Atlantic Coast (Silver/Palmetto/Carolinian) Service discussion Q4 2023 - 2024

[frequentflyer]

So why not combine the two trains and have Silver Star run to Chicago?

Never understood why the Silver Meteor was considered the premier train of the two. The Silver Star goes to bigger population centers.

 

[Just-Thinking-51]

The Sliver Meteor has connections to north and east. Both ways. For me to catch the Star from upstate NY it’s a bit harder than the Meteor. Therefore the better train for those not in NYC.

 

[Palmland]

lugging a bunch of luggage down and up the stairs won't be much fun.

I wonder if the new high level platforms could include a small enclosed waiting area for transferring passengers. The one at the center platform in Wilmington works quite well.

 

[fdaley]

The Sliver Meteor has connections to north and east. Both ways. For me to catch the Star from upstate NY it’s a bit harder than the Meteor. Therefore the better train for those not in NYC.

This, plus the Meteor is much faster from NYP to Jacksonville than the Star, given the latter's roundabout routing via Selma.

From New England and Albany, the southbound Star requires a very early morning departure, and the northbound requires a late night -- plus the risk of missing the last connection if the Star is late. The Carolinian and Palmetto are basically impossible to use from anywhere north of NYC, as is the Star from points west of Albany.

 

[TransitTyrant]

This is an interesting idea. I hope it’s true. Potentially a much better utilization of the available equipment and would help with the superliner fleet situation…..if they also were able to get superliners off the Carbondale service would go a long way towards getting towards pre pandemic capacities out west. I guess the biggest draw back is the loss of a one seat ride for New York and Philly to Tampa…..but given the ample transfer options on the corridor the benefits probably outweigh the loss of that one seat pairing. And for every other Florida destination you could just use the Meteor to avoid a transfer. Interesting stuff.

Not really related to this discussion but Amtrak applied for a waiver from the FRA to install antenna on their locomotives to properly shunt crossing signals.
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/04/19/2024-08365/petition-for-waiver-of-compliance

 

[lordsigma]

Not really related to this discussion but Amtrak applied for a waiver from the FRA to install antenna on their locomotives to properly shunt crossing signals.
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/04/19/2024-08365/petition-for-waiver-of-compliance

Thanks for sharing. I was aware of the methodology they were pursuing but was unsure of where they were in the approval process.

 

[MARC Rider]

I don't think that will happen since the NEC corridor trains leave from the upstairs high-level platforms and the through trains use the lower level low-level platforms.

Uh, many, many WAS to NYP trains leave WAS from the lower level. No problem at all to make a cross platform transfer.

 

[cocojacoby]

Uh, many, many WAS to NYP trains leave WAS from the lower level. No problem at all to make a cross platform transfer.

Yeah, we discussed above that it would be possible with a Virginia train.

 

[railiner]

Never understood why the Silver Meteor was considered the premier train of the two. The Silver Star goes to bigger population centers.

Even back in the SAL era, the Meteor seemed to be the favorite, as indicated by the assignment of those “Sun Lounge”, glass topped sleeper lounges. The only train “higher” in the pecking order, was the seasonal Orange Blossom Special…

 

[JP1822]

I would surely hope that passengers would be allowed to stay onboard and it's a through train from Miami to Chicago via Washington DC. This would be most efficient. Unloading and then re-loading passengers at Washington DC between Star and Capitol is just a lot of work for train crews and red caps etc.

Much more efficient operation to run the Capitol Limited through to Miami with the Star. These were always guaranteed connections and DC would just be a "regular stop" along the way with padding added for the layover period as needed. Re-timing the schedules would be a nightmare. This also only requires five (5) train sets for through operation, so the Capitol's Superliners (and spares in Ivy City) can be transferred to Chicago and Western Longhaul trains. I just hope they do justice and get the Star-Capitol Viewliner II Diners with traditional dining. This is literally just one extra train set that would be needed to operate the Silver-Capitol combo.

The Silver Meteor appears to be getting its third Viewliner Sleeper restored, finally. Much needed.

