moselman66
Train Attendant
In the past several weeks I've noticed a fair number of trains on state-sponsored routes out of Chicago showing estimated loads of 70%-90% or occasionally selling out. Some of these are at peak weekday times but often they are on weekends such as Saturday morning trains to Chicago. I've seen this on the Hiawatha but have also noted they seem to be routinely running with four coaches rather than the typical six prior to Covid. I'd guess there's a similar situation of shorter trains on similar routes such as Lincoln Service and also to/from Quincy. In one sense selling out is a good thing -- you've maximized the number of passengers served and the revenue earned (putting aside issues of variable pricing) for the train you ran. There were 200 seats and you carried 200 passengers. But on the flipside, selling out means you've got unmet demand and revenue you've left on the table, and in this case that demand could be met if the coaches you already have and used to use are currently idle.
Is there a set staffing level on this sort of train (state sponsored or corridor, not LD) such as based on the number of cars and/or seats? The US rule of thumb in the airline world is a minimum of one flight attendant per 50 seats, and I'm trying to understand the thresholds where an added coach means direct additional labor costs.
Beyond labor, adding an additional coach or two adds weight and every mile adds wear to the car versus sitting idle, but is it fairly accurate that the operating costs (excluding labor) of adding a car or two from existing rolling stock are comparably small?
Are there short-notice operational decisions made, such as adding or removing a coach to adjust for variations in demand such as the cancelation of an earlier train? Or are those sorts of adjustments too complex and almost never happen other than perhaps situations with much advance planning such as a peak holiday period?
When it comes to state-subsidized trains, does the issue of shorter COVID trainsets pivot on the subsidy alone? Like the Illinois Zephyr is currently running with one fewer coach then normal because Illinois is paying X, and if they want that former coach added back it's simply a matter of Illinois being willing to pay X plus an additional fee?
Specific to the Hiawatha I know people who have been frustrated by sold-out peak trains because they were so used to the previous unreserved situation where you could count on getting on, and their assumption was that in the Covid-depressed travel world nothing would sell out. But in a broader way I suspect there are other corridor-type routes running with lower capacity also running into this issue at peak times. So I'm wondering in general how readily changeable the situation is, either on the fly or near/medium term. Lord knows everything could be upended again with Covid, of course, but putting that possibility aside for the moment are we likely to continue to see reduced capacity? It seems like most or all state-subsidized services will soon be back to pre-Covid schedules if they are not already. But I'm curious about capacity. Thanks!
Is there a set staffing level on this sort of train (state sponsored or corridor, not LD) such as based on the number of cars and/or seats? The US rule of thumb in the airline world is a minimum of one flight attendant per 50 seats, and I'm trying to understand the thresholds where an added coach means direct additional labor costs.
Beyond labor, adding an additional coach or two adds weight and every mile adds wear to the car versus sitting idle, but is it fairly accurate that the operating costs (excluding labor) of adding a car or two from existing rolling stock are comparably small?
Are there short-notice operational decisions made, such as adding or removing a coach to adjust for variations in demand such as the cancelation of an earlier train? Or are those sorts of adjustments too complex and almost never happen other than perhaps situations with much advance planning such as a peak holiday period?
When it comes to state-subsidized trains, does the issue of shorter COVID trainsets pivot on the subsidy alone? Like the Illinois Zephyr is currently running with one fewer coach then normal because Illinois is paying X, and if they want that former coach added back it's simply a matter of Illinois being willing to pay X plus an additional fee?
Specific to the Hiawatha I know people who have been frustrated by sold-out peak trains because they were so used to the previous unreserved situation where you could count on getting on, and their assumption was that in the Covid-depressed travel world nothing would sell out. But in a broader way I suspect there are other corridor-type routes running with lower capacity also running into this issue at peak times. So I'm wondering in general how readily changeable the situation is, either on the fly or near/medium term. Lord knows everything could be upended again with Covid, of course, but putting that possibility aside for the moment are we likely to continue to see reduced capacity? It seems like most or all state-subsidized services will soon be back to pre-Covid schedules if they are not already. But I'm curious about capacity. Thanks!
