Private operation of long distance trains?

[cirdan]

3) I'm sure the costs are built into the Premium fare. I haven't been on since the pandemic shutdown, but I've seen reports that the lounge now uses an automated tap which restricts riders to 1 or 2 alcoholic beverages. Fans coming from sports venues are the bigger drunkenness problem.

4) Not everyone will want a bag of chips or candy bar on the train, but most will appreciate a soda or coffee delivered to their seat.

IMHO, the usefulness of this varies depending on whether I'm paying for my own ticket or travelling for work.

When I'm paying I'd much rather save a few bucks on the ticket and use that money to buy a beverage or snack of my choice before leaving or from the on-train cafeteria. This is also good for the airline / train company as they get direct feedback over which products are actually desired / appreciated rather than being taken just because they are free. They can thus work on improving their offering.

When I'm travelling for work, expensing the small stuff is always a hassle and so I'm quite happy when it's included in the fare.

 

[jis]

Having ridden both Amtrak NEC and Brightline my personal opinion is that Brightline is better today by a long shot. Of course we will see how things develop. Brightline consistently provides a friendlier environment with smiling OBS, something that is a bit hard to come by at Amtrak consistently.

But of course, neither Amtrak NEC nor Brightline is LD, though both are inter-city.