All Things Empire Builder

Everyone: the CPR/MILW route was chosen by Amtrak many years ago. The BN route had less revenue potential plus it is busier with freight traffic. As much I would enjoy having 7/8 pass on the BNSF by MP21, other than the inevitable springtime flood detours. it simply will never happen.

NS VIA FAN wrote:...if you listen to the talk on the RR chat lines, CN might be headquartered in Montreal (also not a capital) but it’s being run by xIC management.

Uh I belive Hunter Harrison the Head of CN works out of Chicago.

John Poshepny

with the worlds longest unprotected border ( still? ) between you , if you cant trust Canada , youve got a problem .
In New Zealand , alot of people didnt trust the American's (W.C ) who brought a stake in our railroad , yet it was the NZ partners who did the dirty dealings in the end .

Okay, first of all, CN succeedes in running the City of New Orleans on time more than anyother long distance train. They do a better job than BNSF for sure to the tune of 10% better on time arrivals. Second of all, CN/ICs headquarters are located at Markham Yard on Chicago's South Side. They just tore down the old building and put up a new one. Thats where are all the employees who deal with the business operations of the IC are located, so American's still make the descisions. I'm sorry but I don't see the problem. Furthermore, I have to ask, what is your suggestion on a new route for the City of New Orleans. Lastly, lets remember they're Canadians, not Taliban. They are good people not all that different from you and I, except they say Eah and call people hosers, and they drink Molson...but then again I drink Molson and I have been know to drop an eah or call a person a hoser from time to time so...Just my thoughts.
Cheers,
Nick

There's a famous saying out in usenet land:

Please don't feed the trolls.

I submit the guy who posted this thread was looking for a reaction, not submitting a serious policy discussion to our forum.

John Perkowski

CN and CP are two of the four remaining private shareholders of Amtrak. (BNSF, and a private equity/insurance group, are the other two.)

What's the deal with Amtrak's plan of reintroducing a new and improved Empire Builder?

I should rightly defer to others, but previous reports suggested that by September, Amtrak expects to have a pool of "state of good repair' Superliners in sufficient number so that these cars can be assigned to the six sets of Empore Builder equipment. If this be the case, "in theory' the entire train will be comprised of refurbished cars.

Likely as well, they will dream up some "on the cheap' service enhancement, like maybe a wine tasting featuring Washington and Oregon wines (take it from this oenophile; there are some darned good varietals; especially Pinot Noir of Domain Drouhin) - all the better if the winery is prepared to "bring the goodies"

Practice?, well you know Amtrak well enough by now.

Mr. Norman,
I have learned it will start in August. It will include Coach Attendants introducing themselves at Passengers Seats, Fetch Meals etc.

The plan is to introduce the service on 1 August, with the remanufactured sleepers. Apparently the wine tasting will be between CHI and MKE, as a "welcome aboard" event for sleeper passengers.

Also, the Empire Builder requires five equipment sets, not six.

and according to an amtrak flier i just found, fresh baked sweets before bedtime for sleeper passengers.

It's nice to hear about the reconditioned cars. But don't the other new "service enhancements" simply provide more ammunition for everyone who already views Amtrak as a government-funded cruise line for spoiled tourists?

Give me more than one daily train in each direction. Give me air conditioning, clean toilets, and PA systems that work on every train. Give me cafe cars where everything on the wall menu is actually available. Give me better light bulbs in the Horizon coaches. Give me heavier curtains in the Viewliners, so I don't feel I'm trapped inside a night game at Yankee Stadium whenever my train rolls through a floodlit rail yard.

I like wine and hostesses very much. But as a passenger who has received his fair share of Amtrak junk ("Why, it's just what I wanted for Christmas: cheap Coast Starlight toiletries and stationery."), I fear the railroad is still concentrating on fluff and frills at a time when its finances and future are walking an increasingly thin line.

Frills can be done quite economically, and if the "upgrade" is just a complimentary glass of wine and a cookie at bedtime, that's not a bad deal - you're basically just having the existing crew do more than usual: Cookies are easy and cheap to make, and if there is promotional pricing on the wine, that's not a huge expense either.

I'm curious as the wine tasting: It must be the diner, and how do they square that with dinner service? Do they do an annotated tasting in half the car and then turn the tables? If I were them, I'd just call it a welcome reception, and bag the tasting concept. Give 'em a glass of wine and send them on their way. As long as they get some booze, they'll be happy.

The Empire Builder is a good train for this program, as it is the train the Superliners made their debut!

I'm inclined to agree with updrumcorpsguy; that sort of upgrade we're talking about here doesn't cost much at all.

East Cleveland, I agree we need more frequency to gain the network advantages. The only problem is we must start somewhere to repair the tattered image of passenger rail service, and wine tastings and fresh baked goodies for sleeper passengers on the Empire Builder seem as good as anywhere a place to start.