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My point is not the bonus. It is that in my view Amtrak senior management is aware of the detrimental impact of their decisions on a broad range of Amtrak services but still continues on their own path. Whether the motive is financial or intelectual is up for debate. I personally think it is...

On another forum recently a former amtrak manager had reported that second and third shifts on the RIP(car repair) tracks had been shutdown in Chicago and the employees that would work those jobs are doing other more light daily things with fewer heavy repairs being done since there is only one...

I have taken advantage of an empty roomette for baggage storage and have appreciated that. However the trouble with that is that it is not available to anyone traveling coach. Checked baggage isn't supposed to be a first class perk. Also so as far as I know Amtrak has an excess of baggage cars...

All the more unfortunate since they still have red cap staff at Boston South Station to assist passengers to and from the train. The savings from not having checked baggage to Boston has got to be miniscule to non-existant.

The idea that everyone who suggests amtrak reforms or improvements is a railfan who doesn't understand business seems to be a recurring theme among those who defend Amtrak's current malaise when in many cases that is not the case. I like history also but for context I think it is helpful to...

I think most folks would also be ok with a truly premium service class charging high fares if there also was a true economy sleeper class which at least gave a traveler the opportunity to sleep in a bed. But they do not seem interested in maximizing ridership, as much as some kind of in house...

The reasons have already been voiced but the artificially short consists also are having way to high an impact on fares charged even more reducing the actual numbers using the service. A train may seem busy when you are onboard with 3 coaches and 2 sleepers but that is actually historically a...

Sorry to see there doesn't seem to be any hope of more reasonable sleeper fares in the near future. I wouldn't mind so much if it was only the last few rooms that were charged the high fares. What bothers me is that I have been on many trains in which the sleepers were very under sold and yet...

There is a crown plaza in Indianapolis pretty much right at the station that was fine some years ago when I stayed there but it has been awhile. There also is a nice hotel called the Omni Severin close by but might be more pricey

Don't know the details on the autotrain situation but one thing to keep in mind is that in any kind of major delay like this the decisions are being directed or at least ok'd by senior mgmt when they are happening. It is not like a union train dispatcher is filing a report the next day. It would...

Not sure about this situation but there are still a fair amount of freight crews that may deadhead on Amtrak. That or another RR employee makes the most sense for a guess without knowing to me.

The difference is until very very recently Amtrak felt a responsibilty to get people where they are going once they bought a ticket even if they got there late. If anything a good faith effort of running the trains Chicago to St Paul or other short turn station stop would show they care about...

As far as weather cancelations the reality is Amtrak has only been quick to pull the trigger in the last 5 years or so. This is not something that has to do with changes in railroads staffing from way back when decades ago. It is really a much different situation than 2015? No, but even Amtrak...

Not sure if this is still the case these days but in years past some flight attendant and ground crew friends of mine had quite a bit more flexibility as far as taking an extended leave of absence or only working once in awhile and still being able to maintain their seniority. Then when the time...

Noticed recently the Amtrak App has a new sort and filter process that changes the way trains are displayed by default. Depending on where you are starting from or going too it might not make a difference but I notice in some cases from Boston it is showing all Acela departures before showing...

That is a good first hand view of some of the pitfalls of contracting in the modern sense. There should be nothing wrong with hiring contractors for temp work, special expertise or common sense pooling of resources. But when the contractors are really doing full time regular jobs they should be...

Like I said I have no info in this case but in the recent past a lot of car department and track department work has been contracted out on many railroads for work that was traditionaly done by employees. T & E has been somewhat more protected but the sale of lines and yards to shortlines and...

It sounds like the info was they want to lay off the Amtrak Union employees at Beech grove and use a contractor instead. I have no info whether or not this is true but I have seen similar things happen at railroads before. Such is the incentive for management to get employees off the payroll and...

Yes, I think it might have been due to the change in staffing that they were saying there was no room. But it reminded me at the time that leadership matters. Whether or not there was actually time and room to seat coach passengers, (and I believe there was ample time on this particular trip...

Even in the 2000's to early 2010's I remember having no problem as a coach passenger getting a seat in the diner on busy or sold out trains both Western and Eastern Long Distance. Then I distinctly remember after they switched to some form of the new dining on the Capitol Limited(years before...