Next Trip Booked: ELT to MIA in May 2020

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Oreius

OBS Chief
Joined
Jun 5, 2012
Messages
695
I’m booked on the Pennsylvanian and Silver Meteor for May 2020. I’ll be going from Elizabethtown to Miami. I’ve read/heard rumors that the Meteor is probably going to lose its diner. Say it isn’t so! Would it end up being like the Star with just a cafe car? Will I still get my meals included? The fare for the Meteor still is higher than the Star, so I hope it stays as it is...
 
Hopefully this is all just a rumor and doesn’t come into fruition. As far as I know, nothing has been stated on Amtrak’s website regarding this rather drastic cutback.
 
Hopefully this is all just a rumor and doesn’t come into fruition. As far as I know, nothing has been stated on Amtrak’s website regarding this rather drastic cutback.

Sadly, I get the sense that contemporary dining will be a reality, by the time you do your Meteor Amtrak trip. :( Unfortunately the upcoming cuts, will mean the only way to ride a long distance Amtrak train with a diner, will be on any of the long distance trains running west of Chicago, or New Orleans. And yes, this includes on the Coast Starlight, but to my knowledge City of New Orleans between Chicago-New Orleans(correct me if I'm wrong, other posters on Amtrak Unlimited) will be losing its diner and going to contemporary dining. :(
 
In my experience the single most important factor to consider when deciding whether to book the Meteor or the Star is the connection time and OTP. Oh, and working AC in the coaches is nice too, in south Florida. :) Had a coach trip from ORL-MIA (the same year we took the Star out of WAS to ORL) and it was...warm.
 
Well I just got an email from Amtrak. Turns out they are eliminating fresh prepared meals in the diner. However, I really don’t think it is as bad as it sounds. You still get your meals included, plus unlimited soft drinks while onboard. I guess the dining car is going to become a lounge-diner, reserved only for sleeper passengers...
 
Well I just got an email from Amtrak. Turns out they are eliminating fresh prepared meals in the diner. However, I really don’t think it is as bad as it sounds. You still get your meals included, plus unlimited soft drinks while onboard. I guess the dining car is going to become a lounge-diner, reserved only for sleeper passengers...

That was mentioned in the first reply of this topic. :)

Personally there are some good things and bad things to this.

First bad thing is simple... The elimination or furlough of UNIONIZED jobs!!

One thing that I agree with is the unlimited soft drinks. A limit of two in the diner is just goofy. You pay a decent amount of dough for a sleeper and at each meal you can only have 2 sodas, and you can't goto the cafe for more?
 
I just had my last full service dinner in the diner aboard the Crescent enroute NYP-ATL. My whole purpose of the trip was to enjoy one last steak dinner on the rails east of the Mississippi. Due to digestive issues, I will have eaten dinner in ATL before boarding for my return tomorrow evening.

I asked the LSA a very loaded question when she came with the salad..."Do you have enough seniority to be here a week from now?" She said the positions were all put up for bid last week and the results not yet known. What will happen to her future is an unknown as well...sad.
 
I asked the LSA a very loaded question when she came with the salad..."Do you have enough seniority to be here a week from now?" She said the positions were all put up for bid last week and the results not yet known. What will happen to her future is an unknown as well...sad.

Openings are usually awarded a few days after being put out for bid. At least T&E wise.
 
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