The Silver Star-Capitol Limited combo really needs to have three (3) Viewliner Sleepers per consist. Or build towards it. Yes, the inventory is there for the addition of Viewliner Sleepers. Moreover, in a perfect world, it'd be nice if they could interchange a sleeper and coach at Washington DC (from NYP on the corridor). I don't see that happening as Amtrak has greatly simplified operations. The Boardman plan was to also interchange a Viewliner II Diner, VIewliner Sleeper, and Coach at Pittsburgh to/from the Pennsylvanian, but lets not get crazy! There's a lot that Amtrak could do to become a more efficient operation with its consists and equipment. This is just one example that's being considered/tested/implemented with the Capitol Limited-Silver Star combo. Remember that back in the early 90s too, as Superliner II cars were being deployed and assigned to the Capitol Limited, the push back then was to extend the Capitol Limited to Miami via Washington DC with Superliners!!! Sort of the other way around. But the ridership studies then, proved this would not work and the Star would lose too much of its NYC and NEC based ridership.

Again, the sad part is that the Capitol Limited operated with two Superliner Sleepers and at least six rooms sold in the Superliner Trans-Dorm Sleeper. That was a lot of berths that were sold. The combo Capitol Limited-Silver Star as a single level train is going to have far less berths in the sleeper for sale than what was pre-2017. Course we all know that the Capitol Limited has been a mess in capacity recently. But add to that, the crew has to be housed in the single level Viewliner Cars. Hence why I would be pushing for three Viewliner Sleepers for this two night trip between Chicago and Miami. It is very common to have a complete Superliner Sleeper unload all its passengers at Pittsburgh for connection with the Pennsylvanian. That should not be under-estimated, and it always has been since the discontinuance of the Broadway Limited / Three Rivers.

90 - Berths with Two Superliners and Superliner Trans Dorm
58 - Berths with Two Viewliner II Sleepers, reserving 6 rooms for onboard staff and considering room #11 is for storage and room #12 is the SCA's room.

That's a reduction of 32 sleepers, or one full Viewliner Sleeper, hence why the third Viewliner sleeper is needed for these consists - apples to apples.

There are 75 Viewliner Cars in inventory. Amtrak needs to work to get all back in working order, as they once were at one time!!! Been three years in post-COVID.

 

[joelkfla]

I was on the Star from ORL to WAS last Wednesday. My SCA seemed surprised when I asked her about the changes in September, but she did say a sleeper & coach would soon be added. I didn't press her on it, so it's possible she was thinking of the Meteor.

She did say, though, that it would be more work because they'll still have just 2 SCAs for the 3 sleepers.

 

[Anderson]

If the Cap-Star runs with three sleepers, that would be 15 needed (vs 8 now). If the Meteor goes to three sleepers, that'd be 12 needed (vs 8 now). Even assigning 3/1 to the LSL (12 needed) and 2 to the Crescent and Cardinal each (8 and 4 needed), that's "only" 51 of 74. That *should* be doable (and indeed, there's headroom for a through sleeper Cap-Pennsylvanian to NYC).

[Then again, diners on all of these trains should also be doable...]

 

[Amtrak25]

I think only the Meteor will get 3 sleepers. The 4th sleeper that might go to the LSL for the summer (like last summer) could then be for the 5th set of Star equipment in September. So I expect nothing more to be done to get the stashed Viewliner-I sleepers back out. They'll need one more diner, and another 4 if the Cresecent is to get one.

 

[jis]

I think only the Meteor will get 3 sleepers. The 4th sleeper that might go to the LSL for the summer (like last summer) could then be for the 5th set of Star equipment in September. So I expect nothing more to be done to get the stashed Viewliner-I sleepers back out. They'll need one more diner, and another 4 if the Cresecent is to get one.

My understanding is that 5 Diners are coming out of mothballs this FY and Crescent is getting a Diner in the Summer. My understanding is that they already have the equipment needed to make the changes planned for this FY.

Haven't heard anything about what happens in the next FY, but my expectation is that substantial number of Viewliner I Sleepers are slated to come out of mothballs. Also the Viewliner I refurbishment program will get into full swing later this CY and that will cause the shop count to increase by one probably for the duration of the program.

As for the Star, irrespective of what happens to its route its consist is unlikely to change except for perhaps an additional Coach, before Summer of '25 at the earliest. The Meteor will get additional Sleeper and Coach this summer I would think. LSL will likely get additional Coach, but not so sure about additional Sleeper this summer.