Bloomberg Article

[billthebarn]

Sorry, I couldn't link. Google Bloomberg Amtrak

It is about food services and the amount of money lost on LD trains. Supposedly, these losses will disappear within five years. One interesting fact I learned is that the waiters and waitresses are paid $41.19 per hour (including benefits).

Because of all the entities asking the federal government for help (bankrupt cities included), I am fearful that the annual subsidy may not be there in the future. Since I am primarily a rider of LD trains, and they are the ones losing money, I would love to see the entire Amtrak system operate in the black.

I would like to hear from cost analysis people like Anderson, Afigg, Henryj, et al, for their thoughts on the national financial picture and how that may affect the subsidy. Amtrak employs thousands of people. If Amtrak were profitable, or at least, break-even, the cost cutters will look elsewhere to trim the budget.

 

[amtkstn]

Article link-http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-11-14/amtrak-serving-free-wine-to-steak-loses-millions-on-food.html

 

[Devil's Advocate]

Link: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-11-14/amtrak-serving-free-wine-to-steak-loses-millions-on-food.html

The hearing highlights the interest of the Government Operations Subcommittee’s chairman, Florida Republican John Mica, in exposing what he says are wasteful practices at Amtrak.

I agree with good old John Mica. If we could just find a way to reduce every American worker's salary to a pittance and take away any remaining employer provided benefits then America would be a much better place to live.

[/sarcasm]

 

[cassie225]

That article-so sad. Question -If Amtrak were privately owned would it survive. I don't get wine and cheese on the Crescent and if I had to pay full price and get vending machine food-I would fly. But flying is like being tightly squeezed in a cattle car. So they say let Amtrak only run in the Northeast aint that where all the politicians are. Make life easy for them-not us.So sad.

 

[CHamilton]

The Hill's report on the hearing. http://thehill.com/blogs/transportation-report/railroads/190252-amtrak-criticized-for-serving-wine-and-cheese

 

[VentureForth]

Question -If Amtrak were privately owned would it survive.

No. That is what the railroads gave up to create Amtrak back in 1971.

 

[Paulus]

Here's the Amtrak OIG report, I can't find the testimony at the House's site.

 

[cassie225]

What would be the point in cutting out the LD routes? I say give us more LD routes and maybe that will generate more revenue. I know this is like beating a dead horse but I would be elated if they brought back the Louisiana to Florida route. If I want to visit my relatives by train in Ga.-I have to go to Washington then back down to Savannah or Jesup,Ga. So I go to Atlanta and drive 3 or more hours. Seems as if there were more routes,more people would ride trains. Planes are the pits. Like you stuffed in a can,in the sky,in a small seat thats not comfortable.All the seats on a train are the size of plane first class seats with a lot of leg room. The only thing I wish trains had was like the old greyhound buses where you could get off at the depot and walk around and then for me that would be the perfect mode of travel. I grew up in the era where we rode buses overnight sometimes for 2 nights straight.

 

[the_traveler]

You still can get off the train at certain stops and walk around. But you can also walk around while ON THE TRAIN! You can't really do that on buses, cars or planes!

Yes, I too think that more trains would bring many more riders.

 

[Paulus]

They would however bring many more costs along with them, costs that would exceed the revenue brought in. To break even on the marginal cost of running it, with the current abominably low fares on the long distance trains, they need to average about 250 passengers per train mile. And while yes, the train is much roomier, it is much slower and more expensive than flying.

 

[boxcarsyix]

I agree with Devil's Advocate. There are those who would like to reduce us to a nation of serfs.

Aslo, my impression is that Amtrak is attempting to generate more sleeper revenue. Prices do seem to be climbing.

 

[abcnews]

Maybe they can divert part of the sleeper fee to the meal loses? So a $300 Roomette fee could be $200 - sleeper and $100 dedicated to food service.

Good food service and beverages are key to having a nice trip on the train.

 

[Paulus]

Maybe they can divert part of the sleeper fee to the meal loses? So a $300 Roomette fee could be $200 - sleeper and $100 dedicated to food service.

Good food service and beverages are key to having a nice trip on the train.

They already do that.

