by lordsigma12345
It hasn’t yet been announced yet. The revelation I guess is from an internal document that’s been floating around.
Railroad Forums
Moderators: GirlOnTheTrain, mtuandrew, Tadman
But we Amtrak passengers are not orphans in the South Sudan, in dire need of food. We're consumers in a capitalistic country and we can give our dollars to airlines that offer more value for the moneyI agree, but as someone that makes the trip from Boston to Lakeland, FL a couple times a year, the change highlights another issue. Before the change, I was barely able to convince Mrs. and Jr. FatNoah to do a train-there, plane-home trip. Without the food service, they have absolutely zero interest. The success of the diner-free consist clearly shows that I'm a bit of an outlier, but it also means that I have much more limited success even getting a roomette due to limited availability. That's the second problem (and one we've heard many, many times on this forum). Amtrak can increase demand, but funding or other constraints prevent it from leveraging the ability to add seats to a (non-Acela) consist. IMHO, a train selling out months in advance shouldn't happen except in extreme circumstances, such as Thanksgiving.
JimBoylan wrote: ↑Sat Jan 04, 2020 9:59 pmAmtrak.com for April 29 and May 6 Southbound shows no difference in price or food service on the Silver Starvation.Now there are changes. New York to Miami on the Silver Star for May 6 shows both Flexible Dining and No Dining Car, and the Roomette fare has increased from the $466 I saw when I looked on January 4 to $479. April 29 shows $466, March 18 shows $426, but November 18 shows the same $479 as May 6.
SouthernRailway wrote: ↑Sun Jan 12, 2020 3:07 pm This has been asked before, I’d think, but I can’t find the answer:Do these times have a long dwell time? It may be they're changing staff or the staff is on break.
Why do Amtrak cafe cars stay closed for such long parts of trips? Not just upon departure and near the ends of trips, but so often during the trip too.
For example, the Crescent cafe car is closed in the early afternoon when the train leaves and at dinner time when the train is in Washington and at other times. I understand that the cafe car is closed when power is off during an engine change but it seems like it closes repeatedly at other times.
STrRedWolf wrote: ↑Sun Jan 12, 2020 3:41 pm Do these times have a long dwell time? It may be they're changing staff or the staff is on break.Leaving NYP: closed for about 20 minutes
SouthernRailway wrote: ↑Sun Jan 12, 2020 4:56 pmNYP I can see as the staff doing inventory and getting ready to open. WAS I can see as a crew change (3 hours between DC and NYP).STrRedWolf wrote: ↑Sun Jan 12, 2020 3:41 pm Do these times have a long dwell time? It may be they're changing staff or the staff is on break.Leaving NYP: closed for about 20 minutes
Arriving Baltimore: same
Approaching WAS: same
Leaving WAS: same (even after being closed for 40 minutes while at Washington)
I would just think that Amtrak would make an effort to keep the café car open around mealtimes. It was closed from 5:30pm to about 6:50pm on the Crescent, approaching, staying at and leaving Washington.
SouthernRailway wrote: ↑Sun Jan 12, 2020 3:07 pm This has been asked before, I’d think, but I can’t find the answer:Trying to figure out their staffing patterns is like trying to figure out the Mayan calendar. Good luck. As far as I can tell, the lounge/food counter closes because there is one person that mans that counter, and if that person is on a break or off for the night, the counter closes. If that person is engaged in inventory or restocking, the counter closes.
Why do Amtrak cafe cars stay closed for such long parts of trips? Not just upon departure and near the ends of trips, but so often during the trip too.
For example, the Crescent cafe car is closed in the early afternoon when the train leaves and at dinner time when the train is in Washington and at other times. I understand that the cafe car is closed when power is off during an engine change but it seems like it closes repeatedly at other times.
Tadman wrote: ↑Mon Jan 13, 2020 9:13 am Trying to figure out their staffing patterns is like trying to figure out the Mayan calendar. Good luck. As far as I can tell, the lounge/food counter closes because there is one person that mans that counter, and if that person is on a break or off for the night, the counter closes. If that person is engaged in inventory or restocking, the counter closes.A very good answer that I can only add one additional reason to. Do not forget it is a union job with specific time requirements for breaks and hours to work written on paper in ink.
What I don't understand is why a coach attendant can't cover the lounge counter during break time at least. A coach attendant's job is not linear. In other words, they are not doing the same amount of work all day. Perhaps planning lounge attendant breaks around the peak times of coach attendant work would allow them to offer more seamless lounge service without sacrificing any jobs. That kind of innovation would cost little, but it generally doesn't happen on a monopolistic government agency that is basically guaranteed their $1.8b/year every year becuase there's no incentive to do so.
Tadman wrote: ↑Mon Jan 13, 2020 9:13 amFrom what I understand, the specific unionized craft that staffs a lounge car is "Lead Service Attendant." LSAs have the additional responsibility of handling money, signing for the cash box and turning in the receipts and documentation, as well as signing for and turning in the food from the commissary.SouthernRailway wrote: ↑Sun Jan 12, 2020 3:07 pm This has been asked before, I’d think, but I can’t find the answer:Trying to figure out their staffing patterns is like trying to figure out the Mayan calendar. Good luck. As far as I can tell, the lounge/food counter closes because there is one person that mans that counter, and if that person is on a break or off for the night, the counter closes. If that person is engaged in inventory or restocking, the counter closes.
Why do Amtrak cafe cars stay closed for such long parts of trips? Not just upon departure and near the ends of trips, but so often during the trip too.
For example, the Crescent cafe car is closed in the early afternoon when the train leaves and at dinner time when the train is in Washington and at other times. I understand that the cafe car is closed when power is off during an engine change but it seems like it closes repeatedly at other times.
What I don't understand is why a coach attendant can't cover the lounge counter during break time at least. A coach attendant's job is not linear. In other words, they are not doing the same amount of work all day. Perhaps planning lounge attendant breaks around the peak times of coach attendant work would allow them to offer more seamless lounge service without sacrificing any jobs. That kind of innovation would cost little, but it generally doesn't happen on a monopolistic government agency that is basically guaranteed their $1.8b/year every year becuase there's no incentive to do so.