Should Amtrak make a separate coach car for smokers?

[MIrailfan]

It could be added to/removed from trains depending on the number of reservations from smokers.

 

[caravanman]

In a perfect world maybe Amtrak could add a car just for smokers, but it is not affordable in the real world. I do feel sorry for those who smoke and who feel stressed while awaiting the next smoke stop, but these days there seem to be quite a few gum or skin patch products to tide them over...

Given the grubby standards of cleanliness on many Amtrak trains, I hate to imagine what a smokers car would look like inside!

Ed

 

[zepherdude]

Absolutely Not. No smoking policy's are set.

 

[amamba]

It's not practical at all - but I can't say the thought hasn't crossed my mind on occasion. I wouldn't even allow smoking in that coach but to me even sitting next to someone that has that lingering smoke smell sets off my asthma.

 

[the_traveler]

Amtrak does not have 50 extra cars just sitting around just so they can put an extra coach on a train for the 3 smokers who are riding from (say) RAT to NDL on #3. And should Amtrak add that extra coach and drag it and have to add an extra coach all the way from CHI and hire (pay) for another coach attendant and list in the timetable that "smoking is not allowed, except on certain days" and ...? :huh:

It's not practical and would be a waste of money. That is also money that Amtrak does not have, and I'm certain that Congress and the average taxpayer would love to provide Amtrak with more funds so they can provide those extra expenses for those 3 smokers.

 

[Ryan]

No.

 

[JamesI]

No.

 

[afigg]

It could be added to/removed from trains depending on the number of reservations from smokers.

I will add my 2 bits to this idea: NO. The last public smoking space on Amtrak went away with the removal of the smoker's lounge on the AutoTrain. Smoking cars are not coming back.

 

[OlympianHiawatha]

No. As people came out of that car and wandered the rest of the train they would be carrying all the smell of the smoking right along with them.

 

[FriskyFL]

Not just no...HELL NO! Smokers can just suck it up and wait for a smoke stop, or better yet, break free of their filthy, lethal addiction.

 

[jis]

No. No reason at all to regress on this issue. Not even if Amtrak did have the cars available to do so.

 

[henryj]

NO, NO, NO. Even the airports don't allow smokers anymore except in special sealed off rooms.

 

[Mr EPA]

If someone wants to poison themselves with cigarettes or weed that's fine with me. I just don't want them on a train or in a public access area poisoning everyone else with that filthy residual smoke. Good quality air is what lungs were designed to breathe not poisonous smoke.

 

[xyzzy]

No.

 

[Ryan]

I don't think I've ever seen the forum this united on a topic before.

 

[afigg]

I don't think I've ever seen the forum this united on a topic before.

Yes, we appear to have achieved a rare public consensus with regards to smoking cars: Hell, No!

 

[andersone]

I have been sober almost twenty years, and know what an effort that was,,,,

I never could quit smoking. Nine hours of radical head and neck surgery removing 95% of my vocal chords, my uvula and having to learn to swallow again in 2009 got me to stop. I learned to live with the trache tube, and when the cancer came back again last year and I had more surgery I realized how lucky I am to be alive.

My heart goes out to those who smoke. My experience got one of my two daughters to quit (and my fingers ares till crossed for the other) and I think the grandkids have a real life idea of what smoking gets you,,,

I enjoyed Amtrak because I still could smoke in my compartment in the old days) and it often influenced the train as a mode of travel over air.

I am not responsible for what others do,,, but I can sympathize with their cravings. Having said that, I don't think it is morally wise to encourage this legal habit by providing this kind of service. Now if the smokers had a lobby as strong as the NRA ***** they might get somewhere ...

I only hope those that still smoke can find a power to let them stop. Nobody wants what I have.

 

[Green Maned Lion]

Yes, Amtrak should designate a coach for smokers. All smokers who ride amtrak will board the coach, which will then be shoved off a cliff into the sea. I call it mercy; it's a lot better to go quickly then to be put through the life that will follow if you spend it smoking.

That being said I sorta agree with Amamba. Smokers should have their own car to sit in so their stench doesn't pollute the rest of us.

 

[SarahZ]

No. A thousand times, no.

Another thing to consider - every time that door opens, the smoke will enter the next car. It'll be as useless as a "non-smoking" section in a restaurant.

No.

 

[Bob Dylan]

Not just No! But Hell No!!!

Perhaps the I can't live another minute without a fix crowd (I used to be among them for 35 years) can go down to the kitchen in the Diner where the Crew addicts sneak a smoke out the window in the door!

 

[Tennessee Traveler]

NO!

 

[Devil's Advocate]

While we're clearing the air on the harm caused by tobacco smoke why don't we do something about those break pads and air gaps that fill rail cars with asbestos particles whenever there's a hard stop? Both the smell and the potential for harm bother me but I've never once seen anyone bring it up here on the forum. Surely I'm not the only person bothered by this? It's not the 1970's anymore and maybe it's time to clean up the breaking system.

 

[MattW]

I'm pretty sure they haven't used asbestos brakes for years now.

Oh and to add to the main topic: NO!

 

[the_traveler]

I do agree with you DA, there has to be something better. But until then I look at it this way: I'd rather have the brake pads sending fumes into the car and working to stop the train then to have clean air but no brakes on the train.

 

[jis]

While we're clearing the air on the harm caused by tobacco smoke why don't we do something about those break pads and air gaps that fill rail cars with asbestos particles whenever there's a hard stop? Both the smell and the potential for harm bother me but I've never once seen anyone bring it up here on the forum. Surely I'm not the only person bothered by this? It's not the 1970's anymore and maybe it's time to clean up the breaking system.

I thought that use of Asbestos in railway brakes was rather uncommon to start with, and any that was there has been discontinued long back. Of course I could be misinformed. Do you have a citation that says that rail brake shoes are composed of Asbestos today, so that I can educate myself? I know certain tread brakes use composite rubber that produces an odd smell. But that has no Asbestos in it.