Well, Amtrak only pays upon delivery. The result is that Amtrak has had extra cash for years on end and has collected the interest on it. (Though, more accurately, what Amtrak has done is to pay off old debt and *stop* paying the interest on that.) I suspect Amtrak gets a discount for anything which has to be done as "field mods" which should have been done by CAF as well.
This.
Another something to give Thanks for this week!
Has this been confirmed? I am close enough to walk to the tracks to see for myself, but it is running late and will interfere with yoga class.
Crescent or Meteor?
Most likely on 98 right now. Where it goes after arriving in NY tomorrow, who knows.
Is there any reason to believe that it would be moved to the Crescent ("After tomorrow, who knows")? Also, if Hartford is ready, is Harrisburg as well?
68012 is currently protecting with heritage equipment.
Here's something to think about. Unless there is shopped car, tomorrow will mark the day when all eastern trains with dining cars will run with a viewliner .
Aside from Harrisburg being backwards, it is also ready for service. Just a quick loop around the, er, loop, and it’ll be good to go.
There have been past days when the Crescent and SM have been fully outfitted with Viewliners at the same time - just not often. Regardless, I think its safe to say that Amtrak has a sufficient Viewliner fleet to permanently ditch the Heritage Diners.
There has NEVER been a time to my knowledge when ALL 8 sets (4 Meteor sets and 4 Crescents) have been equipped with LDSL at the same time. It may not even happen tomorrow if there is shopper.
I sincerely apologize if my tone or words sounded disrespectful. A couple months ago, there were times that the 8 or 9 Viewliners seemed sufficient and I didn't hear about or see any Heritage Diners in service on either train (and there were accounts of all 8 or 9 diners in service). If this was incorrect, again, I am genuinely sorry.
Exactly. We had 7 for 8 available at one point. Now that the 68012/13 are available, breathing has been created.
Stop hoarding the Heritages!! Deploy the fleet!! Send two to CHI and two to NOL for a month or so.
You will not see new diners by the end of NOV. Even if CAF released them tomorrow, no one could pick them up before December.
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If we have to wait until until the freaking end of August, I am gonna throw a cinder block through someone's windshield. I just don't see any reason why it could take that long. With 11 cars finished so far, only two more are required (and yes I know I've said this before) to reach a 20% shop margin plus the 11 consists. Though Amtrak management is slow to change, LSL ridership and sales are definitely hindered by the diner-lites. Management may not care about the customer, but they do about the bottom line, and the longer the LSL is kept this way, the longer ridership and revenue continue to suffer. In short, sooner is better for both Amtrak and it's passengers, so once equipment permits it, the LSL 'should' receive it's dining car relatively quickly. CAF's two-a-month goal has been met for the past four months, so I would say that the 12th and 13th diners' delivery and completion at Hialeah can be expected by the end of December. Beyond that, I have no idea.
Where are you getting this 20% shop margin from? What relevance does that have? Who said that was a deciding factor in deciding diner car allotments?
What proof are you offering to back up your statement regarding ridership and sales being hindered by the diner-lites? What makes you think ridership is suffering solely because it doesn't have a full diner? What makes you think revenue is suffering?
It is due for PM.
Can we keep this civil please? Even if you disagree with what I say, I have been pretty respectful here, and it is unnecessary to say:"Where are you getting this 20% shop margin from? What relevance does that have? Who said that was a deciding factor in deciding diner car allotments?...What proof are you offering to back up your statement regarding ridership and sales being hindered by the diner-lites? What makes you think ridership is suffering solely because it doesn't have a full diner? What makes you think revenue is suffering?"
