NKPGuy and Schlimm have been drinking too much out of the Bernie Sanders bottle (Scotch or otherwise).
This country has never been about "making everybody equal." Their equality before the law is a given, per the Constitution. What that given, plus capitalism, has offered is equality of opportunity.
Equality of result is up to you.
The kind of egalitarianism laid out by Schlimm and NKPGuy would require bringing the "rich" down to the economic level of the poor. Wisely, our country -- largely thanks to our economic system -- has been about raising the poor closer to the rich.
Hence the genius of capitalism, the middle class.
I am amused by the willingness of NKPGuy and Schlimm to swallow the camel of First Class on the trains but straining at the gnat of a lounge not just for First Class but for anybody with a $20 bill. Who leaves home without one of those?
Toward the more perfect world envisioned by NKPGuy and Schlimm, we should have only one class on the trains -- emigrant class, perhaps. (But leave your Scotch at home.)
Victrola1 CHICAGO (CBS) — A Metra train passenger is recovering at home after she was hit in the head by falling debris at Union Station. It literally cracked her skull. She now wants other riders to be aware and is calling for major fixes to be made. http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2016/09/13/woman-hit-by-falling-debris-at-decaying-union-station/ Getting clubbed by falling debries the public may see as a greater priority.
CHICAGO (CBS) — A Metra train passenger is recovering at home after she was hit in the head by falling debris at Union Station. It literally cracked her skull.
She now wants other riders to be aware and is calling for major fixes to be made.
http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2016/09/13/woman-hit-by-falling-debris-at-decaying-union-station/
Getting clubbed by falling debries the public may see as a greater priority.
When I was there it looked like they were doing heavy reconstruction in places on the trainshed. I presumed it was because another developer had purchased air rights for a new building to be built but maybe not. In the North Concorse they had a whole section of the trainshed removed over tracks 19 & 17 above the track stub ends and you could see open sky.
NKP guyOur mantra today: Some passengers are created more equal than others. We can thank the airline industry for all of this. It's the natural fruit of capitalism. But it's still unAmerican.
Agreed. The old main waiting area at CUS was for everyone, coach and first class alike. Like airlines, Deutsche Bahn has had a separate First Class lounge area in major train stations for years. Bad idea and not very well used. But at least it was free if you had a First Class ticket, not requiring additional fees.
The US used to at least try to be egalitarian, even if it never was since its founding. Lately there is no pretense. It's special treatment for the 1%, aka "job creators" as some say.
C&NW, CA&E, MILW, CGW and IC fan
Frankly, the Legacy Lounge, or any other lounge or area that is not available to all passengers is...unAmerican.
Look, I use those lounges and appreciate them. And if I ever go again to Cedar Point I'll buy their Fast Pass so I can walk right by all those other people who have been standing in hot lines for hours. But it's still unAmerican.
Of course such unAmerican practices bring in extra money. But they divide our people and make being treated decently a matter of paying extra. In America today the poor are entitled to nothing, while the non-poor are forced to scheme, grovel, and dig further into their pockets in order to upgrade their travel experiences. The whole thing is degrading and unAmerican.
In America we used to believe, "I'm no better than you are, but I'll be damned if I'm not just as good." I grew up after the war in a country dedicated to increasing equality for everyone; today it's a country of Gold Card holders and "those people."
How did rail passengers survive in the golden days of train travel without those lounges? Where was the Plutocrats Lounge at GCT or Pennsylvania Station? Where was it in Chicago or any other station for that matter? There wasn't one, you say? Precisely. Because until you stepped on board all passengers were treated equally, and that meant well.
Our mantra today: Some passengers are created more equal than others.
We can thank the airline industry for all of this; it's the natural fruit of capitalism.
But it's still unAmerican.
If they can make a couple of dollars and provide a comfortable lounge area to their passengers, I think it's a way to improve Amtraks' "image". Early boarding and avoiding the gate dragons would also be worth the $20 in my opinion.
