1. Go full height like autoracks giving many cars ability to go between on both levels. (someone will flame this immediately)
2. Eliminate Roomettes. Offer one car with an attendant and lie flat style airline business seating in a 1/2 config with convection oven meals. Heck, an airline can serve Butternut Squash Ravioli at 35,000 feet with salad, roll and sorbet. So can Amtrak.
3. Build the cars for dining, sightseeing, sleepers and then contract out the service to a private company to provide. Leave Amtrak to doing basic transportation with both coach and business class and let someone else do the higher end stuff.
4. Sleepers would be at minimal similar to the new Prestige Class on VIA. Sleepers stay sold out at high prices as it is. With two complete levels, some nifty designs could be done.
5. Consider electronic window dimming ala the 787. Always have the shade as an option, but windows in the sleeper akin to the current windows in the Sightseer would be sweet!
6. As someone else said, updated electronics onboard for route info, etc. Also, as someone else said, the rear sleeper sightseer lounge with the big glass theater style viewing section ...what a wowzer that would be..and a big selling point.
7. Name the Cars...they deserve to be more than just a number.
8. Fresh Vending machines in the Lounge car providing cold sandwiches, etc. Franchise owners along a route can restock at specific station stops as needed (i.e. freshvending dot com) etc. In other words, remove food costs from the train but wind up providing a higher end service. Frees up lounge attendant to actually attend the lounge.
9. And for goodness sake, don't worry about what country is doing the building of the cars.
10. A "front of train view" on the in room or PED system...watch the view from the front of the train like you can from an Airbus 380 on certain carriers. A wifi based PED system (personal entertainment system) could contain route guides, things to watch for, advertise specials, book your next trip on board, etc. Even have ON Demand movies for people to watch.
You have some interesting ideas....
1....I suppose you mean like the cruise line cars on the Alaska RR....there may be some more restrictive limitations on Amtrak's routes, precluding their use, but yeah....I like this idea.
2. I wouldn't want to see Amtrak try to convert a Superliner into an 'airliner-on-rails'. For First Class travel, rail passengers would prefer the privacy of a private room, for one. Secondly, having lie-flat seats would not really increase capacity over roomettes, as you would give up the ability of having upper and lower bunks on each level of the car. And on long trips, people like the change of scene of strolling to a restaurant car, rather than being buckled in and served meals at seats.
3. Could possibly work, but Amtrak has not done that well in its history, sharing its consists with private operators....eg: AutoTrain Corp., American European Express, , Pullman Rail Journey's, etc.....
4, Maybe upgrade to that level, once the basic level of sleeper service is sufficient to fulfill the demand...Otherwise you would be excluding sleepers as transportation for many, and limiting it to wealthy 'cruise train' patron's.
5 I like that idea. Don't know how costly or reliable it would be on large windows, but the necessity of having curtains as a backup, in case of electrical failure, would take away any cost saving of eliminating the cleaning or maintaining of the curtains.
6 Nice, but see my earlier post regarding a rear end obs. car. I do like the electronic display idea.
7 Agreed.
8 Shades of the "Friendly Southern Pacific" Automat Cars. Actually, this idea may have some merit....don't know about the logistics of resupply enroute, what with LD trains often running way, way, off schedule....
9 Worrying about 'buying American' is a political reality for 'America's Railroad'.
10 Like this. Only concern, is Amtrak's 'track record' of maintaining such system's....
I like positive suggestions like these...why would anyone 'flame you' for offering them? That is what the purpose of AU is, isn't it? To discuss all things Amtrak?
