Corona virus impacts on Amtrak

Airlines have carried cargo on seats for years nothing new. Usually it would be US mail during peak mailing times. Might be now as Post Office is having a high volume of mail now.

In each of my last few trips in a Viewliner room, I’ve used Lysol spray on the hard surfaces that I touch, wiping them then with paper towels.

The paper towels end up dark brown.

I also find coffee cups, uneaten food and more in the luggage storage space.

This has continued since coronavirus began.

What gives?

Mr. West Point, here is a New York Times article regsrding the handling of cargo within the cabin of an aircraft:

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/25/busi ... d=em-share

Fair Use:

Most passenger planes today fly virtually empty, but when Virgin Atlantic flight VS251 landed at Heathrow Airport near London on a cloudy afternoon late last month, most of its 258 seats were occupied.

No one was violating social distancing recommendations, though. The seats, along with the plane’s belly, were loaded with medical supplies. That flight was one of nine that Virgin flew last month that used passenger planes — without any passengers — to transport ventilators, masks, gloves and other medical necessities between Shanghai and London.

It was one of the most vivid examples of how thoroughly the pandemic has muddled the economics of the industry. Airlines have long carried freight alongside passengers, but it never made sense to use their planes exclusively for cargo. ..

If such were ever attempted by Amtrak, stand by with a filming crew for the latest production of the "Keystone Kops".

I also noticed that, when booking a ticket for an upcoming trip on the Crescent, coach is sold out.

I assume that only a fraction of seats in each coach are sold, to maintain social distancing. Yet the Crescent has been running with 2 coaches (down from its usual 4).

Why wouldn't Amtrak just add another coach?

SouthernRailway wrote: ↑Sun May 24, 2020 8:16 am In each of my last few trips in a Viewliner room, I’ve used Lysol spray on the hard surfaces that I touch, wiping them then with paper towels.
The paper towels end up dark brown.

I recently wiped an entire hotel room with bleach wipes, and had a few unpleasant surprises. I'm going to start carrying them more often even after this crisis subsides.

SouthernRailway wrote: ↑Sun May 24, 2020 8:16 amWhat gives?

Nobody. That's the problem. Nobody gives. Nobody in management gives, the workers know it, and they don't either.

Yikes! Doesn't look good at all. Thanks for the info!

"Enhanced cleaning" is all theatrics. It's something being done for a photo shoot. My guess is that in practice, it won't be done past year end and things will go back to "normal" for stores and transportation.

Even CDC has come out and said that it's unlikely transmission from hard surfaces is a contributing factor to how COVID spreads.

Exactly right. If you've seen all those ads about fast food and pizza delivery being "contact-less", then you sign up and use the service. Yeah no. I have had pizza delivered and bought drive-through fast food fried chicken and it was business as usual. You think the guy delivering pizza knows or cares?

Tadman wrote: ↑Wed May 27, 2020 12:13 pm Exactly right. If you've seen all those ads about fast food and pizza delivery being "contact-less", then you sign up and use the service. Yeah no. I have had pizza delivered and bought drive-through fast food fried chicken and it was business as usual. You think the guy delivering pizza knows or cares?

They know, especially if the pie's been paid for already through Grubhub/Door Dash/UberEats.

Is Amtrak finally expanding the length of long-distance trains? Looks like the Crescent had two sleeping cars and three coaches recently...but no diner.

Mr. SRY, first posted at another COVID-19 related topic:

Don't know if there are more "butts on the cushions", but the consists are growing.

Observed:

#4(2) 2 P-42, Sleeper, Sleeper, Diner, Lounge, Coach, Coach, Coach-Bagg---7 cars

#5(4) 2 P-42, Bagg, Dorm, Sleeper, Diner, Lounge, Coach, Coach, Coach----8 cars

Here in New Zealand, we are about to move to no restrictions , with zero new cases in 17 days , and the last victim recovered.
I don't think people are planning to forget it all , or go through cleaning for the sake of theatrics. I think some things have changed forever , handshaking , coughing into elbows, social distancing in a perhaps more subtle way. I have seen no indication that food delivery or fast food workers know/care or don't, anymore than other more up market outlets . They are probably more likely to have a set procedure to follow.
Unfortunately I don't have any trainriding experiences coming up to impart any suggestions /comparisons to Amtrak , maybe a plane trip in the next couple of weeks.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/300029 ... rt-level-1

Certainly great news that your entire archipelago, as distinct from a land region, is COVID-19 free. The whole world will be watching you.

Likely, International tourism will be on hold for a while longer, and at such time it is again allowed, I would guess that there will be a return to the Yellow WHO "shot certificate" such as there was back when I first went overseas during '60.

Tadman wrote: ↑Tue May 26, 2020 9:14 am

SouthernRailway wrote: ↑Sun May 24, 2020 8:16 am In each of my last few trips in a Viewliner room, I’ve used Lysol spray on the hard surfaces that I touch, wiping them then with paper towels.
The paper towels end up dark brown.

I recently wiped an entire hotel room with bleach wipes, and had a few unpleasant surprises. I'm going to start carrying them more often even after this crisis subsides.

SouthernRailway wrote: ↑Sun May 24, 2020 8:16 amWhat gives?

Nobody. That's the problem. Nobody gives. Nobody in management gives, the workers know it, and they don't either.

Indeed. Staying at the crew hotel (a hilton brand) I've seen no increased cleaning of the hotel rooms. Even with 10% occupancy, the housekeeping staff can barely manage to thoroughly clean the rooms. Instead, it seems as though it is an opportunity to hide out and do a little as possible. I always wipe the room down and upon leaving strip the bed of the sheets to ensure the next guest has clean sheets put on.

Peyton, your practices, presumably at a Hampton Inn (can't imagine Amtrak forking over for a Hilton higher up on the pecking order) are well advised.

Since "the Beginning", I have refrained from "anything public"; be it transportation, events (last went the the Symphony during Feb), accommodations (last hotel stay January), rest rooms, and restaurants (I do go to retail stores - masked, of course; because on-line shopping is something I've never done). Further, when going to the gas station, I always spray the pump handle and touch screen with my can of Lysol (of course, only driving 100 miles a month means that's a "not too often").

But "closing in on age 79", these precautions are the order of the day.

I wholly respect that being a Passenger Engineer is "not exactly" a profession lending itself to WFH (work from home).