During most of the year, the Empire Builder operates with two sleeping cars between Chicago Seattle and one sleeping car between Chicago and Portland. From May through October, these sleeping cars routinely sell out. An analysis performed by our Revenue Management group determined that of all the long distance trains, the Empire Builder had the most unmet demand and if a sleeping car were added during peak travel months, would generate the most ridership and revenue.Adding a sleeping car to this train creates an immediate service problem for the dining car, which is already strained to capacity during peak travel periods. It is the only Amtrak train that actually has a vendor contract with a local restaurant at Havre, Montana, with customers placing orders with the on-board staff for a box dinner received after departure from this station.
To address this service challenge, which would be exacerbated further with the addition of a 4th sleeping car, the proposal would be to utilize available 37000 series Cross Country Café cars as both a sleeping car lounge and an alternate meal service option for our sleeping car passengers.