NEC now Fixed Seating Including Rear-Facing

RandallW wrote: ↑Thu Feb 29, 2024 5:51 am The existing trains with rearward facing seats are (if my count is correct):

• Amtrak Cascades
• Heartland Flyer
• Capitol Corridor
• Pacific Surfliner
• San Joaquins
• Hiawatha Service
• Blue Water
• Pere Marquette
• Wolverine
• Downeaster
• Acela
• Hartford Line
• Valley Flyer
• Keystone Service
• Piedmont

And every train with a sleeper, every train with a dining car and every train with cafe cars. Anything with a table in it someone will be backwards. I dare say there is not a single Amtrak train right now that does not have a few seats pointing backwards.

They probably will keep it that way. Sitting backward is not my favorite but its also not the worst thing. The euros do it all the time. They have lots of stock with coach compartments and picnic-table open seating. That is the preferred seating in Britain, as there are still a few trains left with chef-prepared meals served at-seat. In other words, every car is a dining car.

It's also the standard here for our much vaunted sleepers and full diners.

I'd much rather ride backwards and not have a crappy customer service experience than ride forward and have the usual station experience at Chicago and Detroit.

STrRedWolf wrote: ↑Thu Feb 29, 2024 7:21 am

Railjunkie wrote: ↑Wed Feb 28, 2024 10:54 am

Gilbert B Norman wrote: ↑Wed Feb 28, 2024 7:41 am Mr. Wolf, ask me and I'll say FIXED SEATING SUCKS!!!

But it's life.

Simple as that; I like to ride forward and get headaches if backward.

But better get used to it for it's here to stay. It has been "The Standard" in Europe as long as they have had railroads. On that point, I recall a ride a few years back Innsbruck to St. Anton Arlberg where the train ascends up the Arlberg Pass from Landeck to where it tunnels at St. Anton. It's spectacular, but all I could find was a rear facing seat. Forward riding was seated a gal who asked me to wake her as we neared St. Anton - and then WENT TO SLEEP.

UGH!!!

At least I give Brightline credit; while fixed seating, they do provide a seat map when booking so if there is a forward riding seat open, you can call it yours.

Line Two is going OOS in August and will be for approximately two years for track work and other improvements. The ability to loop trains at Penn will disappear when this happens or so I've been told. It will effect schedules. I've heard rumor there could be a couple of Empire trains going back to GCT during this outage. That is the reason you are starting 2and2 fixed seating.

I'm leaning towards Amtrak keeping it that way, given the Airo sets that are being built. Give folks those two years of push-pull service and they'll be used to it by the time the Airo sets come in.

I read the bulletin yesterday and it gives them faster turns in Washington cutting time from 3ish hours to possibly an hour or so. Quicker equipment turns equals more trains. In the case of Empire service trains there is no way to loop them in time. This has nothing to do with the new equipment Amtrak will have in the next 20 years.
If you truly want to believe Amtrak cares if you ride backwards knock yourself out. Anytime there has been push pull service on the Empire one side of the trip is always backward.

The Downeaster has been that way pretty much as long as I've known it. Half the seats in each coach face forward; the other half face backward. Only in the business class section of the cafe car have I ever seen seats be turned.

My wife and I rode the Downeaster years ago when it was new. When we boarded for the return trip from Portland, all the seats were facing backward. I asked the conductor to reverse a seat for us, and she said only union carmen turned seats, and no carman worked at Portland. She then showed us how to turn the seat, then said that if we hadn't figured it out, she had us watch while she turned several more seats.

All of these FRA dream trains will have backwards seating. Unless of course they go with my brilliant idea of just runnig a loop from Pocatello through Flint, Huntsville, Joplin, Merced, and back to Pocatello.

This is effective March 2.

Hey, we are amused by the Americans straining their necks trying to look forward from a backward facing seat.

I wonder if the seats will be locked into place or if the passengers will be able to rotate the seats themselves.

charlesriverbranch wrote: ↑Thu Feb 29, 2024 12:01 pm The Downeaster has been that way pretty much as long as I've known it. Half the seats in each coach face forward; the other half face backward. Only in the business class section of the cafe car have I ever seen seats be turned.

That's how seats are on regionals and Keystones as well. So I'm not sure what actually changes here.

One silly way to fix this is to put a camera facing forward on the engine that is broadcast over Wifi to the entire consist.

Wait, what was that big "gasp" I hear followed by "But that'll be expensive! We'll have to put Wifi and an entertainment system in every car!" sound? Gee, maybe because it's a damn good idea the airlines put said systems in since everyone and their kids has at least a smart phone or a tablet?

Remarks in the relevant threads please.

I hope free Dramamine will be supplied in the cafe car

STrRedWolf wrote: ↑Fri Mar 01, 2024 10:49 am One silly way to fix this is to put a camera facing forward on the engine that is broadcast over Wifi to the entire consist.

Yeah, front row seats for the next grade crossing wreck, suicide, or heck, just Bambi out in the wrong place at the wrong time. Great! Wait until you see the bill for the lawsuits and PTSD treatments for every passenger on the train. Talk about expensive...

How about this? Get used to riding backwards. Millions of rail passengers do it, every day, worldwide. If it's not your cuppa, don't take the train.

Just did a quick Google search. According to Wikipedia "Roughly one-third of people are highly susceptible to motion sickness". Good luck Amtrak.