CMStPnP Marriott has some restrictive policies on who gets a room there because their founder is Mormon...
Marriott has some restrictive policies on who gets a room there because their founder is Mormon...
Show me, please.
Ed
I have ridden tens of thousands of miles on Amtrak over the years, and spent tens of thousands of dollars doing it. Due to the rise in sleeper fares, I have not ridden in many years.
I understand the argument that long distance cruise trains should not be subsidized, but, some type of reform should be undertaken to attract long distance passengers.
My wife and I travel from Chicago to her mother's home in Washington State. We are both too old to tolerate 40 plus hours in a coach seat, and are no longer able to afford the premium fare being required for sleeper space. So, we fly or drive, and the revenue goes to airline and car rental companies, or gasoline retailers and hotels instead of Amtrak.
Perhaps uncouple meals from the sleeping car fare. Charge for the space, and let the passenger pay for their own meals. Perhaps a business class service similar to the airlines with lie flat seats.
Also, how about some legislation that sets Amtrak subsidy for a long term, and link it to service levels. Many of Amtraks issues have come at the hands of goverment required cuts. (How many times over the years have the diners level of service been messed with? Too many to count.)
Mainly, lets come up with some solid ideas to stop turning away what used to be paying customers.
7j43k CMStPnP Marriott has some restrictive policies on who gets a room there because their founder is Mormon... Show me, please. Ed
charlie hebdo That last paragraph is intriguing. Could you restate more cogently and with fewer obscure references?
That last paragraph is intriguing. Could you restate more cogently and with fewer obscure references?
AMTRAKKERAlso, how about some legislation that sets Amtrak subsidy for a long term, and link it to service levels. Many of Amtraks issues have come at the hands of goverment required cuts. (How many times over the years have the diners level of service been messed with? Too many to count.) Mainly, lets come up with some solid ideas to stop turning away what used to be paying customers.
That's why a Mission Statement and Strategic Business Plan is needed. What is the objectice of Amtrak? Is it strictly commuter service? Regional travel? Or all of the above plus LD trains as well? What cities need service? Can air or bus travel be substituted if it better meets the needs of certain towns? What level of service is required? How much funding can the agency expect over a 10-20 year time frame? Those things need to be worked out first. Then you can worry about how to go about accomplishing them knowing that your funding is secure for a decade or more. The constant changes in policy, direction and funding are a huge waste of taxpayer dollars. Either agree to subsidize passenger service at a certain level or pull the plug. ConRail was a huge success story. Maybe something can be learned from that.
MJ4562... The constant changes in policy, direction and funding are a huge waste of taxpayer dollars. Either agree to subsidize passenger service at a certain level or pull the plug. ConRail was a huge success story. Maybe something can be learned from that.
Amtrak is a political entity, and the pols will keep changing things as they win and lose elections. Business also keeps changing. Look at the ups and downs of CSX's North Baltimore yard and UP's cancled hump yard near Houston. Conrail started as a collection of overbuilt lines but was able to trim down before it became a takeover target.
Backshop charlie hebdo That last paragraph is intriguing. Could you restate more cogently and with fewer obscure references? He wouldn't be overmod if he did that...
He wouldn't be overmod if he did that...
Not that the original criticisms were unwarranted...
Meanwhile...
I think I disagree that sweeping, binding, long-term Amtrak plans are necessary to fix most of what's currently 'wrong' with the Amtrak passenger experience.
The outsourced food is something already given a valid Congressional mandate cost-wise, relatively low in startup costs to Amtrak, with much of the 'enabling technology' easily provided and systems-integrated. I am not the only one here who thinks this.
Support for a great deal of on-board prep of outsourced orders is not 'that' much more difficult to incorporate. Some of the amenities already built into the Viewliner diners, including the 'gang heating' ovens, need only recommended form factors and materials to allow suppliers to produce 'compatible' packaging for the orders, or to facilitate reheating or finish-prepping bulk orders onboard.
I put a couple of other service comments in a separate post.
A big Amtrak issue to solve... ASAP in my not-so-humble opinion... is crew morale or other conditions leading to poor perceived service. It is not possible to compel this in the typical government fashion, either via excessive tolerance or excessive discipline. Ideally some combination of encouragement and 'developing the comers' can produce better attitude even in what we euphemistically call 'anomalous conditions' -- we should be having discussions on what can practically be done within a supremely political agency.
I think there should be a priority on establishing that 'middle level' of sleeping service that was mentioned. Whether that is the hostel-style multiple bunks tried in Europe or better stabilized seats in 'business class' ... in fact, I would pursue the idea of both; they don't overlap that much... or some other approach.
It occurs to me that the above-the-line cost of much of the conventional sleeper service pays for itself. I can think of a number of ways that marginal cost of improvements could justify increased net profits for high-end service (whether cruise/tourist train or civilized long-distance). Once there are stable models for sleeper options, Amtrak might make more of the opportunity to run 'overnight corridor services' with less of the redeye character that most current overnight or late-night legs suffer from.
I strongly agree with you about morale of employees. In many jobs all over the country, people are just walking away, frequently for conditions of poor morale. In effect they are silently doing a Howard Beale.
Your ideas for European alternatives to traditional American sleepers might work quite well. Regular sleeper service costs need to be covered through increasing ticket prices. For food services, Amtrak should also look into the European models as discussed on here before.
Just fron Tuseday Jan 19th, Amtrak is about 3 months late~!
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