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Monday, October 8, 2007
EXCLUSIVE NEWS: City of New Orleans to lose Sightseeing Car and to Switch to Diner-Lounge car as early as November ‘07
I considered titling this blog item, “15 cars and 15 restless riders…well, not so much anymore,” but then realized that only about 1/4 of the blog readers might actually get the reference.
Anyway, I was sitting in the Dining car on the City of New Orleans Saturday evening, and overheard a conversation about the train being one of the first to move to a Diner-Lounge car.
I’d better back up for those (most) of you who may have no idea what that means. Last year, Amtrak started testing a prototype Diner/Lounge car on the Capitol Limited, which runs from Washington, DC to Chicago. The new car is the result of increased congressional pressure on Amtrak to economize their long distance food service expenses, and has been designed around Amtrak’s new “Diner Lite” program (instituted on all but two of its long distance trains), which, among other changes, replaced authentic china with plastic disposable plates, glassware with plasticware, fabric tablecloths with paper tablecloths, and an economized, across-the-board menu (no special dishes on certain trains). Half of the car is meant as a “lounge” area for light snacking and sight-seeing (but the cars put out in the forseeable future will lack the iconic “wrap-around” floor-to ceiling windows found in the current “Sightseer” cars), and the other half is meant for full meal dining. The car concept has been the topic of some criticism over the past year, with many critics rigidly pointing at the Empire Builder’s success story, where that train received a noticeable service level increase in the form of newly refurbished cars, first class perks (wine tastings, gift boxes upon room check-in, etc), and, of course, a full dining car experience where the words “Diner-Lite” and “Diner-Lounge” are never heard. As a result, the train, which is now Amtrak’s flagship Long Distance train, has enjoyed record popularity and ridership; for a taste (so to speak), click on the Empire Builder category link to the left to see photos and read about my trip on that train.
Regardless, Amtrak has made it clear that it has committed its resources to making the Diner-Lounge program work, and the first indication of that commitment came to me yesterday.
Amtrak’s Marc Magliari, the PR rep for the midwest zone, confirmed to me yesterday what I’ve seen rumored on message boards and what I overheard on the “City” Saturday night: the Diner lounge will make its debut on the City of New Orleans.
To help clarify some of the finer points that have been rumored and speculated, here are the facts, according to Magliari:
- There will, in fact, be menu options specific to the City of New Orleans, including a shrimp dish, jumbalaya, etc.
- The menu will be expanded from the current “Diner-Lite” menu to also include steak, ice cream, and possibly some other additions.
- The Superliner “Sightseer Lounge” car will be removed from the train, and the Diner-Lounge will serve as both the sightseeing car and the diner, which means the train will now be shorter.
- The change over will NOT happen before the end of October, as has been rumored. According to Magliari, “it’s possible by the beginning of November.”
- Car 37001 (pictured here and above in New Orleans on Sunday), the second Diner-Lounge car to be released by Amtrak’s Beech Grove shops in Indiana, is now in New Orleans for crew training. Magliari says, “It really depends on having all of the cars and having the training done. It’s going to be a big deal, so it takes a lot to get it launched.”
- With regard to when other trains may get the Diner-Lounge (and lose the sightseeing car), Magliari says, “the City will be the first one. After that, we’ll see how it goes.”
- With regard to the custom menu and whether or not other Diner-Lounge trains will also get customized cuisine, “The City will be the first one we’ll see what happens. The [City of New Orleans] historically had regional food on it, and if this is successful, we’ll look to do similar things with this train and this car.”
- The train, which now is the same set that runs as the Texas Eagle from San Antonio to Chicago and then turns around to become the City of New Orleans, will become a dedicated set that runs only between New Orleans and Chicago, at least until the Texas Eagle also moves to a Diner-Lounge.
No one, not even Amtrak, really knows how the Diner-Lounge will perform, but it appears that they’ve intentionally picked a light-load train to start with, which should help minimize any potential chaos.
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