Silver Star has new Café menu and no diner

[Ryan]

That would roughly fit a Januaryish delivery and then a few months of testing before rolling into revenue service, perhaps...

I just hope that's what it actually is, and this bit of silliness is soon in the past.

 

[niemi24s]

Ruh-roh... The no diner "experiment" on the Silver Star has been extended through April 30, 2016.

Edit: Sleeper space has been blanked Feb 1 - Apr 30 for the fare changes to be put into place. As before, passengers who have already booked during this period can:

1. Sleeper passengers receive a full refund of the difference between fare paid and lowest "no-meal" fare.
2. Sleepers may rebook on Silver Meteor at no charge, original fare will be honored if Meteor is higher. If Meteor is sold out, may rebook within 4 days on either side of original travel date. Refund without penalty if Meteor fare is lower.
3. Cancel and receive full refund with no penalty.
4. Coach passengers may also rebook to Meteor at no additional charge. Must rebook on same date only. Refund without penalty if Meteor is lower fare.

Per your edit, is the extension of the no-diner experiment on the Star in error?

If so, please either delete it or line through it. Thanx.

 

[AmtrakBlue]

Ruh-roh... The no diner "experiment" on the Silver Star has been extended through April 30, 2016.

Must be a Huge success!
The Bean Counters @ 60 Mass will probably be holding meetings to find other routes on which to try this "experiment"!

Or maybe they were hoping to have the new diners ready by Feb and now hope to have them by May.

 

[AmtrakBlue]

Ruh-roh... The no diner "experiment" on the Silver Star has been extended through April 30, 2016.

Edit: Sleeper space has been blanked Feb 1 - Apr 30 for the fare changes to be put into place. As before, passengers who have already booked during this period can:

1. Sleeper passengers receive a full refund of the difference between fare paid and lowest "no-meal" fare.
2. Sleepers may rebook on Silver Meteor at no charge, original fare will be honored if Meteor is higher. If Meteor is sold out, may rebook within 4 days on either side of original travel date. Refund without penalty if Meteor fare is lower.
3. Cancel and receive full refund with no penalty.
4. Coach passengers may also rebook to Meteor at no additional charge. Must rebook on same date only. Refund without penalty if Meteor is lower fare.

Per your edit, is the extension of the no-diner experiment on the Star in error?

If so, please either delete it or line through it. Thanx.

His edit is providing further information about the lack of diner for Feb-Apr. This is what they did the when the diner was going to be removed earlier this year.

 

[niemi24s]

Has the no-diner experiment on the Silver Star been extended to 30 Apr 2016? If so, what's the reference? Or was that merely a spurious proclamation?

 

[AmtrakBlue]

Has the no-diner experiment on the Silver Star been extended to 30 Apr 2016? If so, what's the reference? Or was that merely a spurious proclamation?

I trust AmtrakLKL to post real info, not spurious proclamations.

 

[keelhauled]

Has the no-diner experiment on the Silver Star been extended to 30 Apr 2016? If so, what's the reference? Or was that merely a spurious proclamation?

If one goes to amtrak.com and tries to book travel on the Star during the period in question, there is indeed no sleeper space available. I find his information very credible.

 

[Ryan]

Has the no-diner experiment on the Silver Star been extended to 30 Apr 2016? If so, what's the reference? Or was that merely a spurious proclamation?

The reference is "AmtrakLKL says so, and AmtrakLKL knows what he's talking about".

 

[niemi24s]

Has the no-diner experiment on the Silver Star been extended to 30 Apr 2016? If so, what's the reference? Or was that merely a spurious proclamation?

If one goes to amtrak.com and tries to book travel on the Star during the period in question, there is indeed no sleeper space available. I find his information very credible.

I fail to see the connection between sleeper availability and the dining car (or lack thereof). There was no dining car from 1 July 2015 up until the present time, yet sleepers were available.

How 'bout this explanation: sleepers show up as either SO or NA simply because they're going to pull the sleepers too!

But then again it's kinda close to my bedtime and I didn't get my afternoon nap.

 

[keelhauled]

Has the no-diner experiment on the Silver Star been extended to 30 Apr 2016? If so, what's the reference? Or was that merely a spurious proclamation?

If one goes to amtrak.com and tries to book travel on the Star during the period in question, there is indeed no sleeper space available. I find his information very credible.

I fail to see the connection between sleeper availability and the dining car (or lack thereof). There was no dining car from 1 July 2015 up until the present time, yet sleepers were available.

How 'bout this explanation: sleepers show up as either SO or NA simply because they're going to pull the sleepers too!

But then again it's kinda close to my bedtime and I didn't get my afternoon nap.

