Amtrak Diner and Food Service Discussion

[SouthernRailway]

https://media.amtrak.com/2019/07/amtrak ... xperience/
Here is the announcement regarding the Auto Train.

Great, just what I was hoping for: an improved and expanded sleeping car service.

Maybe the Crescent and others will be next? Doubtful, but I hope so.

[gokeefe]

https://media.amtrak.com/2019/07/amtrak ... xperience/

Anderson's quote is bordering on historic ...

“These upgrades represent an investment in improving the travel experience on this one-of-a-kind train,” Amtrak President and CEO Richard Anderson said. “Our continued success depends on increasing customer satisfaction by upgrading sleeping accommodations, keeping Coach as an affordable option and providing more choice in food options in the station and onboard.”

Three major statements here 1) recognizing Auto Train as a unique service worthy of special considerations 2) acknowledging CoachClass needs to be affordable and 3) food service quality matters.

Anderson is arguably one of the most sceptical and business driven CEO's in Amtrak's history. If he recognizes exceptional value in Auto Train it might as well be printing money. Looks like he has decided where to make his stand against mediocrity.

Even more significant:

Amtrak will also expand the availability of every Sleeping Car accommodation — Roomette, Bedroom, Family Bedroom and Accessible Bedroom — to meet the demand for this class of service.

This is potentially a breakthrough moment for Amtrak. Meeting the full market demand in an East Coast service has not been attempted since the Florida Special, Vacationer, Miamian and Champion were operated as seasonal specials in the 1970s.

[STrRedWolf]

A food truck was the refreshment stop on the Malahat train on Vancouver island in the Eighties. Adequate for the journey lenght, a good chance to get off the train and stretch the legs . I imagine more substantial fare could be offered with today's technology , probably offset by more stringent hygiene regulations requirements.

Kinda. Given enough food trucks, you can have a half-decent menu. Hot subs, sandwiches, salads, burgers, fries, swama, shish-ka-bobs, even brick oven fired pizza. (Yes, we got a truck in Baltimore that has a brick pizza oven IN the truck). I think steaks, potatoes, fish would not be much of a problem.

[Gilbert B Norman]

Tue Jan 28, #52, me in a Bedroom, Buggy on the rack, $661. That's acceptable to me.

Based on the trip I'm planning, i.e. "outta Dodge" before all the Super Bowl mullarkey starts, two weekends in Miami for the Cleveland Orchestra, and the in between week in Boca at slightly reduced hotel rates.

But booking Seven Months in advance - and no more refunds - I don't know. My days of joyrides are, sorry, over.

[lordsigma12345]

Tue Jan 28, #52, me in a Bedroom, Buggy on the rack, $661. That's acceptable to me.

Based on the trip I'm planning, i.e. "outta Dodge" before all the Super Bowl mullarkey starts, two weekends in Miami for the Cleveland Orchestra, and the in between week in Boca at slightly reduced hotel rates.

But booking Seven Months in advance - and no more refunds - I don't know. My days of joyrides are, sorry, over.

My understanding is sleeper refunds are still fine as long as its before 24 hours before departure. While Amtrak is FAR from perfect in MANY respects. Most of my experiences have been pretty good as far as needing refunds.

[daybeers]

Let's be real here: this isn't really Amtrak's fault, but rather that of Congress. Food and beverage service needs to break even by next year, which is causing these cuts. Why the LD trains are losing money is because of Amtrak's phony accounting, which nobody seems to ever bring up in the public space. This needs to be addressed immediately.

This is 2019, where the Court of Public Opinion deliberates online 24/7/365. When one has a bad experience, just about everyone and their mother turns to not just review sites like Yelp and Trip Advisor, but Twitter/FB/Instagram, where one bad review has a distinct possibility of going viral and being the next breaking news story on local at 6. Amtrak is shooting themselves in the foot here, but it may be a wound they're willing to take. I can see them in a year saying "See? LD trains are losing even more money now! Guess we gotta cut them!"

My view? The Silver Star experiment worked because the Silver Meteor was there as another option. Contemporary dining is going to fail miserably. Though I would ride an LD train in coach long before I would fly, when looking into future trips, I'm going to think twice (or three times) before committing to a possible sleeper because of the dining. It'll be interesting to see how the prices change, if they do at all.

