Triley
Real Lead Service Attendant
During Covid, apparently so.
Autotrain Services Drastically Cut?
- Thread starter dlagrua
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During Covid, apparently so.
The last time I rode the AT, I did not take my car. A friend, who was traveling from NJ to visit his mother in Florida, allowed me to link my reservation to his car (which is permitted). I got my own room. Although I have a car, I do not drive very much and the last place I want to drive is in the DC area. I had not taken the AT in years and wanted to do so. It worked out well for me.
This was years ago (pre-covid) and we ate in the dining car with no limitation on services.
I actually like traveling alone, so while this solution is good, it's unlikely to work for me. Most of my friends are in too much of a hurry to go someplace to enjoy the trip itself. It doesn't make for good travelling companions.
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Interesting this ongoing thread given what I heard today - Auto Train is getting a new dining car menu. They are replacing the separate Auto train dinner menu with the dinner portion of the western trains traditional dining menu and the desserts. Additionally they are going to first alcoholic beverage of any kind on the house instead of just wine. Also the cafe menu is getting a refresh.
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I saw another trip report about the sleeper lounge situation today on a facebook group. This report had no lounge attendant on their trip down earlier in the month and then a manned lounge on the way back. They said they were told they are understaffed and determination is made each trip based on available staff. Based on my experience and also hearing this I'm going to say my thought is that they are basically understaffed and the sleeper lounge attendant is probably, understandably, one of the first thing to get dropped if they aren't going to have a complete crew. This is probably not any kind of a permanent cut.
You can always rent a car and just drop off at the other end. We have done that before.
Have you seen rental car rates lately? This would involve paying more than $100 a day extra for me to drive through the congested DC area traffic to pick up the autotrain (about 1.5 to 2 hours from Baltimore to Lorton), and then be dropped of in Sanford, not near anywhere I would want to go in Florida, thus requiring more driving in congested central Florida traffic. The alternative is to just take one of the Silvers directly from Baltimore to wherever I want to go in Florida, and then a short cab ride to the car rental agency if I need a car where I'm going (and given Florida, unless I'm just planning to spend the whole time in Miami Beach, I'm going to need a car.) If the messiah comes, maybe Amtrak will finally be able to use the new station at the Miami airport, and it will be even better, because one can get a rental car there, and a cab ride won't be necessary.
jis
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Nobody said that everyone coming to Florida has to use the Auto Train you know
Everyone should use what works the best for them including flying or driving if it suites AFAIAC.BTW, you could take Tri-Rail from Hollywood to Miami Airport, connection on the same platform from Silver Service and get your rental car there.
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New Auto train sleeper dinner menu. https://www.amtrak.com/content/dam/...outes/Auto-Train-Dinner-Menu-Sleeper-1021.pdf
New auto train cafe car menu: https://www.amtrak.com/content/dam/...us/routes/Auto-Train-Cafe-Menu-Coach-1121.pdf
New auto train cafe car menu: https://www.amtrak.com/content/dam/...us/routes/Auto-Train-Cafe-Menu-Coach-1121.pdf
I see 3 flex meals on the cafe menu.
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Yes the old cafe menu offered two of them the braised beef and asian noodle bowl now they offer three - seems one of the main points of this menu update was to update those offerings to what's offered on the new flex menu. Couple other subtracts/adds - notably no more salads/fresh sandwiches but a few more items like chicken street tacos, mac and cheese, veggie tamale.I see 3 flex meals on the cafe menu.
DARN - they took off the kids chicken tenders --- my go to (with the honey mustard I bring along).
Dakota 400
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Pleased to see that the Kendall Jackson Chardonnay is still on the menu.
Of course, I'm just commenting about taking the Auto Train without having a car to take along. Clearly, the main benefit of paying extra to take your car with you depends on the rental car rates at the destination, and how long you're staying there. If it's cheaper to not take your car, then, of course, one can ride the Silvers.Nobody said that everyone coming to Florida has to use the Auto Train you know
BTW, you could take Tri-Rail from Hollywood to Miami Airport, connection on the same platform from Silver Service and get your rental car there.
As far as the Tri-rail connection at Hollywood, I considered doing that when I last took the Silver Meteor, but that platform at Hollywood was sure dark, the Silver Meteor was 2 hours late, and I wasn't sure how long I'd have to wait for the next southbound Tri-Rail train. We ended up just riding to Miami and taking a cab to the rental car center.
And selling for 16 dollars each!!!!I see 3 flex meals on the cafe menu.
Qapla
Engineer
They have to price them like that - how else can they justify the high cost they claim meals are for the sleepers ...
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Looked again and noticed Auto Train will continue to have ice cream which is one unique aspect of the menu (which western LD trains do not have.)
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Another unique thing I just spotted - the Auto Train steak is mashed or baked potato instead of cheddar polenta or baked potato.
Ziv
Conductor
Is the Vanillia Ice Cream on the dinner menu really a thing? Maybe a brand name? Or is it just a typo? If it is a typo, it is odd that the menu actually got released that way.
ehbowen
Engineer
The "no riders without a car" policy is a holdover from when Auto-Train began as a private company in December, 1971...AFTER Amtrak started operations. Amtrak's enabling legislation and agreements with the railroads forbade anyone from competing directly with them. A-T Corp came up with the approach that this was not a passenger train, it was a freight train carrying autos, and that any passengers were merely incidental to its operation...as in back in the day when "drovers" used to accompany livestock shipments and "banana messengers" would ride along with fast freight shipments of fresh fruits.
This, written into the contract with Seaboard Coast Line, passed muster with the legal eagles and A-T was allowed to continue to operate. Eventually they made some unwise expansion moves and ended up in bankruptcy, with Amtrak picking up the pieces. You might think that with Amtrak now owning everything the non-compete provision would be void, but it would require renegotiating the operating agreement for those two prime slots with CSX...which company is now a lot less friendly towards passenger train operations than it was back in the days as SCL.
Is there an effective date for the new menu?
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This past Wednesday I think
The Sleeper Lounge is officially becoming unstaffed within the next couple weeks as a cost saving measure.
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