Texas Eagle Sightseer lounge discontinued

[zephyr17]

Not if saving pennies while discouraging ridership are your objectives.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

I’m admittedly feeling very pessimistic about Amtrak’s future. If you still have hope more power to you.

It's not about being hopeful so much as feeling a responsibility to never dig a grave with soft hands.

 

[Railspike]

For those wishing to call or write, Here's Pete Buttigieg's DOT contact info:
(See specific Administration within the DOT below)

DOT Customer Service Center: 202-366-4000

Monday through Friday between 8:30 am and 5:30 pm Eastern Time excluding Federal Holidays.

Deaf, hard of hearing, and speech impaired callers

Contact the general information switchboard using the Federal Relay Services.

Mail Us
Correspondence to the Department may be sent to:

U.S. Department of Transportation
1200 New Jersey Ave, SE
Washington, DC 20590

Please note: Correspondence must be addressed to a specific administration within the U.S. Department of Transportation, or the U.S. Postal Service will not be able to deliver it. A list of DOT administrations and their various responsibilities can be found on the DOT Agencies webpage.

And here's the specific administration within the DOT:

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration

1200 NEW JERSEY AVENUE, SE

WASHINGTON, DC 20590

202-366-4000

 

[toddinde]

I think we have to begin to accept that Gardner meant what he said about the long distance trains and is not going to be a positive Amtrak president. He reportedly had deep Democratic Party ties, but I think it’s getting to the point where he needs to be replaced if this is the kind of crap Amtrak is going to be pulling. Complaints to the Secretary of Transportation might be very effective because he actually understands and has ridden long distance Amtrak trains. People who haven’t ridden the train aren’t going to understand what the difference in dining car and flex meals are, or why an SSL is not the same as a crisis country cafe. Keep in mind; this appears to be a game to drive down patronage and kill the long distance trains. Gardner said he was all about this. Some thought that was just Anderson talking, but now we know.

 

[Amtrakfflyer]

Thank you. It’s not a conspiracy theory as some have alluded to on here. When people show their cards and flat out lie to further their agenda as Gardner has done you can’t turn a blind eye. Gardner needs to go but so does Flynn and the board. It can be done in one afternoon.

I think we have to begin to accept that Gardner meant what he said about the long distance trains and is not going to be a positive Amtrak president. He reportedly had deep Democratic Party ties, but I think it’s getting to the point where he needs to be replaced if this is the kind of crap Amtrak is going to be pulling. Complaints to the Secretary of Transportation might be very effective because he actually understands and has ridden long distance Amtrak trains. People who haven’t ridden the train aren’t going to understand what the difference in dining car and flex meals are, or why an SSL is not the same as a crisis country cafe. Keep in mind; this appears to be a game to drive down patronage and kill the long distance trains. Gardner said he was all about this. Some thought that was just Anderson talking, but now we know.

 

[20th Century Rider]

Here’s the southbound Eagle in Dallas today. Only 5 cars plus one engine. Two sleepers, one diner/lounge, one baggage/Coach, and one Coach.

How to starve the LD concept. Very sad. But I'll bet the Amtrak bean counters are smiling and happy!

 

[20th Century Rider]

So if you want more bad news about the Texas Eagle here goes. A frustrated employee on social media posted this:

This will be the consist of the Eagle going forward:
1 Engine
1 Sleeper
1 Diner/CCC
1 coach/bag
1 coach (with lower level seats)

Also traditional dining car service will NOT be returning to the Eagle. The onboard staff will be minimal, 1 overworked LSA for both sleepers and cafe, 1 sleeper attendant, and 1 coach attendant.

Dorm car will also not be coming back either. The Dorm car issue deserves its own thread but here is the gist: At COVID Amtrak decided to park most of the Dorm cars. Now they are having trouble bringing them back because they all require inspections that can only be done in Beach Grove, Chicago, or Los Angeles. Wonder why sleepers are so expensive now going into the summer? It's because crew are taking up several rooms in the regular sleepers now. The Sunset Limited is only able to sell 7 roomettes on it's sleeper (130/230). (There's a little relief west of San Antonio because of the 421/422 sleeper added) The Eagle will only be able to sell 11 of its 14 rooms. I couldn't tell if Amtrak is trying to bring the dorms back or if they don't care to.

This employee asked that this is coming from management from DC most of which have never seen a western LD train, so mostly they just don't know how full or popular a Texas Eagle or CONO train can actually be if given the right tools. It's basically up to us to call Amtrak Customer Relations and complain. They won't listen to the individual route managers in the field. Perhaps enough customer service complaints will at least make them aware. So please call if you can.

I'm riding the Eagle next October... what? No full service dining? I don't think it'll ever come back. Will be packing peanut butter, jelly, and crackers... and some 'happy juice' to wash it down.

Roomettes are ok... but I was so used to meandering to the SSL as part of the daily routine on full day travel. I am agast with disappointment at hearing this.

Your info has convinced me that LD will soon be gone.

 

[20th Century Rider]

I'm riding the Eagle next October... what? No full service dining? I don't think it'll ever come back. Will be packing peanut butter, jelly, and crackers... and some 'happy juice' to wash it down.