Here's a data point for you: I was born in '98. I own a car but only because it's somewhat necessary where I live. I hate driving, not because of the traffic (which I don't see too much of), but due to cost (gas, parking, maintenance, gov't fees), safety, and environmental reasons. As soon as I graduate, I'm selling my car, leaving Connecticut for most likely a West Coast city, and working to save up some money with the U.S. economy before moving to Europe. My goal is to never own a car again and limit my usage of them as much as possible. Feel free to DM me for more info or to discuss further.

All I know is that every decision Anderson makes is very calculated. He knows exactly what he's doing.

[Arlington]

So can we all agree that Anderson is making these diner/premium upgrades based on a desire to improve financial performance and not out of personal hostility?

The AT upgrades show, at a minimum, that there isn't a default function in managements spreadsheets =NODINER(), or a silent veto that kills all Nice Things, and that they're alert for data which suggests that enhanced amenities can sometimes make sense.

[Alex M]

Upgrading service on Auto train is something long overdue. This train and the Palmetto are the two LD trains that come the closest to breaking even. Although I have yet to ride AT, I hope to do so in the future after I retire at the end of this year. With more and better marketing, AT could operate in the black.

[SouthernRailway]

It did operate in the black some years (but not others) when it was privately-run. Now it's consistently a (light) money-loser.

If anything in Amtrak "should" be privatized and could perhaps do OK as a purely private operation, this is one.

[bostontrainguy]

https://media.amtrak.com/2019/07/amtrak ... xperience/
Here is the announcement regarding the Auto Train.

Great, just what I was hoping for: an improved and expanded sleeping car service.

Maybe the Crescent and others will be next? Doubtful, but I hope so.

Didn't they "improve" the sleeping car service on the Lake Shore with toiletries and such but then quickly removed them? I don't know the truth about this but have read it elsewhere.

[gokeefe]

There has been all kinds of back and forth over the years on many services. Twilight Shoreliner enhancements are another example which have come and gone.

[gokeefe]

Why the LD trains are losing money is because of Amtrak's phony accounting, which nobody seems to ever bring up in the public space. This needs to be addressed immediately.

Nothing "phony" about it. Amtrak's cost structure really does produce heavy losses on Long Distance service due to low ridership and fare levels along with the high costs of labor and equipment maintenance. Food service cuts are one of the only places where Amtrak can even begin to address operating deficits. When 100% of station operating costs can only be assigned against a single route running "one a day each way" it adds up really fast even with station agent reductions.

No one should be surprised that sending expensive trains through hundreds of miles of empty scenery fails to produce ridership and results in extraordinary expenses.

[Jeff Smith]

Why not just charge everyone, including sleeper passengers, for hot fresh non-boxed "MRE" meals? Even at a premium price? Priority seating for sleeper passengers. Minimum gratuity or service charge added to the bill for the cheapo's, or a separately stated surcharge on the fare, whether sleeper or not?

[charlesriverbranch]

Why the LD trains are losing money is because of Amtrak's phony accounting, which nobody seems to ever bring up in the public space. This needs to be addressed immediately.

Nothing "phony" about it. Amtrak's cost structure really does produce heavy losses on Long Distance service due to low ridership and fare levels along with the high costs of labor and equipment maintenance. Food service cuts are one of the only places where Amtrak can even begin to address operating deficits. When 100% of station operating costs can only be assigned against a single route running "one a day each way" it adds up really fast even with station agent reductions.

No one should be surprised that sending expensive trains through hundreds of miles of empty scenery fails to produce ridership and results in extraordinary expenses.

Huh? What station operating costs? Most of those stations are unstaffed.

Moreover, the last I heard these trains were selling out. What evidence do you have of low ridership?

[Arlington]

1) the monthly performance reports show a lot of load factors in the 60% range.

2) selling out means there was as little as a single half hour in the journey when all seats were filled.

3) most passengers will still report that their train was sold out even if most trains don't sell out.

Imagine 10 trains that hold 100 people. The 4 in "high season" sell out. The 6 low season are 50% full.

300 people rode half-full trains
400 rode full trains

Only 40% of trains sold out
But 57% of passengers will report a sellout.

The vast majority of people ride at a time when trains are full for at least part of their journey, but most trains spend too much time not full.