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There are two things that have annoyed me lately. The first is, with the advant of XM Satellite Radio, why hasn't Amtrak taken the time to consider their application into sleeping car rooms? Your'e paying the bill, why not provide some other forms entertainment for the high-paying guests? The second is, why doesn't Amtrak ever maintain their in-room channels? Besides the obvious number 1 channel with announcements, they never use the others anymore. I used to love it when I could catch the Silver Star in Miami and listen to Hispanic music on channel 3 while looking at the southern Florida scenery. At night, I would 'tune' in to channel 4 and listen to soft jazz as I relaxed, looking at the stars. Today all of this is gone, and I'm thinking that the installment of these channels into every room was a waste. I think Amtrak needs a standardized system of "radio" entertainment. Personally, I would set it up as follows: Channel 1: Announcements. Channel 2: Railroad Scanner (Providing conversations of all railroad operations). Channel 3: Discriptions of train's route. (Each train would have it's own tape, telling about the towns and history along the line, it could repeat itself every one or two hours) Channel 4: Soft Jazz / Swing / Classical. Channel 5: Regional Music (Based on which train you ride) Western Trains could have country, with exception to the Coast Starlight which would have beach music (oldies, etc.). The Southeast could have Blues or Country. The Silver Service could have Hispanic music while in Florida, and the Northeast would vary. I just don't see why Amtrak doesn't consider this. They have the tools, but won't start the fire! Every once and a while there are times that I would like to be soothed by some music when my train is ten hours late and I learn that I am going to miss my connection!
Posts: 82 | Registered: Aug 2004
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posted
They dont have any radio on Superliners. I thought they have video monitors on Viewliners?
Posts: 1082 | From: Los Angeles, CA. USA | Registered: Aug 2003
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I use the word "radio" because there is no better word to describe the system. Think, on a superliner, aren't there those five channels? Usually the announcements are carried on channel one. It used to be (previous to 5 years) that Amtrak would play music over one or two of these channels as well.
Posts: 82 | Registered: Aug 2004
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posted
I have never found the piped in music/announcement channels to work properly...at least not the way they were designed to work. I agree with N. American Railroader..you would think they would offer a few amenities for the sleeper passengers. The XM Satellite radio, for the sleepers, sounds like a good idea. Why couldn't they have satellite dishes on the top of the train? I have always wodered if you could have some sort of gps/computer controlled mechanism which could lock the satellite dish onto a satellite with the twists and turns of the train. I would think it could be done. It would be great if Amtrak had satellite tv & XM radio in the sleepers and even the coach cars. Maybe Amtrak could make some extra revenue on pay-per-view movie surcharges. On a few occasions, riding the Coast Starlight, I have noticed that many of the delux bedrooms were vacant. Maybe having satellite radio & tv in the rooms would be lead to greater occupancy..especially during the off season. Posts: 1909 | From: Santa Rosa | Registered: Jan 2004
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Yukon11 has a very good point. Sadly, in this day and age, most people who take long distance trains either want to see America, don't fly and don't want to drive across the nation, or are railfans. In a sense, this is good because Amtrak has its own little nitche of passangers. However, to attract more passangers railroads as a whole are going to have to offer a few extra amenities. First, the food has to be unparralleled, people who want to ride the train don't want to eat deli-style airline food for two or three days. Amtrak already does a good job with this. Second, the service has to be number one. This is an area Amtrak has struggled with in the past, but in my opinion they have been doing a better job lately. Finally, the entertainment. In routes like the CZ and the SW Chief, this isn't such a huge deal, since there is already plenty of it in the form of scenery. However, in other routes, particularly in the southeast and some in the north; there just isn't any of that. Therefore some other form of entertainment most be met. I think the actual use of their intercom system for music and news would be nice. Like Yukon said, XM radio and/or dish television would be superb. If trains want to be successful, the must combine two elements: Service and Speed. In other words, Amtrak must both give the timelyness of an airline and the service/entertainment of a cruiseline if they ever want to attract more people.
Posts: 82 | Registered: Aug 2004
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posted
Tv's on the next generation long distance cars, and I think that Wifi would be awesome as well its already made its way on the Hiawatha, NEC, C. Corridor.
whoever said that people go on amtrak long distance for the train trip and not entertaiment...was right.
------------------ --Anton L. pillsbury09@excite.com AIM: pillsburyMN
Posts: 1082 | From: Los Angeles, CA. USA | Registered: Aug 2003
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quote:Originally posted by RRRICH: What is "wifi" and "XM radio?"
Wi-Fi is the wireless networking standard used by computers to connect to the Internet wirelessly - also known as 802.11a, 802.11b, and 802.11g protocols. I don't know how else to describe it without going into the nitty-gritty details of it all.
I know much less about XM Satellite Radio, except that you can get it for your car or home; radio signals are beamed down by satellites which offers hundreds of different channels and (I think) clearer signals.
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I would guess Wi-Fi and XM radio would not be too dificult to install in Amtrak (if you can install XM radio in your car, I would think it would be easy to install in Amtrak). I am still not sure about satellite TV. If a computerized positioning system can keep the dish locked onto the satellite, I am still wondering about tv picture stability. Maybe the jostling and bouncing of the train would cause the picture to flutter? Possibly some kind of gyroscope-mounted system for the satellite dish would prevent this. The Pacific Surfliners advertise audio-visual services available for their business-class travelers. Are the video services simply VCR play as with regular Amtrak? I also thought that the Montreal-Toronto overnight services (VIA) has tv aboard, but maybe just lap-top hookup and no tv..anyone know? If they were to add satellie TV, XM radio, cell phones, meal service, Dom Perignon champagne, a mint on the pillow it would be the cat's ***.
[This message has been edited by yukon11 (edited 08-24-2004).]
Posts: 1909 | From: Santa Rosa | Registered: Jan 2004
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posted
I believe the monitors in Business Class on the Surfliners are hooked up to a VCR. I have never, in my many trips on the Surfliner, seen them operational. On my last trip there were headsets at the Service Center but nothing played. When I asked the Conductor I got a terse "Broken".
Frank in now partly sunny SBA.
Posts: 2160 | From: Santa Barbara, CA, USA | Registered: Oct 2003
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