As I noted earlier, I booked a ticket on train 29(16) from WAS to CHI to try out Amtrak's new diner-lounge, currently running on the Capitol Limited. As I understand it, the car will be running (in its current configuration) until the end of February, at which time the car will go in for modifications based on customer and employee feedback. Once that happens, I believe other cars will undergo modification as well.
Note that these are just the conversions of the existing dining cars. The conversion of sightseer lounges will occur later, and their configurations will be a bit different.
Originally, train 29(16) was supposed to have just the diner-lounge as the only food-service car. However, apparently, reservations for the train spiked at the last minute, and they decided to run a regular diner and the diner-lounge (though the mealtime menus were the same in both cars).
Anyway, the first indication of a different style of service came about 15-20 minutes after departure from Washington, when one of the LSAs took a cart through the train, selling snacks and drinks to passengers at their seats. This is currently done on the Hiawathas, and (I gather) the Acela Express, Pere Marquette, and perhaps a couple of other trains as well.
While the cart service was well-received by passengers (and I'm told they did about $58 in sales in the 10-20 minutes the cart was pushed through the coaches), my one concern is that it blocked the aisle quite a bit, especially as passengers were headed to the lounge. Perhaps they could build in a "passing siding" where the cart could duck out of the way to let others through. Otherwise, it's just like a few people trying to walk in opposite directions in the aisle (i.e. some folks will have to step out of the way and let the cart pass).
The lounge opened up right away, and dinner reservations were taken by the LSA that pushed the cart (reservations were required to eat in the regular diner, but not in the diner-lounge, which was serving the same menu). In fact, one extra nice touch was a "schedule" for the diner-lounge car, that was placed in the seat pockets of the coaches. It listed the scheduled departure time from DC (and Chicago), the time the car opened for service, when it closed, and when breakfast started and ended. It's always helpful to know when to expect the dining car to open, since it's not always announced the night before (and those that board in the middle of the night wouldn't necessarily hear those announcements anyway).
There were two service managers traveling on the train and actively soliciting passenger feedback. I spoke with both of them at length regarding their hopes and plans for the diner-lounge service.
As for the diner-lounge itself, there are two aspects: 1) the car, and 2) the service.
The car
When you walk in from the coaches, the cafe stand is on the upper level, facing right at you. This should help sales as it makes the cafe counter very visible. There are four tables on the cafe counter side, with seats alternating facing inwards (towards the aisle) and outwards (towards the windows).
If you walk past the cafe stand there's a narrow hallway that leads to the other side, where there are ten tables following the same alternating inwards/outwards pattern.
The car is very bright and inviting. However, the layout can lead to some confusion, as passengers from coach (assuming the car is facing the same direction) may not realize that there is additional lounge seating on the other side).
The alternating seating also can cause some issues, as the outwards- (window-) facing seats can seat two people for dinner comfortably (one on each side of the table), but four people would be a tough squeeze, given the semi-circular shape of the table. The inwards-facing seats have a table that is too small to be useful for anything other than holding drinks, and the table is also too far away from the seat, meaning you have to lean far forward in order to not spill stuff on your lap. In fact, there are already changes planned regarding the size of the tables and the angle of the seats facing the table, so that they can try and address these issues.
One sure-to-be crowd pleaser is the inclusion of plenty of electrical outlets for folks to charge their phones, computers, and other electronic devices. These are along the wall next to the tables of the window-facing seats. This could cause issues, though, as those are the best seats for dining car service, and the seats that are better for lounging (that face inwards) don't have outlets.
Another issue, which apparently they are already looking to address, is that the cafe counter window faces one way, and passengers coming from the other side (i.e. sleeper passengers) may not realize right away that there is a cafe counter on the other side. However, having an SA on duty in that car, in addition to the cafe counter LSA, can perhaps resolve that. Another solution is to move the entry door to the LSA's area, and put a dutch door/window in instead of a solid door and blank wall, as that would give passengers from the other end of the car a glimpse at what's available.
The service
One thing that pleased me was the return of steak to the menu. Ice cream has also made a repeat appearance, though it now comes in Haagen-Dazs single-serving tubs, rather than a scoop served in a dish. I ordered the steak ($21 on the menu), and it was very nicely done and quite tasty. However, the green beans served with it were somewhat rubbery.
