The Diner-Lite coming to a Train Near You

[AmtrakFan]

Folks,

The Diner-Lite that everyone was talking about is finally here here are all the dates they will be going into effect and this could be the final straw for LD Trains.

Feb 15th

#21-22, #58-59 ("reintroduced")

#1-2

#29-30

April 15th AKA Tax Day

#91-92

#3-4

#48-49

May 3rd

#19-20

#11-14

May 24th

#5-6

#97-98

Trains #7-8 and #52-53 will not be affected. It is time to ride the Trains savior your last dining car experience.

 

[Trogdor]

I have yet to be convinced that "diner lite" is a bad idea. We have at least one review on this forum that says the food was good. Most of the changes are internal, and designed to cut down on the number of employees needed to run the dining car.

In fact, there are going to be some improvements in service, such as an extension of the lunch hour until 3:00 pm, that are a part of this deal.

 

[daveyb99]

The food we experienced on #21/#22 late December 2005 was not all that bad - my coments to Amtrak were uneven heating and meal was already cooling down when served. But that was early in the trials, and they should have worked out some kinks by now.

Amtrak should certainly spruce up service, continue with 2 waiters (not the overworked one we had), and extend hours.

 

[gswager]

Are snack bar and diner being merged together? Or is just only for diner?

 

[Anthony]

Looks like it's time for another Starlight trip

 

[Anthony]

So #7/#8 will continue to have a diner for the indefinite future?

 

[battalion51]

Surprising that the Starlate is going Diner Lite since it's the West Coast Pride & Joy, but the Empire Builder does seem to be taking over that tittle recently.

 

[Guest_Amtrak OBS Employee]

Folks, The Diner-Lite that everyone was talking about is finally here here are all the dates they will be going into effect and this could be the final straw for LD Trains.

Feb 15th

#21-22, #58-59 ("reintroduced")

#1-2

#29-30

April 15th AKA Tax Day

#91-92

#3-4

#48-49

May 3rd

#19-20

#11-14

May 24th

#5-6

#97-98

Trains #7-8 and #52-53 will not be affected. It is time to ride the Trains savior your last dining car experience.

Can't say we haven't been trying to tell y'all for over a year now!

Coming soon!!!!!!! Diner lite!!! Diner lite!!!

C-mon furlough, furlough, furlough!!! I won't have to be a part of diner lite!! Yaaaaaaaaayyy ........ OBS... :blink: :blink: :unsure:

 

[RailFanNebraska]

shucks ... california zephyr wasnt sparied ... all i have to say, if you like TV dinners, this program is for you ... if you dont ... like me and other people of the world who actually like our food cooked and not our water molecules sped up ... *sigh* ... i hope this doesnt last long ...

 

[RailFanNebraska]

well i guess, here we go again ... word of mouth will spread around fast and soon ridership on the LD trains will be in the toliette ... again ... sigh

 

[mrdisnie]

I have a quick question adn statement about the changeover to diner-lite meals. My family and I are booked on train #91 and 98 in mid March and i know by the above mentioned schedule it will not be in effect for our trip, but what i don't understand is how is this going to end LD trains? I have been using Amtrak both NEC and Silver Services, with a deluxe bedroom, for many years and although I don't usually eat on the NEC I have come to realize that meal service on the Silver Services is not all that it is cracked up to be! Yes the food is editable but most of the attendents are rude and act if they are doing you a favor by serving you. On the other hand I have not found one TA who acts this way in the sleepers!!! So, I guess my point is as long as Amtrak does'nt mess with the sleepers, crossing fingers, services can only get better!!

 

[AmtrakFan]

So #7/#8 will continue to have a diner for the indefinite future?

That would be correct for the forseeable future.

 

[AmtrakFan]

I am looking foward to the Diner-Lite I think it is a imporvment with the extended Service plus hopefully it will be better in the longrun. Plus as OBS noted there have been warning signs around like the Diner-Lite Article that the URPA Wrote, Pesonally I knew this was coming and there is nothing we can do about it.

 

[haolerider]

The major issue is going to be how are the employees going to react to this? Are they going to embrace the Diner Lite concept? Probably not. There have already been comments on this forum about not co-operating - people anxious for furlough, etc.

