COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Pandemic: Amtrak-related Discussion

Amtrak Unlimited Discussion Forum

Help Support Amtrak Unlimited Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Yup, be careful not to let the outsides of the gloves touch your hands. And wash hands thoroughly afterwards. And before.
My retired Nurse Anesthetist friend (who has had "hands on" experience with various infected and immuno-compromised people for decades) says that masks aren't magic, gloves and masks can fail, use them properly, and
Wash your hands.
 
I just re-booked a WC Room on the Auto Train for 4/15. My prior reservation was cancelled after the Derailment. (no stress there) Have a WC Van, only my wife drives, and with all our crap we brought down, we just had to make a decision. Syracuse doesn't seem much worst than Pompeno Beach at this time, Covid-19 wise. But who knows, we're both in High Risk Group and maybe will get lucky and no one will cough on us. Hate the Stations, overcrowded and insane. Anyone have any tips, besides masks and sanitizers, would appreciate, ESPECIALLY, recent travelers.
Practice distancing at the Sanford station - my understanding is they have some special outdoor seating set up to allow for some extra distancing. If you have any sanitizing wipes, wipe common touch surfaces if possible in your room before touching. Stay in your sleeper room as much of the journey as possible and I might consider avoiding the shared beverage coffee station in your car if you can go without it - bring your own snacks/beverages if you want to avoid the lounge car and accept your dinner from the dining car in your room (which I think they're doing for everyone right now.) When you get to Lorton again practice distancing at the station and if you can wipe down surfaces the loading/unloading crew may have touched when you get your vehicle - steering wheel, shifting lever/column, seatbelt and seatbelt latch, door latches, window buttons, etc. And lastly, when you return home to Syracuse, self quarantine for 14 days.
 
Wearing Nitrile gloves is a very good idea .... but, remember to sanitize the gloves the same as you would your hands!

Including sanitizing them just before you take them off to discard them - it doesn't do any good to wear them if you are going to touch the outside of them with your bare hands when you remove them in the gloves have not been sanitized.
Good tip. Maybe I'll get a pair of Boxing Gloves to avoid touching face.
 
Practice distancing at the Sanford station - my understanding is they have some special outdoor seating set up to allow for some extra distancing. If you have any sanitizing wipes, wipe common touch surfaces if possible in your room before touching. Stay in your sleeper room as much of the journey as possible and I might consider avoiding the shared beverage coffee station in your car if you can go without it - bring your own snacks/beverages if you want to avoid the lounge car and accept your dinner from the dining car in your room (which I think they're doing for everyone right now.) When you get to Lorton again practice distancing at the station and if you can wipe down surfaces the loading/unloading crew may have touched when you get your vehicle - steering wheel, shifting lever/column, seatbelt and seatbelt latch, door latches, window buttons, etc. And lastly, when you return home to Syracuse, self quarantine for 14 days.
Hope you're right about Sanford Special Seating. Have called the stations about Health concerns, but no one picks up!! I'll be in my Power WC but that wouldn't help my wife. unless I drive her around on my lap. Headed outside when we get there. Paid extra for first cars off at Lorton and will spray down inside. Six hour drive back to Syracuse with as few stops as possible. 14 days will be a picnic, being at HOME. Thanks.
 
Including sanitizing them just before you take them off to discard them - it doesn't do any good to wear them if you are going to touch the outside of them with your bare hands when you remove them in the gloves have not been sanitized.

That's fine, but it's actually pretty easy to remove gloves without touching the outside of them. They pretty much turn themselves inside out during removal.

----------Removing gloves for over 35 years----------
 
When you take off gloves, take the first one off by the inside of the wrist.
No, take the first glove off by catching the OUTSIDE wrist section of the first glove with the finger of your other still gloved hand and pulling. Then use a finger from your now free hand to dip inside the wrist section of the other glove to pull that one off.

----------------Removing gloves for over 35 years---------------------
 
Yup, be careful not to let the outsides of the gloves touch your hands. And wash hands thoroughly afterwards. And before.
My retired Nurse Anesthetist friend (who has had "hands on" experience with various infected and immuno-compromised people for decades) says that masks aren't magic, gloves and masks can fail, use them properly, and
Wash your hands.
Happily, gloves make the hands smell bad, so that is extra incentive to wash the hands after removing the gloves.

