Midwest Venture introduction

[Burns651]

I have not yet ridden in a Venture car so I cannot comment on the seat comfort. But what I can say from the pictures at least is that the seats do not look all that different from train seats used on European railroads. In 2020 I rode on both RENFE (Spain) and TGV (France). Here are a couple pictures that are pretty similar to the seats the trains had.

TVG: https://www.seat61.com/images/lacroix-tgv-2nd-large.jpg
Renfe: https://www.seat61.com/images/Spain-ave-train-103-t2-large.jpg

Those look awful as well.

 

[rs9]

Those look awful as well.

My ride was only 90 minutes, as opposed to a 5 hour CHI-STL journey. But my experience was they weren't really remarkable in a good way or a bad way. They felt fine, they weren't luxurious, and to be honest I never really thought about the seats at all until the Venture debates started up.

A relevant question here is: does any company still produce seats in the old Horizon/Amfleet model?

 

[PerRock]

My ride was only 90 minutes, as opposed to a 5 hour CHI-STL journey. But my experience was they weren't really remarkable in a good way or a bad way. They felt fine, they weren't luxurious, and to be honest I never really thought about the seats at all until the Venture debates started up.

I've done 4 hours in similar seats in in England, and found them to be fine. In fact thinking back upon it, I would say they were more comfortable than the ones currently used. The current seats can cause me a bit of pain in the tail-bone area after sitting in them for a few hours, something I did not experience on LNER.

I think the majority of American equate more coushion to being more comfortable, whereas IMHO the design of the seat itself can be just as important to comfort, if not more so.

peter

PS. As I write this, it dawns on me that my very own "gamer" desk chair is very similar in cushion level to the Venture seats; and I sit in that pretty much all day without any issues.

 

[Steve4031]

I can guarantee that the venture seats are better than greyhound. Greyhound has no legroom. And their customer service is abysmal compared even to Amtrak.

 

[rs9]

I've done 4 hours in similar seats in in England, and found them to be fine. In fact thinking back upon it, I would say they were more comfortable than the ones currently used. The current seats can cause me a bit of pain in the tail-bone area after sitting in them for a few hours, something I did not experience on LNER.

I think the majority of American equate more coushion to being more comfortable, whereas IMHO the design of the seat itself can be just as important to comfort, if not more so.

peter

PS. As I write this, it dawns on me that my very own "gamer" desk chair is very similar in cushion level to the Venture seats; and I sit in that pretty much all day without any issues.

Your experience with Amfleet/Horizon corridor seats is exactly the same as mine. When I first sit down, it feels super comfortable. After a few hours, the seat does not feel ergonomically right to support my body. Now of course that may just be an individual issue, but I have had trouble being comfortable for the full CHI-STL trip.

For what it's worth, I did STL-CHI once on the Texas Eagle/Superliner and found that to be comfortable all the way, despite my seat mate consuming vast amounts of fried chicken and my worst fears - greasy hands - coming perilously close to me.

 

[PVD]

The new cars are a disgrace to the already disgraced Amtrak. I can't speak for how far back they recline because that feature was not working. The seats are, as stated before, uncomfortable. Round trip from BNL to STL was not one I would want to take again, but I probably will have to at some point. The larger bathroom was the only saving feature. I wonder who in the heck was in charge of the decision to do this to their passengers. And now we're stuck with it for who-knows how many years.

Amtrak didn't buy them, nor did they spec the interior. They are the operator and maintainer under contract of these state purchased and owned cars. If they choose the same for the cars they are buying that would be on them. But this is certainly not Amtrak's fault.

 

[PaTrainFan]

Your experience with Amfleet/Horizon corridor seats is exactly the same as mine. When I first sit down, it feels super comfortable. After a few hours, the seat does not feel ergonomically right to support my body. Now of course that may just be an individual issue, but I have had trouble being comfortable for the full CHI-STL trip.

