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Someone asked Amtrak about it on Facebook a few days ago, and they confirmed. Sorry, I do not have the link. It was a comment in an unrelated post.

Wow. Much higher than October, and it looks like Q4 will exceed Anderson’s estimates. I wonder if they include the Polar Express in the ridership numbers?

Jackson is on 92 today (assumingly) deadheading.

Sorry, but that's a pretty absurd statement. It wasn't Senator Nelson who was raising "concerns" over Brightline's financing.

Southbound Tri-Rail trains would just use the northbound platform (track 2). This is also the case at the Hollywood station. Northbound Amtraks do board on the proper northbound platform at Deerfield Beach, Delray Beach, and West Palm Beach. Going southbound, West Palm Beach is the only station where Amtrak stops on the “wrong” (northbound) platform. The other stops are on the southbound platform. This is the case 99% of the time. I have seen the reverse happen, during track work or a weird operational requirement.

Yes, I believe they use orange traffic cones so passengers can be pre-positioned. That has been my experience when boarding in West Palm Beach and in Hollywood. In West Palm Beach, there are typically two cones for coach passengers with short haul passengers at one cone and longer haul at the other. Of course, if it's a busy train the conductor/coach attendant might have to do a last minute change up. I doubt Fort Lauderdale has that problem since it's only the 3rd station. Also, the train 99% of the time boards on the westernmost platform (Track 1) which is station or streetside.

The SEC filing says they expect the average fare between Miami and West Palm to be $50 per passenger. That's double what they charge now. At least Miami to Orlando for $100 sounds somewhat more reasonable.

It appears an IPO is forthcoming. Time for some to put their money where their mouth is! https://www.ft.com/content/dcc94a18-e9aa-11e8-a34c-663b3f553b35?fbclid=IwAR2vPfm7WbA2_iSIQR3d_f7ndr6eyCzXsR1GjZX9b8wMuwsQkB0hW2ic8do https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1737516/000114036118043289/s002218x4_s1.htm?fbclid=IwAR1SaO7KKHBXG9EGw9OdiBTKjKvYoQgwlQL2qF9TYjo5DmPxiao7VQNq5sg#tDP

How soon we forget that organized labor brought us things like an 8 hour work day and 40 hour work week amongst other employee benefits. An Amtrak OBS employee is not like your typical restaurant employee who works an ~8 hour shift then goes home. On the long distance trains, they can be away from home for almost a week, working +16 hour days.

I know there used to be a rule that if the train was more than an hour late (for regional trains) or two hours late (for long distance trains) that you could get a full refund of the fare. I can't find that on amtrak.com right now, though. In practice, when the EB is severely late I've been able to get a refund of any cash paid without any hassle. (Getting a companion coupon back is another story.) I could've sworn I read this policy on the Amtrak website a few weeks ago, but now I can't find it. Wonder if it's an unspoken rule now.

When the Silver Meteor was cancelled because of Hurricane Florence, my mother was able to get a refund for one way despite the Star still running in Florida (which she could've taken, but found alternative transportation). The Meteor was operating again for her return trip, and she was able to keep that reservation. This was on a Saver fare, and about two or three days before travel.

The previous paint scheme (red white and blue stripe) was similar to the old Pepsi can logo. For context:

The Meteors I have seen since Florence have only had 3 coaches.

Maybe the Feds or states should look at acquiring the infrastructure where congestion is a problem.

If safety concerns dictated travel choices, automobile travel would be far less prevalent. I do think OTP plays a huge component to it. It has made me more weary of taking the Silvers for intra-Florida travel.