Amtrak Silver Star Dining Car Removal

With the Viewliner baggage cars now in service, removing the heritage diner increases the maximum allowable speed on the NEC from 90 to 125MPH. Thats a major opportunity to make up time on a train thats almost guaranteed to be running late 20 hours into its trip. You can still buy food onboard, a fantastic microwave sandwich from the cafe lounge. They also use a "Diner-Lite" on the Cardinal. I agree though, if you're going to buy a sleeper ticket, then you would expect to be fed something with your ticket. They went through the same thing when they pulled the departure snack/wine tasting off the Auto Train. 2 years later, people still ask what happened to the spread, and the free wine at dinner (also gone). Diner meals were expensive though... Dinner was at least $20 a plate. The food was better than airline food, but not exactly worthy of the asking price either.

Me thinks you overestimate the number of coach passengers that use the dining car on any Amtrak long distance train. The vast, vast majority of dining car patrons are the sleeping car passengers which have the meals included in their ticket.

The Silver Star "experiment" gives sleeper passengers lower fares since the diner isn't there.

Speculation is that:
1: trying to prove that lack of dining amenities will negatively impact revenue (i.e. "Are you seeing this Mica?")

2: a severe shortage of serviceable Heritage diners

3: A combination of 1 and 2

4: a number of other theories too loony to bother quoting

---PCJ

Just got off the Southwest Chief LAX-Chicago.  Train travel is not what it used to be, but some of the amenities are still there.  The dining car is a social thing, with semi-reasonable quality food (we miss that chocolate and ice cream extravaganza).  If they pull the diner, one might just as well go via the airlines.

They no longer give the first class passengers a small bottle of champagne - probably an oversight, since it cannot cost that much.  And they charge $7.50 for a bottle of Sierra Nevada - we buy the stuff for a buck a bottle out here.

Still, it is train travel - I have lifetime free travel on American, and would rather pay and go Amtrak.  Some day they may put a pressure regulator on the Pullman water system so we can wash our hands?

(we miss that chocolate and ice cream extravaganza)

Oh NO!  The chocolate dessert was the highlight of a trip between Northern VA and Florida, on SIlver Service and Auto-Train.

When are the new Viewliner Diners supposed to show up?  Is supposed to be a temporary thing until they do?

This doesn't concern me as much as the new Viewliner sleepers with only 2 restrooms per car.

I didn't think about the lack of diner converting the train to max NEC speed.  However they should offer at least Acela First Class or Airline style meals in the lounge instead of mostly junk. ( i know I just took some fun NEC amtrak trips which I will post about later).  Unless you like Coke and Entenmanns Cookies then you may starve.

I rode the Crescent to Philly about 10 years ago.  The dining car was excellent.  We had crab cakes.  They were among the best I have had.  Real crab meat...pan crisped just right with a special sauce.

But as I mentioned before...if they want to streamline the consist at least offer airline/Acela FC type meals....maybe a person with a cart can take orders.  Via does it.  

Amtrak also needs 1 person to clean the train while in use.  There is nothing worse than seeing bread smeared all over the floor and seats of the coaches.  Of course there is nothing worse than people who would do this in the first place.  

Actually, there is.  They totally mess the rest room.