Roomettes are ok... but I was so used to meandering to the SSL as part of the daily routine on full day travel. I am agast with disappointment at hearing this.

Your info has convinced me that LD will soon be gone.

Did a random search for TE with roomette... for September. It does show traditional dining... and a high price tag. But who knows what to believe???

 

[jimdex]

IF it is indeed necessary to downgrade to one food service car, it would make much more sense to ditch the diner and keep the Sightseer Lounge, which is much more versitile.

 

[Sidney]

So the CONO,TE and CL run without SSL cars? The geniuses who made that decision probably have never ridden overnight on a long distance train,rationalize the scenery is not as good as on the other trains,and they are one overnight trains and passengers will not miss them.

I ll be riding the TE from Bloomington to LA later today. At least I know there won't be a SSL car and flex dining will be in effect. Usually in Dallas and Fort Worth,if on time,there are Subways and other similar places I can walk to. A tuna sub from Subway beats any flex meal and I'm hoping the burrito lady is in El Paso,but the biggest disappointment is not having the SSL car to sit in as a break from my room.

Idiotic decision. Eliminating a passenger perk that probably doesn't cost that much to run. Unbelievable.

 

[crescent-zephyr]

IF it is indeed necessary to downgrade to one food service car, it would make much more sense to ditch the diner and keep the Sightseer Lounge, which is much more versitile.

The CCC cars are well designed to be the single food service car. But they were designed to provide traditional dining AND cafe car service.

I thought Amtrak had to bring back the furloughed employees? (Chefs, etc.)

 

[20th Century Rider]

So the CONO,TE and CL run without SSL cars? The geniuses who made that decision probably have never ridden overnight on a long distance train,rationalize the scenery is not as good as on the other trains,and they are one overnight trains and passengers will not miss them.

I ll be riding the TE from Bloomington to LA later today. At least I know there won't be a SSL car and flex dining will be in effect. Usually in Dallas and Fort Worth,if on time,there are Subways and other similar places I can walk to. A tuna sub from Subway beats any flex meal and I'm hoping the burrito lady is in El Paso,but the biggest disappointment is not having the SSL car to sit in as a break from my room.

Idiotic decision. Eliminating a passenger perk that probably doesn't cost that much to run. Unbelievable.

Please do let us know of your experience... also hope that burrito lady is still at El Paso... she will be doing a great business! Will be riding the TE in October [at least that's what my ticket says... but who knows!

 

[me_little_me]

Did a random search for TE with roomette... for September. It does show traditional dining... and a high price tag. But who knows what to believe???

I know what to believe and it's neither Amtrak management official statements nor their web page nor even their email replies nor calls to their agents.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

I'm glad y'all like the Burrito Lady but keep in mind that burritos can get a lot fresher and more flavorful. There is some good food to be found in El Paso and Las Cruces for those with a bit of time for exploring.

 

[me_little_me]

I'm glad y'all like the Burrito Lady but keep in mind that burritos can get a lot fresher and more flavorful. There is some good food to be found in El Paso and Las Cruces for those with a bit of time for exploring.

It's a comparison between flex food and burritos made fresh every day by a woman that probably makes them in her home. It's not a comparison between food available right at trainside and a good New Mexican restaurant. Take it from someone who lived in NM for 22 years and who worked in El Paso for 12 of them.

 

[Cal]

Please do let us know of your experience... also hope that burrito lady is still at El Paso... she will be doing a great business! Will be riding the TE in October [at least that's what my ticket says... but who knows!

I was there on April 1st, she was there.

 

[Sidney]

I'm glad y'all like the Burrito Lady but keep in mind that burritos can get a lot fresher and more flavorful. There is some good food to be found in El Paso and Las Cruces for those with a bit of time for exploring.

I know. I'll be in El Paso just for the duration of the stop,so the Burrito lady will suffice

 

[ShiningTimeStL]

Now everybody hold on just a hot moment. Read this. If you have, read it again, and follow that link to the official Amtrak release.

https://www.trains.com/trn/news-rev...-priorities-in-wish-list-reports-to-congress/
From what I'm reading here, there's a chance that the Sunset Limited and Cardinal could finally become daily trains with the long awaited replacement of the long-distance rolling stock fleet. That... doesn't sound to me like part of an anti-LD agenda. Plus, they did very specifically say that traditional dining will be returning to the trains west of the Mississippi--albeit likely gradually. What gives? All we're going off of here is the scuttlebutt from employees and an email that may or may not be a formulaic response tot the PPC retirement. There are so many other things going on with the return of daily service, namely the dorm car issues, staffing issues, and other operational kerfuffles that will need to be untangled. It's very easy for us all to immediately assume the worst case scenario, give up all hope, and ultimately make the situation even worse by canceling bookings and lowering ridership.

