Car Attendants

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More recently Meteor has run occasionally with a 13 car.- like even a few weeks back when the Star was yet to start running after Hurricane Florence.
So six coaches?
No 13 car as in 9813 or 9713 Sleeper.
Oh, sorry. Thought you were talking about a 13 car long train, not a car number.
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So, what ARE the current standards for attendant staffing, then?

Experience noted here seems to have it all over the place.
 
Each sleeper gets one attendant, the cafe/SSL gets one LSA, the diner routinely has a server, a food specialist, and a LSA, and coaches. I believe is one for every two cars but I could be wrong on that bit.
 
So, what ARE the current standards for attendant staffing, then?

Experience noted here seems to have it all over the place.
[SIZE=12.800000190734863px]I'm not sure what the most recent Service Standards Manual is, but the latest I am able to find is #10 (Oct. 2017). In a nutshell, it says that staffing levels depend on a combo of number of coach cars and number of coach passengers, but 1 attendant can cover up to 4 cars.[/SIZE]

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Last edited by a moderator:
So, what ARE the current standards for attendant staffing, then?

Experience noted here seems to have it all over the place.
I'm not sure what the most recent Service Standards Manual is, but the latest I am able to find is #10 (Oct. 2017). In a nutshell, it says that staffing levels depend on a combo of number of coach cars and number of coach passengers, but 1 attendant can cover up to 4 cars.
Now that's the sort of context I was looking for. And, also, what likely explains that which I perceived as short staffing compared to previous riding experience. The cars on the Capitol Limited, especially, were full at night but much more scant in daylight hours. The Cardinal seemed a bit on the half full side out of Chicago, but that picked up to close to a full train into West Virginia and Virginia. One wonders whether what was likely just one coach attendant (who might have even been doubling as a sleeper attendant) was based on the short count departing the station of origin.
 
Every time I've been in a Sleeping Car there's been an SCA in every single car. I've never seen one working the whole train. And I have never seen Coach Attendants on short or medium trains, only on long-distance trains.
 
As far as NEC or medium distance routes, does the Acela run count? Because I do recall there being a car attendant for at least the First Class cars on the one Acela train I have taken. At the time, FC pax were provided meal service.
 
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