Amtrak's struggles

[Amtrakfflyer]

https://ctexaminer.com/2022/11/20/talking-transportation-amtrak-struggles/
$618 RT in COACH NY to BOS, ouch!

 

[user 14106]

https://ctexaminer.com/2022/11/20/talking-transportation-amtrak-struggles/
$618 RT in COACH NY to BOS, ouch!

I read this article - the national issues of Amtrak reducing jobs early in the pandemic, while certainly impactful in general on Amtrak as a national system are actually somewhat irrelevant to what this author is complaining about with the Springfield line. Amtrak has never operated extras for thanksgiving on the line - the staffing decisions earlier in the pandemic while they certainly have national implications have absolutely nothing to do with why they don’t. Normally there are plenty of extra seats on the 400 series trains to cover the CTDOT commuter rail passengers however on busy periods like thanksgiving they fill up with Amtrak ticket holders so CTDOT runs some extras after the more popular trains to ensure their commuter customers have a train to board. This has been going on since before the pandemic and is nothing new. Initially Amtrak would borrow a CTDOT Mafersa set in place of one of its Amfleet sets and tinker with two of its Amfleet sets to make a single 3 car Amflee set along with the SLE set so they’d have two longer trainsets with more seats. They stopped doing that because they had Amtrak ticketed passengers that ended up on the commuter equipment complaining about being on commuter rail equipment when they bought Amtrak tickets.

Really not not sure what it is they are complaining about unless it’s just general belly aching about Amtrak in general. It’s not really Amtrak’s problem to figure out the CTRail passengers - I don’t really see what’s broke here.

 

[Just-Thinking-51]

“Why can’t Amtrak add more cars to its trains to carry the extra loads, earn some badly needed revenue and help people make their holiday journey? The answer: bad management.”

The most busy day of the year is the base line for equipment and personal?

Seem a bit extreme. I get the all hands on the deck. Have all rolling stock available. But to buy and staff equipment for the highest peak service day, is a bit unrealistic, and unreasonable.

Amtrak does put extra effort in for this one day, have they been able to do more in the past? Maybe, but let’s get real. You don’t build a system just for a busy single day.

 

[TheCrescent]

https://ctexaminer.com/2022/11/20/talking-transportation-amtrak-struggles/
$618 RT in COACH NY to BOS, ouch!

Thanks for posting the article. Finally, transportation reporting by someone who is knowledgeable.

The article says that due to staff shortages of on-board personnel, sleeping cars can’t be used, despite demand.

Clearly if Amtrak has an available sleeping car, but not enough on/board personnel, just add the sleeping car to the train and reduce onboard employees’ duties so that there is enough staff to go around.

For example, instead of (1) requiring that sleeping car attendants bring food to passengers’ rooms and (2) prohibiting passengers from eating in cafe cars, instead (3) let passengers go to cafe cars and pick up their food themselves (perhaps at reserved times only). This isn’t rocket science.

 

[BlackDiamond]

https://ctexaminer.com/2022/11/20/talking-transportation-amtrak-struggles/
$618 RT in COACH NY to BOS, ouch!

A quick check of NYP-BOS for Wednesday before Thanksgiving shows coach seats for $241 still available. Acela BC in the $300 range, maybe that's what he was looking at.

 

[daybeers]

They've been artificially inflating fares around Thanksgiving for years now.

 

[Bob Dylan]

https://ctexaminer.com/2022/11/20/talking-transportation-amtrak-struggles/
$618 RT in COACH NY to BOS, ouch!

Mercy!

 

[Joe from PA]

Remember "sections"? The 20th Century Limited, and others, would run up to 3 sections, leaving at the same time, when demand was considered.