Corona virus impacts on Amtrak

David Benton wrote: ↑Thu Apr 16, 2020 7:47 pm My post on hot food delivery is the result of me misreading the reasons it was stopped during NZ's lockdown. While there was concern over hygiene standards for Uber eats and the like , the main reason was it is not considered an essential service.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/412 ... strictions
here's a good article on food
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-52040138
Apologies if I misled anyone.

Note that New Zealand food standards are different than UK food standards are different than US food standards. They differ country to country. Case in point, China until now allowed "wet markets" where livestock were slaughtered on the spot, and only recently reclassified dogs from "livestock" to "pets".

I wonder why Amtrak isn't sending unused Viewliner sleepers to routes with coach-only seating and selling sleeping car rooms as "day rooms".

In the age of social distancing, surely a private room with a door is a desirable way to travel, moreso than open-plan seating.

And given the light loads on Eastern LD trains, a Viewliner diner and a sleeping car or two could suffice to fit all passengers, which would make a much nicer experience than a string of Amfleet IIs and a sleeper.

SouthernRailway wrote: ↑Fri Apr 17, 2020 10:17 am I wonder why Amtrak isn't sending unused Viewliner sleepers to routes with coach-only seating and selling sleeping car rooms as "day rooms".

You can buy such passage, and I have. It's a really nice way to travel. But they could certainly do a better job of advertising it. I think the day room is a well kept secret.

In Europe I seriously enjoy the 6-man compartments for quiet and privacy. They also seat strangers in them.

I do agree with some points of your statement. However, his career with Amtrak I feel was not perfect since he tried to replace SOuthwest Chief service with bus service for certain portions for the route, and has recently mentioned the use of self-driving vans for Amtrak services. Although I do see his point of trying to make AMtrak profitable by eliminating certain aspects of the company, especially the long distance routes, deemed "unprofitable", these services are still essential for the rural parts of the country which rely on rail transport to travel to larger cities. His service of working for Amtrak has had both positive and negative aspects, and it will be interesting to see how the new CEO will run Amtrak for many years to come. Hopefully he makes decisions which will help the railroad become more profitable, while still providing service in areas which rely on rail transport.

As for the one billion, hopefully it will support Amtrak and help it make up for its losses due to the pandemic, even though this might take years for Amtrak, other businesses, and the U.S. economy to fully recover from this.

Mr. Pennsy, thank you for presenting your "mixed" thoughts to mine expressed immediately in an unquestionably mature and respectful manner.

I think we both agree that it is regretful commercial passenger carriers - Amtrak and the airlines - must go into a "Buddy can you spare a $B" mode, and that you agree that Mr. Anderson did make progress; the Acela 21 order was finalized and deliveries took place on his watch, and the single-level cars for Midwest and West Coast cars were likewise, although entry into revenue service will not occur until his successor is "on watch". That there remains "higgling and piggling" on an order for new Corridor cars must remain as "unfinished business". Lest we forget, the A-I's are now older than the P-70's they replaced - indeed a testament to their design using proven components and a builder who was of a "take 'em or leave 'em" philosophy.

Now so far as the LD's, you and I appear likely on different pages. On that point, I must admit that I have the advantage, and hold in my nearly 79 years around these parts the memories, in that I was riding railroad LD's such as the Century, Broadway, North Coast, Panama, Builder, Cities, Zephyr, and Super, back when those trains did provide an experiential ride (throw in several Transatlantic sailings to boot). But those days are in the history books; commercial passenger transportation is simply moving you from A to B. Mr. Anderson, and his successor Mr. Flynn, recognize this.

But "scalping the Chief", simply made all the economic sense in the world. Here was 350 miles of the route that, under contract between the Railroad and Amtrak, Amtrak was going to be responsible for all costs of its maintenance and operation. That one level of government or the other stepped up to "chip in the loot" to maintain this, to me absurdity, escapes me. That Clark, Olivia, Cary, and Eva, as well as me, once rode those rails sitting in a Pleasure Dome, does not give rise to present day political and social necessity. The "here I am in La Junta and I have to get to my Doctor in Kansas City" doesn't cut it - just get behind the wheel if you must.

