Siemens Caltrans/IDOT Venture design, engineering, testing and delivery (2024)

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anything on cab car yet?
BNSF has potentially revoked their approval for cab car testing. This is only speculation, however this stems from the recent BNSF soft ban of Chargers on the San Joaquins. The lack of updates on cab car testing also leads me to believe this is true for the cab car; however, I’m not confirming this until news or an update specifically for the cab car comes out.
 
The Venture cafes have finally started to roll out in Midwest service:
https://www.trains.com/trn/news-rev...look-midwest-states-venture-coach-cafe-debut/
Certainly an interesting choice to include coach seating in the cafe car, but no tables for anyone to sit and hang out. I'm still curious to see how the vending machine / maybe eventually a full cafe saga plays out on the San Joaquins.

I'm definitely hoping the Airos are built to a more standard cafe floorplan with general seating/tables included.
Thanks. The lack of cafe seating is disappointing, but not surprising. Amtrak ordered the Avelia Libertys without any seating in the cafe cars and their proof-of-concept floorplans for the long-distance replacements have minimal non-revenue seating in the cafe cars. Yes, I know the actual trainsets will be different, but this clearly shows where Amtrak's mind is at.
 
I didn’t know the cafes weren’t going to have tables. That’s totally absurd. This, along with the uncomfortable seats, make these cars a total bust. I can’t believe they designed such dud equipment. A train without a cafe with seating is absolutely ridiculous. Seats that are tolerable for a half hour are useless. The designers haven’t studied any history of trains in America nor have they followed any of the best practices from overseas. This is essentially a bus on rails. Thankfully, the shells are probably sound and can be rebuilt when the idiocy of these designs become apparent. Too bad Amtrak doesn’t seem to understand their market well enough to design equipment for their system.
 
These changes makes me wonder if it would be cost effective for Amtrak to introduce cart service outside of their Acela business cars. More labor is required, sure, but you could solve crowding in cafe cars (or hypothetically shrink the cafe in cars, giving more revenue seating for the bean counters). Would maybe need some sort of order-ahead to heat up warm food, which does sound like a hassle.
The big advantage of a train is the ability to walk around, get up and stretch. Nobody wants to sit in a seat for five or six hours straight. Instead, people want a nice lounge to go to, and even a diner. Train travelers used to like to get on a short distance train, have a meal, and arrive at their destination. I enjoyed getting on in the Dells, having lunch in the diner, and arriving in Milwaukee. It’s nice to meet people in the lounge and have a conversation, especially when traveling with friends. The Ventures are duds as far as seats and design. They’ll have to be completely reworked in a few years. A sad waste of money.
 
Indulge me in a reshare of my Trains Unllimited comments on this.

Trains' Bob Johnson reports in today's " Trains Newswire" that 3 of the 17 cars for the Chicago hub have entered into revenue service, initially on Chicago-St. Louis runs.

But the car design seems disappointing. There are no tables at all for passenger use! A single small crew table is a sensible restoration of an amenity the railroads almost routinely provided their conductors (although not always in the diner/lounge), but all riders must buy their stuff and go back to their seats.

The deletion of all tables solves the problem of crew taking over all the seats that haunts too many Amtrak trains like the TEXAS EAGLE. But what a degradation of a benefit of train travel–the lounge car. But mercifully a full cafe menu with hot meal options survives. An Amtrak cafe burger may not be a gourmet item, but it beats just a bottle of water (see below).

This will be truly deep downgrade if it impacts the coming Siemens Airo cafe cars to be assigned to the Washington/Oregon Cascades Corridor. Much better has long prevailed there. For decades the Cascades Corridor food-service standard was the Talgo’s take-out counter menu in one car, with at least a few mini tables along the passageway in that car, but more importantly with that "take-out" car adjacent to a full table car which could be used to eat, socialize or even do work.

Using a superb local caterer, this Talgo table car was for a few years used on the Seattle-Vancouver, B.C. cross-border runs to provide a true dining car experience–with food brought on-board fresh (not frozen) and heated to serving temperature in the cafe car’s food prep area. The dinner menu actually featured prime-rib! To maximize seatings/food revenue, the Talgo “diner” opened an hour before departure each evening in Vancouver–making three seatings possible on a four hour run. I had the privilege of several trips using using this offering. For a corridor train it was amazing!

WashDOT at the time claimed the diner option was profitable on the Vancouver runs, but as with so many things it vanished after what was supposed to have been a temporary suspension while a Talgo set was serviced. For that time Superliners (with a Sightseer Lounge) covered the Vancouver run without the table service. When the Talgos eventually returned the “diner” offering was not restored.

For whatever reason the full diner option was only very briefly offered on the Seattle-Oregon runs, but to this day a fine offering of local treats like Ivars’ Clam Chowder is on the Cascades Corridor menu.

Obviously the full Talgo cafe/diner option was largely lost when the Series Six Talgo fleet was scrapped after the tragic Dupont, WA derailment (although the two Oregon-owned Series 8 Talgos remain in service with the take-out counter cafe and the full table seating car). The replacement Horizon cafes as least have tables for passengers (if not hogged by the crew and supplies).

