United Rail Passenger Alliance

Vol. 2, No. 13 – June 23, 2005

1. Amtrak’s best chef in the east, who works on the Crescent, wants the world to know that on his train (as opposed to the Sunset as discussed in last week’s TWA), that his crew keeps the Crescent dining car open for 11 hours a day. Here is what he had to say:

   "… I appreciated the attention you gave the Dining Car, as that is the heart of any train. A note on the hours of service. Breakfast is 6:30 A.M. to 10:00 A.M., Lunch 11:30 A.M. to 2:00 P.M., and Dinner 5:00 P.M. to 9:00 P.M.

   "On my crew we start dinner at 4:30 P.M. on the Crescent leaving New York. We find that if we wait till 5:00 P.M. it’s around Baltimore, and then it can become a mess when the power goes off in DC [for the locomotive change]. If we are early into New Orleans, we start at 4:30 P.M. the second night. This give us a 11 hour service span on a full day. We have been going after a lot of coach business as well. Our sales last trip were over $8,000.00."

   Obviously, the spirit of pride of workplace, good passenger service, and individual entrepreneurship is alive and well in some parts of Amtrak.

2. Minnesota Association of Rail Passengers Vice President Dennis Larson has presented an important analysis regarding remarks made by United States Department of Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta and long distance trains. Here are Mr. Larson’s thoughts.