Recent content by Tlcooper44

Get the Amtrak app if you have a smartphone - your ticket will be upgraded automatically. Otherwise, I’m sure any evidence of a successful bid (email print out) will work. The conductors have the updated manifest and are aware of your correct seat. Your own word is probably enough…

Always book with Amtrak directly.

To me, the issues that plague the Avelias are an order of magnitude greater than those that plagued ALc-42s - though the NEC quite complex.

I’ll be on the Crescent this June 9th. Does the train have its dining car back? Anything I should know about dining (or anything else) on the crescent? I’m alighting at Gainesville GA. With a little research, it seems to be an average (crappy) car dependent town, but has anyone had luck with...

Hard to imagine anyone would go with Alstom at this point, whether that is deserved or not….

This does seem like a Gadgetbahn. Somehow though, in the hands of the Japanese, there is an inherent trust, however small, that a breakthrough is possible. Agreed however. Bringing the Tokaido Line up to 220 would seem to be a much better use of cash. The speed of the line, however, seems to...

Found some reading from the International Union of Railways: https://www.uic.org/com/enews/nr/596-high-speed/article/the-definition-of-high-speed-rail?page=thickbox_enews If someone finds something better, I’d love to see

By international standards no. The problem is, what constitutes true HSR is fickle, especially in America. I think it’s widely agreed upon that Acela is not true HSR but HrSR. The Acela only reaches 150 for short stretches, and the average speed is quite low. Given that LA to Vegas will reach...

Considering what people regularly pay to travel aboard the Acela, what BL allegedly will charge for what will probably be a nicer product seems pretty reasonable.

Acela served on plastic plates for the majority of COVID times - much like LD traditional dining. I understand they are different products - that's really neither here nor there. Given what tickets cost on LD trains, and that dining is a significantly more important aspect of that trip and...

Any particular reason why Acela gets real plates and silverware but LD trains aren't doing that yet (unless there is new information to me).

Not sure if this is the right place to post this since the re-organization but: I took a round trip to NYC the past couple days from BOS and experienced Acela first dining. Wow. The last trip I took was in the fall (before that in 2022). What a massive improvement in quality of food - for...

Boy I really like Eng. it’s never good to place too much faith in one person, especially with a set of problems as big as the T, but it really seems like he knows what he’s doing. I especially appreciated his enthusiasm to meet with planners early - to me, this is critical at making p...

In Doha, we walked down stairs from a 777 at a remote stand. Must be quite a sight to walk down from a 747.

I think my enjoyment, in general, of cars, and driving them, would go up if it wasn’t forced upon us. Objectively speaking, cars are hella awesome. There’s no denying that driving a super nice German or Italian car (or in this case, a Tesla or electric equivalent) when it is a true choice, and...