Nevertheless, simplified dining service with the diner-lounge is sure to be better than SDS using the existing dining cars. The reason was explained to me by one of the service managers, in that the old dining cars were designed for the traditional service, whereas the diner-lounge was designed around SDS, and so it was designed to be run with a single chef, an LSA, and an SA. Apparently, that's why they were able to return steak to the menu.
The other, and primary, improvement in service/menu selection is that the car is basically open all day, with perhaps a slight break between breakfast and lunch. The diner-lounge features a breakfast menu, served from 6 am to 10 am, an "all-day" menu served from 11 am to 11 pm, and a dinner menu, served from 5-9 pm. Of course, the full benefits of this service can't be experienced on the Capitol Limited, which has a scheduled run of just 19 hours. However, when this service is rolled out on longer-distance trains, the all-day menu should prove to be more popular.
The all-day menu includes your basic "lunch" meals, such as the Angus Beef Burger and pizza, plus new "appetizers." I had the opportunity to try a couple of the appetizer selections, and they were very good. This should encourage more people to order food that are currently intimidated by the relatively high prices of the dining car.
The new style of service also means that you can just order a dessert, and don't have to order the full meal. Now, all we need to do is get them to reintroduce the chocolate mousse pyramid, and I'll be all set.
They are still working out the details regarding serving sleeping car passengers under the new service. Since there aren't strict meal periods, I'm not sure exactly how they'll handle sleeper passengers that decide to eat at 3:30 pm, and then again at 6:30 for dinner. Right now, appetizers are not included in the "free" meal for sleepers, but they are still reviewing many different options for how to handle that. Everything is subject to change as they get feedback from employees and passengers, as well as seeing how things are doing financially with the different menu options.
One "con" I can think of with the diner-lounge is that some folks may want a more "elegant" dining experience, while the diner-lounge is run more like a sports bar/grill. The food quality is as good as anything Amtrak has to offer, but, for example, last night for dinner, a friend and I were enjoying our steak (for me) and chicken (for him), while across the aisle, three or four younger folks were regaling us with their intimiate familiarity of the penal code in Virginia, on account of first-hand experience they or their friends had.
Having people that want to lounge around and play music may not set well with an elderly couple that wants to have a nice, quiet dinner. However, Amtrak does (even on other trains) offer a take-out option for the dining car menu, though it is perhaps "pushed" a bit more with the diner-lounge.
Overall, I'm very optimistic that the diner-lounge will be a successful experiment that should increase revenue while lowering costs. One good thing about the diner-lounge is the flexibility involved. During low-traffic periods, they could easily run with just one car and still serve the cafe and dining car customers. During busier periods, this car could be supplemented with a regular diner, a regular lounge, or another diner-lounge.
The managers said there was interest in returning the Cardinal to Superliner equipment and running it with a diner-lounge. In addition, there's also the potential (though nothing concrete) of putting a car like that on the Empire Builder, enabling the Portland section to have improved food-service, and also allowing the Seattle section to get a sightseer car. Any of those changes would be far in the future, though, as first they have to complete the current three-month experiment.
NARP has released the schedule for the diner lounge, which I'll include below.
And, for those interested, here is the menu:
Breakfast
Today's Omelet -- $9.00
Quiche of the Day -- $9.00
Railroad French Toast -- $7.00
Bob Evans Breakfast Scramble - $8.00
Continental (mixed fruit has replaced with a banana) -- $6.75
Pork or Turkey Sausage -- $3.00
Dinner
New York Strip Steak -- $21.00
Roast Chicken -- $14.50
Tilapia Fillet -- $16.50
Meatloaf -- $12.50
Garden Lasagna -- $11.00
ALL-DAY MENU OPTIONS (11 am to 11 pm or midnight, depending on which card you believe)
Appetizers
Chicken & Cheese Quesadillas -- $5.00
Baked Potato Skins -- $5.00
Mozzarella Sticks -- $5.00
Spring Rolls -- $5.00
Buffalo Wings -- $7.00
Burgers and More
Angus Beef Burger -- $8.25
Add bacon -- $2.00
Grilled Chicken Sandwich -- $8.00
Gardenburger -- $7.75
Stone Fired Supreme Pizza -- $9.00
Beef Burrito -- $9.00
Caesar Salad -- $6.00
Today's Quiche -- $9.00 *(I'm not sure if this is the same as the breakfast "quiche of the day," but it comes with different side dishes)
Desserts
Sweet Temptations Chocolate Cake -- $5.00
New York Style Cheesecake -- $3.75
Ice Cream -- $3.75
Note that these are just the conversions of the existing dining cars. The conversion of sightseer lounges will occur later, and their configurations will be a bit different.
