Business Class disappearing from Wolverine 355 and 350?

[taking the cars]

I was informed today by an AMTRAK agent that my Business Class tickets (party of five) for a round trip to and from Kalamazoo, Michigan (Wolverine 355 and 352) over the weekend of 13-15 February 2015 are canceled and downgraded to coach. The initial story was equipment maintenance issues. The agent really did not seem to know why? Is AMTRAK discontinuing Business Class service, the cafe car or they do not have enough equipment?

I was told by another agent that I would have Business Class reservations for the return trip. Her story was that the equipment would not be available, or "I really do not know." How does AMTRAK know a month in advance that a business class coach woul not be available, or that a replacemnent is not available?

My suspicion was that AMRAK would prefer to sell Business Class tickets all the way to Chicago. My wife and I are traveling with our three grandchildren, who will be getting on at subsequent stations (Ann Arbor and Jackson) after we leave Troy, Michigan. Seating in Business Class is preferable so their parents know in which car we are traveling and so that each child could have a window seat.

Then, I was told by a customer service agent that Business Class was eliminated on 355 and one eastbound Wolverine (350?). The equipment was being removed and snack would be sold in a coach car not a buisness class car. This appears to be another AMTRAK effort to reduce customer services on their trains.

I will have to work with the conductor to save some seats for them. I am a supporter of AMTRAK, but this kind of poor customer service does not make it easy to sell rail travel to others. I now wonder what will go wrong with reservations on the Lake Shore Limited in June. Perhaps I will have to turn down my bed myself?

 

[Paulus]

If they're getting rid of business class on the Wolverines (rather than it being a simple equipment availability issue), it is at the behest of the state, not Amtrak.

 

[R30A]

Maybe this is the Talgo entering service?

 

[Bob Dylan]

Sounds like an equipment issue!

Could it be, as was said, that these particular trains will be running with the Talgos or even have Superliner equipment like the Pere Marquette runs?

I'd call Customer Relations and have them find you the correct answer, often Rez Agents @ Amtrak don't have lots of info, especially about equipment! A case of the left hand not knowing what the right is doing!

 

[SarahZ]

I will have to work with the conductor to save some seats for them. I am a supporter of AMTRAK, but this kind of poor customer service does not make it easy to sell rail travel to others. I now wonder what will go wrong with reservations on the Lake Shore Limited in June. Perhaps I will have to turn down my bed myself?

I hope this was tongue-in-cheek, because that's quite a leap.

I travel the Wolverine frequently, and the conductors are really good about keeping families together. They board families first and help the kids get on the train. If they know your group is coming, they'll sometimes put a sign above the seats to reserve them for you. Troy is the second stop (Pontiac is the origination), so the train will still be pretty empty.

I'm fairly sure it's an equipment issue. I highly doubt they would get rid of BC on the Wolverine, as it sells out quickly and is extremely popular.

I just traveled between Kalamazoo and Ann Arbor in BC last week, so it's not an issue of, "They'd rather sell BC all the way to Chicago." Again, you're leaping far into Assumption Land. The agent did call about a month in advance, which IS good customer service. If they were not given much more information than, "We won't have the equipment," then I'm not sure what you expect them to tell you.

Yes, the maintenance team should have communicated better with the call center team, but having worked in a call center, I know that, many times, they simply get an email blurb that says, "Please contact all customers with reservations between X date and Y date. Due to equipment issues, train #blahblahblah will not have BC equipment," (or something to that effect). It's frustrating for the call center agents and the customers, I agree.

Bottom Line: You have BC for your return trip from KAL, so that's good. For the trip out of Troy, I honestly wouldn't worry about it, as you will be some of the first passengers to board the train.

 

[tommylicious]

I don't like Business Class on the Wolverine as the overhead fluourescent lighting in those cars is too institutional, bright and harsh. Biz class on the older cafe cars is much nicer and private imo.

 

[SarahZ]

I don't like Business Class on the Wolverine as the overhead fluourescent lighting in those cars is too institutional, bright and harsh. Biz class on the older cafe cars is much nicer and private imo.

Really? Every time I've been in BC, the lighting is much more dim than coach.

 

[MikefromCrete]

Perhaps Superliner equipment is being substituted during the winter months.

 

[PRR 60]

Perhaps Superliner equipment is being substituted during the winter months.

I think that is it.

 

[reppin_the_847]

Perhaps Superliner equipment is being substituted during the winter months.

This is certainly it. I traveled westbound from Kalamazoo to Chicago this past Sunday night & we traveled on a double decker Superliner train. The boarding process was different than usual as well. The conductors made sure to scan everyone on the way into the train rather than onboard (the typical boarding process @ stops besides Chicago).

