ended up with 4 days of the same meals on this vacation. Condition of the rail ride was abysmal in New Mexico - thought we would rock off the rails (not Amtrak's fault I know) and was amazed that the OBS could keep their balance. Sleeping car (32086) was in a less than desirable state - hallway walls dirty, windows not washed, room looked like it was last repaired/refreshed in the '00's. Won't take this route again.

Apart from the rougher riding, your problems can happen on any Amtrak train. Knocking off the Chief from your list for the staff will eventually result in you knocking off every Amtrak train ever off your list.

I've brought this up before but am I the only one that finds rougher track fun?

 

[Hans627]

IMHO it is not so much fun when trying to sleep!

 

[west point]

Have found out that smooth sections of rough track (such as stops) allow me to fall asleep and the rough track then rocks me into a sound sleep. That way sleep thru all rough sections.

 

[Harmon Shay]

Instead of listening to each other and their own opinions, maybe they should listen to their customers/riders ... they might be surprised to find that what they (Amtrak) thinks differs greatly from what the paying public thinks.

Amtrak is hardly a powerhouse in Washington state. It's been almost completely absent from Thanksgiving and Christmas travel news coverage, even with lots of people riding all of the Cascades round trips. Meanwhile, it's completely dead in eastern Washington, with only one coach assigned to the Empire Builder this year offering 74 seats plus one handicapped space. For comparison, in the mid and late 1960s, the Empire Builder, North Coast Limited, Western Star and Mainstreeter combined were able to handle nearly 1,400 coach passengers each way on the day before Thanksgiving between Seattle and Spokane and intermediate cities.

 

[Widfara]

I've brought this up before but am I the only one that finds rougher track fun?

It's very difficult to drink coffee on the Buckingham Branch into Charlottesville (or any rough route). Old equipment performs badly on rough roadbed.

 

[Qapla]

On The Weather Channel every morning they talk about the impact the weather does/doesn't have on travel. They recap the Interstates and Air Travel, usually showing all the major airports, and any delays they may have. During the holiday season they talk about how many people are traveling. They mention the numbers for cars and airplanes then lump bus, trains and cruises all together. If Amtrak was a "powerhouse" they would be mentioned separate like air travel is. Likewise, if Amtrak were truly interested in being a powerhouse, they would talk to/lobby The Weather Chanel to mention them like they do air travel since they are the nation's only national passenger rail system.

 

[MARC Rider]

Instead of listening to each other and their own opinions, maybe they should listen to their customers/riders ... they might be surprised to find that what they (Amtrak) thinks differs greatly from what the paying public thinks.

Actually, they do that. I've had a couple of survey requests about my recent NER/Acela trip. One of them even asked about the food service, both in terms of food quality and service. Aside from a little nitpicking, I had to say they treated us quite well.

 

[Gary Moline]

In the hopes that someone in Amtrak management actually reads this, here's my recent experience with Amtrak:

Borealis (MSP - CHI) - on-time, decent ride, cafe offerings good with personable cafe car attendant. Will repeat this ride in the future.

Chicago Metropolitan Lounge - fairly well stocked, like that they took initial dinner reservations, well-maintained.

California Zephyr (CHI - EMY) - reasonably on-time, super sleeping car attendant (Karen) who kept us appraised of what was going on and laid out expectations at the beginning of the journey and kept us updated through-out, responsive to requests. Dining car experience was great, enjoyed great food and service, met fellow travelers. Sleeper was bit uncomfortable, bad rail in Nebraska, thin mattresses. Will repeat this ride in the future.

EMY station - helped me swap out sleeping car reservation for next leg, very helpful. Would do again.

Los Angeles Metropolitan Lounge - well stocked, took care of our checked luggage, good ride to sleeping car.

Southwest Chief (LAX - CHI) - reasonably on-time, sleeping car attendant was MIA (had to hunt down both nights to get our beds made - ARGH), dining car experience was excellent - super job by the OBS, menu sadly the same so we ended up with 4 days of the same meals on this vacation. Condition of the rail ride was abysmal in New Mexico - thought we would rock off the rails (not Amtrak's fault I know) and was amazed that the OBS could keep their balance. Sleeping car (32086) was in a less than desirable state - hallway walls dirty, windows not washed, room looked like it was last repaired/refreshed in the '00's. Won't take this route again.

Chicago Metropolitan Lounge - used a lounge pass, well worth. Same experience as above.

Empire Builder (CHI - MSP) - great ride, comfortable ride in coach. Didn't use the cafe car or dining car. Will repeat this route.

So overall, our experience was that Amtrak needs to pressure the freight lines to upgrade their tracks to improve the actual experience. Putting new or newer rolling stock on the poorly maintained rails will lead to an early destruction of the stock.

I dare the leadership of Amtrak to actually take a long ride in some of the older rolling stock on the poorly maintained areas of the system. Get rid of the Flex and Flex+ meals and serve food that actually is healthy for individuals (lower salt, etc.).

In my opinion, this is a very good and accurate report. Of course different crew members can make all the difference. I am in total agreement about the food. Flex HAS TO GO. Not only that, but diners have to come back on all routes with traditional dining, improved traditional, that is. For dinner, a small garden salad should be offered at all times, in additional to basically only two starters. Bring back the coconut shrimp (current offering is like shrimp coated in rice krispies). Something light is needed for desert. The Meyer Lemon cake was good. OK, off my soapbox.

 

[Barb Stout]

I've brought this up before but am I the only one that finds rougher track fun?

I love it! Except when I'm eating as I will develop indigestion. Rough tracks when I'm sleeping are like getting a massage all night long. Very relaxing. Although I haven't been on tracks rough enough to throw me out of the bed like what happened to the mother of one of our commentators.

 

[Maglev]

Having a spokesperson wearing a T-shirt and no socks does not bode well for improving the first-class image.