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We are heading down to Chicagoland next week for business, to see my elderly parents, and will be doing a quick ride out to Galesburg and back to get our "train fix" in.
We are riding Train 381 (Carl Sandberg) west and Train 4 (Southwest Chief) east.
Coach has been sold out for awhile on the Chief, so we are busting the wallet and going to do the bedroom
We found out that 4 has only been operating with 2 coaches for some time now -- and often gets sold out ---
So -- that is leading me to ask -- what happened to all the coaches? and why isn't Amtrak being upfront about the situation?
So.... what exactly happened to all of the Superliner cars that were out there operating pre-Pandemic? I'd like to know... Where are they right now... and why the heck are they not being put into revenue service?
The Empire Builder would frequently have 4 coach cars *DAILY*... two for the PDX #27/#28 section and two for the SEA #7/#8 section. Even in the dead of winter they would run with that if I remember. If Amtrak could come up with FOUR Superliner coaches for the Empire Builder on a *DAILY* basis in late 2019... why are they struggling to come up with just TWO coaches for the same train that runs now only 5x a week?
What happened to all of the cars?!! The Ski Train can't be blamed for the huge amount of coaches unaccounted for. We have to seriously be talking 10 or 15+ coaches that are now not in the pool for just #7 and #8 at any given time. And then you have the missing coaches from #3, #4, #5, and #6, and other trains too. All I have seen is very generic information from Amtrak and their nearly invisible Marketing/PR team for the cuts that blame COVID... but do not give any specifics. Where are these cars?
I presume they didn't disappear into thin air. I presume they were not scrapped or sold off as private cars. I presume they were not wrecked... as besides the Empire Builder incident in Montana on September 25, 2021... there have not been any major derailments/wrecks since COVID started.
So, yeah, that has me and many other Amtrak supporters scratching our collective heads. Are all these cars still operable, but in storage somewhere... and upper management just doesn't care and doesn't want to put them on trains... even though trains are frequently sold out? (That is where rumors start that the CEO is trying to kill long distance trains!) Are supply shortages causing all of these cars to be sidelined somewhere because a whole bunch of them need repairs before they are road-worthy again? Is it perhaps a labor issue with Amtrak needing more mechanics to get the cars fixed if so many have problems? Are there not enough coach attendants in the labor pool at the terminal crew bases for the old number of cars to be restored? Or a mix of all of the above? As someone who has never worked for Amtrak --- but values trains and sees the need for expansion of rail --- it would be nice to hear some real answers for all of the cuts and craziness going on besides the generic excuse of "COVID".
I think the general public and travelers would be more sympathetic to whatever is going on with all of these cars not being put into service if a real explanation was given. Just tell people what is going on. If it's supply shortages causing so many cars to be sidelined... just explain that and put it out there. People will understand... because supply shortages are impacting everyone and everything.
Amtrak needs to stop using COVID as an excuse for making cuts that they probably wanted to do for years now. But is that what is really going on?
Amtrak says they do not have enough Sightseer Lounges for the Texas Eagle to have one. You would need just 3 or 4 SSLs to be on all the consists of #21 and #22... yet I count 7 or more sitting in the yard at 14th Street (granted, I don't know if they are operable or not)... 1 on the Ski Train... and 2 running as axle count cars on the Carbondale and KC-STL trains. WTF. I think anyone would be pissed if their Sightseer Lounge was bad-ordered ... while perhaps two perfectly good Sightseer Lounges were being ferried between Chicago and Carbondale.
You know there is a lot of stupidity on Amtrak. Remember when they would run the #10031 Ocean View dome car --- in perfectly good shape ---- as an axle count car between Chicago and Carbondale and not open it up for passengers to enjoy --- but crews would certainly go up and sit in it.
Gilbert B Norman Member # 1541
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Mr. Tabern, #3-6 pass within 200 yards of my house. Often times, I am taking my afternoon walk when they all pass (I call that a "Grand Slam" - four Amtrak trains within an hour!!!) - well; at least #3 & #5.
I can report that one #34XXX Coach and one #310XX Coach Baggage are "normal consist" for these trains.
Certainly, the Bad Order status of the fleet and the staffing issues affecting both On-Board and MofE crafts (throw T&E in as well) are issues, but I wonder if in order to maximize yield, Amtrak is deliberately restricting the supply in order to raise revenue per unit (Coach seat, Sleeper Room).
Amtrak is not some kind of social welfare program. If this apparent business plan minimizes the losses incurred operating the LD trains, then so be it. Trust me on this one; I was a Mgt. Trainee with the MILW on A-Day - the LD's were to be an "ease the pain" transition and were to be gone starting within five years.
Admin5 Member # 1
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quote:Originally posted by Gilbert B Norman: Mr. Tabern, #3-6 pass within 200 yards of my house. Often times, I am taking my afternoon walk when they all pass (I call that a "Grand Slam" - four Amtrak trains within an hour!!!) - well; at least #3 & #5.
I can report that one #34XXX Coach and one #310XX Coach Baggage are "normal consist" for these trains.
Certainly, the Bad Order status of the fleet and the staffing issues affecting both On-Board and MofE crafts (throw T&E in as well) are issues, but I wonder if in order to maximize yield, Amtrak is deliberately restricting the supply in order to raise revenue per unit (Coach seat, Sleeper Room).
Amtrak is not some kind of social welfare program. If this apparent business plan minimizes the losses incurred operating the LD trains, then so be it. Trust me on this one; I was a Mgt. Trainee with the MILW on A-Day - the LD's were to be an "ease the pain" transition and were to be gone starting within five years.
Wow, didn't realize you were from Clarendon Hills!
I grew up in Northbrook and from 2012 to 2015 managed the Trails & Rails program on the Southwest Chief that passed through your town.
Did you happen to know Jim Carr, a railfan from Clarendon Hills? He headed up the Trails & Rails program out of Chicago from 1999 to 2009. A great guy who recently passed.
Next time I have some free time and down in Chicago, hope we can meet.
Despite living 400 miles away now, we still get back once a month or so to do an onboard educational program on the South Shore Line. Not sure if you travel... but you'd be welcome to come and ride with us sometime.
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