Amtrak dining and cafe service

[Cal]

I'm taking #3 in late July, will definitely post pictures. Can't wait...

 

[Cal]

Here’s the possible first meals:
#2 - leaves at 10P (no meals tomorrow)
#4 - leaves LAX 6P (Starts with Dinner)
#8 - leaves SEA at 4P (Dinner)
#5 - leaves CHI 2P (Starts with Dinner (I think)
#14 - departure at 10A (Starts with Lunch)

Train #2 doesn't serve dinner the first night, in fact I believe beds are also already made up upon boarding - could be wrong.

 

[Way2Kewl]

My experience as well. Union Station Dinner and Beds ready.

 

[lordsigma]

I’ll be on the Chief June 26

 

[Sidney]

Train #2 doesn't serve dinner the first night, in fact I believe beds are also already made up upon boarding - could be wrong.

Yes,beds are made up when you board and due to the 10PM departure no meal is served.

 

[Rasputin]

This is June 23, 2021 which is supposed to be the day that traditional dining returns to most western long distance trains.

Is it really back? And if so, what are the reviews?

MODERATOR NOTE: The new thread about traditional dining returning has been merged with the existing thread entitled Amtrak Dining.

 

[AmtrakBlue]

This is June 23, 2021 which is supposed to be the day that traditional dining returns to most western long distance trains.

Is it really back? And if so, what are the reviews?

Maybe wait a day before asking. I don’t think any of the trains have left their station yet.

 

[Sidney]

I would imagine lunch on the Coast Starlight should be the initial meal today.

 

[Brian Battuello]

The suspense builds...

 

[Brian Battuello]

I have it on good authority that there was a sekrit meeting at Amtrak headquarters about three years ago.

"The passengers are complaining too much about the food. It's making the boss look bad."
"Maybe we should change things around a bit so they'll appreciate us more."
"Good idea. Let's give them cardboard boxes with cold food for a few years."
"No way they'll go for for that."
"We'll try it on the Lake Shore Limited and see what happens."

and the rest is history!

 

[Rasputin]

I imagine with the time difference that lunch on the Sunset which departed New Orleans this morning will be the first traditional dining meal to be served. It will no doubt be greeted with acclamation as the train passes through Louisiana. I imagine fire engines, high school marching bands, etc.

 

[Brian Battuello]

I never cared much about lunch, but would be great to see some breakfast pics. French toast....



Computer simulation. Actual toast may vary.

 

[Way2Kewl]

CS, first to leave the gate, boards LAX in less than 3 hours. Lunch shortly thereafter… suspense is killing me…
Show me the “French Toast”…

 

[joelkfla]

SO now I'm in suspense as to which thread will get the first pictures: this upstart thread, or the Amtrak Dining one which was already discussing it.

 

[AmtrakBlue]

SO now I'm in suspense as to which thread will get the first pictures: this upstart thread, or the Amtrak Dining one which was already discussing it.

Or someone who starts their own thread because they didn't bother checking if there were any appropriate threads to post in.....

 

[Rasputin]

I thought a new post-pandemic "return of traditional dining" thread was appropriate but if not, administrators can merge the threads or delete this one. In the meantime, since this is a food topic, I will wait with baited breath, but certainly not bated breath.

 

[lordsigma]

Traditional dining today will be on trains departing out of the OBS crew base. So for CZ it will only be the west bound train and for Chief only the eastbound. I believe for the sunset it will only be the eastbound. The opposite directions won’t be until that first crew turns (which for some trains won’t be until Saturday.)

 

[Brian Battuello]

I think it is worth a short-term celebration/report space. But after we all get over it, back to the real dining topic...

 

[Brian Battuello]

I posted this in the other "dining" topic, but worth repeating...



Computer simulation. Actual toast may vary.

 

[jis]

Traditional dining today will be on trains departing out of the OBS crew base. So for CZ it will only be the west bound train and for Chief only the eastbound. I believe for the sunset it will only be the eastbound. The opposite directions won’t be until that first crew turns (which for some trains won’t be until Saturday.)

@zephyr17 documented the entire lot in the Amtrak Dining thread a few days back

I just checked it through the Schedules tab, which will give services, and you can see the start of traditional dining by train there. So, according to Amtrak.com, traditional dining will return as follows:
1 June 26th
2 June 23rd

3 June 26th
4 June 23rd

5 June 23rd
6 June 26th

7 June 26th
8 June 23rd

11 June 25th corrected per Cal's post
14 June 23rd corrected per Cal's post

 

[CTANut]

2:30 pm EST....

 

[CTANut]

<script src="https://cdn.logwork.com/widget/countdown.js"></script>
<a href="https://logwork.com/countdown-pa2a" class="countdown-timer" data-timezone="America/New_York" data-date="2021-06-23 14:30">My Countdown</a>

 

[Dustyroad]

I’ll be on the Chief June 26

Please post any thing about the dining experience. I will be anxious to know how many they are setting at each table. If they are stuffing the dining car to the max, I will eat in my roomette.. Also, if they have coffee in the sleeper cars. I will be on the Chief in Sept. Thanks .

 

[zephyr17]

I imagine with the time difference that lunch on the Sunset which departed New Orleans this morning will be the first traditional dining meal to be served. It will no doubt be greeted with acclamation as the train passes through Louisiana. I imagine fire engines, high school marching bands, etc.

The Sunset is crew based out of LA, so the first westbound Sunset to have traditional dining will be on Saturday the 26th when the train that leaves Los Angeles tonight with traditional dining starts back.

This is confirmed by what is listed as "details" about the departures in the Schedules tab on Amtrak.com.

 

[me_little_me]

They didn’t “delay” it. May 21 was an estimated date set months and months ago. Anyone who booked a trip in late May or early June banking on that did so at their own peril. They were starting to say on various occasions that sometime in June was the likely timetable and they probably wouldn’t be able to make the return to daily service. If dining is absolutely essential to your travel waiting until they announced the plan was the safe move.

I disagree. On May 21, I received that email. So to them, it wasn't an estimate. It did not say "estimate" on my ticket. It did not say estimate on the web site, even long after I bought my ticket.

You can believe that the election was stolen or that the date was an estimate. But I don't. They knew they couldn't deliver what they promised. They failed to tell their agents. They failed to tell their customers. They LIED!