The cafe situation of course is vastly worse in California on the San Joaquin Corridor. There the San Joaquin Joint Powers Authority, which contracts with Amtrak to provide the SAN JOAQUIN trains, plans to offer only a vending machine option when their long-delayed Venture cafes someday appear. Rumor is this is because the Joint Powers chief objected to the perceived high cost to keep Amtrak food. Ridership and ticket income will pay a steeper cost when passengers experience the newly embarrassing “food” (water-only on some frequencies) on a six hour run.

At present, in the absence of the delayed new California Venture cafe cars, all riders on the (still mercifully few) Venture-equipped SAN JOAQUINs get is a bottle of water and according to some reports a snack-pack. This on a route that had long used the handsome “California Car” bi-level diners and which a few years back also offered actual sit down service at table. In recent years it was an extensive and locally focused snack, sandwich, salad, beverages offering.

Now you won’t even be able to get a beer when the full California Venture cafe car fleet arrives. This makes the SP Automatic Buffet (vending machine) cars that debauched the once magnificent SP Daylights look exquisite by comparison! SP Automats even offered hot entrees. They weren’t great, but they put the coming Venture California cafe cars with only vending machine food to shame.

And let us not forget that the Airo cafe cars are also coming to the NEC and to regional runs including both Vermont trains, the Empire Corridor, the ADIRONDACK, the multiple Virginia services, the western Pennsylvania route, and the CAROLINIAN/PALMETTO. Will we too find no tables?
These trains will depress ridership by 20-30% or more. There isn’t a lot of reason to ride the train with uncomfortable seats and no/poor food and beverage service. A nice lounge with decent food and comfortable seats would bring in riders in droves. But of course, this doesn’t take a marketing genius to figure out. The railroads knew this and created absolutely gorgeous diners and lounges even on short distance trains. I remember a packed ICE train in Germany with no seats available where a friend and I went to the diner and drank champagne for the three hour trip. That’s when a train is far better than driving. The German rail dining cars are quite nice, and you can get a meal or a snack. Somebody mentioned that the San Joaquin’s used to have diners. I remember a nice meal with my son on a San Joaquin in the late ‘90’s. This is the kind of service that makes sense. I am afraid the Ventures, and the Airos if they’re the same, are an unfortunate mistake.
 
I still don't understand the hate for the seats. They're not as wide or plushy as what we're used to, but I don't think they're that bad. And while I do think having a cafe with seating is great (and I'm disappointed to see there is none), I will say that I can't recall a time where I saw people using the tables in the Surfliner cafe. The ventures still bring modernity to Amtrak that can allow people to feel they're travelling in a modern way, not an antiquated one (which is what the decades old horizon and amfleets suggest).
 
Actually I forgot to mention in my report on what I'd heard about the Airo Cascades cafes that they are supposed to also have food cart capability. My understanding is that this would be used on busy days, apparently to take pressure off the cafe car's food service area. I didn't see anything about the Midwest Venture cafes having that.
 
An issue with California services is that they're unreserved. As a Surfliner semi-regular usually traveling solo, when I use the cafe car I bring my food back to my seat because there's always a risk of someone else sitting there in my absence. And, no, seat checks aren't enough; many/most people don't know what a seat check is, let alone have the intelligence to look for the seat check above an empty seat before sitting down.
 
Thanks. The lack of cafe seating is disappointing, but not surprising. Amtrak ordered the Avelia Libertys without any seating in the cafe cars and their proof-of-concept floorplans for the long-distance replacements have minimal non-revenue seating in the cafe cars. Yes, I know the actual trainsets will be different, but this clearly shows where Amtrak's mind is at.
The original (current) Acelas don't have table seating, either. It doesn't seem to hurt their popularity. Remember, most riders ride less than two hours, and the current fold-out table at the seats has much more space than the fold-out table on the Amfleets. I do 6-hour Acela rides from Baltimore to Boston and return, and eating at my seat is no problem. In fact, in first class, all eating is done at the seat. There are some tables on the facing seats, but that's still "eat at your seat."
 
The big advantage of a train is the ability to walk around, get up and stretch. Nobody wants to sit in a seat for five or six hours straight. Instead, people want a nice lounge to go to, and even a diner. Train travelers used to like to get on a short distance train, have a meal, and arrive at their destination. I enjoyed getting on in the Dells, having lunch in the diner, and arriving in Milwaukee. It’s nice to meet people in the lounge and have a conversation, especially when traveling with friends. The Ventures are duds as far as seats and design. They’ll have to be completely reworked in a few years. A sad waste of money.
I very frequently ride 6 straight hours BAL-BOS on Acela First, and do quite well without a diner or a lounge. And most Acela/NER passengers are not riding the full 6-7 hours. BAL-PHL is 1:15, PHL-NYP is about the same, WAS-NYP is about 2:20, BOS-NHV is about 2 hours, NHV -NYP takes longer than it should, but that will get fixed eventually. I suspect that most passengers don't make their decision to ride the train based on the food service.