Originally, train 29(16) was supposed to have just the diner-lounge as the only food-service car. However, apparently, reservations for the train spiked at the last minute, and they decided to run a regular diner and the diner-lounge (though the mealtime menus were the same in both cars).
Anyway, the first indication of a different style of service came about 15-20 minutes after departure from Washington, when one of the LSAs took a cart through the train, selling snacks and drinks to passengers at their seats. This is currently done on the Hiawathas, and (I gather) the Acela Express, Pere Marquette, and perhaps a couple of other trains as well.
While the cart service was well-received by passengers (and I'm told they did about $58 in sales in the 10-20 minutes the cart was pushed through the coaches), my one concern is that it blocked the aisle quite a bit, especially as passengers were headed to the lounge. Perhaps they could build in a "passing siding" where the cart could duck out of the way to let others through. Otherwise, it's just like a few people trying to walk in opposite directions in the aisle (i.e. some folks will have to step out of the way and let the cart pass).
The lounge opened up right away, and dinner reservations were taken by the LSA that pushed the cart (reservations were required to eat in the regular diner, but not in the diner-lounge, which was serving the same menu). In fact, one extra nice touch was a "schedule" for the diner-lounge car, that was placed in the seat pockets of the coaches. It listed the scheduled departure time from DC (and Chicago), the time the car opened for service, when it closed, and when breakfast started and ended. It's always helpful to know when to expect the dining car to open, since it's not always announced the night before (and those that board in the middle of the night wouldn't necessarily hear those announcements anyway).
There were two service managers traveling on the train and actively soliciting passenger feedback. I spoke with both of them at length regarding their hopes and plans for the diner-lounge service.
As for the diner-lounge itself, there are two aspects: 1) the car, and 2) the service.
The car
When you walk in from the coaches, the cafe stand is on the upper level, facing right at you. This should help sales as it makes the cafe counter very visible. There are four tables on the cafe counter side, with seats alternating facing inwards (towards the aisle) and outwards (towards the windows).
If you walk past the cafe stand there's a narrow hallway that leads to the other side, where there are ten tables following the same alternating inwards/outwards pattern.
The car is very bright and inviting. However, the layout can lead to some confusion, as passengers from coach (assuming the car is facing the same direction) may not realize that there is additional lounge seating on the other side).
The alternating seating also can cause some issues, as the outwards- (window-) facing seats can seat two people for dinner comfortably (one on each side of the table), but four people would be a tough squeeze, given the semi-circular shape of the table. The inwards-facing seats have a table that is too small to be useful for anything other than holding drinks, and the table is also too far away from the seat, meaning you have to lean far forward in order to not spill stuff on your lap. In fact, there are already changes planned regarding the size of the tables and the angle of the seats facing the table, so that they can try and address these issues.
One sure-to-be crowd pleaser is the inclusion of plenty of electrical outlets for folks to charge their phones, computers, and other electronic devices. These are along the wall next to the tables of the window-facing seats. This could cause issues, though, as those are the best seats for dining car service, and the seats that are better for lounging (that face inwards) don't have outlets.
Another issue, which apparently they are already looking to address, is that the cafe counter window faces one way, and passengers coming from the other side (i.e. sleeper passengers) may not realize right away that there is a cafe counter on the other side. However, having an SA on duty in that car, in addition to the cafe counter LSA, can perhaps resolve that. Another solution is to move the entry door to the LSA's area, and put a dutch door/window in instead of a solid door and blank wall, as that would give passengers from the other end of the car a glimpse at what's available.
The service
One thing that pleased me was the return of steak to the menu. Ice cream has also made a repeat appearance, though it now comes in Haagen-Dazs single-serving tubs, rather than a scoop served in a dish. I ordered the steak ($21 on the menu), and it was very nicely done and quite tasty. However, the green beans served with it were somewhat rubbery.
Nevertheless, simplified dining service with the diner-lounge is sure to be better than SDS using the existing dining cars. The reason was explained to me by one of the service managers, in that the old dining cars were designed for the traditional service, whereas the diner-lounge was designed around SDS, and so it was designed to be run with a single chef, an LSA, and an SA. Apparently, that's why they were able to return steak to the menu.
