Texas Eagle getting "Contemporary Dining?"

[WindyCityTexan]

I've been seeing posts on social media that Dining Car staff on the Texas Eagle are getting termination notices, and starting this fall the TE is getting boxed meals. These reports are coming from passengers on board the TE, who are getting their info directly from the DC staff on board.

Has anyone else heard this? I'm on the TE this week and will find out more.

 

[cpotisch]

A couple other people on the forum have heard this from the TE diner staff. It's not official, and I'm sure there won't be any changes by the time you ride next week, but I would be pretty surprised if the Eagle has a full diner for much longer.

 

[WindyCityTexan]

A couple other people on the forum have heard this from the TE diner staff. It's not official, and I'm sure there won't be any changes by the time you ride next week, but I would be pretty surprised if the Eagle has a full diner for much longer.

Thanks, I know my trip will be full diner. But it's incomprehensible to think the southbound TE could end up with four boxed meals, and the northbound with five! That's a long route to have boxed meals the entire time.

 

[cpotisch]

A couple other people on the forum have heard this from the TE diner staff. It's not official, and I'm sure there won't be any changes by the time you ride next week, but I would be pretty surprised if the Eagle has a full diner for much longer.

Thanks, I know my trip will be full diner. But it's incomprehensible to think the southbound TE could end up with four boxed meals, and the northbound with five! That's a long route to have boxed meals the entire time.

Agreed. The LSL and CL are two of the shortest overnight rides in the country, serving only two meals each way. That's not ideal, but most people can handle that. But doing that for four or five meals is just not doable for a lot of people. It's just two few options for too long.

 

[the_traveler]

This would be less incentive to ride the TE from CHI-SAS-LAX if true!

 

[cpotisch]

This would be less incentive to ride the TE from CHI-SAS-LAX if true!

Exactly! I wouldn't be able to ride the sole three night train in the country anymore. And if TE/SL through ridership takes a big hit, that might even give them justification to kill off the SL. Say it ain't so!

 

[Mystic River Dragon]

We could ask Jim Bob to pick up some Texas barbecue and hand it to us as we pass through

.

 

[Larry H.]

I have friends who ride this train often, they also use the Lake Shore. They have commented that on the Acela there are very nicely prepared but boxed meals. Unlike many of those on the new roll out. They have written to congressmen and Amtrak suggesting they try to upgrade the first class food to the quality of the Acela and offer more choices. I think that would be one answer that might satisfy some. Its always been a mystery to me why many moderate priced name restaurants can provide entree's mostly of decent quality and yet the awful goop and meat on warm roll with a few potato chips on the City Of New Orleans was so bad I couldn't eat it. If Amtrak really wants to keep getting new riders they need to become a first class operation an not winging it much of the time.

 

[jebr]

I think the concept of boxed meals, in and of itself, is okay. But there needs to be more variety on the menu, and/or a large variety available for pre-order, if Amtrak wants to keep sleeper passengers beyond perhaps two or three meal periods. It would also make meals quite a bit more attractive for those who are only traveling through a meal period or two; being able to choose an entree you think you'll love is more appealing than having a choice of only a couple of entrees.

The other option for some alternative that still reduces labor costs significantly would be to have a cook/chef on board that still makes a wider variety of meals, but have it served to-go, or with minimal table service (order at counter, have meal delivered to table, but passengers dispose of their own waste and do their own drink refills.) A fair amount of fast-casual restaurants are going this way, and I still enjoy my meal in such an environment. But the food has to be good, otherwise it's not going to work.

 

[Mystic River Dragon]

jebr, I like your second option. There is a Panera near me that works just like that, and it works well.

 

[the_traveler]

I agree with the option of pre-order. Even if it is just choosing something like “For lunch would you like a ham sandwich, pasta salad or meatless choice?”. I (and any other passengers) prefer not to eat meat or dairy, so do not like the option of getting a box lunch containing a roast beef sandwich with cheese cake or pudding for desert.

 

[OBS]

I've been seeing posts on social media that Dining Car staff on the Texas Eagle are getting termination notices, and starting this fall the TE is getting boxed meals. These reports are coming from passengers on board the TE, who are getting their info directly from the DC staff on board.

