NEW ORLEANS — Amtrak announced a “buy one, get one” fare deal this week after the City of New Orleans again started serving its namesake destination following months of track closures [see “Full City of New Orleans service restored,” Trains News Wire, Aug. 22, 2019]. This represents one of the few promotions of any individual national-network route since Amtrak cut its regional marketing staff two years.
The waterway is south of Hammond, La., and both the host railroad and Amtrak have a standing agreement that trains can only deadhead with employees until the aging trestle is rebuilt. But this time CN also prohibited Amtrak from turning the train on the wye at Hammond. So instead of a 50-mile bus ride to and from New Orleans, travelers had to endure a 185-mile, 5-hour trip to and from Jackson, Miss.
Yet after the Army Corps closed the spillway, CN scheduled track maintenance both north and south of Jackson, so the Chicago-New Orleans train occasionally turned at Memphis, Tenn.
Not surprisingly, City of New Orleans revenue and ridership losses deepened each month. Particularly hard hit was sleeping car revenue, which had been flat for the first half of fiscal 2019, but then slid 16% in May, 29% in June, and 36% in July from the same months in 2018. The lost revenue represented almost $500,000 for the three months.
“We knew we had to develop a plan to counter the idea that there were only buses south of Jackson,” Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari tells Trains News Wire. Amtrak Long Distance Service Line Director Nick Genevish, Senior Government Affairs Manager Todd Stennis, Magliari, and representatives in other departments hatched a plan to get the word out through a targeted local promotional campaign once CN opened the route.
Also contributing were members of the Southern Rail Commission, the Gulf Coast organization actively pushing for two daily round trips on the former route of the Sunset Limited east of New Orleans to Mobile, Ala. The group spearheaded efforts with well-connected politicians like U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) that resulted in obtaining federal grants and continuing active discussions with the Federal Railroad Administration and Amtrak about restarting service with which the City of New Orleans would connect.
The commission’s Knox Ross and John Spain helped explain the reason for the “buy one, get one” fare at press events in Jackson and New Orleans, respectively, as evidenced by this coverage on CBS-TV affiliate WJTV.
The story was also picked up by the Associated Press from the McComb, Miss., Enterprise-Journal.
“It was important for us to get some earned media to publicize the sale,” says Magliari. He also notes that on-board and station employees have received special recognition pins for their service under a very difficult situation.
Returns aren’t in, of course, since the sale goes through Aug. 31 for September travel, but the promotion illustrates what can be done to call attention to a train that the traveling public may not be aware of. It certainly provides the type of shot in the arm other routes could benefit from if Amtrak management directed the resources to make that happen.
Well, killing the dining car on the CNO this fall should put further hurt on the CNO’s ridership. So if CN doesn’t kill it, Amtrak will! (and Charles, you are correct of course – the current CEO clown came from Delta – he never spent time at United.)
My wife returned from a two week trip to Paris and London; she greatly enjoyed to Eurostar service between to cities and also the air service of United Airlines business class.
In conversations with crew members of both flights; they all talked of the herculean task of rebuilding both business and coach class from the wreckage of the previous clown in charge now Amtrak’s clown in charge.
Watch a few YouTube videos of flight experiences and the mostly great reviews of United’s rebranded service.
As far as Train’s new John Kneiling; Fred; there is nothing wrong with the service on the long distance trains that decent meals in the diner and a real mattress and drapes in the sleepers would not cure.
If I lived in Lamar Colorado I don’t think boarding the chief in the wee hours is that great a hardship as most travelers are family members going for a visit or families taking a vacation.
If the crew handles it well boardings at night can be made without disturbing coach passengers taking a nap.
My wife’s friends who chose coach told her that while not presented with silver and glass the food ( precooked and reheated aboard was surprisingly good. So if United can do it on a 777 Amtrak can do it in a Superliner diner.
LANDON – For the most part I think Fred F. is a brilliant reporter but his idea to split the CNO at Memphis was a total dud. Spend the night at a Memphis hotel? That’s any idea out of the 19th century.
