NEC now Fixed Seating Including Rear-Facing

I got an email about an upcoming trip's return connection off the NEC (on July 9th)... and... I think they're starting to train everyone on the new layout, including passengers.

Please be advised that both the Business and Coach class sections of the train have a new seating arrangement. Fixed forward and backward seating has now been introduced on all Northeast Regional trains and select routes on the East Coast. This allows for reduced equipment downtime, providing more daily departures for our customers. Fixed seating already exists on several routes throughout the National Network.

Iiiiiinteresting....

https://thepointsguy.com/news/amtrak-ne ... northeast/

Amtrak debuts new seating layout on Northeast trains, including rear-facing seats

Rear-facing seats are debuting on Amtrak's key Northeast trains.

The company announced Tuesday that beginning March 2, all trains in the Northeast Corridor will be transitioning to what it calls a "fixed seating" layout.

What this means is that half of the seats in each train car will be arranged in a forward-facing layout, and the other half will be in a rear-facing layout.

At the outset, this new seating configuration will roll out on all existing Northeast Regional trains, followed later this year by the current Amtrak Acela fleet.
...

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.

Ol' Blue Eyes sure had the word:

Here's the official announcement from Amtrak
https://www.amtrak.com/alert/new-seatin ... outes.html

New Seating Arrangement Introduced on all Northeast Regional and Select East Coast Routes
Effective March 2, 2024

As of March 2, 2024, all Northeast Corridor (NEC) trains are transitioning to permanent fixed forward and backward seating – including all Northeast Regional service and select routes on the East Coast including the Carolinian, Empire Services, Vermonter and Virginia Services.

This arrangement enhances services for customers on the NEC with more frequencies by reducing the time required in between trips. Fixed seating already exists on several routes throughout the National Network. Customers traveling in Business Class will be able to see the direction in which their seat faces when viewing or changing their seat on Amtrak.com or the Amtrak app. Choosing forward facing seats is subject to availability.

PSN 0224-188

I don't think the seats in the Amfleet IIs are getting spun half and half, so it might just be business class on 42/43 and 89/90 getting the hammer. And to be fair, the Amfleet II seat is superior in every way to the AM 1 Business class on those trains.

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.

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.

I absolutely will not ride backwards. Forget Europe. How about clever Japan:
https://www.google.com/search?q=japanes ... dzrnI,st:0

Meh, I look at it this way.... most Amtrak routes routinely run under 50% full, so facing forward won't be a problem for travelers outside of peak times.

I have to love some of you. If you’d travelled the US by Pullman in the 1920s to 1950s, in a pre streamlined car, SOMEBODY was sitting backwards…generally the person who had the upper berth.

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

I got the email about that (put it in the Airo thread)... to which Railjunkie here said:

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.

Wanna bet they keep it that way?

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.

Mr. Wolf, I respect that "you don't care". I also respect Mr. Train Guy (he's more like me).

In Europe, "it's all they've ever known"; and last Summer in Germany, with their "as good as free €9,00" anywhere ticket, it was get any seat (if you can).

But for Mr. Train Guy, myself, et magna alia around here, time to break Ms. Elizabeth's work and accept it's time for Phase 5; Acceptance.