Has anyone else heard this? I'm on the TE this week and will find out more.

I can assure you part of this is untrue. No employees on the TE will receive "termination notices". If jobs were being eliminated, there would be an abolishment notice posted showing which jobs are being eliminated and the effective date. Contractually they are only required to give 10 days advance notice although sometimes they are posted two to three weeks early to allow time to rebid any revised positions. If abolishment notices had been issued, these employees would know the exact date of any change. Also, no one is terminated, employees just bid or bump onto another job in the OBS system based on their seniority...

 

[cpotisch]

Since we don't have any up north, and we like waffles and hash browns, my dad and I are huge Waffle House fans. I'd be down with them "outsourcing" the dining cars to Waffle House. I imagine they can run a tighter ship than Amtrak would. To be clear, I'm not actually recommending Waffle House run Amtrak's dining airs, but I think that having an actual restaurant or restaurant chain take over the diners could work.

 

[the_traveler]

Subway tried that in the cafe cars between ALB and NYP (where there is no cafe service on Empire Service trains that only operate between those two) a few years ago. They no longer do so.

 

[cpotisch]

Subway tried that in the cafe cars between ALB and NYP (where there is no cafe service on Empire Service trains that only operate between those two) a few years ago. They no longer do so.

But that ride is only a few hours and doesn't need full meal service, and Subway doesn't offer table service. I'm just wondering if a chain restaurant with proper table service could possibly take over a dining car and run a tighter and more efficient ship than Amtrak themselves. This is all hypothetical and I have no idea what realistically would or wouldn't work and why, but it's just a thought.

 

[jebr]

Subway tried that in the cafe cars between ALB and NYP (where there is no cafe service on Empire Service trains that only operate between those two) a few years ago. They no longer do so.

But that ride is only a few hours and doesn't need full meal service, and Subway doesn't offer table service. I'm just wondering if a chain restaurant with proper table service could possibly take over a dining car and run a tighter and more efficient ship than Amtrak themselves. This is all hypothetical and I have no idea what realistically would or wouldn't work and why, but it's just a thought.

The problem is staffing costs. A stationary restaurant can pay wait staff minimum wage (or even less than minimum wage and expect tips to pick up the rest) and fill the position. They can also fill it with part-time help that they don't have to pay benefits for. The nature of Amtrak's dining service doesn't allow for that kind of flexibility. Especially with delays, there aren't many places to turn staff and have them back home at the end of the day, so you're going to have to pay for people who are willing to work overnight. That drives up wages. That also means that you can't rely on part-time help, so a benefits package also has to be paid for. This is good for the workers, but it does drive up the cost, and so even with the efficiencies of scale there likely wouldn't be massive savings by outsourcing it.

(There'd probably be a bit, simply because Amtrak wouldn't need to do its own management of the diners, develop its own menus, etc., and could work with the bulk discounts a larger company may get, but I doubt it'd be enough to make the diners break-even or save the amount that the boxed meals save.)

 

[Cho Cho Charlie]

To be clear, I'm not actually recommending Waffle House run Amtrak's dining airs, but I think that having an actual restaurant or restaurant chain take over the diners could work.

I hope not the Waffle House. They have one of the worst heath dept inspection histories.

 

[cpotisch]

To be clear, I'm not actually recommending Waffle House run Amtrak's dining airs, but I think that having an actual restaurant or restaurant chain take over the diners could work.

I hope not the Waffle House. They have one of the worst heath dept inspection histories.

Yeah, that sounds about right.

 

[mitako]

Oh geez. I hope that isn't true. Hubby and I just decided this weekend that we'll take a trip to Dallas in the spring to visit his daughter, with a one-night stop in San Antonio on the way. That's a total of more than 80 hours on the Texas Eagle from Los Angeles to Dallas and back again, to say nothing of around $1,200 fare for a roomette. Cold, boxed food is not my idea of a meal, especially for that amount of time on a train. Might have to reconsider that trip, or at least our mode of transportation to get there.

 

[cpotisch]

Oh geez. I hope that isn't true. Hubby and I just decided this weekend that we'll take a trip to Dallas in the spring to visit his daughter, with a one-night stop in San Antonio on the way. That's a total of more than 80 hours on the Texas Eagle from Los Angeles to Dallas and back again, to say nothing of around $1,200 fare for a roomette. Cold, boxed food is not my idea of a meal, especially for that amount of time on a train. Might have to reconsider that trip, or at least our mode of transportation to get there.