Consider the following:

AmtrakLKL said that "Sleeper space has been blanked Feb 1 - Apr 30 for the fare changes to be put into place." This is empirically proven by using amtrak.com.

Furthermore, by again using amtrak.com, one can find that sleepers indeed return after April 30.

This identical pattern happened earlier this year ahead of the dining car being dropped.

AmtrakLKL has provided accurate information in the past.

 

[Ryan]

I fail to see the connection between sleeper availability and the dining car (or lack thereof). There was no dining car from 1 July 2015 up until the present time, yet sleepers were available.

There were not sleepers able to be booked from July-January for a very long (several weeks) period of time whilst Amtrak was working out how to do the experiment, if they should do the experiment, and what to charge. Then, with an announcement of the experiment, the sleeping cars became bookable.

There was another period previous to that where sleepers were not bookable, and became bookable, where informed speculation was they were considering this and decided not to.

So while you don't see the connection, those of us that have been at this game for more than 9 months do, and know what we're talking about. We also are somewhat perceptive and know who the people "in the know" are (hint: AmtrakLKL is one, and there are some others - perhaps you can set your mind towards figuring out who they are, it'll be easier than figuring out the bucket system for you).

 

[Thirdrail7]

Has the no-diner experiment on the Silver Star been extended to 30 Apr 2016? If so, what's the reference? Or was that merely a spurious proclamation?

This is why certain people (ahem) typically sits on information that directly affects the public until it is officially released....unless they are dropping cryptic hints. h34r: I'm sure AmtrakLKL is excited and more than willing to share his reference.

But, I'd venture to say if everyone practices patience and keeps an eye on the website, you'll have all of the information you'll need.

 

[Ryan]

unless they are dropping cryptic hints. h34r:

I can't think of anyone around here that would do such a thing! h34r:

 

[chakk]

So: "made yesterday" items on the NB trip I guess.

Actually made 3-4 days ago "Fresh" if that is the case!

Might as well call them leftovers. I wonder if Aramark has to spray them with something to keep the "fresh" selections from looking stale and wilted days later.

Cocktails have gone up to $8.00; right in line with the airlines I fly.

Most flights are short enough to wait for a drink when you land, longer flights can often be booked on airlines with free liquor, and nearly every airport I've visited had a bar of some sort. On the other hand Amtrak is a long and drawn out affair that can last multiple days each way and most train stations haven't had a functioning bar in decades. $8 for a single shot of low grade liquor is a turnoff to me. Either stock better brands or reduce the price to something easier to stomach.

Is alcohol in the airport bars significantly cheaper than what is offered on the planes?

 

[Devil's Advocate]

Most flights are short enough to wait for a drink when you land, longer flights can often be booked on airlines with free liquor, and nearly every airport I've visited had a bar of some sort. On the other hand Amtrak is a long and drawn out affair that can last multiple days each way and most train stations haven't had a functioning bar in decades. $8 for a single shot of low grade liquor is a turnoff to me. Either stock better brands or reduce the price to something easier to stomach.

Is alcohol in the airport bars significantly cheaper than what is offered on the planes?

Depends on how you look at it. In an airport bar you can choose a specific brand you prefer from a much larger selection. You can discount the total cost by requesting doubles and you can increase the pour by sitting at the bar and by tipping well on your first couple drinks. In other words a few extra dollars on the front end can substantially reduce the total cost on the back end. In the case of larger bars you can often find discounted drinks on the current specials menu.

Onboard the aircraft there are few if any options for improving quality or decreasing cost. You have basically zero selection beyond the one brand of rum, whiskey, gin, vodka, etc. they happen to stock. Tipping or ordering doubles has zero positive impact on the total cost and there are no meaningful specials on board the aircraft. Most brands are on the lower end of mid-grade and everything is served in cheap plastic cups. If you want a cocktail that's more complicated than a rum and coke or a gin and tonic you're probably out of luck.

That being said, some airlines stock more liquor than others, a few still offer it for free or at a reduced cost on TATL and TPAC flights, and some airport bars have implemented automatic pouring devices which can negate much of the potential cost savings. So, in some cases your mileage may vary, but in general this has been my experience.

 

[Cho Cho Charlie]

AmtrakLKL has provided accurate information in the past.

So, Amtrak has stopped issuing Service Alerts, and now relies on Amtrak LKL to make all its official notifications?

Sorry, but I thought the request for a link to a new Service Alert (the equivalent to this one), or a pointer to something official, was a reasonable one.

 

[jis]

Sigh! You can't win here by trying to be nice and give advanced heads up without getting a barrage of criticism. That is why I of late am refraining from giving out some information that is available from various sources but has not been announced yet. It really is better to let people wait to hear it officially lest they get upset that Amtrak is using some well meaning individuals as their marketing department.

