One's own food in cafe cars

[guest]

Tell me if this is how the rules go: No outside food in single level cafes; outside food allowed in upper level of bi-level cafes.

 

[CCC1007]

Pretty much...

 

[Triley]

It depends. Bi-level cars? Whichever floor is where the Cafe service is being offered is where personal food is not allowed. So if they're serving downstairs, then personal food is only allowed upstairs.

Personal food is allowed in the Acela cafe, as well as Regionals. I know there are plenty more exceptions, but I am out and do not have my service standards manual with me. I believe it's also allowed on the Downeaster, and maybe some of the Chicago "regional" type services. It may include the Palmetto, Carolinian, or Vermonter too, as they're typically treated as Regionals.

I will try to remember to check my manual when I get home and post an update if someone doesn't beat me to it.

 

[BCL]

Yeah - it's wherever the service area is.

That being said, I saw someone clearly with personal food being consumed in a cafe car. Enforcement is sometimes an issue.

 

[crescent-zephyr]

Like everything at Amtrak... it depends on who is working!

The Upper Level of Sightseer Lounge Cars always permits personal food. All other Bi-Level Lounges (Californian Cars, Cross Country Cafe Cars) could have the no outside food rule enforced. (I can't remember if California Cars had signs posted or announcements or not.).

For Single Level Cars, it varies alot. I've seen it enforced on the Carolinian. But on some Long Distance trains where signs were posted (Crescent is in my mind) people brought in outside food and no one cared.

Since it is always permitted on some trains, it does't seem like it's a FDA rule... one of those "we are amtrak and we make up rules" type of things. While I'm certain some people on this board think they are great rules, I think all unnecessary rules are a silly thing. The horrors of someone taking up Cafe space to eat a Jimmy John's Sandwich they brought on board!

 

[Guest]

I'm thinking like, an apple or orange, maybe a PB&J sandwich, bottle of water- removing my crumbs and trash when leaving. Thanks for the ideas, it's variable, using common sense and "situational awareness."

 

[MikefromCrete]

Would you be permitted to bring your own food into a restaurant and eat it at a table? I doubt it.

 

[caravanman]

You can always eat your food at your coach seat too. The seats have quite good fold out tray tables.

Ed.

 

[crescent-zephyr]

Would you be permitted to bring your own food into a restaurant and eat it at a table? I doubt it.

I've seen families / groups of friends do just that when casual restaurants are next door. I'm talking about when a Chipotle is next to a Panera Bread or something like that. So the general idea is not a foreign concept in the real world.

More to the point... everyone on board an Amtrak train is an Amtrak customer. Are the tables specifically attached to the cafe? Or are they available for the general use of the paying Amtrak Passengers? That argument was recently debated on this board in relation to the laptop use in cafe cars. As I said previously, making up rules for no reason just seems silly to me. What's worse, each train has their own set of rules.

To be fair to Amtrak, each train has a unique set of equipment.

 

[Lonestar648]

During the busy time in the café, when many people are purchasing a sandwich or meal, then I would expect the booths to be available for the café customers since they are paying for the café food. If you bring your own food aboard, the café isn't busy, and there are no applicable FDA regs, then it should be open seating for everyone.

 

[neroden]

I can say that absolutely nobody cares if you bring your own water.

 

[chakk]

And your own alcohol may only be consumed in your sleeping car compartment. No consumption of your own supply anywhere else on the train.

 

[KmH]

Yep, that is Amtrak's published policy.

As a practical matter, private stock alcohol is routinely consumed in coach and the café/lounge cars.

If one is discrete and does not cause problems the OBS generally won't say anything about consuming private stock alcohol in coach and the café/lounge cars.

Alcohol drinkers that cause problems or that are obviously drunk in public spaces get removed from the train at the earliest opportunity and placed into the custody of local law enforcement - even if they are sleeper berth passengers.

The earliest opportunity is often just a grade crossing convenient to local law enforcement, and need not be a scheduled stop.

Consequently, miscreants can find it difficult to continue their trip.

Passengers can be put off the train to be placed into the custody of local law enforcement for any number of reasons .

https://www.searchlock.com/search?q=woman+kicked+of+amtrak+for+loud+and+constant+cell+phone+use

 

[PVD]

a) May be consumed by passengers in the following
locations.
• Any Coach seat.
• Any Sleeping Car accommodation (both alcohol
and non-alcohol beverages permitted).
• Upper level of Superliner Lounge Cars.
• Acela Express equipment.
• Empire Service equipment.
• Northeast Regional Café Cars.
• Auto Train lower level of Lounge Car when
the service area is in the upper level.
• Auto Train upper level of Lounge Car when
the service area is on the lower level.
b) All other Food Service Cars are intended for the
consumption of only Amtrak provided meals,
snacks and beverages, with the following exception:
• When a passenger makes a purchase from the
long distance Lounge Car, only then may the
passenger consume personal food and beverages
in the lower level of a Superliner Lounge Car.

This is from Amtrak's Service Standards, but not the very latest edition. If any of this has changed, I'm sure someone will know. It goes on to say that per FDA rules they are prohibited from storing handling, preparing or reheating anything you provide or bring on.

 

[Triley]

During the busy time in the café, when many people are purchasing a sandwich or meal, then I would expect the booths to be available for the café customers since they are paying for the café food. If you bring your own food aboard, the café isn't busy, and there are no applicable FDA regs, then it should be open seating for everyone.

And this needs to become the rule. Straight from the mouth of an LSA, just this week I had two ladies walk away empty handed for fears of dropping their purchase trying to get back to their seat, and that there was no where to sit in the Cafe.

 

[RSG]

Would you be permitted to bring your own food into a restaurant and eat it at a table? I doubt it.

I've seen families / groups of friends do just that when casual restaurants are next door. I'm talking about when a Chipotle is next to a Panera Bread or something like that. So the general idea is not a foreign concept in the real world.

And yet, they are most likely violating local health codes. The reason for no-outside-food-or-beverage is not only that it can cannibalize sales for the 'hosting' restaurant, it is so that any food borne illness can be quickly sourced, identified and limited in transmission. It becomes much harder to do that when a family brings in homemade potato salad to eat at Jimmy John's and that entire family later becomes ill---except for the one person who didn't eat the potato salad (but ate something else from home). It's why most health departments are not big fans of shopping mall/transit station food courts, with a common consumption area (and I believe why I have seen more restaurant-specific dining areas in some locales).

Since Amtrak is an interstate common carrier, they come under the governance of the FDA, which has similar standards. Now whether and why they do or don't apply them uniformly is another matter altogether.