JAMES – I’m happy for your wife’s trip but I’m a little confused. Gerald Anderson ran Northwest Airlines then ran Delta for a time after the merger. Whatever problems United has had I don’t believe it has anything to do with the clown in now charge of Amtrak.
Talking to a veteran cabin attendant I know, he agrees there is a difference amongst airlines in USA. He hasn’t said anything about United (mostly because I never asked – United doesn’t fly the routes I fly) but he prefers Delta and Southwest over Jet Blue and American. I haven’t said who he has worked for — it’s two among the four I’ve mentioned above, your guess which two. My friend flies a lot on the various airlines he DOES NOT work for because he lives a thousand miles from his crew base.
JEFFREY – The CNO can be a pain for end to end because of its schedule, one full day and one full night. Actually my wife who dreads flying has ridden the CNO end to end (plus the Hiawatha from/ to Milwaukee) and she rather liked it. Ironic I’m the railfan in the family and the one who travels least by rail and most by plane.
Jeffrey Blackwood, at the time no interstate highways existed and the IC line was double tracked through all of Illinois (it was single tracked in the 90s).
It’s not really possible to drive from NO to Chicago at one go, particularly if you’re alone. You have to break the trip somewhere. That means traveling overnight on the CONO is still time competitive with driving, but clearly not flying.
For me visiting my family in Champaign-Urbana is very convenient. I leave here at 1:45 PM and arrive in Champaign at about 6AM. Rested and ready for the day.
I believe the CNO is already two trains because of its schedule. It has a 20hr schedule; it runs in daylight hours in Mississippi and overnight between Memphis and Chicago. Compare that with the PANAMA LIMITED (PL) of 1956 which had a 16hr 30min schedule and the pre-Amtrak PL of 1971 which had a 17hr schedule. The PL was an overnight train whose schedule was close to the driving time between the NO and Chicago. I’m sure Amtrak can find other uses for the sleepers and diners currently on the CNO.
I don’t know why Amtrak doesn’t advertise but it is probably wise not to do so because outside the corridors its service is pretty bad. The trains are uncomfortable, the food is at best mediocre and often times downright bad (I’ve gotten food poisoning twice on Amtrak trains and once on VIA), the timekeeping is terrible and the service, while at times fine, can be just as often disinterested to downright rude. Until Amtrak can get its house in order and provide at least decent service it is best not to advertise what it cannot supply.
One thing Amtrak does not do is advertise. Why this is the case I don’t know, but why don’t they bring their services before the American public? Many people don’t consider the train as an option because they don’t know it is available – it simply is not on their radar.
The above comments are generic in nature and do not form the basis for an attorney/client relationship. They do not constitute legal advice. I am not your attorney. Find your own damn lawyer.
If you want to see Amtrak advertisements, watch CNN and some of the other cable news networks(not Fox), they advertise on there and I’ve heard radio ads as well, so they do advertise, but maybe only in areas that actually have service?!
Does anyone know the date of the last through train to NOL?
Amtrak could experiment with Fred’s idea without getting rid of overnight service just yet. Extend 1 of the Illini trains in each direction to Memphis. Adjust schedules slightly to make it convenient to take the Illini to Memphis, stay in a hotel, and continue on the city. Link some downtown Memphis hotels with shuttles on the web site or contract with some to offer discounts. Then, see how many people spend the night in Memphis vs how many take the train overnight.
Fred Frailey had an idea for the CITY OF NEW ORLEANS (CNO) – make it tourist train that stayed overnight in Memphis before continuing on to either Chicago or New Orleans. I would go further by “breaking” the CNO into two daytime trains (cafe car and coaches, no sleepers) – one between NO and Memphis (“THE MAGNOLIA STAR”) and the other (“THE MIDAMERICAN”) between Memphis and Chicago.
Mr. McGuire – I’d suggest you not travel by train anymore! I’m sure many people can recall plenty of car & plane horror stories too, I know I can!
Back in the 70s & 80s AMTRAK commercials were common on TV. I haven’t seen one for years now. If they’re not willing to spend to keep up decent meal service they’re not going to “waste” money on ads.