We know that the number of employees will be decreased - which is the whole point of this experiment. If the Amtrak on-board staff have pride in their work, they will make this work - if not, it will be another failure - but you can't keep blaming the failures on management decsions - there is a responsibility for the front line staff to implement these programs properly.

We shall see what happens.

 

[jamesontheroad]

Well, my forthcoming trip on trains 68, 49, 5, 14 and 59 will give me a chance to compare and contrast right through the second half of the transition period. It's a shame for the romantic part of me that is still attached to the old fashioned ideal of long distance rail travel, but hey, there's still the Canadian

*j* :blink:

 

[soitgoes]

If Diner Lite is what it takes to keep long distance trains running, then I think that is much better than losing LD train service.

 

[RailFanNebraska]

well all know diner lite are just the starting point to cutting the LD train all together

 

[Midland Valley]

If Diner Lite is what it takes to keep long distance trains running, then I think that is much better than losing LD train service.

I agree! I've experienced it and it was good, I was plesantly suprised. This is much better than the threat of a vending car.

 

[MrFSS]

Would one of you who has experienced it give us a more detailed idea of how it works, please. Are meal reservations not taken any longer, do first class passengers get to "go first" Do you "walk up" to a counter and order what you want and then take it to a table, such as McDonalds? I'm interested in knowing what the process is.

Could you get your meal and take it back to your seat or bedroom?

I assume the meals are still free for sleeper car folks?

Has a menu been published anywhere? Pictures of what the new car looks like.

Thanks!!!

 

[Windy City LSA]

Folks, The Diner-Lite that everyone was talking about is finally here here are all the dates they will be going into effect and this could be the final straw for LD Trains.

Feb 15th

#21-22, #58-59 ("reintroduced")

Hello. I'm a bit unclear on the "diner-lite" term I've seen tossed around here. Are you referring to pre-plated meals, or the new equipment that combines a lounge and diner in one car?? Being based in CHI, my only concerns are 21/22, 5/6. and 7/8. And being a LSA, I'm primarily concerned with labor cuts in that craft. I was on a training trip on 21/22 in December and the pre-plated crap had just started. I was on 58/59 last week exploring the NOL crew base considering a transfer, and the food looks as bad as ever. The crews are less than enthusiastic about having to offer this garbage to passengers. I had lots of time to chat with them round-trip. It's sad, really. It seems folks genuinely look forward to eating on the train. In my honest opinion, the vast majority of the food in both cars is awful. Aside from a rubber bratwurst I had 2 bites of and threw in the garbage, I just drank water for the 19 hour trip.

Just curious about this. I'm out of the loop since on furlough, so this forum is about my only source of information! To the poster wishing for a furlough...I wish I could give you mine. I don't want it.

 

[Amtrak OBS Gone Freight]

The major issue is going to be how are the employees going to react to this?  Are they going to embrace the Diner Lite concept?  Probably not.  There have already been comments on this forum about not co-operating - people anxious for furlough, etc.
We know that the number of employees will be decreased - which is the whole point of this experiment.  If the Amtrak on-board staff have pride in their work, they will make this work - if not, it will be another failure - but you can't keep blaming the failures on management decsions - there is a responsibility for the front line staff to implement these programs properly.  

We shall see what happens.

I must challenge you here with these statements!

First off, allow me to explain to you just how the RR works! The very folks who will adapt to the change from traditional diner service to the new diner lite WILL MOSTLY ALL BE FURLOUGHED! The ones who are less likely to change and embrace the new concept are those (with a few exceptions) who have been around for years and years and so on! In other words the beauty of "seniority!" It sometimes isn't a good thing as I believe will be part of the case here regarding who will be left.

If I make it, and I don't wind up out on furlough, I will do my best to make it work! After all when I tell passengers "I only work here, but I will do what I can do" I mean it! I will do my job, and do it well! And if Amtrak doesn't need me, I'll take my experience elsewhere and do the same.