The other, and primary, improvement in service/menu selection is that the car is basically open all day, with perhaps a slight break between breakfast and lunch. The diner-lounge features a breakfast menu, served from 6 am to 10 am, an "all-day" menu served from 11 am to 11 pm, and a dinner menu, served from 5-9 pm. Of course, the full benefits of this service can't be experienced on the Capitol Limited, which has a scheduled run of just 19 hours. However, when this service is rolled out on longer-distance trains, the all-day menu should prove to be more popular.
The all-day menu includes your basic "lunch" meals, such as the Angus Beef Burger and pizza, plus new "appetizers." I had the opportunity to try a couple of the appetizer selections, and they were very good. This should encourage more people to order food that are currently intimidated by the relatively high prices of the dining car.
The new style of service also means that you can just order a dessert, and don't have to order the full meal. Now, all we need to do is get them to reintroduce the chocolate mousse pyramid, and I'll be all set.
They are still working out the details regarding serving sleeping car passengers under the new service. Since there aren't strict meal periods, I'm not sure exactly how they'll handle sleeper passengers that decide to eat at 3:30 pm, and then again at 6:30 for dinner. Right now, appetizers are not included in the "free" meal for sleepers, but they are still reviewing many different options for how to handle that. Everything is subject to change as they get feedback from employees and passengers, as well as seeing how things are doing financially with the different menu options.
One "con" I can think of with the diner-lounge is that some folks may want a more "elegant" dining experience, while the diner-lounge is run more like a sports bar/grill. The food quality is as good as anything Amtrak has to offer, but, for example, last night for dinner, a friend and I were enjoying our steak (for me) and chicken (for him), while across the aisle, three or four younger folks were regaling us with their intimiate familiarity of the penal code in Virginia, on account of first-hand experience they or their friends had.
Having people that want to lounge around and play music may not set well with an elderly couple that wants to have a nice, quiet dinner. However, Amtrak does (even on other trains) offer a take-out option for the dining car menu, though it is perhaps "pushed" a bit more with the diner-lounge.
Overall, I'm very optimistic that the diner-lounge will be a successful experiment that should increase revenue while lowering costs. One good thing about the diner-lounge is the flexibility involved. During low-traffic periods, they could easily run with just one car and still serve the cafe and dining car customers. During busier periods, this car could be supplemented with a regular diner, a regular lounge, or another diner-lounge.
The managers said there was interest in returning the Cardinal to Superliner equipment and running it with a diner-lounge. In addition, there's also the potential (though nothing concrete) of putting a car like that on the Empire Builder, enabling the Portland section to have improved food-service, and also allowing the Seattle section to get a sightseer car. Any of those changes would be far in the future, though, as first they have to complete the current three-month experiment.
NARP has released the schedule for the diner lounge, which I'll include below.
However, in the case of my train, they were willing to serve coach passengers in the regular diner.
And, for those interested, here is the menu:
Breakfast
Today's Omelet -- $9.00
Quiche of the Day -- $9.00
Railroad French Toast -- $7.00
Bob Evans Breakfast Scramble - $8.00
Continental (mixed fruit has replaced with a banana) -- $6.75
Pork or Turkey Sausage -- $3.00
Dinner
New York Strip Steak -- $21.00
Roast Chicken -- $14.50
Tilapia Fillet -- $16.50
Meatloaf -- $12.50
Garden Lasagna -- $11.00
ALL-DAY MENU OPTIONS (11 am to 11 pm or midnight, depending on which card you believe)
Appetizers
Chicken & Cheese Quesadillas -- $5.00
Baked Potato Skins -- $5.00
Mozzarella Sticks -- $5.00
Spring Rolls -- $5.00
Buffalo Wings -- $7.00
Burgers and More
Angus Beef Burger -- $8.25
Add bacon -- $2.00
Grilled Chicken Sandwich -- $8.00
Gardenburger -- $7.75
Stone Fired Supreme Pizza -- $9.00
Beef Burrito -- $9.00
Caesar Salad -- $6.00
Today's Quiche -- $9.00 *(I'm not sure if this is the same as the breakfast "quiche of the day," but it comes with different side dishes)
Desserts
Sweet Temptations Chocolate Cake -- $5.00
New York Style Cheesecake -- $3.75
Ice Cream -- $3.75