 

[dlagrua]

There is no doubt that Amtrak food workers are well compensated. If you add in tips they do make a comfortable living and have great benefits; but is that the cause of the dining cars not being profitable? Back in the day when the private railroads ran the dining cars, they paid the dining car crews far less but they did have 3 or 4 chefs on each dining car. The bottom line is that the dining cars were not profitable back then either. If Amtrak doubled the prices of each meal they would still lose money.

The only solution is to add more sleepers to the frequently sold out trains. To accommodate everyone with one dining car you offer a choice of two meals instead of three. I'd be happy with just a hearty breakfast or brunch and dinner. I would not mind skipping lunch. Two good meals daily is enough food to keep all the passengers alive on a long distance trip.

 

[jphjaxfl]

The Railroad Dining Car waiters and Sleeping Car Attendants have always been unionized since the late 19th Century so while they may not have been the highest paid, they had good earnings. In peak years, the tips were much better than today specially on the better trains. The excellent waiters and attendants were well known by their regular customers and by Railroad Management. When my Dad worked for the New York Central, he knew many of the regular workers in the Dining Cars and Sleeping Car attendants by name and they knew him. When I was young and we traveled, we would often go to the homes of some of the men he had become friends with. Some had retired, but they all had very interesting stories to tell about their experiences. In those days, many of them did not have a lot of advance education, but a young man who started with the Pullman Company or the Dining Car Department of a major railroad could do very well. They were well trained. After Amtrak started many of the ones who had survived the last lean years of passenger trains were able to get good jobs in large hotels and other hospitality businesses because they were concerned that Amtrak would not survive. Unfortunately the Amtrak hospitality workers of today do not get the fine training of the workers or an earlier era.

 

[cassie225]

Still I most of the time I am pleased with the service on Amtrak. Only had one bad employee-and he was just mean to everyone. Everybody on the train talked about him. But the others more than made up for his grouchiness.

 

[Ispolkom]

The Railroad Dining Car waiters and Sleeping Car Attendants have always been unionized since the late 19th Century

Nope. The Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters were only certified in 1935, thanks to the Wagner Act. The whole basis of good service on Pullman cars was the use of cheap black labor, people who due to discrimination couldn't get better-paying jobs. In exactly the same way, the Santa Fe exploited Harvey Girls, paying a pittance to women who didn't have many other options for respectable (as it was then seen) employment.

 

[ScottRu]

The notion that Amtrak is losing millions giving out "free food and wine" is fatuous. Those of us in sleeping cars are paying for those "perks," just like first-class air passengers pay handsomely for their "perks" - such as free entrance to airline clubs, with food and drink, and "free" drinks on board, etc.

It's called marketing.

 

[dlagrua]

This argument will go on forever it seems. If the government is really interested in reducing the deficit, entitlements make up the bulk of it. Eliminate the waste and fraud and you can fund another two Amtrak systems.

 

[jimhudson]

One Persons "Entitlement" is another "Persons" Corporate Welfare! The Real Waste in Government Spending is in Contracting to for Profit Outfits and Persons including So Called Defense and "Security" Contractors, not in Government Services and such things as Social Security, Medicare and the Tiny Subsidy that Amtrak gets each Year! YOMV

 

[Paulus]

The notion that Amtrak is losing millions giving out "free food and wine" is fatuous. Those of us in sleeping cars are paying for those "perks," just like first-class air passengers pay handsomely for their "perks" - such as free entrance to airline clubs, with food and drink, and "free" drinks on board, etc.

It's called marketing.

When, however, the tickets are not priced in such a fashion as to recoup the costs of food service, and food service expenses amount to a third or more of the ticket price, a valid question is raised as to the propriety of such perks.

 

[cirdan]

The whole basis of good service on Pullman cars was the use of cheap black labor, people who due to discrimination couldn't get better-paying jobs.

Hiring people with no alternatives does not in itself assure top notch service will be provided. A service based economy does always to some degree, and this by definition, exploit the class and income gradient to provide cheap service for the rich. Maybe the demarcations of these strata are less race-based today but there are still, if not more so, strong class-based demarcations that make the pittance one man throws away the income of another man. Do service-based societies get better service on average than more egailitarian societies? Sounds like an essay question, but I doubt there is any evidence for this.