The corridor trains I've seen with the heaviest users of cafe car table seating are the Amfleet 1 cafes on the Northeast Regional. They have 14 tables (well, 12 tables, as staff takes up at least two of them). That means they have a seating capacity of 48, whereas an entire Northeast Regional trainset (6 AM1 coaches and an Am 1 BC) has a seating capacity of around 400. And even if a lot of people are sitting at tables, there are usually empty seats; at least I never have trouble finding a seat if I want to sit at a table. Clearly the presence or absence of table seating is not a make-or-break amenity for riders of this corridor service. It's not like we're spending 5 days working our way across Canada, we're just making a quick trip up and down the corridor.

Yeah, back in the so-called "good old days" they had dining cars on the NEC. I used to get a nice dinner on the Merchant's Limited between Philly and New York. But those days are gone forever, and even back then, I don't think the presence of table seating is what kept people riding the trains. I think they just wanted to be able to go into New York without having to deal with the traffic on the roads.

An issue with California services is that they're unreserved. As a Surfliner semi-regular usually traveling solo, when I use the cafe car I bring my food back to my seat because there's always a risk of someone else sitting there in my absence. And, no, seat checks aren't enough; many/most people don't know what a seat check is, let alone have the intelligence to look for the seat check above an empty seat before sitting down.
The Northeast Regional is like that. I just leave a bag or my coat on the occupied seat. I've never had any trouble. In fact, the only trouble I've had with people sitting in my seat was once when I was in business class and somebody was in my assigned seat. Go figure.
 
The critical product, I think, is "getting from A to B" and as airlines have proved, people will put up with A Lot and be happy about it if you do that one thing decently.

Would it be nice to have a lounge and cafe, absolutely. But I don't think running 20% of your train as amenities instead of revenue seats is a great decision. I actually think a well designed vending machine cafe as the Piedmonts have is a reasonable choice for corridor service on a four hour timetable route, and for a Borealis or some of the other Midwest runs you can justify a cafe but probably not substantial "second seats".
 
BNSF has potentially revoked their approval for cab car testing. This is only speculation, however this stems from the recent BNSF soft ban of Chargers on the San Joaquins. The lack of updates on cab car testing also leads me to believe this is true for the cab car; however, I’m not confirming this until news or an update specifically for the cab car comes out.
Update: Cab car testing is on tomorrow’s lineup from Oakland to Bakersfield as a 600 extra symbol. Let’s hope a Class I doesn’t get in the way.
 
Watch out when I juggle my Ivar's clam chowder and a coffee through the train. I have Parkinson's and prefer to sit down for a few minutes in the cafe. VAC<>PDX is a long ride without a full meal along the way.

The GN Pool train had a train sales cart rather than a diner, as it was scheduled to avoid mealtimes (depart SEA at 8ish a.m. and PDX at 1:30 p.m.) and there was food available in both terminals. Until the late 1960's NP and UP Pool trains had full-service diners, as they crossed mealtimes and had major long-distance connections.
 
Thanks. The lack of cafe seating is disappointing, but not surprising. Amtrak ordered the Avelia Libertys without any seating in the cafe cars and their proof-of-concept floorplans for the long-distance replacements have minimal non-revenue seating in the cafe cars. Yes, I know the actual trainsets will be different, but this clearly shows where Amtrak's mind is at.
I think the Acela IIs are more mirroring the current Acela's which also don't have cafe tables, and are much more European in nature since those generally follow the same logic as people noted above. I also feel like when Acela II and even the CALIDOT Ventures were being thought up, Amtrak was in a different line of thinking than they are now (when designing Airos and now the future Bi-Level fleet). The states ordered these, and it's clear they went bare minimum with a lot of things. I still truly hope the Airos will have a better cafe, seats (I still don't think they're that bad), and overall experience, and I tend to believe WSDOT especially holds things to a higher standard. Time will tell.
 
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BNSF has potentially revoked their approval for cab car testing. This is only speculation, however this stems from the recent BNSF soft ban of Chargers on the San Joaquins. The lack of updates on cab car testing also leads me to believe this is true for the cab car; however, I’m not confirming this until news or an update specifically for the cab car comes out.
Looks like they haven't testing is happening now
 
What's the beef BNSF has with the Chargers? I saw the Empire Builder come into Seattle with a Charger in front, and that's BNSF trackage.
It’s probably nonsense, SC44s are used daily to pull the Illinois Zephyr and Carl Sandburg, trains that run exclusively on BNSF track.
 
Basically a ban with exceptions. The Chargers can still be used if absolutely necessary (i.e. not enough F59s to run the San Joaquins alone).
So are the displaced Chargers being used on the Capitol Corridor instead, or are they using mostly P42s when they run out of F59s? By the way, our Charger bad-order rate up here in Seattle on the Cascades looks like it's running around 25 to 30%.
 
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