Starting Jan. 15, 2020, the Auto Train’s coach travelers will choose between purchasing meals, snacks, and beverages on board, or buying from food trucks at the stations in Lorton, Va., or Sanford, Fla., “to offer a variety of dining options before their journey begins,” according to an Amtrak news release.
Continental breakfasts will continue to be served to all travelers before arrival, and sleeping car passengers’ dinners will still be served in their own dining car, with “a new menu and the addition of complementary wine to the dinner service.”
Amtrak representative Kimberly Woods tells Trains that the railroad is still working on menus for Auto Train passengers in the sleeping cars.
The announcement says the company intends to expand sleeper accommodations on each train and customers “will notice enhancements such as upgraded towels and bed linens and other pleasantries in each room.”
As for other potential changes, the Rail Passengers Association’s Hotline reported last week that beginning with Amtrak’s new fiscal year on Oct, 1, the New York-Miami Silver Meteor and New York-New Orleans Crescent would switch to the same pre-prepared and boxed meals that were introduced in June 2018 as a replacement for items prepared onboard the Capitol Limited and Lake Shore Limited.
Originally limited to cold food, the menu was later modified to include one hot-meal option.
On both trains, dining cars were restricted to sleeping car passengers, with coach passengers limited to cafe car meals.
An Amtrak representative declined to confirm whether those changes would take place.
Amtrak did reveal, however that Auto Train coach passengers would no longer have separate dining and lounge/cafe cars.
Amtrak prohibits outside food to be consumed in Amtrak dining and cafe cars, so passengers eating from food trucks will likely have to dine in their seats.
At least allow all passengers to purchase the pre-prepped meals rather than forcing coach to deal with cafe car only.
There may be all kinds of “reasons” for this, but the result will be a worse experience and lower ridership as people with options will choose a more customer friendly option. Dumb…
Can we please get rid of the air line executives running Amtrak? The same success they brought to the airlines is going to succeed Amtrak right out of business. Oh wait, maybe that IS the objective.
Whats next – HARVEY HOUSES?
This latest Amtrak “service enhancement” for Auto Train coach passengers is reminiscent of train travel in the United States in the early 19th century, before the advent of dining cars. Passengers were allowed a fifteen or twenty minute meal stop enroute, during which time they were expected to gulp down some indigestible slop in a station lunchroom, and from which they had to make a mad dash back to the train as soon as the conductor bellowed “All aboard!”
The country is becoming a little less civilized with each passing day.
Up next, open window coaches saving the AC and vending machines.
Looks like Ol’ Slash and Burn Anderson is making his dream come true. Next we’ll be herded onto cattle cars and sent to who knows where. Carl, a bag of peanuts is too good to waste on us bums riding Amtrak.
Pity the poor coach passenger in line at the food truck waiting to buy his “dinner” and the conductor calls “All aboard”. Maybe Mr. Anderson will let him have a bag of peanuts………
Of course pay toilets, I wish i had thought of it first.
When I took AT 5 years ago, coach had full dining service. What Amtrak is proposing is totally inadequate. Amtrak should be expanding and improving the value of service not decreasing it. Due to a derailmeng on CSX we were 8 hrs late too!
IAN – I guess no one told the airlines about ADA bathrooms.
The newer trains in UK have loos that actually are wheelchair accessible. At the cost of several rows of seats.
LOL! Joe I had a similar thought concerning restrooms but; given what appears to be Anderson’s thought process; he’d probably propose making coach passengers pay to use the restroom while concurrently improving the quality of the toilet paper provided to sleeping car passengers.
What’s next? Probably food trucks at service stops or just vending machines ala SP .. They can eliminate the restrooms too and put port a potties
on the platforms.
Does Amtrak ever change anything for the good when it comes to LD service? Amtrak uses Orwellian language to put a happy spin on clearly providing a poorer experience on board. What next?
Mr Landey remember the handicapped accessibility laws. Amtrak can not reduce the bathroom sizes without wheelchair accessibility.
I know close the handicapped accessible bathrooms and make everyone wait for a station stop. Even the Amtrak employees. I can imagine the stink that would create, just like ICE’s holding facilities.
Are the towels and other other pleasantries edible?
Kris – Simple, cost cutting. Congress has been up Amtrak’s backside about profitability and one fool set his sights on food service costs. Ever since then Amtrak has been doing pre done meals that can be nuked or baked or just eliminating food service or going fast bistro style. Lower costs, might not be profitable as just a food service budget, but it does save money in the overall picture and meets the congressional idea of food service.
It’s been going on for years now.
Yes, pay toilets definitely, pay by the square of teepee plus a fee for the flush and a half dollar per minute for use of the light bulb. Seriously, though, Amtrak really needs to decrease the size of the loos so as to add more coach seats. Was on a Delta flight last month, saw what seemed to be the tiny closet, about a foot wide foward to aft, thinking it was where they keep the seat belt extenders and the defibrillator. A sign caught my eye. It was the lavatory.
I heard Auto Train was profitable, why mess with it!
I wonder whether Congress could conceivably become interested enough in this issue to enact a legislative solution, including restoration of proper diners on the Lake Shore and Capital, before the present management can vandalize the V2 stock? Seems unlikely, since it would probably involve exiling Anderson to a Lionel layout on Musk’s Mars colony. But, this plan bodes no good, particularly with regard to Auto-Train and the Silver Meteor, both of which are very dependent on what Amtrak calls experiential travel. The traditional diner is integral to the long-haul travel experience.
why change meals ?
So in other words, either you buy a bag of chips, and maybe a drink, or wait until the train stops in Florence to get somewhat of a meal? Well I’m just glad I remember traveling the trains of yesteryear when you could have whatever you wanted to eat.
Amtrak is really killing the Auto train. Anyone who sees this as an improvement is an idiot.
George, pass the salt and I’ll take half a shoe with mustard……..
Food trucks? Seriously? Amtrak has turned into a Dilbert cartoon.
As long as they’re cutting food service lets cut the at-seat served meals on the Acela in fact why do you need food service at all on the NEC get your beverage & snack before you get on the train you’ll only be on the train for an hour or two anyway bigly savings!!