Well you're only going to be on the Texas Eagle proper between San Antonio and Dallas, which means you'll only be getting two cold meals each way, which in my opinion really is not too bad. It isn't ideal, but you're still eating hot food for most of the trip, so it really could be worse.

 

[jebr]

Oh geez. I hope that isn't true. Hubby and I just decided this weekend that we'll take a trip to Dallas in the spring to visit his daughter, with a one-night stop in San Antonio on the way. That's a total of more than 80 hours on the Texas Eagle from Los Angeles to Dallas and back again, to say nothing of around $1,200 fare for a roomette. Cold, boxed food is not my idea of a meal, especially for that amount of time on a train. Might have to reconsider that trip, or at least our mode of transportation to get there.

Well you're only going to be on the Texas Eagle proper between San Antonio and Dallas, which means you'll only be getting two cold meals each way, which in my opinion really is not too bad. It isn't ideal, but you're still eating hot food for most of the trip, so it really could be worse.

There's also currently a hot entree available for lunch and dinner. Only one, so not much choice, but it is there.

 

[cpotisch]

Oh geez. I hope that isn't true. Hubby and I just decided this weekend that we'll take a trip to Dallas in the spring to visit his daughter, with a one-night stop in San Antonio on the way. That's a total of more than 80 hours on the Texas Eagle from Los Angeles to Dallas and back again, to say nothing of around $1,200 fare for a roomette. Cold, boxed food is not my idea of a meal, especially for that amount of time on a train. Might have to reconsider that trip, or at least our mode of transportation to get there.

Well you're only going to be on the Texas Eagle proper between San Antonio and Dallas, which means you'll only be getting two cold meals each way, which in my opinion really is not too bad. It isn't ideal, but you're still eating hot food for most of the trip, so it really could be worse.

There's also currently a hot entree available for lunch and dinner. Only one, so not much choice, but it is there.

True. They're technically only constrained to cold food for that one breakfast. Even if I ate meat, I still wouldn't have the short rib for both lunches and the dinner, but as you said, it is there.

 

[mitako]

Well you're only going to be on the Texas Eagle proper between San Antonio and Dallas, which means you'll only be getting two cold meals each way, which in my opinion really is not too bad. It isn't ideal, but you're still eating hot food for most of the trip, so it really could be worse.

But aren't the Sunset Limited and the Texas Eagle actually the same train from Los Angeles to San Antonio? So wouldn't the change in dining be applicable to both, and run the whole way through?

 

[cpotisch]

Well you're only going to be on the Texas Eagle proper between San Antonio and Dallas, which means you'll only be getting two cold meals each way, which in my opinion really is not too bad. It isn't ideal, but you're still eating hot food for most of the trip, so it really could be worse.

But aren't the Sunset Limited and the Texas Eagle actually the same train from Los Angeles to San Antonio? So wouldn't the change in dining be applicable to both, and run the whole way through?

It doesn't quite work like that. Between LAX and SAS, it really is just the Sunset Limited. Two cars from the TE hitchhike on it, but the rest of the train and the route itself counts as the Sunset Limited. So when we talk about a change happening to the Texas Eagle, we're just talking about the full SAS-CHI train, not the SAS-LAX portion. Hope that makes sense!

 

[Bob Dylan]

Well you're only going to be on the Texas Eagle proper between San Antonio and Dallas, which means you'll only be getting two cold meals each way, which in my opinion really is not too bad. It isn't ideal, but you're still eating hot food for most of the trip, so it really could be worse.

But aren't the Sunset Limited and the Texas Eagle actually the same train from Los Angeles to San Antonio? So wouldn't the change in dining be applicable to both, and run the whole way through?

Nope, the Full Diner on the Sunset Ltd (#1/#2) runs between LA and New Orleans.
The thru Cars of ##421/422 ( Sleeper and Coach) are switched to the Texas Eagle(##21/22) during the Layover in San Antonio. The Eagle uses a CCC ( Cross Country Cafe)for a Diner between SA and Chicago.