Bob Roberts wrote: ↑Tue May 07, 2024 3:53 pm
west point wrote: ↑Tue May 07, 2024 3:38 pm
There are hints that some kinds of limitations are for both the Crescents, Carolinian, and the 3 Silvers but have been unable to verify! I am sure that historical yield management can change these times on each train on a daily basis, that is if reservations is capable?
Could you elaborate on these a bit? I am having a hard time imagining what these booking limitations look like on the state-supported Carolinian.
If any such limitations exist on the Carolinian, they exist to limit, but not prevent, booking travel
between Charlotte, Raleigh, and points in-between to allow passengers to book travel from Charlotte, Raleigh, and points in-between to cities not served by the Piedmont trains. Do note that the train was stopped for a couple of years after its first introduction because of the unexpected high demand for travel between Charlotte, Raleigh, and points in-between led to lower than budgeted revenues, causing the subsidy to be more than budgeted (and at the time, NC wasn't willing to handle the increased subsidy).
At one point Amtrak was clear that the Silver Service trains and the Cresent could not be booked for travel between NYC and Washington to ensure that passengers wanting to travel south of Washington could book seats. I don't think they blocked tickets on the Carolinian the same way since that train used to carry cars that were NYC-Washington only.