Being a New Englander for the past 20+ years, I only pass through CUS as a sleeping car passenger, so I've endured the threadbare First Class lounge for too many years. Unfortunately, when I went through there in the early part of May, it was still the threadbare lounge. Now I'll have to wait until next year to make it to CUS again.
As a courtesy to AGR Select and higher level customers, I think Amtrak should make Legacy Club access available at a reduced fee or even free for Select Plus & Executive levels.
CMStPnPThey need to get the gross take near $1200-1500 a day though to cover the forgone lease, overhead... in addition to the salaries and earn a profit.........Having just opened they are not far from that figure based on what I saw.
Apparently a part of their business model is this [from a review in late 2015]:
they plan on a bar later and club membership of $50 a month/$500 a year and lounges in Union stations all over the country where there is space. Members can bring 4 guest and use the lounge for business events. Now all that they have to add is a Shower and Recliners and we have an airport style lounge for less!
It's interesting to speculate on all the ways Amtrak could provide low-marginal-cost amenities with high perceived value for 'members' -- and a different set of cost-plus amenities for different 'levels' of membership corresponding to airline classes, or for sleeper passengers, or whatever.
One thing I'd think might be very useful, with the prospective rise in Uber service and 'autonomous vehicle jitney services', would be a low-cost method of informing and then escorting members to the actual point they meet their 'rides' just-in-time, and of course if this can be coordinated with luggage red-cappery so much the better. It occurs to me that this could be done quite nicely with a proper AI app on a smartphone, given the free wireless coverage... an app whose code would have a rich set of follow-on uses...
conrailman Is this different Lounge Amtrak just open a few weeks ago for Sleeping car and Business class??
Is this different Lounge Amtrak just open a few weeks ago for Sleeping car and Business class??
Yes, the amenities are slightly different and it is geared to all train travelers at Union Station not just Amtrak. If they can rake in the money, it's worth it for the 20-30 people I saw there from 3-5 p.m. they brought in $400-600 gross which is not bad for just part of the day.
Two attendents full time, even at Amtrak rates, I think they could turn a profit if they are able to recruit more for memberships and passes. They need to get the gross take near $1200-1500 a day though to cover the forgone lease, overhead... in addition to the salaries and earn a profit.........Having just opened they are not far from that figure based on what I saw.
conrailman Is this different Lounge Amtrak just open a few weeks ago for Sleeping car and Business class?
Is this different Lounge Amtrak just open a few weeks ago for Sleeping car and Business class?
According to a posting on Trip Advisor, the Legacy Club is open to any passenger for $20 a pop, which apparently is worth it if the passenger has a significant layover period in Chicago.
The charge was $10 when the club opened, but apparently it has been so successful that Amtrak increased the fee to $20. Apparently the club also offers an annual membership.
Google Legacy Club Union Station for more information.
Rio Grande Valley, CFI,CFII
So out of curiousity I bought a $20 day pass to the new CUS Legacy club which is open to Amtrak and Metra riders that pay the subscription fee. For the price you get free soda, snacks, hot tea, hot Starbucks coffee, hot Cocoa, much nicer chairs, LCD TV screens and before your train is announced for boarding you get an Amtrak escort to your train where they will allow you to board before anyone else.
I thought for $20 it was an OK deal because usually the evening departure trains are pretty full and if you add up the soda and water intake I would probably buy two sodas or two waters before my train departed which lowered the real cost to me by getting them free. When you buy the day pass they enter your train into the computer so they know when to announce it's departure. So I bought the pass about 3 p.m. for a 5:08 p..m departure and I was escorted to the train about 4:40 p.m. I counted about 20-25 other customers between 3-4:40 p.m. and only two attendents for the room. So possibly Amtrak might make some money off this concept if it can enlist more into the subscription prices.
The Beer Consumption is restricted to prevent folks from getting drunk. You can only consume four beers per happy hour and there are only two happy hours one after lunch and one right before dinner with a 2-3 hour break in between the happy hours when the beer refrigerator is locked.
Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.