My inbound trip from Chicago to Kalamazoo a couple nights prior (Friday night) was onboard business class in their typical equipment (Amfleet car for the business / snack car connected to a bunch of Horizon cars).

 

[Eric S]

Ugh. Checking tickets on the platform.

I guess I'm holding out hope that once the new equipment arrives in the Midwest that Amtrak (perhaps at the states' insistence) adopts the practice of opening as many doors as possible (depending on platform length), letting people sit where they'd like, and just checking tickets on the train.

 

[SarahZ]

Ugh. Checking tickets on the platform.

I guess I'm holding out hope that once the new equipment arrives in the Midwest that Amtrak (perhaps at the states' insistence) adopts the practice of opening as many doors as possible (depending on platform length), letting people sit where they'd like, and just checking tickets on the train.

Lord, yes. I swear some of our delays come from the clogged boarding process. They check tickets on the train 95% of the time, so opening all of the doors makes so much more sense.

 

[seat38a]

Ugh. Checking tickets on the platform.

I guess I'm holding out hope that once the new equipment arrives in the Midwest that Amtrak (perhaps at the states' insistence) adopts the practice of opening as many doors as possible (depending on platform length), letting people sit where they'd like, and just checking tickets on the train.

What is up with the odd boarding process in other States? Is it because the doors are not automatic that can be opened and closed from a single panel? The Surfliner, San Joaquin, and Capital Corridor all open the doors and let people board. In another post, it mentioned the whole cluster f$%^ boarding process for the Cascades by being assigned a seat by standing in line.

 

[reppin_the_847]

Ugh. Checking tickets on the platform.

I guess I'm holding out hope that once the new equipment arrives in the Midwest that Amtrak (perhaps at the states' insistence) adopts the practice of opening as many doors as possible (depending on platform length), letting people sit where they'd like, and just checking tickets on the train.

I agree with you and SarahZ. At least it doesn't seem like normal practice. I think these Superliner rides are one-off situations a few times in the winter. On the bright side, I think the view is better in the Superliners (with larger windows & ride height in the upper deck) & the leg room seems better compared to coach in typical Horizon equipment.

If the Amtrak decides to boost their frequency once the new equipment arrives & they have more right of way on the tracks (ie. Kalamazoo to Dearborn stretch), hopefully they will become more efficient at boarding along the route. The Hiawatha line from Milwaukee (WI) to Chicago has a much better on-time record, but it it also only travels a length of about 90 miles with much less freight interference compared to the MI routes.

 

[Eric S]

Yeah, the use of Superliners and Horizons with manual doors is a factor. But even if two doors, or two pairs of doors on adjacent cars, are opened, it still should be possible to get everyone on board and then check tickets on the train once it is underway, rather than on the platform.

I don't know what the story, or history, is with the Cascades in OR/WA/BC. I've only ridden that twice and found the "line up and get seat assignments, then sit down and wait before lining up again to board" to be odd and unnecessary.

As for the Midwest corridors, I really hope that if Amtrak doesn't change boarding practices when new equipment arrives, that the states (IL, MI, MO, WI, etc.) will force the issue. At that point, it would seem that the Northeast/California practice of opening all doors, not separating passengers based upon destination, and checking tickets on board should be able to be adopted through the Midwest corridors. (And, yes, I realize there are some platforms that might not be long enough for all cars/doors, but that situation exists in the Northeast too.)

 

[Bus Nut]

Eric,

They'd have to upgrade equipment (and possibly the boarding zones). The Feds have made a rule that only Conductors may open the manual doors on FRA equipment for safety reasons. Because of this rule commuter rail agencies have posted warnings about passengers messing with doors and they could probably fine or trespass you if you got it into your head to do so. If a non-Conductor employee on the train opens a door they would be open to discipline and dismissal.

Replacing equipment is expensive and takes time....

 

[amtrakwolverine]

Im surprised amtrak is running superliners on the wolverines since they cannot go 110MPH(max superliner speed 100MPH).

 

[Anderson]

Im surprised amtrak is running superliners on the wolverines since they cannot go 110MPH(max superliner speed 100MPH).

Has the timetable ever been updated to reflect the improved track speeds? I ask because if I'm not mistaken, the situation out there has been one mess after another, so it might not matter...they might be using most or all of the faster running for extra time to make up for delays around Chicago.