-----------Removing gloves for over 35 years---------------
 
Wearing Nitrile gloves is a very good idea .... but, remember to sanitize the gloves the same as you would your hands!

Including sanitizing them just before you take them off to discard them - it doesn't do any good to wear them if you are going to touch the outside of them with your bare hands when you remove them in the gloves have not been sanitized.
You take the first one off by grabbing the outside of the other one near the wrist. You take the second one off by slipping the now-bare hand under the glove so you are between the inside of the glove and your gloved hand then just pull it off so it is inside out.
Did it that way as a Red Cross volunteer in the past.
 
Hope you're right about Sanford Special Seating. Have called the stations about Health concerns, but no one picks up!! I'll be in my Power WC but that wouldn't help my wife. unless I drive her around on my lap. Headed outside when we get there. Paid extra for first cars off at Lorton and will spray down inside. Six hour drive back to Syracuse with as few stops as possible. 14 days will be a picnic, being at HOME. Thanks.
You could try asking the call center (1800 USA RAIL) to see if they know, but I have heard at least one first hand report mentioning that they have made some provisions at Sanford to spread out where people are waiting with some covered seating areas outside or something along those lines.
 
The Corona virus has had an effect on everything it seems, and Amtrak is no exception. I just read that Amtraks ridership is off by 90%. The good news is that last Friday transportation secretary Elaine Chao announced that Amtrak has been given $1 billion in federal emergency assistance. Of this aid $239 million will go to the state supported routes. What surprises me most is that fares do not seem to have gone down as a result of the downturn in ridership. What happened to the supply and demand theory?
In five days William Flynn takes over as CEO and will have the task of attracting passengers back to the rails. How he will do this remains to be seen but in the early years the emphasis on comfort of train travel was promoted. Then Anderson comes along and does everything possible to decrease the comfort of the experience. So how will Amtrak build the ridership back up?
 
In five days Flynn's main concern should not be how to attract large numbers of riders back to the rails - but should be concentrated on helping Amtrak remain a useful, essential means of transportation during this crisis. This may include doing what he can to prepare any unused equipment for its return to service when the time comes.

In the long term, he could spend some of his time reviewing the downfalls of the system Anderson put in place and make plans to reverse the damage done to Amtrak. Perhaps if he did this, without the "advice" of Mr. Anderson, he would be in a better position to not only restore rail travel when the time comes - but to also restore confidence in Amtrak riders, especially those long-time riders, to select rail as a viable means of travel instead of what taking a back seat to other forms of travel.
 
Same consist on 92 today coming through Orlando (on time).
I saw a very late Silver Meteor 98 come through Orlando this evening. Consist was one engine (maybe because one got damaged in the accident with a vehicle in South Florida this morning), 2 coaches, cafe car, sleeper lounge, 2 sleepers, baggage.
 
I saw a very late Silver Meteor 98 come through Orlando this evening. Consist was one engine (maybe because one got damaged in the accident with a vehicle in South Florida this morning), 2 coaches, cafe car, sleeper lounge, 2 sleepers, baggage.
2 Sleepers???
Must be lots of Snowbirds getting out of the Frying Pan into the Fire!
 
I can say one thing for sure. In the short term, after the crisis subsides and people start tentatively traveling again - there isn’t going to be a hue and cry for traditional dining service. People coming out of this crisis are not going to be in any mood to sit and dine with strangers in close quarters.

Long term might be another issue. However, by then the damage could be done.
 
What surprises me most is that fares do not seem to have gone down as a result of the downturn in ridership. What happened to the supply and demand theory?

There is (virtually) no demand. Changing the fares doesn’t matter when there is no demand.

Leaving the fares as-is is fine from an economics standpoint because the (very, very) little demand that does exist is inelastic (i.e. absolutely essential travel) and therefore the people traveling would be the same folks traveling if the fares were the same as they are, 10% higher, or 75% lower. Anyone else shouldn’t be traveling anyway.
 
Back
Top