Sleeper Question

If Amtrak had all the sleepers needed to run on all of their overnight trains would all the business lost come back?

What do you mean by "all the lost business?" Certainly some people would utilize sleepers but would travel by other means rather than rail coach if sleeper space is not available.

Are you referring to the Viewliners that have been pulled from service? If so, I would say yes. Amtrak is certainly losing business by not having them, and would certainly regain that business if and when they get them back into service. They could probably gain even more business with additional cars, on Superliner routes as well. Demand for sleepers nationwide exceeds the supply.

Would having more rooms on a train to meet demand drive down the price, too?

While I believe that having a greater supply of rooms would probably lower the overall prices somewhat, the only thing that would significantly lower the price is if supply exceeded demand.

of course not

amtrak would lose MORE money

Actually, I think Amtrak should increase their Viewliner fleet by 100 more to cover all Eastern Seaboard long-haul trains including the Federal. This would REALLY be a great plus to all riders who need a sleeping ride on the train if they wish, and would help out in ridership in some cases.

There is a demand for sleepers, particularly in the summer months, but keep in mind that more sleepers means more attendants. Labor costs are one of the biggest expenses to any business, and Amtrak is no exception.

According to my calculations (which are based on math in my head - always a questionable enterprise) a single level sleeper has 30 beds and a common shower room to attend to, while a Superliner has 44 beds, five common bathrooms and a shower room. I don't know what the work rules are in regards to maximum number of passengers you can attend to, but if they could be structured so that one attendant can service two single level sleepers, you could save money in that regard. I suspect this would be a sticking point for labor however, and would invariably impact customer service, unless you could determine a way for a call bell to ring in both cars. There might also be requirements for minimum staffing for safety that I am not aware of.

Certainly more sleepers are needed in the east, if only to have some available to perform maintenance on a regular schedule.

updrumcorpsguy wrote:There might also be requirements for minimum staffing for safety that I am not aware of.

I doubt that would be an issue. I mean, corridor trains can carry far more people than LD trains do (especially on the NEC), and they don't have any TAs at all. Usually just two conductors and maybe an SA. There might be a train attendant for business class, but standard coach, with all their hundreds of pax, have no attendant.

On LD trains, a coach attendant can be responsible for up to three coaches, which is around 225 people on Superliners. I don't think 60 people (max, considering many rooms are occupied by a single person) per attendant is unsafe.

the call bells ould be rigged up to a pager type system that the attendant has with him at all times .

Existing Labor Agreements call for an assignment of not less than one Attendant per Sleeper.

I think it should be pointed out here that during Pullman days, a call box could be rigged (trainlined if you will) between Sleepers. This was so that when one Porter was on rest, another would "cover'. I observed such on both light and heavy weights.

Also, Amtrak can assign more than one Sleeper Attendant. On my recent "City" trip (58/25Feb) I observed a Coach Attendant assisting "Miss Stephanie" (still "Miss" even tough this lovely lady told me she recently married; "that's how I've been known, Mr. Norman, for all the years I've been out here") in making up almost 40 bunks before arrival. Likely, he was paid @ the higher Sleeper Attendant rate.

updrumcorpsguy wrote:I don't know what the work rules are in regards to maximum number of passengers you can attend to.

From what I've observed during overnight trips, very few sleeper passengers require any "attending" at all from the car attendant, apart from the 45 seconds it takes to assemble or disassemble the beds.

Most people happily carry their own bags, wake up on their own, and require absolutely nothing in the way of "extra service."

Yes, elderly passengers sometimes need looking after. And invariably, there's one perfectly able-bodied passenger who insists on treating the car attendant like a personal slave.

But I doubt that having an extra sleeper to look after would increase the attendants' workload to an unbearable level. Sure, the more conscientious employees would have more beds to put down, and more toilets to keep tidy. But for the rest? It's unlikely to cause undue strain since, even now, cleaning toilets is a job that some don't bother doing anyway.