On a recent trip from NYC to Syracuse and back, two of the six (33%) of the tables in the Amcafe were cluttered with the crew's paperwork, making those tables unusable for passengers. Of course, the crew needs someplace to manage their tickets and manifests, but using one-third of the very limited "lounge" space on the train seems excessive, preventing passengers from enjoying what few amenities these trains have. Couldn't the crew just use one table? Part of what makes a train more pleasant than a plane or bus is the opportunity to leave one's seat and sit someplace else for awhile, but these Amcafes do not seem to be operated with the passengers' enjoyment in mind.
It may be time for passengers to report these events immediately to the Amtrak corporate offices??
Why is the crew, like, handling paper? That is sooo 20th century. Can't Amtrak write some kind of app for an IPad to take care of all of that?
If GM "killed the electric car", what am I doing standing next to an EV-1, a half a block from the WSOR tracks?
Completely unacceptable. The train exists for the passengers. Period. But, this seems to be common practice. If the conductor needs work space, let him commandeer the windowless end seats in Amfleet car and use his grip for a table.
And, yes, he should be able to do all his work wirelessly. I believe Amtrak is working on that, but don't hold your breath.
-Don (Random stuff, mostly about trains - what else? http://blerfblog.blogspot.com/)
Yet another reason why progress in passenger rail may have to come from somewhere other than Amtrak.
C&NW, CA&E, MILW, CGW and IC fan
Again, Boston to Washington, the track is new and so are the trains (last 10 years).
The Acela bullet trains are 6 cars long with a locomotive on each end. In the middle is the Amcafe car with tables and the inclosed "Conductor's Office". The Conductor has a desk, a CRT Monitor that duplicates the one in the locomotives, and the sound and video system to play "Station Announcements".
As they design new equipment they fix problems.
Don U. TCA 73-5735
...and we're still faxing in conductor's reports at the end of the trip. Sigh.
schlimm Yet another reason why progress in passenger rail may have to come from somewhere other than Amtrak.
Can you explain, please?
The opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of my employer, any other railroad, company, or person.
Amtrak seems locked in the past and still not very service-oriented.
schlimm Amtrak seems locked in the past and still not very service-oriented.
How so? Because of dependency on paper? Freight railroads are still very much paper-oriented as well.
If I had just spent my money on food in the Amcafe and all the tables were full, I think I'd ask the crew if I could sit at their table. Unless it is marked as "reserved for crew" it should be made available to the paying passengers. Of course it would be good to be tactful when making the request. Worth a try.
Done that myself, and it's no problem. It's fun listening to the shop talk. Also gotten into a good conversation with a conductor one time.
As I tend to have a laptop and papers, taking up half a table, I keep an eye on how other tables are filling and make sure to signal to anyone looking for a seat that they're welcome across from me. If the cafe is really getting full, I'll pack my stuff and head back to the coach.
Well - they could go paperless like the airlines
http://redtape.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/08/18/7408962-isnt-money-good-for-anything-any-more-airline-sued-over-cashless-cabin-policy
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
Paperless...and foodless.....
A bit off-topic, but why do people go to lounge cars, especially Sightseer lounges, and curl up with books, thus depriving passengers who want to look at the scenery or enjoy conversation with other passengers of places to sit?
Johnny
I don't know why the crew feels the need to close the cafe car for paperwork. Maybe it's a union concession.
I was on a WAS to NYP trip and the conductor was annoyed that I tried to enter the cafe car to buy a meal. This was after the first stop, too.
They do have custom-printed Amtrak cards that say "crew paperwork, please do not disturb" when they leave their paperwork mess on the cafe tables.
I assume this is because Amtrak provides the conductors no other reasonable accomodation for the mysterious paperwork they have to complete when a train departs WAS enroute to NYP.
I still feel bad about opening that bulkhead door. I shouldn't feel bad about travelling but this time I do. I blame the unions for allowing stupidity to continue on Amtrak.