We must not lose sight that, unlike Canada, there is no station served by Amtrak that cannot be accessed by highway. The "remote" argument put forth by the advocacy groups simply has no backing whatever "down here". If some political body believes there is a need to provide commercial transportation to that person in La Junta, then establish a system of vans/busses as a "transition" (five year phaseout as was to be the case with the LD's) - it will surely cost taxpayers far less than operating a system of LD trains.

Just my thoughts.

Thanks and agreed.

There must be a bunch of Viewliner sleeping cars parked somewhere. I figure that adding them to day trains, such as the NC Piedmonts, or maybe some of the lines around Chicago, during this period could generate ridership, maybe. Or maybe nobody's riding anyway so it wouldn't matter.

Maybe post-pandemic, people will want to keep engaging in social distancing, so maybe future orders for coaches could be European-style, with walls and compartments and 6 seats per compartment, instead of pure open-plan seating?

I do understand what you are saying, but in order to solve the problem of LDs and with the ideology of Anderson is that they should be separated into different regional routes along the LD's entirety. For example, the Southwest Chief can be split up into numerous regional routes between major cities along the route, without leaving any portion of the route without rail service. With this, I feel that there should be at least one train a day which connects the entirety of the route for those who want to travel further than the proposed regional routes.

SouthernRailway wrote: ↑Sat Apr 11, 2020 5:58 am The Crescent has been running with one sleeper and one baggage-dorm. There have been maybe 2 or 3 occupied rooms in the sleeper. Why not just go ahead and take the sleeper offline so that it can be refurbished (it’s looking pretty ragged inside) and sell rooms in the baggage-diem? They look pretty nice.

SouthernRailway wrote: ↑Fri Apr 17, 2020 10:17 am I wonder why Amtrak isn't sending unused Viewliner sleepers to routes with coach-only seating and selling sleeping car rooms as "day rooms".

In the age of social distancing, surely a private room with a door is a desirable way to travel, moreso than open-plan seating.

And given the light loads on Eastern LD trains, a Viewliner diner and a sleeping car or two could suffice to fit all passengers, which would make a much nicer experience than a string of Amfleet IIs and a sleeper.

I'm confused... do you want them sent for refurbishment, or used on day trains? And like Tad, I like the day train compartment idea. I used to ride "2nd class" in Germany a lot, and appreciated the non-commuter equipment that had cabins that seated up to six.

I'm great at contradicting myself, aren't I?

They need to be refurbished, but that idea got shot down, so I think that they should be used for day trains.

Let's bring it back to the Billion, not Mr. Anderson. Basically, this is a cash infusion to cover the operating losses COVID has caused, much like the bailout of the airlines.

Basically, this just keeps Amtrak's checking account for overdrawing. I'm not sure there's much to see here for discussion, but have at it if you want to talk about the $1,000,000,000.

Not sure if the idea got shot down, or taking ALL the sleepers off to do it was the victim LOL. I'm sure given reduced maintenance cycles, some could be reassigned to refurb's. Just not the entire workforce and fleet.

Jeff Smith wrote: ↑Fri Apr 17, 2020 3:34 pm Not sure if the idea got shot down, or taking ALL the sleepers off to do it was the victim LOL. I'm sure given reduced maintenance cycles, some could be reassigned to refurb's. Just not the entire workforce and fleet.

Depending on how fast the refurb takes, you could to all the sleepers.

Wonder how long it would take to put up perspex screens , and create compartments in business class ?
Are there any stats on how many people travel together . I would think it is rare for people to travel in groups of more than 2 , and the majority of travelers would be solo. With that in mind taking out one seat on one side to create single seats in Coach as well may be popular.
The assumption is things will get better , but there should be plans for things getting worst .

No Maple Leaf, Adirondack or Cascades until at least May 21......and I'd be surprised if trains weren't cancelled well beyond that.

President Trump had hinted the other day they might be able to reopen the US/Canada border soon....but Prime Minister Trudeau said today a “mutual agreement” was reached with the US to keep the border closed an additional 30 days beyond the original April 21st date.

Not surprising. But things are definitely starting to feel better. We will be worlds ahead of where we are now in another month.