Corona virus impacts on Amtrak

Prime Minister Trudeau needs those American tourist dollars. The border's not going to remain closed during the summer season. The interesting thing will be when or if the Amtrak trains return, and how many of them.

We all need those tourist dollars....but at what cost right now?

Interesting that the Cardinal (train 50) has an Amfleet I cafe and an Amfleet II lounge, in the same train.

NS VIA FAN wrote: ↑Sun Apr 19, 2020 4:35 pm We all need those tourist dollars....but at what cost right now?

Can't tell you what the cost will be, but AMTRAK will be able to cross the border in June if they want to resume service. That's not a prediction, that's a spoiler.

Aren't the Flex meals basically frozen dinners reheated in a convection oven with a prepackaged salad added? That would make them even safer than fast food or restaurant meals since nobody on board is actually preparing meals and their delivered to passengers sesled.

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Alphaboi wrote: ↑Mon Apr 20, 2020 4:58 pm Aren't the Flex meals basically frozen dinners reheated in a convection oven with a prepackaged salad added? That would make them even safer than fast food or restaurant meals since nobody on board is actually preparing meals and their delivered to passengers sesled.

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I believe so, but check the Diner thread here for more details on that.

Alphaboi wrote: ↑Mon Apr 20, 2020 4:58 pm Aren't the Flex meals basically frozen dinners reheated in a convection oven with a prepackaged salad added? That would make them even safer than fast food or restaurant meals since nobody on board is actually preparing meals and their delivered to passengers sesled.

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Yes, plus a brownie or a blonde in pre-sealed plastic wrap (straight from the shipping box from the producer).

The plastic silverware is just wrapped in a napkin; it’s not sealed. That’s the one risky thing, I think.

WashingtonPark wrote: ↑Mon Apr 20, 2020 3:26 pm

NS VIA FAN wrote: ↑Sun Apr 19, 2020 4:35 pm We all need those tourist dollars....but at what cost right now?

Can't tell you what the cost will be, but AMTRAK will be able to cross the border in June if they want to resume service. That's not a prediction, that's a spoiler.

I know what the cost will be!!…...and it doesn't appear Canadians are in any rush for the Border to reopen until things are under control.

https://torontosun.com/news/provincial/ ... er-control

Thruway bus is replacing the remaining 1x/day Hiawatha from 4/24 through 5/25 due to a severe drop in ridership. It will stop at Milwaukee Airport and Sturtevant en route but skip Glenview. The Empire Builder will still continue to link the full MKE-MKA-SVT-GLN-CHI route once daily each way.

Given that the morning southbound Hiawatha was sometimes standing room only, to replace it with a bus is another indicator of demand falling off a cliff. The one bright spot of this is when the Hiawatha was reduced to 1x weeks ago it broke the clean connection to the Thruway bus to/from Green Bay. Now it aligns, likely using the same bus all the way from Green Bay to Chicago (though the bus number changes in MKE).

http://railfan.com/new-amtrak-ceo-says- ... -recovery/

Brief, fair-use quote per forum policy:

...
Since the pandemic began in early March, ridership on Amtrak has plummeted by approximately 95 percent and just 4,000 people are riding daily. A number of services have either been cut back or suspended altogether. Flynn said it was unclear if the railroad as seen the “bottom” yet when it comes to ridership but that in recent days passenger counts have been steady. Coscia estimated that Amtrak will lose at least $700 million because of the pandemic.
...

Just caught the southbound Silver Star 91(28) out of WAS. I didn’t get a good look at the type of cars - it was between obstructions - but I did catch that there was 7 cars.

I wonder how many were positioning moves, how many were occupied, and how many people Amtrak limits per car.

A friend was on train 29 from WAS to CHI two weekends past. He said there were 38 people on the train. I don’t know if that number included crew, and where in the journey he obtained his headcount.

Based on a picture I saw the other day it looks like the Capital Limited is down to just 4 cars.

There is a quite a lot of power in New Orleans that appears to be laid up for the duration of the virus. Meanwhile the Sunset appears to be running 9-ish cars still.

NARP discount or not, there is still a "hardy bunch" out there riding. The Times sent a reporter and photographer out to hear their stories aboard The Chief:

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/06/opin ... d=em-share

Fair Use:

.There are many reasons to travel by train: a fear of heights, lack of official ID, cost, legroom, the desire to watch the landscape meld smoothly without having to stop for gas. During the coronavirus pandemic, many businesses are shuttered, but most of Amtrak’s trains are still open for business.

Some brave travelers continue to use the railroad, deemed an essential service, crossing states with different rules and approaches to containing the spread of the virus. Rather than adhering to individual states’ rules, Amtrak has a blanket policy for its passengers, creating a kind of ministate of its own. Here are a few of the travelers on a route from Chicago to Los Angeles...

Not me, I did make one trip to Florida this past January, and left with my Auto-Train "only if I'm really going its way" again. I've CXD four out of town trips since; four more planned will likely get the same.

This is just a "lost year" for all too many - and for some of us, that lost year is a "mighty big chunk" of our remaining time around these parts.