posted
I was on the Texas Eagle (#22/322/422) on Saturday... just going for a ride between Springfield,IL and Chicago. At lunch, I had the chance to meet the head of the food services for the CZ. He was a nice guy... and said he was on board checking out the new "Diner Lite" on the TE. We chatted for awhile, and he talked about the changes in food service. According to him, starting May 22nd, the plates and cups will go all-plastic on the CZ. He said also said October 2007 was the estimated date for the combined diners/lounges to go into effect. He also noted that on busy summer periods, there still MIGHT be seperate diners/lounges. It's sorta heart-breaking because I love the lounge cars the way there are now. I love meeting other passengers and mingeling especially on the LD trains.
The "Diner Lite" wasn't too bad for lunch. I wish they had a vegeterian option, but the cheeseburger wasn't too bad.
RT
Posts: 100 | From: Milwaukee, WI | Registered: Feb 2006
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posted
I am confused about what they are combining. Are they combining the upstairs dining car with the upstairs observation lounge and doing away with an observation lounge???? Or are they combining the upstairs dining car with the downstairs snack bar lounge, and still planning to have the observation lounge?
Posts: 2642 | From: upstate New York | Registered: Mar 2004
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posted
The apparent plan, Ms. Sojourner, is that all F&B will be sold/served in one Superliner car unless the volume of traffic makes such unreasonable and impractical. In that case, two cars will be assigned; simply think of the existing fleet of Diners and Sightseers as Food Service cars to be assigned as needed.
But this is Amtrak we are addressing; plans of today are not necessarily plans of tomorrow.
Posts: 9975 | From: Clarendon Hills, IL USA (BNSF Chicago Sub MP 18.71) | Registered: Apr 2002
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But it is confusing, I'll agree. The above cited article, from an official Amtrak publication no less, states that the "simplified" dining service is to be introduced on only four trains as an experiment that will be "closely monitored" because "...we know one size will not fit in every case. We also know how important the dining experience is to our passengers." Uh huh. So why is it now being done systemwide before the results are in?
The only thing I like about this is the expanded diner service hours. However, I have a hard time believing that one car can do the work of two, knowing full well how crowded lounge cars can be at times. Maybe it will work on slow days, but I have a hard time believing it will work most of the time without having a lot of passengers feeling left out. It is quite ridiculous to make a systemwide commitment without knowing how it will be received by the customers.
I would also like to know how much money it will cost to rebuild the entire fleet of lounges and diners compared to the anticipated savings. There are a lot of unanswered questions here, and the current Amtrak management seem to be taking the Bush approach to business: Trust us, we know what we're doing.
Uh huh.
quote:Originally posted by Gilbert B Norman: But this is Amtrak we are addressing; plans of today are not necessarily plans of tomorrow.
I'm not entirely sure they really have a plan. It seems to be more of a concept that is being implemented without a plan.
posted
I'm sorry, I'm still confused. Are they planning on doing away (on double decker trains) with the upstairs observation cars (the ones with the seats facing the windows)?
Posts: 2642 | From: upstate New York | Registered: Mar 2004
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posted
Mr. Toy - without reading the entire article you attached, I assume that half of the car will be for dining and the other half for lounge purposes. The one cocnern I have is that if they allow people to sit in the "dining" half of the car during non-meal times, will they be kicked out when the crew sets up the car for meals?
Posts: 2428 | From: Grayling, MI | Registered: Mar 2002
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I just hope they keep AT LEAST half of the new car a regular lounge car... and not with tables, but the regular comfy seats like they have now.
It's a word of difference.
If I am going from Springfield, IL to Chicago, I would much rather pay the extra money to ride the Texas Eagle than the Ann Rutledge because you have a dining car for lunch and the lounge car to stretch out in... as opposed to being confined to your seat
Posts: 100 | From: Milwaukee, WI | Registered: Feb 2006
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posted
An Amtrak employee told me that aboard The Coast Starlight in particular, the Onboard crew would be reduced from 14 to 9. Also, he said it would cost about $10,000,000 per car to do this to. The change on the Coast Starlight would be May 3.
Pros: This food would be far better then what is currently offered in the snack car and from the picture on Mr. Toy's link to looks to be a much warmer atmosphere then the current lounges.
Cons: 5 employees per crew would be layed off unless they had seniority at another position onboard. According to NARP, there would be no skillet so you would be eating the Twin Medallions off of a paper plate.
This plan sounds like a disaster and something that could only be created by someone who wants to see sleeping car ridership take a dive down.
Rtabern, Did the man in charge of the Zephyr sound happy about any of this?
Posts: 1082 | From: Los Angeles, CA. USA | Registered: Aug 2003
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