Degradation of Meal Service

[CMStPnP]

Always had a suspicion that a private airline type caterer could do a much better job than Amtrak can.    You do have the minor problem of the equipment on Amtrak not currently being compatible with this type of service (food storage and they probably have microwaves vs. convective ovens).    Reason I say that on the ovens is I have yet to eat anything that was seared or baked with a crust on it on an Amtrak train (which adds flavor).    All seems to be frozen and then cooked.    Though looking at Microwaves recently there is now a Kitchen Aid model that has a built in finishing oven that will crisp or brown food.   Costs a lot of $$$ though.   Anyhoo, back to topic.    If they can make a profit or at least break even with type of service I would say go for it.

Even without a convective oven on board a chef with brains should be able to sear the meats or dishes in a skillet after microwaving to add flavor..........thats if they were ever trained to that skill level in the first place.

I would also like to see possibly an RFP for steam cleaning and vacuuming of Superliners between runs and compare it to what internally Amtrak spends in an attempt to do the same.    Reason I mention that is internally on the Amtrak cars looks like the Carpeting hasn't been properly steam cleaned since the last rebuild on some of the cars with stains that can easily be lifted with stain remover still in the carpeting.    Just seems Amtrak is not really trying for excellent service and just wants to get by in all areas with minimal effort and cost.   Degrades the whole train riding experience and probably a big reason why Amtrak has problems raising prices.  

[charlie hebdo]

Looks good.  Same system as on German Rail.  

[ghCBNS]

 

And here’s Breakfast on the Ocean. And again.....no chef onboard and that omelet is heated in a convection oven and no different that what you would be served in Business Class on an airline (but VIA does prepare the toast onboard!!) 

 

 

[ghCBNS]

This is a Pork Loin Dinner served on VIA's 'Ocean'. An overnight train between Halifax and Montreal covering a distance very similar to Amtrak’s 'Lakeshore'.

There is no chef onboard. These meals come from an airline caterer. They are chilled then reheated in a convection over (not microwaved) replated then served. Meals are included for sleeper passengers but note at bottom of the menu.......coach passengers can purchase this meal for a fixed $19.

The meal was excellant....and note that chocolate-caramel cake for dessert!!!

All Amtrak trains originate where they would have access to an airline caterer for a similar meal service. “If there’s a will….there’s a way!”

 

 

[charlie hebdo]

+1

[JPS1]

In 2018 the long-distance trains had an Adjusted Operating Loss of $541 million, which was an 8.2 percent increase over 2017.  The loss averaged approximately $120 per passenger.  The Adjusted Operating Loss was before depreciation, ancillary revenue, infrastructure, and corporate charges.

 

Assuming the long-distance trains wear 10 percent of the company’s depreciation, interest and miscellaneous capital expenses, the Adjusted Operating Loss for the long-distance trains in 2018 would have been $622 million or an average of $$137.80 per passenger.

 

In 2018 Amtrak lost $38 million on its food and beverage services.  This was a significant improvement compared to the 2015 loss of $53.6 million. At least part of the reduction in the loss, according to company management, is attributable to the changes in food service options on the Capitol Limited and the Lake Shore Limited.

 

According to Amtrak’s IG, more than 90 percent of the company’s losses on food and beverages is driven by the long-distance trains.  As per the company’s admission, Amtrak Five Year Service Line Plans, Base (FY19) + Five Year Strategic Plan (FY 2020 – 2024), Pg. 24, these losses are attributable to an expensive and outdated food service model. Presumably they mean at least in part full-service dining cars.  

 

If the long-distance trains were profitable or at least broke even, one could argue that they could stand the food and beverage losses because they would be offset by an Adjusted Operating Profit.  But the food and beverage losses simply acerbate the long-distance train losses. 

 

In the competitive business world, such as Delta Airlines, if the CEO did not take proactive steps to stem the losses associated with food and beverages, he would be sacked. 

 

One can make a reasonable case for long-distance trains to the extent that they provide the only commercial transportation option for some communities.  But there is no justification to ask the taxpayers to underwrite the cost of meals and beverages served via an outdated business model. 

[NKP guy]

   I completely agree.

   To me, this may be likened unto the Parable of the Talents (Matt 25: 14 - 30).

   Mr. Anderson is the man who buried his talents.  He was given brand-new, state-of-the-art dining cars, which might have been leveraged to create more "wealth," ...and he buried them along with the traditional train-type service.

   His is a vision that is timid, afraid.  

   From Parmenides, from Lucretius, from Shakespeare's King Lear, we learn that, "Nothing comes of nothing."

   This is why this man is a failure as a manager.

 

 

 

   

 

   

 

 

[Deggesty]

I appreciated Bob Johnston's comments on the changes in food service on certain trains on pages 18 and 19 in the October issue of Trains. Does the head of Amtrak want to go back to the days of news butchers and meal stops?

Last fall, I had my initial experience of the box meals served on board as I went from Chicago to Boston and returned to Chicago from Washington. The meals did not begin to come up to what had been served in diners on these trains.

This spring, i took the scenic route to Washington from Chicago so that I could eat in a diner--and the meals were as good as I had found them in previous years. Returning, from Boston, I found that the meals were better than they had been on my previous trip--but they still fell short of what Amtrak had served. 

I have not always had pleasant table companions on diners, but I did not have any table companions on the trains which serve box lunches, even when other passengers were in the car at the sme time I was in the car.