At the end of the day, the one useful thing that this site provides other than the camaraderie is as an early source of information about what is going on. And now people want to effectively shut that down by making a stink about it not being accompanied immediately by an official Amtrak pronouncement? Ok fine.

in case it is not clear to anyone, Amtrak LKL is not making an official announcement from Amtrak. He is just giving info that he has come across. Take it or leave it as hearsay.

 

[AmtrakBlue]

Sigh! You can't win here by trying to be nice and give advanced heads up without getting a barrage of criticism. That is why I of late am refraining from giving out some information that is available from various sources but has not been announced yet. It really is better to let people wait to hear it officially lest they get upset that Amtrak is using some well meaning individuals as their marketing department.

At the end of the day, the one useful thing that this site provides other than the camaraderie is as an early source of information about what is going on. And now people want to effectively shut that down by making a stink about it not being accompanied immediately by an official Amtrak pronouncement? Ok fine.

in case it is not clear to anyone, Amtrak LKL is not making an official announcement from Amtrak. He is just giving info that he has come across. Take it or leave it as hearsay.

*Like*

 

[AmtrakBlue]

And then we have people come to AU asking "Has anyone heard..." like for Nat'l Train Day, Bonus Points & the Autumn Express.

As Jis said, you just can't win.

 

[keelhauled]

AmtrakLKL has provided accurate information in the past.

So, Amtrak has stopped issuing Service Alerts, and now relies on Amtrak LKL to make all its official notifications?
Sorry, but I thought the request for a link to a new Service Alert (the equivalent to this one), or a pointer to something official, was a reasonable one.

I trust that he knows what he's talking about and is accurate, and I explained why. Take it or leave it, it makes no difference to me.

 

[jis]

AmtrakLKL has provided accurate information in the past.

So, Amtrak has stopped issuing Service Alerts, and now relies on Amtrak LKL to make all its official notifications?
Sorry, but I thought the request for a link to a new Service Alert (the equivalent to this one), or a pointer to something official, was a reasonable one.

I trust that he knows what he's talking about and is accurate, and I explained why. Take it or leave it, it makes no difference to me.

Exactly! I find this hoo-ha somewhat bizarre. If you want to get Amtrak announcements alone, why are you here? Go to http://www.amtrak.comand stop bugging us here. Apparently many are here because they do want to hear such rumors, and the bright ones among them even realize that there is an element of hearsay in all this. People who have been here for a while know from posters track records as to which ones are more believable than the rest. Specifically, this is neither an official Amtrak site nor is it the official means of disseminating Amtrak announcements. It is just a very informed rumor mill if you will, where a surprisingly large proportion of rumors turn out to be true eventually. If you don't like that, stop complaining and go elsewhere.

 

[jis]

Here is an example menu of the fare available in the TGV Cafe/Bar:

http://www.seat61.com/images/tgv-train-bar-menu.jpg

If Amtrak could vaguely match this Cafe would become a very usable facility I think, even as a Diner substitute on the Star.

 

[niemi24s]

Ruh-roh... The no diner "experiment" on the Silver Star has been extended through April 30, 2016.

Must be a Huge success!
The Bean Counters @ 60 Mass will probably be holding meetings to find other routes on which to try this "experiment"!

Now that all the dust seems to have settled after my "who sez?" post (I didn't know AmtrakLKL was our mole), kindly allow me opportunity to humbly provide the following regarding Bob Dylan's post:

• Judging from the averages of the July & August 2015 Amtrak monthly reports, it does indeed appear to be a success. Sleeper ridership on the Star rose 30.3% when compared to June 2015. That same comparison done for 2014 showed a ridership increase of 1.9%. The figures for the Meteor over those same periods show ridership increases of 9.4% for 2015 and 5.8% for 2014.

• Another way of looking at the Star's apparent success is a comparison of the first two months of the test with those same two months in 2014: ridership increased 24.9%. I just hope the bean counters don't also experiment with removing the Star's sleepers, as they no doubt already know only 22% of its recent (July & August 2015) revenue comes from sleepers.

 

[KmH]

However, Amtrak does allow you to bring your own liquors, wines and beer.

If you book a roomette or a Bedroom.

All Amtrak passengers are allowed bring personal stock alcoholic beverages on board the train.

However, Amtrak policy says personal stock alcoholic beverages cannot be consumed in public areas of the train.

A coach seat is a pubic area, hence Amtrak policy says you can't consume your private stock alcohol at your coach seat.

However, as long as you are discrete and don't cause problems most OBS will not say anything if they see you consuming some of your private stock alcohol at your coach seat.

 

[Ryan]

On a 2 sleeper train, the number of room vacated by the dining car folks provides a non-trivial increase in capacity, which accounts for some on that YoY gain.