Now don't take me for a fool; when Gardner was promoted I knew there would be trouble. I wouldn't be surprised if this is his doing. I've watched as this train has gotten smaller and smaller over the past year and frankly, we probably should have sounded the alarm much sooner; but I don't want to end up feeling like a fool if I find out I got all stressed and depressed over what turned out to be just a hiccup. Let's try to get to the bottom of this for real. I may head up to Gateway Transportation Center myself to try and get some solid answers, if they can provide such. I know the crew is based out of Chicago but maybe I can talk to one of them briefly while they're here? Worth a shot. May see if I can get people to sign the petition while I'm at it.

 

[20th Century Rider]

Now everybody hold on just a hot moment. Read this. If you have, read it again, and follow that link to the official Amtrak release.

https://www.trains.com/trn/news-rev...-priorities-in-wish-list-reports-to-congress/
From what I'm reading here, there's a chance that the Sunset Limited and Cardinal could finally become daily trains with the long awaited replacement of the long-distance rolling stock fleet. That... doesn't sound to me like part of an anti-LD agenda. Plus, they did very specifically say that traditional dining will be returning to the trains west of the Mississippi--albeit likely gradually. What gives? All we're going off of here is the scuttlebutt from employees and an email that may or may not be a formulaic response tot the PPC retirement. There are so many other things going on with the return of daily service, namely the dorm car issues, staffing issues, and other operational kerfuffles that will need to be untangled. It's very easy for us all to immediately assume the worst case scenario, give up all hope, and ultimately make the situation even worse by canceling bookings and lowering ridership.

Now don't take me for a fool; when Gardner was promoted I knew there would be trouble. I wouldn't be surprised if this is his doing. I've watched as this train has gotten smaller and smaller over the past year and frankly, we probably should have sounded the alarm much sooner; but I don't want to end up feeling like a fool if I find out I got all stressed and depressed over what turned out to be just a hiccup. Let's try to get to the bottom of this for real. I may head up to Gateway Transportation Center myself to try and get some solid answers, if they can provide such. I know the crew is based out of Chicago but maybe I can talk to one of them briefly while they're here? Worth a shot. May see if I can get people to sign the petition while I'm at it.

Nice! Please keep us updated on anything you find out that's accurate and reliable.

 

[ShiningTimeStL]

Another observation: now that I've been able to do some YouTube research, it does appear that the Capitol Limited has the same five-car consist, with the occasional additional locomotive. The CONO, however, still has an SSL in its seven-car consist as of only four days ago.

Curious.

 

[Cal]

Another observation: now that I've been able to do some YouTube research, it does appear that the Capitol Limited has the same five-car consist, with the occasional additional locomotive. The CONO, however, still has an SSL in its seven-car consist as of only four days ago.

Curious.

CONO never lost the SSL, or if it did, it was brief.

 

[me_little_me]

From what I'm reading here, there's a chance that the Sunset Limited and Cardinal could finally become daily trains with the long awaited replacement of the long-distance rolling stock fleet.

I couldn't find anything about that in the Amtrak document but I may have missed it. Can you provide the page number or whatever to help me find it?

BTW, If you are old enough to remember the old Soviet 5 year plans, you will remember they seemed to be completely changed the next year because they were a pipe dream for outproducing and out-arming the West when in fact, with each new 5 year plan, they fell further behind because they were utter garbage.

 

[20th Century Rider]

Below is a pdf of the Amtrak-General-Legislative-Annual-Report-FY2022... lots of verbiage which points to the dependency on cash infusion from Congress to move forward... and therein lies the problem... Amtrak can't get the money it needs to maintain itself let alone modernize.

Nope... I am clueless as to why they are taking off the SSC's unless they are so cash poor that they are doing anything to scrape the barrel to cut costs. It's all pretty sad.

Anyway, this is a big read and I've just scanned through it. We have a lot of talented and experienced folks on our forum... so take some time to give this a look and let us know what you think... from the collective experience of all... there's a good chance that some real answers can be gleaned from this.

But that doesn't remove the uncertainty of funding... nor does it remove the concern for what appears to be a stumbling and out of focus management. Below is an excerpt from pg 41which describes 'enhancements in a fuzzy wuzzy way.

 

[Sidney]

Another observation: now that I've been able to do some YouTube research, it does appear that the Capitol Limited has the same five-car consist, with the occasional additional locomotive. The CONO, however, still has an SSL in its seven-car consist as of only four days ago.

Curious.

If the CONO has SSL car,why doesn't the TE have one? It's a longer ride. Why isn't it returning? Amtrak says it is being retired. Makes no sense whatsoever and is another slap in the face for passengers. I boarded the TE about two hours ago. I asked my attendant about the lack of the SSL and the apparent non return of traditional dining. He said trad dining will return and was clueless as to why the SSL car was removed.

 

[jis]

If the CONO has SSL car,why doesn't the TE have one? It's a longer ride. Why isn't it returning? Amtrak says it is being retired. Makes no sense whatsoever and is another slap in the face for passengers. I boarded the TE about two hours ago. I asked my attendant about the lack of the SSL and the apparent non return of traditional dining. He said trad dining will return and was clueless as to why the SSL car was removed.

You seriously think you will be able to shame Amtrak into doing something by pointing out they are illogical. Frankly I am now developing grave doubts about your sanity.