NEC now Fixed Seating Including Rear-Facing

Well, someone from Metra certainly had.

Repairs on the Haywood-Wakefield bench flip seats was stated as a factor in their switch to fixed seating, and because of the lack of a steady manufacturing source, they had to fabricate some of the parts in-house.

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electricron wrote: ↑Thu Mar 07, 2024 11:49 am Assuming it takes 30 seconds to turn each seat pair, that's 120 minutes or two hours to turn all the seats.

30 seconds to turn a seat is nonsense.

Here is Narita Express: this guy turns 7 rows (14 double seats) in 22 seconds, even including a few extra seconds clearing seatback pockets.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inOgHqvhjzg

I know a lot of the naysayers on this forum think Amtrak should only provide barebones transportation from A to B. You don't get food, you ride backwards, no lounge, trains are dirty and unbranded.

Others of us realize that you will draw more customers, at a higher fare, if you do make the experience pleasant.

Difficult to cover operating costs by handling only those passengers who have no alternative. You need discretionary travelers.

Really?

You really think any appreciable number of people are going to stop taking the train because of this?

While I agree the new seats look uncomfortable as anything, facing seats were a feature of First Class cars from the 1860s to their final withdrawal from service at A-Day.

Here is some Pullman Company literature from the 1930s.

lensovet wrote: ↑Thu Mar 07, 2024 10:06 pm Really?

You really think any appreciable number of people are going to stop taking the train because of this?

It's kind of an accumulation thing. I can take Amtrak, drive or fly. I really like taking Amtrak. It's a nice experience. Sure the employees can be rather surly and it's kind of slow, but the seats are super comfortable, I can get a good meal in the dining car, there is lounge for a pleasant night cap. It's really a unique relaxing experience watching the world go by. But I know flying is cheaper and faster and driving is cheaper (and my car just about drives itself), but I like the Amtrak experience.

Wait, the seats are less comfortable now? The diner isn't really serving good food anymore? The cafe has no place to sit to socialize? I have to ride backwards? Um . . . yeah no thanks. I'll fly like everyone else.

There's a breaking point where I do think many people will say I've had it with Amtrak. It seems they are doing a bunch of little things that will add up to one big negative experience.

lensovet wrote: ↑Thu Mar 07, 2024 10:06 pm Really?

You really think any appreciable number of people are going to stop taking the train because of this?

I was alluding to the whole "bare-bones" experience, of which the facing direction is just a part. My point is that providing only the minimum level of service tends to repel people who have a choice. I'm not talking about people who stop taking the train but those who don't take it now because they have other options. People who don't take the train now are your market.

We're talking about the Regional here. What's the average trip length on this route? 2 hours? Who cares? What diner?

We do know that 2023 ridership for NEC Regionals exceeded 2019 ridership by ~222K passengers and that, if Amtrak wants to increase frequencies now, they need to eliminate switching moves while turning trains.

How are the seats arranged? If they have been arranged so all seats face the center of the car, or otherwise arranged so 4 or 8 pairs of seats face each other, I can see some passengers (parties of 2 to 4) may prefer to be in an arrangement that they can sit together in way they wouldn't be able to if all seats faced the same direction.

Had this arrangement ever caused people to pick a Regional over a Keystone between Philly and NYP? If I remember correctly, the same arrangement is used for the Pennsylvanian due to the engine change at 30th Street as well.

RandallW wrote: ↑Sat Mar 09, 2024 7:10 am We do know that 2023 ridership for NEC Regionals exceeded 2019 ridership by ~222K passengers and that, if Amtrak wants to increase frequencies now, they need to eliminate switching moves while turning trains.

How are the seats arranged? If they have been arranged so all seats face the center of the car, or otherwise arranged so 4 or 8 pairs of seats face each other, I can see some passengers (parties of 2 to 4) may prefer to be in an arrangement that they can sit together in way they wouldn't be able to if all seats faced the same direction.

Half of the seats face the "A" End and half face the "B" end

Volks, the days of Getting there is half the fun" are gone. Transportation and/or Logistics are the means by which anything, animate and otherwise, is moved from one location to another. The Anderson regime at Amtrak clearly set forth such was the agency's objective.

Those who get enjoyment from a rail journey, namely aboard LD's, are strictly an ancillary revenue source.

That Amtrak has chosen to have fixed seating - at least amongst their short/medium distance "Corridor" trains, simply means they have decided to better utilize their existing fleet of cars and enable additional frequencies in their services that apparently have now restored themselves to pre-COVID levels of ridership.

As for myself, "I'm done with joyrides". The next time I go on anybody's train will be when such represents the most convenient means to get from A to B. Such could be that I'm already out in the Corridor (it's where I'm from originally and I have family) and have occasion to go somewhere else within such, overseas where I don't have an auto, the Miami-West Palm Corridor when "I'm down below" (the MCO Brightline joyride is now a "been there done that"), or into town on METRA for the Symphony or meet up with friends.

lensovet wrote: ↑Fri Mar 08, 2024 10:12 pm We're talking about the Regional here. What's the average trip length on this route? 2 hours? Who cares? What diner?

I hear you but which seat would you rather sit in for two hours:


Report from reddit:

The new Venture car seats are TERRIBLE
Trip Reports
I took my first ride on one of the new Venture cars on the Wolverine this weekend. I was excited, since I'd never been on one. My first impression was great. They're brighter, cleaner, the displays are useful, and the bathrooms are great. But the seat was absolutely TERRIBLE! Me and the passengers behind me were trying to figure out how to get the seat to recline, only to find out that it was already in the maximum recline position, which is basically nothing. Compared to the seats on the Horizon and Amfleet cars, these seats barely recline whatsoever. The back cushion was also extremely hard. It felt like a wooden board on by back. I really don't know what Amtrak was thinking when they decided to get these seats. They were so bad, that I actually purchased a business class upgrade for my return trip. Thankfully, the return trip was in an Amfleet business class/cafe car. There is just no excuse for how terrible these seats are. The seats on Amtrak were always one of the best parts of riding with them as opposed to flying or a bus. But these ones are just absolutely terrible.

Ask the person sitting in back of you how much they like your reclining seat....

It's a bit deceptive to show the picture of someone sitting with their seat reclined and the seat in front of them fully up.

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