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There is considerable talk that the northbound Silver Star is losing its dining car after July 1. I hope that this is not true.
 
I doubt that only the northbound would lose the Diner while the southbound does not. That would cause quite a collection of Diners at Hialeah while Sunnyside eventually runs out of them :p
 
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Hopeful rider said:
There is considerable talk that the northbound Silver Star is losing its dining car after July 1. I hope that this is not true.
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Silver Star. No more Viewliner sleepers. :( No more heritage diners. :( Not a very good outlook for a LD train. :angry2:

Is this permanent, or just until the Viewliner II sleepers and the Viewliner diners are available for revenue service, is the big question that needs to now be answered (hint, hint, Amtrak) ? :help:
 
RyanS said:
The majority of customers already booked don't hang out on foamer boards and have no clue that anything may be amiss.
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It's a strange industry where the best customers can be ignored as weird, rather than a market segment to be catered to.
 
That's an incredibly bizarre conclusion to draw from my comments.

You genuinely think that this crowd of AGR points using, loophole trip seeking folks are Amtrak's best customers?
 
I can confirm the Silver Star will be going diner-less effective July 1 for a six month "trial". It was announced yesterday to OBS in Miami. Both sleepers are staying on the train. What I cannot speak to is what will happen to fares or meal service. All the lounges are equipped for "diner-lite" service, but I have no idea if that is the route they'll take.

As mentioned above, this is a six month trial (though I'm surprised they're trialing through two very busy holiday periods. Maybe that's part of the test.) If successful, the diner will presumably be gone forever and it could potentially extend to other eastern trains. If the trial does not succeed (read: revenue falls faster than costs and/or rider complaints soar), then the diner will return.
 
Over on Trains Magazine's Passenger forum, there is a comment that the current Heritage diners are due for some work this year. Since the VII diners are (hopefully) around the corner, it does not make sense to spend money on maintenance for the Heritage diners given that they will be retired soon anyway. So it appears Amtrak is going take the diners off the Star to ensure that the LSL, Meteor and Crescent have enough serviceable diners. Once the VII's are delivered I would expect the Star will get its diner back.

Remember there are 25 VII diners on order. That more than covers the needs for the LSL, Meteor, Crescent, and the Silver Star. Unless there is a new eastern LD train in the works we don't know about, or if Amtrak is going to replace the Superliners on the CONO or the Capital, I am thinking the Silver Star will gets it diner back once the VII's are delivered.
 
AKA said:
RyanS said:
That's an incredibly bizarre conclusion to draw from my comments.You genuinely think that this crowd of AGR points using, loophole trip seeking folks are Amtrak's best customers?
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.
ouch
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He's not wrong. The active members of this forum are a fraction of a percentage of Amtrak riders. We are not the majority. Not by far.
 
So, can someone help me draw up a "form letter" complaint to Amtrak? I'm on this train so much (no, really...the Meteor's times NB are awful in RVR if you're getting off the train) that I'm going to make it a point to file a complaint every time I'm stuck with this. Which is going to be quite a bit.
 
RyanS said:
Nor are we anywhere near the biggest contributors in revenue.
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So let's do something to contribute to revenue: both Amtrak's and to our own peace of mind. Can I propose a few more gatherings around the country so for those of us who don't have time for more than one vacation from work, can attend? The National Train Day in Philly and Washington, DC of a few years ago come to mind.

Another idea I have is to pool the energy and content of this forum and have several dependable, even minded representatives of AU ask to meet with the man himself at 60 Massachusetts Ave. It's a long shot, but where else can Amtrak get free feedback, i.e., don't spend a dime on questionaires and consultants to interpret them?
 
I am on the Silver Meteor right now and asked my attendant if he heard the rumor about no dining car on the Star starting in July. He confirmed everything that the guest posted above. However, in my opinion, it is still a rumor until officially announced by Amtrak.
 
pennyk said:
I am on the Silver Meteor right now and asked my attendant if he heard the rumor about no dining car on the Star starting in July. He confirmed everything that the guest posted above. However, in my opinion, it is still a rumor until officially announced by Amtrak.
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Ditto.
 
pennyk said:
I am on the Silver Meteor right now and asked my attendant if he heard the rumor about no dining car on the Star starting in July. He confirmed everything that the guest posted above. However, in my opinion, it is still a rumor until officially announced by Amtrak.
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I have some further information, but in the long tradition of these parlor games I can't say anything much until Monday. Apparently Amtrak is set to make an official announcement then, but enough of what I have is from channels that I can't disclose it publicly.
 
Well, maybe they'll move the Star Diner to the Card since they'll be running a second sleeper this summer, no wait, the inside info is that the Star will have two sleepers also for the Diner Lite so who really knows, we'll find out soon!

I'd ride the Star to Florida IF the Roomette Prices are cut to Slumber Coach type fares but otherwise it would be the Meteor! But not Northbound due to the bad calling times as Cliff said!
 
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