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I would note that I'm not counting beds just rooms as that's a standard metric in the hospitality industry. It helps to do it that way because it gives a sense of Amtrak's true capacity as a "hotelier" and could provide some interesting comparisons to hotel systems. As a former night audi...

All of the previous discussion of improving equipment utilization or adding a sleeper back to 66/67 ignores one major fact: Anderson has proven he really wants to get rid of all overnight trains. How? Let me count the ways: 1. 'Breaking' the Southwest Chief into 2 day trains plus a bus - proves his ...

For any business to become a long term success, it's necessary to have a continuous 'market' for its products and/or services. That market also has to be robust enough to provide a steady stream of customers year round. Perhaps the biggest sales draw for land cruise by rail is scenery. Rocky Mountai...

Query re: changing reservations on day of travel... If I buy a seat on 137 but fall behind schedule, will I be able to change (before 1315) to 67 without paying ~~3X as much as the $79 fare? As I understand the current Amtrak pricing, any changes or modifications to your ticket will be made at the ...

I don't know about you, but I, for one, would not feel safe riding a DMU at 110 mph, the current speed limit on portions of the Hartford line in Connecticut. The 2 car shuttle trains hit that speed every time since the 2nd track was opened a bit more than a year ago. The 8 car trains 141 & 148 d...

I sometimes wonder if the Metro North dispatchers scheme to stab Amtrak trains. I know the the general plan is locals on the outer tracks and expresses on the inner. There's maybe 10-15 miles total where one of the tracks is closed for repais making dispatching a challenge during peak times. But aft...

Hopefully, these shuttle trains will wait for any late northbound Amtrak NE Regional Connections at New Haven Union Station, especially 94 which had a dismal on time record when it started out in Newport News. In April of 2017, I was at New Haven Union Station and I watched 494 depart New Haven way...

I had forgotten about the South Shore station at South Bend. BUT.... When that was built, Penn Central did NOT stop there! They stopped at the downtown South Bend station. Amtrak stopped downtown too, for quite some time. So, my thinking the new Union Station in Milwaukee, which opened in 1968 as I ...

For what it's worth, I have/had the exact same thoughts as the OP...getting REAL dinner in the almost new Viewliner diners before they start serving boxed dog food on October 1. Living in New England, I decided to book a trip on the Meteor to West Palm Beach and back, and another on the Crescent to ...

I've booked a business class ticket on train 150, the 3:10am Washington-NYC train. I figured I'd be literally paying over $500 for a hotel room and would get only a few hours of sleep, so I might as well spend a few hours on the train in the middle of the night and I'll be just as well-rested, but ...

2 Weeks ago, I bought a new laptop with Windows 10 and it, too, didn't like playing most videos. Thank you Microsoft for screwing everybody up! Maybe 4-5 years ago already, I was having trouble playing MP4's on my main Windows 7 computer after some 'update' messed things up. While I don't know exact...

My primary rule to getting a decent seat is to be among the first to board. Being a senior citizen helps at some stations. On the NEC I always take business class. The extra 25% TQPs makes it worthwhile, as does the added legroom. As for having 'pick any seat' vs one that was chosen during ticketing...

But in that case the conductor would know that their (purchased) intended stop was NYP and the destination slip would indicate that. (Although, since I largely ride the Downeaster, damned if I can tell how the conductor knows what the passenger's intended stop is from the slips, which are occasiona...

Up until last year I had occasion to ride #66 between Washington and Boston a couple times a year and neither of these annoyances was standard practice at the time. Waking sleeping passengers for any reason other than to advise them that their station is approaching or to do the traditional Penn St...

In my opinion, most quiet and fastest acceleration trophy belongs to a GG1. I recall 30+ years ago riding the Broadway Ltd to New York. After the power change at Harrisburg to a single GG1, it literally YANKED the train out of the station. I was pushed back in my roomette seat as if I was in a high ...