All the scoffers on here that ridiculed those who talked about the slippery slope when the nickel and diming started can now post their apologies!
I'm sure they'll just tell us how they never wanted any salads or rolls or drinks with their meals in the first place and how the table looks better and is easier to use with less food to get in the way.
There's a lot of things I want. Salads and drinks included with my meal? Sure! I want that! But most restaurants don't give that to me already (drinks are very rarely included, and salads sometimes come with some meals and sometimes are available as a side for an additional charge.) I don't know how the numbers will play out and whether this will be revenue-neutral, revenue-negative, or revenue-positive, but my suspicion is that it'll be revenue-positive, at least on paper, as long as Amtrak continues to include the sides and drinks as part of sleeper fares.
I'd be surprised if this led to a large decline in coach passengers eating meals in the diner, though there will be some. But for each drink and salad the diner "sells" to sleeper passengers, that's additional revenue counted towards the diner, even though no cash changes hands. I think that's ultimately what they're trying to do: make the diners "profitable" by increasing the revenue share from the sleeper passengers. Unfortunately, I see this making the diners pricing themselves out of the coach passenger market.