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True although Amtrak got rid of business class on the Crescent. It seemed as though business class was a regular Amfleet II coach- any wonder why few people bothered to pay more for it?

United and American have had transcontinental flights that have no coach seats, even recently: they’re all first class (fancier than regular domestic first class), business or premium economy. I think that at least United added coach seats to its p.s. flights though. What I’m seeing is fewer...

I agree. Wouldn’t the number of Viewliner II sleepers indicate the amount of additional sleeping car business that Amtrak expected to get pre-Covid on Eastern trains? And if Slumbercoaches and couchettes were added, that would be a lot more.

Agreed in that an all-sleeping car train would mean at least 6 sleeping cars (given typical 8-car Amtrak consists). The only reason I can think of to have an all-sleeper train is because the railroad gets so much sleeping car business that there’s not enough space in the consist for a coach...

The new service types I mention ought to be done with additional equipment. They would not displace any current cars. We can look at airline numbers to see how travel has mostly bounced back from its pandemic lows. And in any event, Amtrak runs much shorter trains than it did in the past on...

I think so: 1. Given railroads’ overhead, versus the relatively low marginal cost of transporting another person, simply filling more seats or beds would go a long way to help Amtrak become operationally profitable. 2. With some marketing, more affordable tickets and maybe some schedule...

Thinking further about this, if any extra sleeping cars are profitable enough to make the investment worthwhile, Amtrak should be able to borrow the money to pay to buy them. Unless Amtrak has already granted a lien to another lender on all of its assets.

Those Via rooms seem ancient! But I’d be fine with a cabin for one. Thanks for posting.

That seems like a very good score but (this is not directed at you) I wonder how employees of resorts, high-end hotels and regular airlines would rate.

I may be wrong then. When I dummy-booked a ticket, it didn’t show lounge access for solo cabins but it for others but I may have just missed it. The upcharge was £40 for a solo cabin but £60 (ie, £30 per person) total for a double. That’s what I like. On Amtrak, it seems as though the total...

No apology needed- and thanks for the very valuable and helpful information you’ve shared.

But again: My point is that offering a lower-priced private room for a solo traveler is appealing. It’s that simple. The Night Riviera train between London and Penzance has single cabins and double ones. The single cabins don’t include lounge access, and the upcharge is smaller than the...

I checked the Via website and a cabin for 1 was $2,647 but a cabin for 2 was $3,971 (both Canadian). That’s my point: a private room at a lower price for one person than for two would be appealing. The Canadian’s fares are generally higher than Amtrak ones for the routes you list. I did not...

I don’t know if demand is there for more roomettes at Amtrak’s current pricing. I do know that there is unmet demand for the following: 1. A small number of very high-end rooms. If Iowa Pacific could fill a few attached to the City of New Orleans, Amtrak could on its long-distance trains. 2...

Agreed. I got hooked on the Old Fashioneds from the Acela Express and buy them regularly for home use. The staff on the noon Acela Express on Saturdays (southbound from NYP) is also fantastic. I rode it twice and then didn’t ride for a month; next time I was on board, the first-class...

Whatever Amtrak did to get the fantastic staff at the Metropolitan Lounge at Moynihan, Amtrak should repeat throughout the system. They are great!

I commute 600 miles each way, every two weeks (so 600 miles of travel per week, for about $200-$370 per week). My total spending on those trips will be about $15,000 this year. Most of that spending goes to American Airlines because Amtrak does not offer a product that’s a good value for a...

Well, (1) at work we have to act in ways that we wouldn’t act outside of work (for example, in my job, criticizing a client even to other colleagues is a huge no-no) and (2) I think there are more crabby people among Amtrak staff than there are in society generally.

Why does Amtrak seem to have a larger portion of rude employees than (in my experience) American Airlines and (definitely) Brightline? The Brightline employees I met were very helpful; they even line up and wave to trains as the trains leave stations. Were pre-Amtrak railroads as rude as...

I’m 6’2”, taller than the length of the beds in roomettes. I can deal with it. I could also thus deal with a smaller room. Size issues aren’t due to weight alone.