DavidBragdon On a recent trip from NYC to Syracuse and back, two of the six (33%) of the tables in the Amcafe were cluttered with the crew's paperwork, making those tables unusable for passengers. Of course, the crew needs someplace to manage their tickets and manifests, but using one-third of the very limited "lounge" space on the train seems excessive, preventing passengers from enjoying what few amenities these trains have. Couldn't the crew just use one table? Part of what makes a train more pleasant than a plane or bus is the opportunity to leave one's seat and sit someplace else for awhile, but these Amcafes do not seem to be operated with the passengers' enjoyment in mind.
I had a similar experience last week on a trip from Washington to New Orleans on the Crescent. Although Amtrak has some very good customer oriented personnel, too many of their on-board employees don't seem to care whether they inconvenience their customers.
If Amtrak were privatized, with the contractor being held to strict performance standards, including customer service, and required to bid for a new contract every five years, I'll bet we would see some attitude adjustments. Better yet would be the introduction of passenger rail competition in the U.S.
I'd imagine this would be an issue that a polite, but to the point, letter to their customer service people might move the wheels on changing this practice. When I traveled Amtrak last, the crew was very helpful, and professional - so I can't say I've ever had reason to complain (except very late trains, but that was a scheduling MOW issue with the freight company who owned the lines).
Sadly, if Amtrak was privatized - we'd watch the elimination of every long-distance route from their roster, instead of retooling to make a profit on them. There are people who choose to travel Amtrak because they hate the 'cattle car' mentality that rules airline travel nowadays; but we are too few to support all the long distance runs that Amtrak runs. All we'd be left with is Acela service, and a glorified commuter rail company - the rest of the country would be out of luck.
Privatization probably would lead to a reduction in the number of long distance trains. But it would not necessarily lead to an abandoment of all of them.
Australia privatized many of its long distance trains. They are operated by a shareholder company. It must comply with strict performance metrics, or it will lose the contract. The services are subsidized by the federal government.
The Indian Pacific, Gahn, and Overland are the privatized trains, with the Indian Pacific and Gahn being two of the best train rides in the world. I have taken both of them as well as the Overland. The service is heads and shoulders above what I have experienced on Amtrak. The employees know, I suspect, that the customer is king. If they forget that, their jobs are in jeopardy.
The argument for the long distance trains is relatively weak. Less than one per cent of intercity travelers in the United States use the long distance trains, but they account for the bulk of Amtrak's operating losses.
So, did anyone the crew if they could use one of the tables?
zugmann So, did anyone the crew if they could use one of the tables?
Why should a passenger have to ask the crew if they could use a table in the cafe car?
There's this concept known as "customer service". Amtrak may be studying it for later implementation.
Blaming this on the union is absurd. Amtrak should provide a space on all its trains for the train crew to do their figures, on paper or on a laptop, as they do on the Acela. But in the meantime, train crews should not occupy more than one table and be prepared to vacate it if needed.
oltmannd zugmann: So, did anyone the crew if they could use one of the tables? Why should a passenger have to ask the crew if they could use a table in the cafe car? There's this concept known as "customer service". Amtrak may be studying it for later implementation.
zugmann: So, did anyone the crew if they could use one of the tables?
You're right - much more fun to rant and rave on a forum than seek a solution to the problem.
Was the crew even at the table?
zugmann oltmannd: zugmann: So, did anyone the crew if they could use one of the tables? Why should a passenger have to ask the crew if they could use a table in the cafe car? There's this concept known as "customer service". Amtrak may be studying it for later implementation. You're right - much more fun to rant and rave on a forum than seek a solution to the problem. Was the crew even at the table?
oltmannd: zugmann: So, did anyone the crew if they could use one of the tables? Why should a passenger have to ask the crew if they could use a table in the cafe car? There's this concept known as "customer service". Amtrak may be studying it for later implementation.
