The Amtrak brain trust seems to be so spectacularly wrong so much of the time, we find ourselves asking again and again, “What the hell are they thinking?” Yesterday I began working out travel arrangements to attend RPA’s annual Fall meetings in Miami this October. The final leg of my rail itinerary will include…
A couple of weeks ago, RPA President and CEO Jim Mathews had a lengthy sit-down with two key Amtrak executives: the President and CEO, Richard Anderson (below) and Chief Commercial Officer Stephen Gardner. Gardner, by th way, is supposedly leading the faction within Amtrak’s top management proposing to do away with the long-distance trains. …
OK, so in order to show Congress how hard they’re trying to save money, Amtrak has taken the dining cars off the Lake Shore Limited and the Capitol Limited. Now, instead of hot meals served in the traditional dining car setting, sleeping car passengers are being provided with cold boxed meals served in their accommodations….
When I travel, I fly to the west coast and take one of Amtrak’s long-distance trains to my mainland destination. I have the time. I can afford it. I like the slower pace and, yes, there’s the scenery. Most particularly, however, I enjoy the experience of meeting some of my fellow passengers over a nice…