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  • Amtrak New Gulf Coast Service - New Orleans to Mobile AL

  • Discussion related to Amtrak also known as the National Railroad Passenger Corp.
Discussion related to Amtrak also known as the National Railroad Passenger Corp.

Moderators: GirlOnTheTrain, mtuandrew, Tadman

 #1564479  by electricron
 
David Benton wrote: Sat Feb 27, 2021 2:35 pm The train has not even been equipped yet, not sure how anyone knows what kind of business class it will have, if any.
I am expecting retiring Horizon cars to be moved south to New Orleans. Are there any Horizon cars with business class seating?
Per http://www.on-track-on-line.com/amtk-ro ... ml#Horizon
There are 66 all seat coaches left, 4 all table cars left which California leases 3 for their Comet IIA trains in the valley, and 10 club-dinettes with 14 recliner seats and 32 table seats left. I assume some of these are running with the cascade trains replacing wrecked or retired sets. As new Siemens Venture cars come online, I expect more and more Horizons will become available to move south.
Didn’t Amtrak order some new Venture cars recently? Maybe they will move here first to get this train off to a great start with brand new rolling stock? Then maybe Amtrak will want them running on their premiere NEC first.
 #1564601  by Arborwayfan
 
A train designed partly as the first and last part of a casino visit might be able to sell table seats with a cash bar as revenue seats = use for a couple of V-diners. Gulf Coast Club might be a good name for that. (Yeah, I know I want table seating everywhere; I like sitting at a table for a couple of hours and I see the available tables filled up a lot of the time. :-D )

Also, since folks have been discussing Business Class here: Are there any routes where businesspeople (executives, corporate managers, owners, of substantial companies, maybe lawyers, and similar suit-briefcase-and-office people) travelling for work are the main customer base for business class? Are there any routes were such people are substantially more likely to go business class than coach? Is there any chance that a Gulf Coast service would attract many such people? Are there any routes where business class is set up to cater to people who want to conduct business at their business class seat? Or is Business Class just what Amtrak calls what most of Europe calls First Class, what Norway calls Comfort Class, etc.? (For some reason thinking about why it's called business class and what people might expect that to mean reminds me of an old thread about passengers, especially foreign passengers, thinking that they would not be allowed to bring full-sized suitcases on trains that said No Checked Baggage in the timetable, because they thought Checked Baggage referred to the size of the suitcase, not the service of someone stowing it in a special place and giving it to you at the end of your trip.)
 #1564607  by R36 Combine Coach
 
Arborwayfan wrote: Sun Feb 28, 2021 5:33 pm A train designed partly as the first and last part of a casino visit might be able to sell table seats with
a cash bar as revenue seats.
We all know what happened to Atlantic City Express service. And the second attempt at the concept (ACES)
even had a full bar on board. The service was fully funded by several casinos, basically a weekend excursion
service with NJT as operator.
 #1564616  by ExCon90
 
Arborwayfan, I suspect that the designation Business Class arose as a countermeasure to companies whose policy was not to reimburse First Class travel. As long as airlines and railroads called something Business Class it sounded more professional and got by the accountants.
 #1564637  by Gilbert B Norman
 
Arborwayfan wrote: Sun Feb 28, 2021 5:33 pm (Yeah, I know I want table seating everywhere; I like sitting at a table for a couple of hours and I see the available tables filled up a lot of the time. :-D )
Well Prof. Martens, I guess you do enjoy riding overseas. :P

Your thought reminds me how during August '19, on likely my final journey to the Salzburg Festival, I was taking a day trip to St. Anton/Arlberg. Ascending the 500m in 25 klicks from Landeck along Rosanna River, the only available seat was rear facing - and there was this lady forward riding - and all she wanted to do was go to sleep!!! Of course, she had to say, in perfect English, "could you wake me when we get to St. Anton?"

No offer to change seats; even though she could see I was "a kid in the candy store" to sightsee. GRRRRR.

Well at least there was the ubiquitous table to keep us apart.
 #1564772  by Ridgefielder
 
R36 Combine Coach wrote: Sun Feb 28, 2021 7:07 pm
Arborwayfan wrote: Sun Feb 28, 2021 5:33 pm A train designed partly as the first and last part of a casino visit might be able to sell table seats with
a cash bar as revenue seats.
We all know what happened to Atlantic City Express service. And the second attempt at the concept (ACES)
even had a full bar on board. The service was fully funded by several casinos, basically a weekend excursion
service with NJT as operator.
Personally think the demise of ACES had more to do with the demise of Atlantic City as a desirable destination than anything connected with the service. AC has been sliding for 20+ years, ever since the two big casinos opened in Southeastern Connecticut.
 #1564781  by Jeff Smith
 
It seems to me that a natural extension to this service is up through Montgomery and on to Birmingham. We talked about this a while back: gulf-breeze-mobile-birmingham-huntsvill ... 56028.html

It could also potentially take a more direct route via Montgomery via the 85 corridor, and hit Auburn AL on it's way up to Atlanta.
 #1564975  by TurningOfTheWheel
 
I've always thought Alabama had a high potential for a corridor service, Mobile -> Montgomery (via Selma) -> Birmingham -> Huntsville (via Decatur). You could run a branch from Birmingham up to Chattanooga and, like Jeff said, Montgomery to Atlanta via Auburn. This is a great first step.
 #1565204  by west point
 
IMO routing the Gulf coast train to Montgomery - Auburn - LaGrange - ATL is great. Have the Crescent continue to Birmingham - Meridian and then to finally end at Dallas / FT. Worth. Gulf coast train would connect to Crescent at Atlanta. Gives station ATL and north access to New Orleans. Any south of ATL on revised Crescent run thruway from Meridian.
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