Let’s Experiment with the Zephyr.
Here’s a thought … a trial balloon … a wild idea … and it sprang from a provocative question posed the other day: If VIA Rail has essentially the same financing and equipment issues that face Amtrak, how can they continue to operate the most spectacular train in North America—a train considered one of the five or ten best in the world?
The reference, of course, was to VIA’s flagship train, the Canadian, which runs either two or three days a week, depending on the time of year, between Toronto and Vancouver.
One answer to the question—the obvious one—is that VIA charges top dollar to sleeping car passengers. I’m traveling on that train near the end of April and my fare is just over US$1,100 for a roomette. (And that includes the 10-percent discount I get for being a member of NARP.)
And what am I getting for my money? Spectacular scenery, comfortable accommodations, and three excellent meals a day, prepared on board by VIA chefs, served on china dishes set upon linen tablecloths. And how is the food, you ask? Take a look . . .
(Left) One of the several luncheon choices: a seafood salad with shrimps and scallops on skewers. (Below) For dinner there are four options of which rack of lamb is one.
So here’s my crazy idea:
Amtrak’s designates the California Zephyr as its flagship train … its equivalent to The Canadian.
That’s not a far-fetched idea, either. The Zephyr travels through the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, across the Nevada deserts, and over the Sierra Nevada Mountains into California by way of Donner Pass—some of the best scenery the United States has to offer.
The Zephyr’s accommodations are standard for all Superliners, but we can help make up for that with a few amenities: a couple of small chilled bottles of champagne, maybe a souvenir coffee mug, and a nice four-color booklet describing the route and the scenery. (Sound familiar?)
Now here’s the hard part : the re-born Zephyr has a dining car that serves food of the same high quality that we get on VIA Rail’s Canadian. In fact, the Zephyr now has two dining cars—one with a limited and fairly inexpensive menu for coach passengers and another diner serving really high quality food, prepared on board, and served on real china. And to accompany these gourmet meals, there’s a decent selection of wines from which guests may chose. And everything on this train having to do with the passengers’ total experience is supervised by an on-board train manager.
And how does Amtrak make all this happen? Today, the fare for a roomette on the Zephyr from Chicago to the Bay Area in early April is about $475. With the terrific new dining car, the new fare could be $690. Or, if I’m traveling at a more popular time of the year—let’s say around the middle of June—instead of $690, we’ll bump the fare 30-percent to $965.
With this new and truly first class dining experience, would the Zephyr continue to attract passengers if fares were some 40-percent higher than they are today? The Canadian does!
I don’t really have anything new to add except that I love the idea.
And maybe if the price of a ‘first class’ ticket were increased (provided there really WAS first class service) that would neutralize some of the subsidy critics. Yes, if increasing the cost of my sleeper ticket would improve the food (and bring back the newspapers, the ice, juice, all day coffee, etc.) and bring my ticket cost closer to the actual costs of providing first class service I would have no problem with it.
I think most of us feel that way.
Jim, I love the idea. I really do. Amtrak would also need to refurbish the sleepers in order to charge top dollar fares. However, here is my fear – if Amtrak went down this path it would be an obvious targets for blowhards in Congress – i.e. “why are we subsidizing the wealthy to take expensive rail-cruises?” Also, companies like Rocky Mountaineer would fight it. Via Rail is running into that issue with The Canadian.
Maybe it’s just that I’m getting tired of “the Amtrak Signature Steak”, which is what I wind up eating almost every night. Really, I think the only point to the whole thing is–to paraphrase my hero, James Carville–“It’s the FOOD, stupid!” Passengers will overlook a lot if they have a good dining experience.
Theoretically, a good concept. However, serious precipices must be crossed, including:
Diner Requirements:
-installation of grill and toaster.
-a well trained chef, galley crew, steward, and wait staff; know how to up-sell liquor and work for tips.
-eliminate obnoxious PA announcements per every meal; go to VIA’s concept of lunch and dinner seating based upon when breakfast taken.
Lounge Requirements:
-develop a true first class club car.
-LSA to be thoroughly trained as bartender, competently mixing cocktails served in appropriate glassware, with the correct garnishing (e.g., 3 olives with Bloody Mary!)
Sleeper Requirements:
-get rid of those totally uncomfortable mattress pads and bring back the berth at window height! Have real pillows instead of rolled newspapers; get rid of the army blanket for a duvet.
For coach, learn from VIA, Q, GN, and NP and offer a true coffee shop grill/bar lounge.
However, I have concluded none of this will ever go beyond the theoretical phase until there is a complete change in management at Amtrak. To change the momentum, Eisenhower brought in Patton to turn around North Africa; Nixon brought in Abrams in Vietnam. Until that happens, we can only go to Canada and yearn for what could be…
It will be very interesting to see if Iowa Pacific Holdings can increase frequencies on the Hoosier State and maintain that significantly higher level of service for the long haul. If so–and until then–I agree this is all theoretical. Sure is fun to think about though, isn’t it!
You bet!
But Iowa Pacific must be allowed to succeed or fail on its own, on a level playing field, as long as the safety concerns and regs of the FRA are followed.
Another case study is the Rocky Mountaineer’s Gold Leaf service level, which replaces the sleepers with luxury hotel stays. The Bi-Level domed cars used for the Gold Leaf service have coach style seating with ample legroom and domed windows similar to those in Amtrak’s sightseer lounges on the upper level, with a dining room on the lower level. Each meal has multiple options and comes served on china with nice tablecloths. I had the pleasure of riding in Gold Leaf from Banff to Vancouver back in June, and it was a very memorable experience.