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  • Discussion related to Amtrak also known as the National Railroad Passenger Corp.
Discussion related to Amtrak also known as the National Railroad Passenger Corp.

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 #1520538  by Bob Roberts
 
CharlieK wrote: Fri Sep 20, 2019 2:53 pm Does anyone know where the onboard Sleeping Car passenger lounge is?
Its the Viewliner diner -- the diner is now just a place to hand out food to take back to your roomette or grab one of the tables which is now considered to be lounge space.
 #1520551  by Rockingham Racer
 
gokeefe wrote: Sat Sep 21, 2019 1:06 am I'm impressed that they're marketing it as heavily as they are.

Or avoiding a firestorm of passengers anger when they discover that the traditional model of dining on the rails is no more. Emails to ticketed passengers about the change give them time to cancel and use another mode, and it seems lots of ticketed passengers are getting this very upbeat message from Amtrak.
 #1520554  by SouthernRailway
 
CharlieK wrote: Fri Sep 20, 2019 2:53 pm Complimentary room service provided by your Sleeping Car attendant
Thanks for sharing this.

Not directed at you, but a general question: hasn't Amtrak always offered "complimentary room service"? If so, does this announcement mean that sleeping car attendants will actually provide the service? Without growling and making up stories about why they can't do it? One time when I asked for room service on the Crescent for dinner, the attendant told me that it wasn't her job to go wait in line for me, and refused to.
 #1520568  by ExCon90
 
That's an interesting point--yes, the railroads always provided room service on request, with a caveat that service "may be delayed when dining car is busy." I always assumed that the porter who fetched the meal was served immediately--possibly went right into the galley so as not to be too obviously "bucking the line." I wonder whether today he would actually have to wait in line with the passengers? Not at all practical, if true.
 #1520665  by Greg Moore
 
SouthernRailway wrote: Sat Sep 21, 2019 8:44 am
CharlieK wrote: Fri Sep 20, 2019 2:53 pm Complimentary room service provided by your Sleeping Car attendant
Thanks for sharing this.

Not directed at you, but a general question: hasn't Amtrak always offered "complimentary room service"? If so, does this announcement mean that sleeping car attendants will actually provide the service? Without growling and making up stories about why they can't do it? One time when I asked for room service on the Crescent for dinner, the attendant told me that it wasn't her job to go wait in line for me, and refused to.
I've gotten room service in the past and seen others do so. So yes this "new service" is basically the same. My guess however is they're emphasizing this over actually serving you in the diner. My guess if you eat in the diner it's basically "here's your reheated disposable platter. Enjoy your overpriced reheated meal, but don't expect traditional wait service."

One note is it sounds like first alcoholic drink is now free. That's new.

But of course if you're in coach it appears the message is still, "screw you, suffer with the coach."

If I were still planning my annual trip to Atlanta, I'd be buying SWA tickets right now.
And as I've said in the past, any trips I would make to Buffalo to visit my son, will no longer involve the LSL since I can't get a decent meal.

So much for an "upgrade" if I can't use it.
 #1559179  by mterrell
 
I've had no issues with baggage when I take the Crescent, but I just booked for next week and for Atlanta-New Orleans it now says "no checked baggage" under amenities. Did I miss something and this is a recent 2020 change? Is it due to COVID? Usually Atlanta handles baggage no problem.
 #1559212  by Gilbert B Norman
 
Mr. Terrell, I have never checked a bag on any railroad, Amtrak or predecessor, in this life. I haven't checked one on an airline in the past 35years - and United succeeded in "delaying" it. The only possible exception; during '09 flying KBOS-KACK on KAP (translated ICAOese to English: Boston to Nantucket on Cape Air), the pilot took my bag and put it into one of the Cessna 402's nacelles.

It is relaxing when overseas, at least at EDDM/MUC, where they still ask the "twenty questions" about your bags, it is always assuring to tell them with a straight face, "I packed it myself, it hasn't been out of my sight since leaving the hotel in Salzburg, no one has asked me 'could you take this to The States for me?'".

All told, just carry it. I'm 79yo and that's what I do.
 #1559234  by mterrell
 
Where it shows Checked Baggage on the reservation, mine indeed says No Checked Baggage. It's as peculiar as it sounds, trust me. I called Amtrak and they said due to COVID, certain trains may not be allowing checked baggage at this time.

I haven't heard of this or seen this at all in 2020. It isn't a big deal to me as I can carry my stuff on, of course, but the recent YouTube videos from the past week show the Baggage/Dorm car on the train still. Very odd.
 #1559778  by mterrell
 
Indeed, that's exactly what happened. Of course, you could check bags no problem so I guess it was an Amtrak.com error but it's also weird 1-800-USA-RAIL had this wrong too.

All in all it was another great trip on the Crescent but wow I am missing the dining car quite a bit, especially with the 11+ hour haul to and from NOLA. The cafe car food is not bad by any means but a real meal would be appreciated. I hope under this next administration we can get them restored ASAP. Everything was pretty standard on the trip - Mississippi is what caused all of the freight delays as I've experienced before, the crew was extremely nice on both trips, etc. The only interesting note was that on the northbound 20 we backed into Birmingham due to the switches having problems.

I'd love one day for something to exist like Memphis - Nashville - Chattanooga - Atlanta - Macon - Savannah. That may be slightly too long for a feasible day trip but I wonder if 700~ miles could be done in like a 6am to 11pm schedule between both ends. Additionally, something like from Meridian over to Texas would be interesting... a chopped up Crescent, maybe.
 #1568253  by charlesriverbranch
 
mterrell wrote: Sat Dec 26, 2020 5:33 pm I'd love one day for something to exist like Memphis - Nashville - Chattanooga - Atlanta - Macon - Savannah. That may be slightly too long for a feasible day trip but I wonder if 700~ miles could be done in like a 6am to 11pm schedule between both ends.
I just looked at a couple of old timetables to see if anyone actually ran such a train in the past. Neither the L&N nor the NC&St.L seems to have done so; the NC&St.L could get you from Memphis to Atlanta, but not without a change of trains . #5 left Memphis at 7:45 AM and got to Nashville at 1 PM (237 miles); then you had to wait until at least 6:05 for #11, which only ran every third day and got you to Atlanta at 1:30 AM (285 miles); if #11 wasn't running, you had to wait until 9 PM for #3, which made all local stops and arrived at 8:25 AM. This was in 1951.
 #1568294  by gokeefe
 
This is a good example of where Amtrak actually innovated by creating sensible routes where they had previously been broken by the artificial breaks of private ownership of rails and rolling stock fleets.

The Sunset Limited was one example when it ran "coast to coast" from Jacksonville to Los Angeles.

The Silver Meteor as a run through train from Boston to Florida in the rainbow era was another.

More recently the Northeast Regional through trains (as opposed to through service in select cars) between Virginia and Boston would have been previously "unthinkable".

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