Even setting aside classic and restored cars (and old "farm" pickups so rusted out you could reach through the bodywork), there are still a fair number of 1990's model vehicles on the road today. Yet, in just a couple decades you suggest that people will be required to own self-driving vehicles...
The number of full baggage cars was increased due to the fact that while underutilized most of the time, on certain routes (Florida) during busy periods a baggage-dormitory would be insufficient.
Lake Shore Limited and Cardinal will be the assignments for the baggage-dorms, so far as I know.
Did the plan actually call for anything else the past few years anyway, though? Next up was to be the Amfleet II lounges and coaches, but from fuzzy memory I'm wanting to say that was slated for around FY2019 or so.
The Viewliner II order hasn't gone to plan, but is hardly the first Amtrak...
Some people do, indeed, need to keep some perspective on this. It's not like we didn't already know the Hi-level Parlor Cars were facing retirement in the next few years, we just didn't know it would be this year or there may not be a replacement. Nor should anyone be surprised the Parlors...
It doesn't; The Viewliner is but one possibility. Still, it is just as valid to turn the question around, and ask why base additional cars (presumably including coaches) on a completely different platform when the rest of the train consists of Viewliners? There is something to be said for both...
Not all Viewliners have a second row of windows (or even a single row...), nor is it a requirement. But just for the sake of argument, if passengers can ride next to that window in an upper berth, I'm not sure why my suitcase couldn't in a luggage rack.
Unless plans have changed, Amtrak does...
Is the amenity of a separate lounge space for sleeper passengers actually being removed from the Coast Starlight, or just the Hi-level equipment? Previously, plans from Amtrak indicated the Parlor Cars would be replaced by (remodeled/rebuilt) Cross Country Cafe diner-lounge cars (but this also...
Well said. In fact the only thing I would disagree with is your description of My Disney Experience as a billion dollar program. From everything I've heard, that number is much too low.
What many people probably do not realize is that Amtrak - the long-distance trains in particular - and Disney's Parks & Resorts division have some things in common: For years there was a notable lack of capital investment, combined with a constant increase in prices with a continuous decrease...
More frugal? Are you serious? Amtrak has been on a starvation budget since sometime around May 1, 1971; It's hard to be more frugal than starving. That's not to say there aren't excesses; The railroad is perennially top heavy with management, and merely being a political animal tends to drive...
Done well, could be a winning plan.
Cafeteria = Piccadilly (server plates your selections as you move along serving line) and buffet = Golden Corral (you plate your own servings, such as from many salad bars), or similar, although I believe the terms are sometimes used interchangeably even in...