CHICAGO — Beginning with its southbound departure on Monday, March 3, the Chicago-San Antonio Texas Eagle will gain a staffed Superliner Sightseer Lounge-café. The first eastbound trip is slated for March 5 after the equipment turns at the Texas city.
The train will retain its diner-lounge, which will continue to provide “flexible” self-contained meals to sleeping-car customers.
Trains News Wire confirmed the long-anticipated debut date and a timeline for capacity improvement rollouts for other trains through Memorial Day with Harris Cohen, Amtrak’s service and consist planning director.
“Route development service line teams continue to explore further enhancements to food service on other trains that feature flexible dining,” Cohen says. These currently also include the Cardinal, Lake Shore Limited, City of New Orleans, and Crescent.
The Eagle had always been assigned a Sightseer Lounge until October 2020, when Amtrak management sidelined and curtailed maintenance on equipment as most long-distance trains moved to triweekly operation during the COVID-19 pandemic. Capacity has been restored throughout the system as the company continues to work through a backlog of overhauls. Texas Eagle revenue and ridership received a significant boost last September when a through Chicago-Los Angeles coach and sleeper were added to — rather than substituted for — the regular Chicago-San Antonio cars [see “Amtrak adds to Texas Eagle capacity …,” News Wire, July 29, 2024].
Other trains gain
The company has traditionally expanded consists on many routes during peak spring, summer, and holiday periods, but the delay in returning equipment to active service has led to year-round sellouts on many routes [see “Amtrak still falling short …,” News Wire, Sept. 1, 2024], even as it achieved a patronage record in fiscal 2024 [see “Amtrak notches ridership and revenue record ….,” News Wire, Nov. 25, 2024]. The availability of additional equipment and staffing promises to partially rectify that situation.
Adding a car every day to each overnight train consist requires:
— Two to always be available for Auto Train and the Cardinal;
— Three for the Lake Shore, Sunset Limited, and City of New Orleans;
— Four for the Texas Eagle, Coast Starlight, Crescent, and Silver Meteor;
— Five for the Southwest Chief, Empire Builder, and Floridian;
— Six for the California Zephyr.
Additional stand-by equipment must be deployed at major terminals, as well.
Here are planned consist expansions with their tentative implementation dates:
Southwest Chief: Also starting March 3 from Chicago, a full baggage car, second Superliner sleeper and third coach are being added through Labor Day. The lack of capacity until a coach was added toward the end of last summer meant that the train missed out carrying scouts to the Philmont Ranch near Raton, N.M. “We hope to pick up on some of that ridership this year,” says Cohen.
Cardinal: A third Amfleet II coach is added March 5 from New York and March 6 out of Chicago
Floridian: A third Viewliner sleeper is set to debut April 7 from Miami, April 9 from Chicago.
California Zephyr: Beginning May 19 from Chicago, the Zephyr finally gets a third coach, and on June 9, a third Superliner sleeper (from the Auto Train pool). This will allow the popular train to capture more high-revenue sleeping car demand and alleviate coach sellouts that occur out of Chicago, west of Denver, and between the San Francisco Bay Area and Reno, Nev.
Empire Builder: A second Seattle coach will be added April 14 from Chicago for one month. This is Winter Park Express equipment; that seasonal train’s last run is at the end of March. However, the cars move back to the California Zephyr (see above) and Coast Starlight (see below). Except in the winter months, this train always operated with two Seattle and two Portland, Ore., section coaches and for several years ending in 2020 had two Portland sleeping cars, so the Builder will likely experience sellouts and high fares. The Chicago-St. Paul Borealis offers an alternative on the eastern part of the route.
Coast Starlight: A third coach will be added out of Los Angeles on May 19. The equipment manipulations show how available rolling stock is moved to fit anticipated demand.
Crescent: The New York-New Orleans train has been running with only one Viewliner sleeping car and one Viewliner II dorm-sleeper (with about four revenue rooms being sold). The second sleeper’s restoration is targeted for mid-May, but Cohen tells News Wire, “the date is largely dependent on parts availability, which is a challenge for these cars. From the seat that I sit in, I have the authorization — as long as it will be a positive deployment based on the formulas we use — to deploy a car. But we don’t always have the equipment based on out-of-service counts. I would love to deploy even more than what I’ve described today.”
