by Tadman
And we still haven't learned the lesson "it's not the equipment". It's the service.
The new Acela: It's not Aveliable.
Railroad Forums
Moderators: GirlOnTheTrain, mtuandrew, Tadman
Tadman wrote: ↑Fri Mar 15, 2024 7:12 pmNews to me that paying $70 for a one-hour train ride is "low", but what do I know.lensovet wrote: ↑Mon Mar 11, 2024 2:44 pm Must be why we have sold out trains all the time, because of that crappy service.Good Lord this is such a false equivalency. As if restricted coaching stock and artificially low prices don't affect that.
lensovet wrote: ↑Fri Mar 15, 2024 9:43 pmIt pays me for an hours work and leaves some crumbs on the table.Tadman wrote: ↑Fri Mar 15, 2024 7:12 pmNews to me that paying $70 for a one-hour train ride is "low", but what do I know.lensovet wrote: ↑Mon Mar 11, 2024 2:44 pm Must be why we have sold out trains all the time, because of that crappy service.Good Lord this is such a false equivalency. As if restricted coaching stock and artificially low prices don't affect that.
RandallW wrote: ↑Sat Mar 16, 2024 3:58 pm Do you know that Amtrak has the freedom to add coaches to every train, and doesn't have limitations like platform length, yard facility / overnight storage space, or budget that doesn't constrain the total length of some trains?AAAHHH YYYAAA I work there. I add and subtract coaches and engines everyday.
Regarding that last one , it's highly likely that most Amtrak trains, even if they were consistently sold out, still wouldn't fully cover their own operating costs, and that the supporting entity (Federal or State) isn't willing to pay the extra expense of more cars, especially if adding an extra car requires adding extra crew.
David Benton wrote: ↑Sun Mar 17, 2024 12:33 am It seems unlikely that there is even demand on every train during the day , yet they all are the same consist.This last sentence needs more emphasis. MARC does this all the time where a single consist will run on two or more lines over the day -- I used to find CSX train orders for MARC Brunswick line trains on my Penn/NEC line train up to Baltimore. With Amtrak going more push-pull, you're going to see a lot more of that.
The question is wether the cost of changing consist lenght is worth the extra ticket revenue that a longer consist would bring , or the savings in running costs of running a shorter consist( i would think this would not be a saving ). also bearing in mind the other trains the consist might be assigned too in its 24 hour diagram .