Amtrak Crescent Discussion

I called Amtrak and they said due to COVID, certain trains may not be allowing checked baggage at this time.

I wonder what it is about putting a bag into or out of a baggage car can't be done "because of COVID". It has become the new standard excuse for a business or agency to not do what they really didn't want to do anyway. My wife calls it the new "the dog ate my homework", you know when kids at school would have a lame excuse when the real reason was they didn't feel like doing it.

Admittedly there might be a good reason but I'm darned if I can think of one.

I'd assume it's the touching of someone's personal belongings that gives Amtrak the Willies. If not like conductors could wear gloves and masks while loading bags...

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That may go back to the initial stages when there was great concern about touching surfaces. It now appears that the principal danger lies in transmission through the air, but initial measures tend to persist.

This was a case where Amtrak on the phone and online were not in touch with the policies on the actual Crescent, which of course had no issues with baggage. Typical miscommunication. The Crescent staff and ATL station staff couldn't have been nicer.

I saw this posted elsewhere, then confirmed myself through Amtrak.com, but it looks like the Crescent has a major schedule change coming up this summer. 20 will depart NOL at 09:15 instead of 07:00 and arrive in Atlanta at 23:00 instead of 19:35, with an arrival in NYP at 18:15. It looks like 19 will depart NYP at 14:15 as normal, but depart Atlanta at 09:08 and arrive in NOL at 21:02. Apparently this is in response to STB complaints about on time performance. Except instead of wacking NS on the nose with a rolled up newspaper and making them clean up their mess, Amtrak gets shafted.

MattW wrote: ↑Wed May 05, 2021 7:59 am I saw this posted elsewhere, then confirmed myself through Amtrak.com, but it looks like the Crescent has a major schedule change coming up this summer. 20 will depart NOL at 09:15 instead of 07:00 and arrive in Atlanta at 23:00 instead of 19:35, with an arrival in NYP at 18:15. It looks like 19 will depart NYP at 14:15 as normal, but depart Atlanta at 09:08 and arrive in NOL at 21:02. Apparently this is in response to STB complaints about on time performance. Except instead of wacking NS on the nose with a rolled up newspaper and making them clean up their mess, Amtrak gets shafted.

Yikes! I was hoping we'd see an end to Amtrak simply lengthening scheduled run time rather than addressing delays directly. The old schedule had an average speed of about 46 mph, despite a significant portion being on the NEC and most of the NS route having high speed limits. This could be setting up the route to look even worse financially, discouraging bookings and increasing running costs.

That being said, I do think the later departure from NOL could lead to an increased catchment for those driving or bussing in from Baton Rouge, Houma, and other cities to the west, even more so if a BTR-NOL train ever happens. The later arrival in CLT could also be a plus, reducing the middle-of-the-night wait for anyone connecting to the Piedmont or Carolinian.

Well the new schedule for 20 isn't as convenient for a person who wants to travel from Greenville and Spartansburg northward. However there are positives including allowing for daytime travel from Greensboro and Danville to points northward.

There appears there is going to be an announcement shortly by VA about service beyond Roanoke. If so that will allow the present Roanoke service, Crescent, and new service to give three daily services from Lynchburg north and Cardinal CVS north for a fourth 3 days a week and maybe even a daily Cardinal in the future,?

That would start to close the number of trains in service north that is now from Richmond

Oh well, I guess what I observed during April '18 at Danville is now the "new normal".

I was staying there at a Hampton tying up on a road trip to Atlanta and "stocking up" at several Virginia wineries (most underrated Grape Juice I know). Just out of curiosity, I checked the website to see the whereabouts of #20 Crescent. It was Reported estimated 930A or some 150ML.

Such was convenient to my schedule after Breakfast, gas up, and checking out; so I found and went over to the train station; 930 was 945A. I actually took a photo of a V-I "retroliveried" in Phase III.

So much for that; on the road to Atlanta where I first had a stop off at Spencer (RR museum), thence to Atlanta Hyatt on "The Perimeter" arriving there "with military precision" (how a friend here refers to my "religion" about timekeeping).

Glad to see Matt's posting about the schedule change. I have tickets for the Crescent in August connecting with the Cardinal in Charlottesville heading for the NRHS convention in Milwaukee. Got notice from Amtrak last week that time from Charlotte had been changed from 1:45 AM to 5:10 AM with no explanation. Didn't know if this was to be a track work short term change of some thing else. Now I know. My only concern now is the connection time in C'ville is now only 3 hours and as late as #20 operates sometimes every minute in a connection counts. I guess we will make it.

Checked Baggage service cancelled in Atlanta only.

Do you have a source for this info? On the Amtrak website, station services for Atlanta still show baggage service. But that's not necessarily the reality. Their IT folks seem not to be able to get some things right these days.

west point wrote: ↑Thu May 27, 2021 3:59 pm Checked Baggage service cancelled in Atlanta only.

Source for the cancellation is go to reservations and click on details and read down to ATL. That will give the notice of no baggage service. Another site says that service will return July 1. Confirmed same. Suspect that Baggage / passenger elevator has failed with no way to get baggage and handicapped passengers to train. ???????

The steps to / from station - platform are not the best in the world. Cannot remember why but it is almost 2-1/2 stories of steps.

Looking back through the thread a couple of pages, I don't see it mentioned, but why did the Crescent lose its dining car and will it get it back with the return to daily service?

west point wrote: ↑Fri May 28, 2021 5:28 pm The steps to / from station - platform are not the best in the world. Cannot remember why but it is almost 2-1/2 stories of steps.

Dearing/Peachtree intersection is the street level portion of the train station.