 

[Eric S]

Eric,

They'd have to upgrade equipment (and possibly the boarding zones). The Feds have made a rule that only Conductors may open the manual doors on FRA equipment for safety reasons. Because of this rule commuter rail agencies have posted warnings about passengers messing with doors and they could probably fine or trespass you if you got it into your head to do so. If a non-Conductor employee on the train opens a door they would be open to discipline and dismissal.

Replacing equipment is expensive and takes time....

Right. I didn't mean to suggest passengers open doors themselves. I should have been clearer. I meant that, assuming there are two conductors (or asst. conductor), it should be possible to have two doors, or better yet two pairs of doors on adjacent cars, open on the existing Amfleet/Horizon/Superliner equipment.

As far as replacing equipment, that is already underway, with the bilevels that will be in service throughout (most of) the Midwest in a few years.

 

[taking the cars]

Sarah K, I know that the Wolverine conductors are willing to work with families, and, yes, we will be one of the first passengers on the "Kalamazoo" coach. Paying extra for Buisness Class makes the trip more enjoyable when it is just my wife and me. I am sure the kids and their parents can deal with the situation.

I was more put off by the lack of a consistant explanation for the change in my tickets among all the AMTRAK personnel as it took four phone calls to get an almost complete answer. Even this post did not produce an exact reason for eliminating Business Class on these two trains. It is still a guess as to what type of car we will be riding on Train 355.

Over the years I have noticed an unfortunate decrease in customer service and this (eliminating Buisness class on certains trains) seems like another example. We often take the Empire Builder to St. Paul, Minnesota and have to put up with the poor on time performance. We do so, becasue it is less than the hassels of air travel. That is the same reason we are taking the Lake Shore Limited home from New York City upon our return from Europe on the Queen Mary II next June. By the way, our travel for a month in Europe will be by rail.

 

[afigg]

Has the timetable ever been updated to reflect the improved track speeds? I ask because if I'm not mistaken, the situation out there has been one mess after another, so it might not matter...they might be using most or all of the faster running for extra time to make up for delays around Chicago.

I think there were small tweaks to the schedule for the 110 mph sections, but a limit of 100 mph for Superliners is not going to make much of a difference given how long it takes to accelerate to 100/110 mph in the current setup. The on-time performance of the Wolverine service is still dismal at 44% for all stations OTP in November. Temporary use of Superliners for the worse winter period is not going to hurt the OTP much. OTOH, Superliners may improve the OTP if the choice is between slower Superliners that work and Horizons with frozen plumbing and doors that can't run until the problem is fixed.
As for boarding practices, the new bi-levels will have automatic doors. So the crew won't have the doors as an excuse to force everyone through a couple of doors.

 

[reppin_the_847]

Im surprised amtrak is running superliners on the wolverines since they cannot go 110MPH(max superliner speed 100MPH).

Like "afigg" said. It didn't make much difference. It felt like we were going quite fast during the speedy stretch between Kalamazoo, MI & Porter, IN, so I'm guessing we did hit the Superliner top speed of 100 MPH. Ironically, my ride on normal equipment Friday night was more delayed getting to Kalamazoo than my trip back west to Chicago on the Superliner (even with the longer boarding times). It's worth noting that our eastbound trip on Friday night (on normal equipment) departed Chicago quite late.

 

[tommylicious]

I would much rather ride 80mph on a Superliner Coach than 110mph on an Amfleet biz class.

 

[SarahZ]

Im surprised amtrak is running superliners on the wolverines since they cannot go 110MPH(max superliner speed 100MPH).

Like "afigg" said. It didn't make much difference. It felt like we were going quite fast during the speedy stretch between Kalamazoo, MI & Porter, IN, so I'm guessing we did hit the Superliner top speed of 100 MPH. Ironically, my ride on normal equipment Friday night was more delayed getting to Kalamazoo than my trip back west to Chicago on the Superliner (even with the longer boarding times). It's worth noting that our eastbound trip on Friday night (on normal equipment) departed Chicago quite late.

I never really notice the difference between 100 mph and 110 mph. Fast is fast. What I DO notice is when we're slowed/stopped. So, that said, I'd be perfectly happy with 100 mph for a while, especially if it means we aren't slowing/stopping.

 

[reppin_the_847]

I also think given the strong ridership (especially on weekends), Amtrak should test out running their "holiday schedule" on Fridays & Sundays for the Wolverine. I loved having the option for a 6:15 PM return train from Kalamazoo to Chicago during the Thanksgiving & Christmas holiday seasons. That train would originate out of Ann Arbor at 4:05 PM. The extra trip out of Chicago in the mornings (9:20 AM) eastbound was beneficial as well.