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Part of the appeal of the sleeping car lounge is that the rabble in coach isn't allowed in: quieter, less crowded, etc. So I could see access to the rolling lounge being granted to: 1. Sleeping car passengers 2. Passengers in other classes who purchase access ($29 or 2000 AGR points for 24 hours of ...

I feel like there's not enough appreciation out there for just how tough the mountains of western Mass. are from a railroading standpoint. There's a ~1,200' change in elevation between Westfield and the summit of the grade. That's roughly the same as the difference in elevation between Trinidad, CO...

Like bratkinson, I was a night auditor in another life (it's a great job for a college student, especially one with an analytical bent), at a c.70-room Hampton (railroad connection: NS had a local-negotiated rate with us, arising out of the Patriot Corridor). It would be interesting (most relevant t...

Thanks for contributing - but something is missing in your analysis. About half the Superliner routes involve trains being in service for two night, so these have twice as many rooms and roomettes available every night. If all the trains took just one night per trip, your analysis would be correct....

Here's a first step ... Lake Shore Limited 2x trains with 3x Viewliners (2 NYP, 1 BOS) @ 15 rooms each = 45 rooms per train or 90 rooms per night for the entire route. A small Hampton Inn prototype is 70 or so rooms. There are hundreds of businesses that have franchised 10-20 Fairhamp Expresses and...

This does not surprise me. There's been a number of times the algorithm misses something and bedroom is cheaper than roomette. I've had two trips in a Bedroom when an open roomette was $150 more expensive. That actually was offered once for a family bedroom but I passed, no idea what I'd do with al...

What about corridor-length trips served by LD? Let’s say I want to go from Toledo to somewhere west - KCY, MSP, OMA - which should be corridor trains but aren’t yet. I could fly if prices aren’t exorbitant, I could take Megabus for part of the trip (which is rather unpleasant), I could drive the tw...

Agreed Amtrak is more than capable of handling inventory management and ensuring that core passenger markets are served. I recall reading a fairly recent interview with Anderson in which he expressed shock at how unsophisticated the revenue management systems were compared to the airlines. Fundamen...

This is an Acela vs. airplane comparison from Amtrak's website: Why Acela_ _ Amtrak.pdf https://www.amtrak.com/route-content/why-acela.html Not so sure it is very convincing or how accurate the $678 airfare is (I have never flown New York to D.C. - First Class maybe?), or the 2 hr 45 min Acela trip...

Why would they even shop it? There's only one buyer who'll seriously think of cutting a check, and they're headquartered in Boston.

Boston just got a refurb. I hope that magnificent ceiling is still visible! it is. It's also much airier and the furniture is also quite nice. Obviously, because the clientele is probably 90% Acela First Class (though, posting from 2171, out of the few dozen First Class pax to board at BOS, I think...

Given what's being done with the diners I'm having a hard time imagining a major service expansion I'd say quite the opposite. What's happening with diners (being downgraded to cafes) makes it easier to add sleepers. Fundamentally, the trains where a dining car can perform well are trains with lots...

As far as I know, the only trains barring coach passengers from the dining car are the LSL and Capitol Ltd (for which these menus are not applicable).

Re: parlor-buffet coach According to : Parlor cars are the day trip version of the Pullman, being an extra-fare service for the well-to-do. As with the 12-1, this car has a drawingroom, which is actually more of a dayroom (there is no fold down berth). These drawingrooms are frequently used by group...

All of the above is to say that in many respects we're discussing an aspect of service that becomes less relevant for Amtrak every team a renovated and improved station opens with better dining. It's also very likely the only aspect of Amtrak's trains that financially gets worse as service speeds u...