A recent question on Quora regarding the lack of sleepers between NYC and Montreal/Toronto got me thinking about the role of sleepers and their future.
(And moderators there may be a better thread for this since I think we've discussed this before).
I'm starting with one assumption I think is currently safe: Long Distance trains aren't going anywhere any time soon.
I personally think sleepers still have a place.
Firstly, on Long Distance trains, there will always be folks who don't want to ride from Denver to Oakland in coach. Amtrak is going to continue to need sleepers on trains such as that.
But I've found that I've used some sleepers for business purposes. For example, the Lake Shore Limited served me well for business more than once. Why fly when I could board in Albany, get a great meal and relax and sleep until I got to Toledo.
So the question above got me thinking about where else would sleepers actually work well.
So, I got thinking about a world where Amtrak promotes sleepers as an alternative to business travel, with a focus on leaving at or around dinner and arriving at or near the start of the business day. So this means leaving sometime between say 6:00 PM (this may be problematic in NYP with the number of available slots) and arriving at anytime between 6:00 AM and 9:00. So, 12-15 hours of travel.
This of course means something like the Night Owl continues to make sense. So, I'd add a sleeper there. That's 2.
But as the Quora question got me thinking, NYP-Montreal is not a bad pair. I'm not entirely sure there's that much call for overnight traffic but it seems like a viable overnight pair. This is another 2 sleepers, but probably no need for a diner. Leave soon after dinner, and arrive before breakfast. But if you want to, perhaps consider 2 diners. This would be along the route of the Adirondack, not the Vermonter/Montrealer. But that's another possibility as you suddenly bring in the cities of Hartford, Springfield and Burlington into play.
And NYP-Toronto becomes an interesting one. I believe this is more viable than the NYP-Montreal pair actually.
Beyond that, I'm hard-pressed to think of good overnight city pairs. LA and Oakland is another possible one.
In my days of more business travel, I'd certainly have preferred the train over flying out early in the morning, or the previous day and then being stuck at a random hotel.
Thoughts? Would you as a business traveler take advantage of more sleepers if properly marketed?
(And moderators there may be a better thread for this since I think we've discussed this before).
I'm starting with one assumption I think is currently safe: Long Distance trains aren't going anywhere any time soon.
I personally think sleepers still have a place.
Firstly, on Long Distance trains, there will always be folks who don't want to ride from Denver to Oakland in coach. Amtrak is going to continue to need sleepers on trains such as that.
But I've found that I've used some sleepers for business purposes. For example, the Lake Shore Limited served me well for business more than once. Why fly when I could board in Albany, get a great meal and relax and sleep until I got to Toledo.
So the question above got me thinking about where else would sleepers actually work well.
So, I got thinking about a world where Amtrak promotes sleepers as an alternative to business travel, with a focus on leaving at or around dinner and arriving at or near the start of the business day. So this means leaving sometime between say 6:00 PM (this may be problematic in NYP with the number of available slots) and arriving at anytime between 6:00 AM and 9:00. So, 12-15 hours of travel.
This of course means something like the Night Owl continues to make sense. So, I'd add a sleeper there. That's 2.
But as the Quora question got me thinking, NYP-Montreal is not a bad pair. I'm not entirely sure there's that much call for overnight traffic but it seems like a viable overnight pair. This is another 2 sleepers, but probably no need for a diner. Leave soon after dinner, and arrive before breakfast. But if you want to, perhaps consider 2 diners. This would be along the route of the Adirondack, not the Vermonter/Montrealer. But that's another possibility as you suddenly bring in the cities of Hartford, Springfield and Burlington into play.
And NYP-Toronto becomes an interesting one. I believe this is more viable than the NYP-Montreal pair actually.
Beyond that, I'm hard-pressed to think of good overnight city pairs. LA and Oakland is another possible one.
In my days of more business travel, I'd certainly have preferred the train over flying out early in the morning, or the previous day and then being stuck at a random hotel.
Thoughts? Would you as a business traveler take advantage of more sleepers if properly marketed?
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