THE CASE FOR CONTRACTING PROVISIONING OUT TO NOODLES AND COMPANY.

Food service on Amtrak's eastern trains was a disgrace long before the corona tyranny led to service cuts.  Trains contributor Bob Johnston notes the slippage has gone beyond the menu.  "The trip featured onboard personnel that were uniformly friendly and attentive to passengers’ needs. Yet it also showed shortcomings that can be rectified if management and employees at all levels would exert more effort in catering to those who invest time and money in Amtrak’s product."  He started with the Silver Star, the only Florida train currently running, and after a fiasco getting passengers aboard at Orlando, here's what on-board is like.

With only one train to worry about on the Miami-New York route, you would think Amtrak would make a good-faith attempt to make the experience in the Viewliner diner a positive one for customers. The car has been redefined as a “lounge” for sleeping-car patrons, who remain the only travelers allowed to enjoy the landscape rushing past the double set of windows until management figures out when, or if, serving protocols can be altered to include coach passengers.

There's not much food on offer, which does not excuse not having any menus on hand.  In addition, giving passengers clean windows to look out of isn't a priority.

The westbound Cardinal and northbound Silver Star showed no evidence that either train had recently been pulled through a washer. The temperature in South Florida was sunny and in the mid-80s all week, and the Chicago-bound triweekly was coming off of a full-day layover at New York’s Sunnyside Yard. Clean windows are a relatively inexpensive way to enhance the travel experience, but have proven to be one of the first expendable items at many maintenance facilities. The Chicago washer was out of commission for an extended period last year, apparently because no one considered it a priority.

Fifty years ago, Amtrak were taken by surprise when passengers discovered that "Are you driving or flying?" omitted a choice.

Gas prices are skyrocketing. When this happened in Amtrak’s past, beginning with the oil embargo of 1973, it resulted in significant ridership gains across the entire network. Lack of proactive investment in personnel and equipment may have handicapped the company’s ability to take fullest advantage of the current situation, but there is no reason easily adjusted customer service aspects can’t be immediately addressed.

It is a sobering thought, though, that the legacy cars Amtrak inherited from the investor owned railroads were not as old as many of the long-distance cars comprising the Star, Cardinal, Capitol Limited, or Lake Shore are now.