by CarterB
Time to put a Wendy's franchise on diners!!
Bring back the Slumbercoaches!!
Railroad Forums
Moderators: GirlOnTheTrain, mtuandrew, Tadman
CarterB wrote:Time to put a Wendy's franchise on diners!!They'd not do it. For Wendy's in particular, growth has come through extended drive-thru hours when the sit-down area is closed--it is all about maximizing the number of people you can serve from a single kitchen.
CarterB wrote:Time to put a Wendy's franchise on diners!!The hell? A full burger et al joint on a train?
Mackensen wrote:I don't think there's much mystery here. Amtrak lost money on traditional dining on the Capitol Limited and Lake Shore Limited. It's not hard to see why. They're the shortest of the overnight trains, with only two meals in each direction, but with the same fixed costs of other trains. Congress has ordered Amtrak to not lose money on dining, or else. There are three choices available:I don’t think I’ve ever considered “only three meal services” as a reason before. Makes some sense on a per-train basis.
Amtrak has chosen door 3 (doors 1 and 2 seem even less palatable). I've had the contemporary meal options and, like the First Class offerings on the Acela Express, they're just fine. Whether Amtrak will try applying this model to the western trains is another matter. For the one night out trains it makes sense.
- Keep raising prices on rooms and dining car fare and hope things somehow break even.
- Discontinue dining altogether, as was done on the Silver Star.
- Find some other different way of delivering meals that is financially sustainable.
Mackensen wrote:I will respectfully disagree with the just fine opinion but I guess if your standard is, say, Delta Airlines economy class... A plate might have made it seem a little less like a flashback of eating microwave dinners in my apartment or college dorm because I was too lazy to cook a proper meal!
Amtrak has chosen door 3 (doors 1 and 2 seem even less palatable). I've had the contemporary meal options and, like the First Class offerings on the Acela Express, they're just fine. Whether Amtrak will try applying this model to the western trains is another matter. For the one night out trains it makes sense.
pateljones wrote:I agree and I am willing to pay higher prices to get better meals. By higher, I mean $20-$25 for breakfast entrees and $50-$75 for dinner entrees. I don’t see Amtrak breaking even let along making a small profit by offering a steak dinner for under $75. How do you feel about this?The rail unions would never allow it but I’d like to see a concessionaire like Aramark take over Amtrak’s food service.