In addition, all Superliner-equipped trains are now operating with a transition sleeper. This means onboard service employees no longer occupy revenue space. Four to eight roomettes are always available for sale in these cars. On the other hand, there is no progress in moving 14 Superliners assigned to the Chicago-Carbondale, Ill., daily Saluki and Illini round trips to overnight trains because locomotive antennas designed to ensure track-circuit signal shunting on that route have not been funded or procured.
Cohen says coach and sleeping car inventory has been loaded for the entire summer, so travelers are more likely to get the best price and space by booking dates after capacity has been expanded.
My theory, just speculation, is when CN ripped out the double track years ago new crossing protection equipment was installed. And the shunting problem stems from a fault in that equipment. Of course CN won’t say that, being concerned about being sued by the supplier.
Whatever happened to the promise of restoration of full-service dining?
Any word on when (or if) a full-service diner might reappear between Chicago and San Antonio? The flexible meals now served in the existing diner-lounge leave a lot to be desired.
Had a OBS employee say “It’s being considered.” Doesn’t bring me much comfort.
Not impressed that it took four years to reverse the most unnecessary cut during the pandemic. I don’t know what logic Amtrak apologists are using to defend this decision, but Amtrak has NOT seen significant cost savings as a result of removing the Eagle’s Sightseer Lounge. In fact it was the complete opposite. In June 2019, the Eagle had generated $18.4 million against an expense of $41.8 for an operating cost recovery farebox of 44%. That same month last year, when the Eagle ran with one less coach, one less sleeper, and no lounge, it generated $20.4 against a $52.1 expense for an operating cost recovery farebox of 39%. Consists as short as what the Eagle has been running with until late last year are costing Amtrak more revenue than operating expense reductions.
It’s about time for the return of the lounge to the Texas Eagle. I have refused to ride this train since it was downgraded. I’m OK with the flexible menu on this train. On the other LD trains we are now going on 3 years with this current menu. Some modifications for this summer might be in order. I have also noticed more coach passengers taking advantage of the dining car. With all the equipment additions, it looks like Amtrak employees are going to have to work (for a change). We should tell them, if they don’t want to work, they should see Elon Musk.
A big question will be. — With the additional passengeer equipment will the trains be just as sold out as they were in 2024? If they are then ————
Time for Amtrak to find some shunt cars and get those SLs back in revenue service.
JOHN RICE — I find the whole issue odd. Are we saying that track shunt technology doesn’t work? It’s not just passenger trains that are short on axles count. There are light engine movements, or an engine handling one or two freight cars.
Then there are hi-rail trucks. This is so 19th Century. A hi-rail stops at a busy six-lane state highway. The hi-rail driver looks for a gap in the road traffic. He blows his horn for the crossing signal, says a prayer and heads across. A dozen motorists are horrified that the crossing gates didn’t come down.
Hi-rail vehicles are insulated. They do not activate track circuits and are not subject to signal rules. Hence, their inability to operate flashing lights nor lower crossing gates. Single unit lite locomotive movements are speed-restricted because of the shunting issue. These restrictions are universal. However, I am not familiar with restrictions specific to CN routes.
@ Charles – I wonder if the industry has been looking into digital shunting, instead of analog. I get it, analog works well 99.99%, so why change?
“…locomotive antennas designed to ensure track-circuit signal shunting on that route have not been funded or procured.” Does this mean that CN is agreeable to this solution and all that is required now is to buy and install the stuff? Did I miss this approval?
I still find it odd that over several thousands of miles of track that Amtrak covers, only one area of track cant shunt properly.
George,
CN has promoted the antenna as the only solution other than minimum axle counts and speed restrictions. Amtrak applied for a grant early last year to help fund the installation on locomotives so that it wouldn’t matter what kind of or how many passenger cars are trailing. The grant has yet to be approved so there is no timeline when installation will occur. It also isn’t clear how much funding Amtrak and the state will contribute. The testing that took place at CN’s Pontiac, Mich., shunt test track and on this route doesn’t fully answer the question, “what makes loss of shunt more of a problem here than elsewhere?” Stay tuned.
What makes tracks hard to shunt there…is that it’s poorly maintained…very poorly.
FRA did award Amtrak a $58M CRISI grant back in October for the shunt enhancer project. I would assume the current hold up is that basically everything is on hold pending review by the new administration.
https://railroads.dot.gov/sites/fra.dot.gov/files/2024-10/FY23-24%20CRISI%20Selections.pdf