Amtrak dining and cafe service

[ehbowen]

And will continue to do so until long distance sleeper revenue goes down a considerable amount

If that happens, they'll simply say that travelers no longer want to travel by train and discontinue the route.

 

[Sidney]

Ive not been on either train since flex started, except for a round trip to see my aunt just south of Syracuse, boarding in Chicago. Got breakfast to and from. it wasn’t too bad. But I didn’t know what I was setting myself up for when I did a round trip to Jacksonville a few months later (Nov/Dec ‘19) via the Cardinal and Meteor. Whomever was in charge of the ordering did a horrible job on both trains and they ran out o certain flex meals very quickly. On the Cardinal headed to WAS, there was a young lady training to work the sleeper lounge and she was permitting coach pax to eat in there. I was seated with one of the couples that weren’t supposed to be served and the trainee had to phone her supervisor because she had no idea how much to charge. The couple was livid when they found out they had to pay $50 for the two flex meals and a bottle of wine. They called passenger services, at my recommendation and I don’t know what the conclusion of the issue was, but on my return trip, which she worked as a SCA, I found out from the LSA that she wasn’t long for the job as the return trip to NYC would be her last. It seems that the food ordering was in her hands as well. I don’t remember what the issue on the Meteor was but there was a shortage right after I boarded in DC. The return trips were fully stocked and no problems except the food was substandard.

The bottle of wine was probably $44. The two flex meals were $6. Those "meals" sell for about $3 in the frozen food section of a supermarket.

 

[tim49424]

The bottle of wine was probably $44. The two flex meals were $6. Those "meals" sell for about $3 in the frozen food section of a supermarket.

However, the point was, they weren’t supposed to be there in the first place. I also failed to make it clear it $50 each, not total.

 

[Sidney]

I know. I was being a bit sarcastic to emphasize how cheap those flex meals are. $100? Let's see...$94 for the wine $6 for the meals.

 

[tim49424]

I know. I was being a bit sarcastic to emphasize how cheap those flex meals are. $100? Let's see...$94 for the wine $6 for the meals.

I was more thinking $94 for the meals and $6 for the wine. Let's get real here! No, the wine didn't come with a paper bag either nor was the food served on Amtrak's finest china.

 

[lordsigma]

Come to think about it, I rode the Crescent around Christmas 2018 and had traditional dining, I do know I was correct about the Capitol Limited as I rode that train a mere two weeks before the changeover in May 2018. My apologies.

Technically three trains have permanently lost traditional dining from the flexible dining program and is where most of the job cuts were - The Capitol Limited, Silver Meteor, and Crescent. The Lake Shore, Cardinal, and City of New Orleans had "diner lite" meals with pre-prepared meals served traditional dining style with table service (but did not have the full crew with a chef/food specialist. ) The Silver Star had no dining car at all. The cuts out west were due to the pandemic and, reportedly, as some articles (and RPA noted on Friday) hinted they are at least planning on bringing back some sort of dining car meals out west when trains go back daily, but nothing has been finalized or ironed out yet so it's probably still up in the air.

 

[jis]

One of the passing comments by one of the Amtrak persons at the ESPA Annual Meeting on Zoom regarding Diner service on Eastern trains was that there is likely to be significant positive changes on the Eastern trains within the next several months, possibly early in FY22. So there is still hope. It is on their radar screen at least. The question was naturally in the context of the LSL.

The Star already has Sleeping Car food service back at the same level as the Meteor. They will all improve further. There is no requirement for food service to be a separate non loss making P&L center anymore. Mica has been buried six feet under, in a manner of speaking, hopefully for good.

 

[crescent-zephyr]

The Lake Shore downgrade was only because of a lack of physical dining cars correct?

Does anyone know what type of menu the Lake Shore was using during that time?

 

[lordsigma]

If I had to make a prediction for out west - think the current setup of the Auto Train with traditional meals but served mainly in your room with only limited seating in the dining car (and I wouldn't be surprised if, at least during the rest of the pandemic, seating in the dining car is reserved for sleeper passengers only and coach dining car meals would have to carry away their meals to their seat or to the lounge car.)

 

[Sidney]

Technically three trains have permanently lost traditional dining from the flexible dining program and is where most of the job cuts were - The Capitol Limited, Silver Meteor, and Crescent. The Lake Shore, Cardinal, and City of New Orleans had "diner lite" meals with pre-prepared meals served traditional dining style with table service (but did not have the full crew with a chef/food specialist. ) The Silver Star had no dining car at all. The cuts out west were due to the pandemic and, reportedly, as some articles (and RPA noted on Friday) hinted they are at least planning on bringing back some sort of dining car meals out west when trains go back daily, but nothing has been finalized or ironed out yet so it's probably still up in the air.

I rode the CONO a few months before Flex dining and flex dining was actually an improvement.

 

[Exvalley]

One of the passing comments by one of the Amtrak persons at the ESPA Annual Meeting on Zoom regarding Diner service on Eastern trains was that there is likely to be significant positive changes on the Eastern trains within the next several months, possibly early in FY22.

I am booked on the Lake Shore Limited in late October, so I have my fingers crossed.

 

[lordsigma]

The Lake Shore downgrade was only because of a lack of physical dining cars correct?