Reading these statements leads me to believe you may not necessarily see the big picture from my (as well as most of my fellow coworkers) point of view. Why should I embrace the new system when I KNOW personally it will be detrimental in the long run? I WILL because it is my job and I have enough "pride" to do it right! Personally, yes I would rather be furloughed and not have to deal with it because (other than easier meal times and other examples) I don't believe the passengers will be very happy when it comes down to it. So I want to let Amtrak make that decision right now, and that is why I stand where I do regarding furlough simply because I pretty much know that will be my case. I still have little room to be wrong, but I know the facts. Before I pick on management in the next paragraph, I want you to know there are plenty of middle management who don't like the new ideas too. They too, know what the potential outcome is.

I recently PMed you regarding the FAILURES of management. I used to be one, and I am not stupid. Most of these managers are not making RR decisions. The pure and simple fact is you are correct we can't just sit back and blame only the management! But we must realize management has "the" harder job to do, and because everything falls back on management in general, going on my management experiences in the past, this RR appears to be on a fast track to failure! It is because the management either wants it that way, doesn't care, or they are simply (as I and trainboy have stated in the past) doing what they are told by the board, and the goverment, which IMHO is the case here! We also have to remember that "crap" rolls downhill in the long run! It goes back up, too but the majority of it comes down. I will tell you for one thing, there WON'T be any management jobs cut! They will only be moved somewhere else, which is only the case for a limited number of front line employees! Once all those jobs are taken, then the ones who are left will be...... uh yeah.

But anyway, what y'all are going to see in the coming year or so is the future of passenger rail. By law this year is the dining car services, and by next year is the sleeping car services! Yes, sorry folks they are next!!! Our national rail passenger network will be coach and business class style trains (with the exception of a couple long distance trains such as Auto Train) period! Which case in point, is better than nothing at all! I am all for it if it saves passenger rail. In all my postings, when I type specifically the phrase "I HOPE I AM WRONG," I am actually hoping I am wrong about the agenda the administration, Congress, and the Amtrak board have for Amtrak. But sadly, I can't see it yet if I am.

Trainboy325, please add to this when you can. Hope you had a good trip home. Back to work now, sir. OBS...

 

[x-press]

I have come to realize that meal service on the Silver Services is not all that it is cracked up to be! Yes the food is editable but most of the attendents are rude and act if they are doing you a favor by serving you.

I have been slack-jawed for some time over the rave reviews of dining car food. It makes me wonder where some people normally eat, that they would think the mediocre-at-best Amtrak diner food is that good! Don't get me wrong, it's usually not awful (though I had some rubber beef medallions a few years ago which were) and occasionally even above average . . . but usually it's just mediocre.

Iceberg lettuce salad?

Generic, unwarmed dinner rolls? Sometimes not even particularly fresh.

For what it's worth, I don't think it's usually the chefs' fault. I just think it's largely lousy ingredients.

Also, I suspect a lot of food is already prepared off-train, and has been for years. A (very good) breakfast quiche from a couple years ago was surely too complex to actually make from scratch on the train.

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not predicting this new service will be good, either. Knowing Amtrak's history, they'll probably end up having 12 employees sitting around a single microwave heating up lean cuisine . . . but they've still got to try!

JPS

 

[Midland Valley]

When I eat in the diner, the first thing I am mindful of is that I am in a diner, rolling along railroad tracks, and hence a captive customer. However, there is no way that can change, so you make the best of it. It's not the Scotch & Sirloin or Applebee's and you don't even get a cold roll at Applebee's. I have been eating in the dining car for twenty some years and I have never been dissapointed to the point of not returning. This is not where I normally eat, but when I am on a train, I'm very appreciative that it is there and for those who staff it.

 

[Trogdor]

shucks ... california zephyr wasnt sparied ... all i have to say, if you like TV dinners, this program is for you ... if you dont ... like me and other people of the world who actually like our food cooked and not our water molecules sped up ... *sigh* ... i hope this doesnt last long ...

These are *NOT* TV dinners.

 

[Trogdor]

Someone asked whether reservations would continue. They will, and in fact will be expanded to lunch as well, and a waiting list will be started for breakfast. What will happen is that people will be seated at 15-minute intervals, which will give the LSA/SA enough time to seat people (two tables at a time), take their orders, and get the orders prepared and served before the next group comes in. So, reservations will be used more heavily now than they were before.