time is relative

[Texan Eagle]

The single overnight markets (NY/WAS to ATL, NY to CHI, WAS to CHI) all seem to be doing just fine without having to worry about single travelers not wanting to get "ripped off".

This is like a frog living inside a well thinking the well is the whole world. Oh let's run just one or two token trains per day, somehow that happens to fill up so everything is good with the world.

Where exactly did you get the idea from my post that all is well in the whole world and that Amtrak should't run more than the trains they currently run? One would think that you would have learned basic reading comprehension at your time at Virginia Tech, it's embarrassing to see that you didn't.
The problem isn't with Amtrak pricing, it's that they don't offer the kind of accommodation you're looking for.

There was absolutely no need to bring up where I studied in this discussion, and by the way from your response, I can say the same- you didn't seem to have learned comprehending at your time at Virginia Tech either.. when I was mentioning about the need to provide single passenger accommodation, I was not referring to the skeletal existing network at all, I was replying to earlier poster's suggestion about creating a true overnight segment, which means new trains or at least augmentations to existing trains.

Sure, the existing trains sell well with roomettes and bedrooms, keep them that way, no need to tinker what works. All I am suggesting is that if Amtrak wants to explore how to make single overnight markets work for even more passengers, they should consider introducing sections/slumbercoaches whatever you call them type accommodations where one person pays for one sleeping place only, not two. I keep hearing that they were discontinued because they didn't work well in 1950-1960s, but just because something did not work in 1960s does not mean it will not work in 2010s either. We live in a different kind of economy now. Sure Americans inherently want more privacy than rest of the world, let them use the roomettes and bedrooms, but America of the 21st century also has plenty of people who would be probably willing to pay a little premium over just coach seats to do overnight journeys in a flat sleeping condition.

 

[Anderson]

On the "didn't work in the 60s but might work now" point...there's a massive generational disconnect going on in the US right now. You've got a lot of folks that can't figure out why 20-somethings aren't driving, don't seem to keen on moving to the suburbs...basically, why we aren't our parents. While I can not definitively say that an open section/couchette offering would be a major hit among the younger generation, saying they wouldn't be is something I also can't say with any certainty. What I can say is that there's already a lot of head-scratching going on at different generational preferences.