Does anyone know what type of menu the Lake Shore was using during that time?

Originally yes was due to a shortage of heritage dining cars - and prior to Anderson I believe the intent was to return traditional dining car service when the train received VL2s. If I remember from looking at menus it was very similar to the Cardinal's pre-flex setup.

 

[tim49424]

The cuts out west were due to the pandemic and, reportedly, as some articles (and RPA noted on Friday) hinted they are at least planning on bringing back some sort of dining car meals out west when trains go back daily, but nothing has been finalized or ironed out yet so it's probably still up in the air.

If you read my previous post in regards to the restoration of traditional dining, I basically said the exact same thing. By the way, the RPA article more than just hinted at it, making it sound like a done deal.

 

[lordsigma]

If you read my previous post in regards to the restoration of traditional dining, I basically said the exact same thing. By the way, the RPA article more than just hinted at it, making it sound like a done deal.

Sorry my bad was being lazy and only updated myself with the most recent page of comments.

 

[tim49424]

I rode the CONO a few months before Flex dining and flex dining was actually an improvement.

I agree with that southbound, having seen the menus. When I rode the CONO for my one and only time two and a half years ago, I made an extra effort to avoid the southern trip on that train because of the food. It was a roundabout way to go south to New Orleans but I did get to experience the Crescent for the first time.

 

[joelkfla]

Technically three trains have permanently lost traditional dining from the flexible dining program and is where most of the job cuts were - The Capitol Limited, Silver Meteor, and Crescent. The Lake Shore, Cardinal, and City of New Orleans had "diner lite" meals with pre-prepared meals served traditional dining style with table service (but did not have the full crew with a chef/food specialist. ) The Silver Star had no dining car at all. The cuts out west were due to the pandemic and, reportedly, as some articles (and RPA noted on Friday) hinted they are at least planning on bringing back some sort of dining car meals out west when trains go back daily, but nothing has been finalized or ironed out yet so it's probably still up in the air.

Somebody said Arrow is showing traditional dining on western trains after the return to 7-day service.

 

[fdaley]

The Lake Shore downgrade was only because of a lack of physical dining cars correct?

Does anyone know what type of menu the Lake Shore was using during that time?

Yes, the Lake Shore had diner lite for a couple of years after the last heritage diners were retired. By coincidence I was on the last westbound run before the switch to "contemporary" food. As I recall, the chicken and fish options for dinner were the same as on the western trains and the Crescent at that point. I had the chicken, which was clearly something frozen that had been reheated and plated. It was OK, not wonderful, but far better than the current offerings and presentation. For breakfast, they managed to produce eggs and potatoes and even had an orange slice as a garnish. Returning east a few days later, we had a brand-new Viewliner diner but no dining, just boxes handed out from behind the counter.

I did hear some horror stories about the Cardinal and City of NOL during that period but didn't have occasion to ride either one at the time.

 

[crescent-zephyr]

I did hear some horror stories about the Cardinal and City of NOL during that period but didn't have occasion to ride either one at the time.

I rode both. When I rode the Cardinal it was fine. The breakfast menu didn’t have the scrambled eggs of course but a casual rider wouldn’t have known the difference from the Cardinal to the Crescent. My French toast was quite good.

The City of New Orleans not so much. The dinner I had was the same quality as the flex dining but at least you got a slightly larger salad and they still had table service and plated the food.

 

[lordsigma]

Somebody said Arrow is showing traditional dining on western trains after the return to 7-day service.

Arrow shows it coming back May 21st which is what their suspension shows - but I seriously doubt they will change anything before the trains go back to daily. Will probably stay flex until the first day the train runs daily.

 

[Cal]

Arrow shows it coming back May 21st which is what their suspension shows - but I seriously doubt they will change anything before the trains go back to daily. Will probably stay flex until the first day the train runs daily.

May 24th shows all trains, I don't recall seeing Arrow showing the 21st

 

[me_little_me]

I was more thinking $94 for the meals and $6 for the wine. Let's get real here! No, the wine didn't come with a paper bag either nor was the food served on Amtrak's finest china.

Nah! $1.00 for the meal. $2.00 for the wine (alcohol is heavily taxed) and $97 for the packaging.

 

[tim49424]

Nah! $1.00 for the meal. $2.00 for the wine (alcohol is heavily taxed) and $97 for the packaging.

But the wine just comes in a bottle with no bag....or are you referring to those black plastic trays for the food? I can see those being worth $97! Heck, they may taste better than the flex meals themselves, carcinogens and all!

 

[jiml]

There was a past post regarding the cost of the Flex meals somewhere. Specifically that if an employee wanted one they were around $25, which of course furthered the value discussion, complaints about Amtrak accounting and cost allocation, etc.

 

[lordsigma]

May 24th shows all trains, I don't recall seeing Arrow showing the 21st

If you look at May 22nd (Saturday) for California Zephyr you'll see Traditional Dining - that's the first run after the May 21st date that's published as an advisory for when flexible dining will run until.

 

[Cal]

If you look at May 22nd (Saturday) for California Zephyr you'll see Traditional Dining - that's the first run after the May 21st date that's published as an advisory for when flexible dining will run until.

Oh alright, thanks!