Amtrak dining and cafe service
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crescent-zephyr
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Amtrak is paying over $40 per hour - the employees aren’t making that. That includes insurance and other expenses that Amtrak has. (They are still over paid if they aren’t doing the basics of their job which includes good customer service skills).
It’s both. In the past the dining car was staffed out of nyc and attendants were from New Orleans.
jis
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I was wondering what is included in the $40. If it includes RRRB payments that in itself is quite a chunk. I presume that it includes health insurance etc. or is that all separately handled thought the Union for unionized employees? I am afraid I am not too familiar about how these things work for Unionized employees, having never been one myself.
I’m currently on the northbound Meteor. Just finished lunch. I was excited to try the enchiladas. Let’s just say I’m glad I packed a chicken cutlet sandwich. Worse meal ever. Now, I make my own enchiladas so I know how they should taste. These had a strange taste. Plus everything was mushy. Like mashed potatoes. Roll tasted raw in the center. 
Please bring back the veggie burger!!!
Please bring back the veggie burger!!!
jis
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Crew bases are relatively inexpensive and can be placed wherever is most convenient, unlike maintenance facilities which are expensive capital investments to set up and expensive also to keep going. None of the reasons for centralizing maintenance facilities really apply to crew bases.
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Dakota 400
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The meal is quite unappetizing in appearance.
I don't know about the dining car, but I do know that my SCA was based/lived in New Orleans.
The Cunard home page has a pop-up that says
Perhaps this renders moot any page discussing dining.
On the other hand, if Cunard were sailing and I were traveling solo on one of the ships, I might rather be at a table with five family members than at a table with five strangers. I'd figure five strangers raises the chances that someone has a disease. Put another way, with members of the same family, if anyone is ill, then likely they all will have been exposed, it's more likely that someone would be symptomatic, and thus the family would be barred.
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Are any of them?
Dakota 400
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A Swanson Hungry Man frozen dinner looks better than most of the meals being served. Even the inexpensive Banquet frozen dinners look better!
This is correct!
Mailliw
OBS Chief
I love the idea of seating solo travelers together, pandemic or not. It seems like it'd be much less awkward than being seated with a couple.
I'm not trying to argue here but I have sailed and know how packed ships are.
While you are on the Cunard ship you are sailing with how many thousands of other passengers? Who knows how many haven't had the shot. That table wouldn't ease my mind of not getting around infected passengers that don't know they are. Every one has their own steps with what the CDC says is save and letting their confidence take them there.
lizpackslight
Train Attendant
Our conductor on the Crescent had a distinct New Orleans accent, but I don't know about the rest of the crew.
During the Pandemic, Seniority ruled who worked, many OBS with much Seniority had to bid Routes and assignments that were not their "Regular " jobs, hence you had " Mixed Crews" based in different Crew Bases working Trains.
Devil's Advocate
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Indeed. Bolsonaro and Modi remain powerful despite mostly ignoring the problem. Closer to home DeSantis and Abbot have joined their legislatures signing laws ensuring businesses and organizations will be unable to use vaccination status for purposes of lifting restrictions. These laws will apparently force cruise lines to treat vaccinated travelers as if they were unprotected or risk turning ships into floating petri dishes for the unvaccinated. I believe prior federal law prevents states from imposing similar restrictions on interstate airlines but if I'm wrong it might prevent me from traveling internationally despite being fully vaccinated.
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jis
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The situation in India is complex. It is almost certain that BJP and hence Modi will keep winning at the federal level until the Congress Party can rid itself of the Italian Mother doting over her Unwilling Son of the Gandhi dynasty from the leadership of the Party, so that it can rebuild itself with a competent leadership, or the most unlikely coaltion of the opposition Parties who mostly cannot stand each other, materializes In New Delhi, after a not so great performance by BJP in the next Parliamentary election many years away - an unlikely thing in and of itself. COVID is but a blip in all of this as it seems, as things go in India.
Conductors change every 8-12 hours, they aren't based in an OBS base, they're based somewhere along the route.
crescent-zephyr
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Train and engine service crews work back between set points. Don't know them for the Crescent.
Onboard service crews work round trips on the whole route from an OBS crewbase. That's New Orleans for the Crescent. OBS crews are not subject to the Federal Hours of Service regulations the operating crews are.
You are right. The Bos section is crewed from CHI. But until recently the Diner attendant was Chi based as well. Must have changed with tri weekly service. The NY Sleepers/Coach attendant are NY jobs.
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