Auto Train new consist reporting thread

[PaulM]

With the new configuration on AT, that single coach lounge car will become overcrowded and some people will not get a chance to enjoy the car. I've been on too many trips where the coach lounge was PACKED. Some people do not vacate seats in a reasonable interval where others could have a chance to be seated. I can see this being an immediate problem.

I can see it becoming a problem for the staff when long time AT sleeper passengers get introduced to lounge lizards for the first time.

 

[neroden]

Mr. Nerode, perchance you drive about in something like a Nissan Cube, but I guarantee you that Auto Train is the Bennie-Caddy-Lex crowd; not entirely of course, but in season when I ride, that appears to be the case.

I've actually mentioned my extremely-high-end automobile elsewhere, and I'm slightly embarrassed to say it again. If you like riddles, I can say my car is considered a "large car", and the EPA estimates fuel costs of $37 for an 810 mile trip in my car.

So anyway, I'm expecting the rise of electric and hybrid electric cars to severely cut the fuel costs for cars in the high-end and mid-range market, within a few years. I think this may not work its way down to the bottom of the market for a long time, but it should work its way down to the BMW/Caddy drivers fairly soon.

The auto transport component of my fare last month was $186. While that sum will cover gas (810mi/25mpg X $4.25ga), it won't make much of a dent towards the 'running' maintenacne of any such vehicle.

There are two types of running maintenance, economically speaking: miles-based and years-based. I've done a fair amount of research on this; although it's hard to sort things out properly, it seems that the majority of the maintenance costs on most automobiles are years-based, rather than miles-based.

For instance, all the rubber hoses and gaskets decay whether or not they're being used. Oil is supposed to be changed every 6 months even if the engine isn't used much. The years-based costs are ticking down even if the car isn't moving. Most depreciation turns out to be years-based too, as I've discovered with very-lightly-driven 10-year-old cars.

Tires are probably the largest strictly miles-based costs, followed by brake pads. So I suppose whether the Auto Train fee is larger than gas + maintenance on the drive depends largely on how expensive the automobile's tires are and how quickly it burns through tire tread.

The only scenario I can hold in which AT would be price competitive would be with a single person driving a high maintenance large older vehicle and willing to ride Coach; beyond that I wholly agree that there is a convenience rate to the fare.

Glad to have your agreement. I think driving 810 miles sounds kind of miserable, and so I expect that Amtrak will continue to be able to charge a pretty large convenience rate. But the premium charged for this service has to be commensurate with the improved circumstances. An uncrowded lounge and a comfortable, unrushed dinner will allow for much higher prices to be charged than a crowded lounge and a frustrating wait for a late dinner. Reducing service quality beyond a certain point will reduce revenues as people decide to drive their luxury cars instead of taking the train. I don't know if these cuts are hitting that point... but they could be.
The convenience factor of Auto Train even without a lounge seems better for motorcyclists (810 miles on a motorcycle is seriously hardcore), but motorcyling is a niche hobby to start with, so that's not a large market.

 

[Ryan]

I think something people lose sight of with Auto Train is that you're paying for a service here. You and your vehicle are being transported about 850 miles. You're saving the gas cost sure, but how much is not driving that 850 miles worth to you? For someone traveling by themselves, for the snowbirds, or for the families being able to kick back and relax versus driving all night is worth it. It all comes back to the economics of cost/benefit, everyone will have their own perceptions of this.

Yes there is a service being provided. However if you are trading being stuck in an automobile with the kids, to being stuck in a sleeper bedroom with the kids because there is no lounge (or room in the coach lounge) to go to, I think the train quickly loses it's advantage when compared to driving.

Not at all.
Sitting in a room and relaxing is about a million times easier than driving, even if I am "stuck" in a room with my family.

Doubly so when we're all in the "horizontal time accelerator" for 2/3 of the journey.

 

[Green Maned Lion]

Of bourse, Mr. Neroden, a lot of the maintenance issues with cars don't really apply to yours.

Plus let us remember that Audi, BMW and Mercedes make quite a business of selling very efficient cars- the most efficient of which is perhaps the most efficient non- electric in the form of the Mercedes-Benz E250 BlueTec. Car and driver did a real world mileage test and compared it favorably to the Prius.

Cadillac, on the other hand, has a $75k flagship in the form of the ELR which also has impressive economy. Luxury cars are not always the most expensive to fuel.

Maintenance is another issue. I have ulcers from maintaining older Mercedes. Not that you could get me into an Asian car. I'd rather die from ulcers than boredom.

 

[Notelvis]

Driving I-95 through the Carolinas, Georgia, and into north Florida is something I look forward to about as much as I might look forward to having a root canal. The dynamic which drives people aboard the Auto-Train in the first place will continue to do so in spite of the slightly scaled back service.

I suggest that most Auto-Train riders...... at least those in first class....... will hardly notice the loss of the 1st class lounge. The Auto-Train has so few 'waking hours' en route and most of those are spent waiting to be called to the diner, having dinner, and settling back into the room for the night after supper. Presumably the first class diner remains just that so the premium passengers are not going to experience any lengthier waits for supper.

 

[neroden]

I suggest that most Auto-Train riders...... at least those in first class....... will hardly notice the loss of the 1st class lounge. The Auto-Train has so few 'waking hours' en route

If this dynamic means that the lounge doesn't get used much.... then there won't be a problem. I guess we'll see!

and most of those are spent waiting to be called to the diner, having dinner, and settling back into the room for the night after supper. Presumably the first class diner remains just that so the premium passengers are not going to experience any lengthier waits for supper.

Hopefully!

 

[Ryan]

That's how all of my trips have gone.

 

[Allypet]

I fell these cuts are only the tip of the iceberg. For those who think that these cuts end with these cuts are mistaken. I will quote a message I received from someone from Amtrak. I promised not to identify him or her. Take it for what's its worth.

"I notice that the people who are most certain that this new plan will work, are mostly located far from A-T's route and probably have never ridden the train & probably never will. 90 min. per seating in the diner is a ludicrous plan, created by office-dwellers who have never worked on board. It may become possible when salads are eliminated., which will happen soon when the job of the guy who makes the salads is eliminated (probably about a month from now, when jobs go up for re-bid). Right now, veterans are looking at transfer options, possibly quitting altogether, retiring, or other options. Diner crews give up their own dinner break & STILL can't keep the 4 dinner seatings on time. The one lounge attendant is often overwhelmed. People who don't know the job will blame the O.B.S. crews, but the fault lies with managers who are TOTALLY uninvolved in the day to day implementation of their bogus plan. I repeat, NO experience O.B.S. personnel were involved in formulating this plan, which has more holes than a sieve. As usual, the onboard service people are making the best of the situation & keeping it from getting as bad as it otherwise could get. I've never seen morale this low."

 

[Bob Dylan]

Excellent "Insider Info"! Most of us that have had concerns with these Nickel and Dime cuts haven't even considered what this will do to those on the front lines, the OBS!

Its been a long time since I was in Grad School but the Principles of Good Management haven't changed! The desk jockeys in 60 Mass that dreamed up these schemes will cause complaints from Passengers and as was mentioned extra work for the already short handed OBS on the LD Trains! Just saying!

 

[Anderson]

For the record, this is the first I recall hearing of them getting rid of the salads.