For what it's worth, I did STL-CHI once on the Texas Eagle/Superliner and found that to be comfortable all the way, despite my seat mate consuming vast amounts of fried chicken and my worst fears - greasy hands - coming perilously close to me.

I've never been a fan of Amfleet or Superliner seats. Too hard for my liking.

 

[Cal]

Now on 318?

 

[ShiningTimeStL]

Now on 318?

Yes, thank you, I was gonna post about this. A buddy of mine rode 319 back from Chicago the other day and gave his review of the new cars. Apparently the speaker notification chime got stuck for a while at one point. Teething troubles!

 

[Cal]

So what trains are they operating on?

 

[west point]

Does Siemens have warranty persons on duty in CHI to mitigate any problems. That may be why there is a quick removal of equipment on a train to fix these problems. But who knows?

 

[CCC1007]

So what trains are they operating on?

350/353 and 318/319, last I got an update. These two round trips require three sets with one overnighting in Kansas City and the other two in Chicago.

 

[Cal]

Business class cars moved to the yard and off the mail platforms

 

[Fenway]

The coach cars look promising

 

[Cal]

The coach cars look promising

They are wonderful. I rode the Wolverine this week, and I really liked them. Seats are fine and honestly just as comfortable as the horizon and superliner seats for me (I’m fairly slim and 5’7).

 

[rickycourtney]

There's been a lot of complaints from rail fans about the seats... to which I say... “You can please some of the people all of the time, you can please all of the people some of the time, but you can't please all of the people all of the time”.

 

[TransitTyrant]

They are wonderful. I rode the Wolverine this week, and I really liked them. Seats are fine and honestly just as comfortable as the horizon and superliner seats for me (I’m fairly slim and 5’7).

A little concerned some of the panels already appear to be loose. Only place I could see the seats being an issue is the on the new TCMC train set to start in late 2023.

 

[Cal]

A little concerned some of the panels already appear to be loose. Only place I could see the seats being an issue is the on the new TCMC train set to start in late 2023.

I didn’t watch the video so I’m unsure of which panels.

 

[Mailliw]

Cool video. If you read the comments apparently one reason for the seats not rotating are the outlets between them; it cause strain on the wiring. Haven't heard that theory before.

 

[Cal]

Cool video. If you read the comments apparently one reason for the seats not rotating are the outlets between them; it cause strain on the wiring. Haven't heard that theory before.

I wouldn’t think it’s a theory, seems like common sense. If those outlets mean we sacrifice turning seats im fine with it

 

[Fenway]

Another fan video

 

[joelkfla]

Another review, with very detailed seat tour:

 

[jpakala]

I couldn't discern what the complaint was (near the end) when you said if you had one it would be "that"; you were off the train at Kalamazoo and the train was behind you. You added that maybe someday it would be fixed.

 

[TRA_Thom]

I couldn't discern what the complaint was (near the end) when you said if you had one it would be "that"; you were off the train at Kalamazoo and the train was behind you. You added that maybe someday it would be fixed.

Creator of the video here. By “that” I meant that the stripes on the locomotive do not line up with the livery of the cars. A commenter noted that it was because the locomotives were originally meant to match the bilevel Nippon Sharyo cars that never ended up being built. So perhaps one day they’ll adjust the paint job on the Chargers.
Other than that, I loved the cars. I found them to be modern, spacious, light, and comfortable. Although I wish the passenger information screens worked. And the toilet door did not shut all the way.

 

[joelkfla]

Creator of the video here. By “that” I meant that the stripes on the locomotive do not line up with the livery of the cars. A commenter noted that it was because the locomotives were originally meant to match the bilevel Nippon Sharyo cars that never ended up being built. So perhaps one day they’ll adjust the paint job on the Chargers.
Other than that, I loved the cars. I found them to be modern, spacious, light, and comfortable. Although I wish the passenger information screens worked. And the toilet door did not shut all the way.

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