Amtrak's FY 2022-2027 Service and Asset Line Plans

[MARC Rider]

Who says you need to get rid of baggage cars if you get rid of checked baggage service? How about making the baggage cars self-service? They are accessible to the rest of the train, so there wouldn't even be any need to make station stops longer. People with more bags than they care to have at their seats or their rooms can take them to the baggage car and leave them there to be picked up when they are approaching their destination station.

 

[Amtrak25]

They have to carry them there, not let the baggage handlers in the stations do it. People won't walk up and get their bags in time for their station. All too easy steal someone else's bags, with most bags being black, very easy to do unintentionally. I don't use luggage bins in the coaches either. I cable lock it to the bar on the overhead bin and lock the suitcase.

 

[west point]

It appears that Amtrak is actually going to increase baggage service. There have been several openings for baggage master in hiring openings. BOS for one. will edit this if can find other locations.
EDIT: ALX, SEA, PVD, BAL, Portland or, New Haven, San Diego,

 

[Amtrak25]

The NEC points likely indicate return of baggage car on the "Night Owl".

 

[MARC Rider]

The NEC points likely indicate return of baggage car on the "Night Owl".

You mean the return of 65/66/67, as it always had a baggage car before it was suspended this year. (Well, almost always, but things improved greatly when the V2 baggage car went into service.)

 

[daybeers]

The NEC points likely indicate return of baggage car on the "Night Owl".

But not the Night Owl itself, as it's still "sold out" through 2023.

 

[jis]

But not the Night Owl itself, as it's still "sold out" through 2023.

But that could change at any moment. If there was no intention to do something with it, I would imagine it would not be showing up at all.

 

[daybeers]

But that could change at any moment. If there was no intention to do something with it, I would imagine it would not be showing up at all.

Whatever, I give up with Amtrak's excuses. Their level of trying to recruit employees is so low, trust me, I went to an event a couple days ago and it was laughable.

 

[Amtrak25]

FWIW, I looked it up NYP-WAS for June 1, and it says "Cancelled".

 

[toddinde]

I bet they are counting on the new generation used to fitting everything in a backpack, they have no need for checked baggage. The airlines have trained travelers with checked baggage fees to pack smarter. Less checked baggage also means less need for station staff. Pretty sure some bean counter has a spreadsheet showing the money saved fuel wise not pulling a baggage car.

Everyone hates the airlines baggage policies. The idea isn’t to be what everyone hates; the idea is to be the good different. Yes, I’m sure some bean counter has figured that. No offense to accountants, but they’ll put any business under. The perfect company is the one that cuts all expenses until they’re out of business. After all, if Amtrak went away, it would cost nothing. But the point is to grow a business, and carry more people. That’s how Amtrak increases it’s economic impact to more communities, reduces more congestion, and has a greater impact.

 

[toddinde]

What about a car that is coach/half baggage? Seems like a way to solve some of the empty baggage car issues.

I don’t know what the right mix is, but filling baggage cars with express, and Amtrak and the railroads carried a lot of it, seems a lot more sensible since they bought a lot of baggage cars. They’ll have to build a bunch of combines since this bright idea fairy hadn’t landed when they sensibly ordered baggage cars for the successful business they had. It just seems utterly stupid to me. The express business also brought things to underserved communities like flowers to flower shops on the Empire Builder route. They got rid of Express because Anderson was going to shut down the long distance trains. It was a good business that cost nothing. But it requires daily trains, something the “new” Amtrak can’t seem to provide.

 

[neroden]

Have you ever looked at the inside of a baggage car on a long-distance train? Every time I have, it's usually pretty empty. I think that the vast majority of passengers carry on all their luggage. After all, the carry-on limit is much more generous than the airlines, and it's not really that strictly enforced, anyway, at least with regards to the size of bags. I really don't think they would need to add too much extra space.

I've seen them chock-full at peak travel time on the Lake Shore Limited, necessitating two trips with the cart and a trailer for all the Syracuse luggage.

I suppose Gardner might propose getting rid of checked baggage cars, but it would be extremely stupid

 

[neroden]

So it seems to me Anthony Coscia's Board has again undermined the will of Congress.

Coscia's out once we get Biden to appoint a new board. Thank goodness.

I agree that Coscia is a useless seatwarmer; I've sent him certified mail about simple-to-fix but seemingly intractable issues such as *publishing the dining car food ingredients*, and he's done jack-all.

 

[Cal]

Coscia's out once we get Biden to appoint a new board. Thank goodness.

When will that happen???

 

[Amtrakfflyer]

Maybe tomorrow, but seeing it’s already been 1.5 years I’m having serious doubts it gets done at all. Part of the disappointment is/was the hype this Administration originally gave Amtrak. The funding is more or less in place but that’s where it stopped. I know the Administration has bigger fish to fry. Honestly I’m disappointed with Buttigeg I’ve read more about his adopted kids than I have heard him talk about Amtrak recently.

 

[MARC Rider]

Honestly I’m disappointed with Buttigeg I’ve read more about his adopted kids than I have heard him talk about Amtrak recently.

Uh, Amtrak is really a pretty small part of the Department of Transportation's portfolio. I think some people have unrealistic notions about how fast things move in Washington. Just because Congress provided some funding and made some reforms in Amtrak's mission and management, they think all of a sudden, the golden age of rail travel is going to return. Things may, indeed, improve, but it's going to take time. Anyway, nobody in the Administration can do anything about the cancellations and short consists, that was due to boneheaded moves by Amtrak's management that they're now working hard to correct, but it takes time to find, hire, and train new employees, and then have them do the necessary work on the backlog of mothballed cars. And even if a new Amtrak board is appointed tomorrow, the needed changes will take years to implement. And just becuase the news media chooses to report about the Secretary's family life rather than what he's doing for Amtrak doesn't mean he's not doing anything for Amtrak.

 

[daybeers]

Anyway, nobody in the Administration can do anything about the cancellations and short consists

But they can do something about the endless illegal delays.

it takes time to find, hire, and train new employees

They've had plenty of time and believe me, they're not trying nearly hard enough. Non-communication, acting like you're just another number, and not advertising Amtrak as a good place to work is all happening.

 

[IndyLions]

I will give them some credit for seeming to do a much better job of having a presence on Twitter lately.

And if young people are who you’re looking to hire these days, then maybe that’s an area where they need to really step up their game even further.

As far as Pete, he’s a relatively bright light in a morass of darkness as far as politicians go. Smart, hard-working, well-spoken and reasonable. If we had a few hundred more like him – including some conservative ones for constructive debate – this country would be in a lot better place.

 

[toddinde]

Of course they could do it without changing anything too, making sure that not too much baggage is loaded so as to remain within weight requirements too. Anything is possible. But to make them equivalent to the current Bag-Sleepers they will need an upgrade of the truck on the Baggage end as they are in the current Bag Dorms.

But the question would still be, why bother with a car already 35-40 years old instead of spending a bit more and just getting new cars?

And of course, if only 10 or 20 bags need to be loaded then just convert the two bedroom into a bag room and be done with it. That works too You have to keep the H room around to make the rest of the car saleable. Otherwise best would have been to convert it to a bag room

It wouldn’t make any sense to remove their most profitable and in demand product, the sleeper room, and replace it with non revenue baggage space. They have baggage cars, and need to use them.

 

[jis]

It wouldn’t make any sense to remove their most profitable and in demand product, the sleeper room, and replace it with non revenue baggage space. They have baggage cars, and need to use them.

Of course I agree with that position. Suffice it to say that you are complaining about a post completely out of context. It was in response to a specific future suggestion,, not about today.