What does "Was the crew even at the table?" supposed to mean? That if the Amtrak crew has their papers spread out across the Amcafe tables that a passenger should just sit there and plunk down their purchased sandwich and drink?
And what does "much more fun to rant and rave on a forum" comment supposed to mean? Is this the Charles Dickens model of passenger service, "Please, Mr. Conductor sir, may I have more room to eat my snack in the Amcafe?" A passenger shouldn't have to even ask for this level of accomodation from a train crew.
The weakness of Amtrak is speed, availability, frequency of service. The strength of Amtrak is the ability to provide more space to the passenger for a more comfortable and less stressful travel experience than competing modes. If train crews "close down" trailing Amcoaches and herd overnight coach passengers into filling every seat in the remaining train car, that is giving up the competitive advantage of Amtrak. If train crews spread their paper work over the Amcafe tables, that is giving up another competitive advantage of Amtrak. If train crews run overnight trains with sleeping car vacancies without offering to longer-distance or frequent-traveller coach passengers a fee-for-upgrade to occupy the available sleeper space, that is giving up yet another competitive advantage of Amtrak.
I am not picking on the hard working men and women who make up Amtrak train crews -- what these crew members are doing is something decided upon by Amtrak management. And if these concerns are not made known in a forum such as this, how are they ever going to become known. And if Amtrak management does not care or even know about the kinds of views expressed on this forum, where are they ever going to get any feedback about their operations, because the people around here are the few outside of Amtrak who have given much of any thought to the whole thing.
Paul Milenkovic What does "Was the crew even at the table?" supposed to mean? That if the Amtrak crew has their papers spread out across the Amcafe tables that a passenger should just sit there and plunk down their purchased sandwich and drink? And what does "much more fun to rant and rave on a forum" comment supposed to mean? Is this the Charles Dickens model of passenger service, "Please, Mr. Conductor sir, may I have more room to eat my snack in the Amcafe?" A passenger shouldn't have to even ask for this level of accomodation from a train crew.
Answer number one: I asked if the crew was actively using the table, or if they had left some of their paperwork there. Perhaps they got drawn away by more pressing needs, and forgot that they had two tables occupied with their work. The original post was unclear about that.
Answer two: it's amazing how many times people will complain on internet forums and to others, but won't ask a simple question to the people that matter that could have solved their problem to begin with.
Do you ever see flight attendants sitting in revenue seats?
Ask? A passenger should never never ever have to ASK to use space that is put their for their use.
(and the conductor shouldn't have to deal with so much work with paper and pen in this day an age. Conductor's reports could be done and transmitted on an app on a iphone.
The "customer service" jab was snarky. I just couldn't help myself!
oltmannd The solution to the problem is the conductor does not occupy cafe car space. Ever. If he needs a seat, then Amtrak should hold two seats on the train unsold and the conductor can have the first pair in one of the coaches. Do you ever see flight attendants sitting in revenue seats? Ask? A passenger should never never ever have to ASK to use space that is put their for their use. (and the conductor shouldn't have to deal with so much work with paper and pen in this day an age. Conductor's reports could be done and transmitted on an app on a iphone.
The solution to the problem is the conductor does not occupy cafe car space. Ever. If he needs a seat, then Amtrak should hold two seats on the train unsold and the conductor can have the first pair in one of the coaches.
So if a cafe car is completely empty, the conductor can't use a table to do his paperwork? That seems just as silly. I'm all for giving the conductor a dedicated workspace, but it's not the case yet, apparently.
I am not above asking. LIke I asked before, was the crew at the table at the time?
And yes, there is a lot done with pen and paper today.
The passengers should not have to ask. The crew should be aware of their surroundings so that if all the other tables are full, they should pick up their papers until the crowd thins out.
Are Cafe Cars in the Amcafes revenue seats? I was never sure about that since Amtrak (thankfully) switched to all-reserved coach service.
Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.