On the spur of the moment, I booked a Roomette on Train 29 from Washington to South Bend last Thursday, June 7th. Overall, it was a pleasant experience. A high ranking official of AMTRAK was on board so I suspect the crew were on their best behavior. We also had a Customer Service representative riding with us to Chicago. My sleeping car was a refurbished sleeping car but my usual complaint was in evidence as it was nearly impossible to blobk out the light from the hallway for sleeping. Someone had put the velcro bindings out of alignment with each other and some of the velcro was also worn and hard to affix. We left WAS on time and immediately stopped for about ten minutes at Rhode Island Avenue. I saw crew on the ground but there was no announcement as to the cause of the delay. The rest of the delays were announced throughout the evening and the next morning. The lounge was was also remodeled with one end containing the traditional seating facing the windows and the other end had tables.
Dining service was OK. The train was fairly full and the diner was operating with one cook down below, two waitresses and one LSA in the diner who I think split his time between down below helping the cook and upstairs. Food was OK. Breakfast started at 600am and as we were arriving in South Bend the LSA announced that they would be closing the diner at about 945am. People were nicely spaced out for breakfast. With their present staffing patterns at heavy travel periods, it is very hard to get the attention of the staff after they have taken your order. If for example, you needed water or milk or syrup, it was a struggle because they focus on taking and serving the orders as the only two moments of contact with the guests. Any other service moment is catch as catch can. I do not blame the wait staff, they are just being asked to do more than I think humanly possible at time.
Scenery leaving DC and particularly Harpers Ferry west was wonderful as it was a cloudless evening and dusk lasted until about 930pm. We stopped for about 20 minutes east of Cumberland due to saturdated freight trains ahead of us but once moving again I thought the CSX dispatcher did a fine job of moving us around and ahead of them. We arrived PGH down thirty-five minutes. We lost an additional thirty minutes on to CLV and then maintained about a 50 minute down run to East Elkhart where we were stopped for thirty minutes due to freight train congestion ahead. Once moving, however, the NS dispatcher managed to line three long freights right behind each other between two crossovers and we went around them. Arrived South Bend about one hour and twenty minutes late.
The two sleepers were fully occupied but there were no rooms sold to revenue passengers in the Transition sleeper where I learned they can and do sell up to four roomettes a night. The sleeping car attendent in my sleeper must make up and service the revenue rooms in the Transition Car is they are utilized.
Because of the present of the AMTRAK official, the PA was used often but well spoken. They did discontinue announcements, however, after leaving Cumberland where we were about an hour late. There was a private car on the end of 29 with guests who took the same smoking breaks as others (the car must have been no smoking).
Getting off in South Bend I was happy I bagged the two flights I would have taken the previous evening and switched to the train. Rail fare and roomette, booked the night before departure was about $280.00.
Dining service was OK. The train was fairly full and the diner was operating with one cook down below, two waitresses and one LSA in the diner who I think split his time between down below helping the cook and upstairs. Food was OK. Breakfast started at 600am and as we were arriving in South Bend the LSA announced that they would be closing the diner at about 945am. People were nicely spaced out for breakfast. With their present staffing patterns at heavy travel periods, it is very hard to get the attention of the staff after they have taken your order. If for example, you needed water or milk or syrup, it was a struggle because they focus on taking and serving the orders as the only two moments of contact with the guests. Any other service moment is catch as catch can. I do not blame the wait staff, they are just being asked to do more than I think humanly possible at time.
Scenery leaving DC and particularly Harpers Ferry west was wonderful as it was a cloudless evening and dusk lasted until about 930pm. We stopped for about 20 minutes east of Cumberland due to saturdated freight trains ahead of us but once moving again I thought the CSX dispatcher did a fine job of moving us around and ahead of them. We arrived PGH down thirty-five minutes. We lost an additional thirty minutes on to CLV and then maintained about a 50 minute down run to East Elkhart where we were stopped for thirty minutes due to freight train congestion ahead. Once moving, however, the NS dispatcher managed to line three long freights right behind each other between two crossovers and we went around them. Arrived South Bend about one hour and twenty minutes late.
The two sleepers were fully occupied but there were no rooms sold to revenue passengers in the Transition sleeper where I learned they can and do sell up to four roomettes a night. The sleeping car attendent in my sleeper must make up and service the revenue rooms in the Transition Car is they are utilized.
Because of the present of the AMTRAK official, the PA was used often but well spoken. They did discontinue announcements, however, after leaving Cumberland where we were about an hour late. There was a private car on the end of 29 with guests who took the same smoking breaks as others (the car must have been no smoking).
Getting off in South Bend I was happy I bagged the two flights I would have taken the previous evening and switched to the train. Rail fare and roomette, booked the night before departure was about $280.00.
