This relates to a comment Hal made in another thread, and he stated that trains probably would not turn back at Philadelphia in the event of the closure of both Hudson River tunnels. He said that would be the case because Amtrak would have to establish a commissary there.
I'm curious. What is needed to have an Amtrak commissary in a particular city? Let's take San Antonio, as an example, since trains turn there.
I guess delivery trucks would be a start.
When Amtrak management perceives the need to establish a new commissary, they must first provide an approved facility, train employees in proper handling techniques, and contract with approved local vendor's for supplies. Many years ago, when I worked in Denver, we were often called upon to obtain 'emergency' re-supplies for thru trains. At some point, Company management deemed it wise to establish a "mini-commissary" there.
First, we had to designate a facility in the station, and have it equipped with approved refridgerator, and storage racks, as well as an ice machine. Employees had to be trained in proper techniques for handling food, bagging ice, etc....Inventory and record keeping....lots of stuff to do. We had to have approved vendors to deliver us supplies. We still had to sometimes make trips to local supermarkets for some items. We also stored dry goods like napkins, table cloth's, plastic cups, cutlery, etc.
We certainly could not supply a diner from scratch...only a full commissary could do that....
