Posted on 01/22/2019 6:48:06 AM PST by Kaslin
PITTSBURGH -- For nearly a quarter of a century, Amtrak's Capitol Limited route has taken me from my beloved hometown to Washington, D.C. Sometimes for fun, almost always for work, the experience is never the same.
And if you are a rail lover, it is always about the experience.
There is only one train that leaves the Pittsburgh station every day, and that is at 5:20 a.m. (which means your alarm goes off at 3:30 a.m.). Thanks to sharing the line with freight, that almost always means a 20- to 90-minute departure delay. Then there's the nearly eight-hour trip, twice what it takes me to drive there. Flying would only take an hour.
So why ride the rails? For starters, there's the joy of looking out your window to swaths of the countryside you'd never see if you were flying over them or cruising along the Pennsylvania Turnpike.
There are miles of old industrial sites in places like Braddock and McKeesport, Pennsylvania, some filled with ghosts of the past. If you are curious enough, you look up what they were as you pass them by and learn something new about the cities and towns that built this country, as well as the people who built it.
You also see a remarkable amount of them being reused or repurposed as new companies chase the ghosts away. Rebirth among the ashes is the story of America.
The post office in Meyersdale, Pennsylvania, is charming. The decay of the old brewery in Smithton, Pennsylvania, is hauntingly beautiful. The rapids of the Youghiogheny in Ohiopyle, Pennsylvania, are breathtaking. So are the sleepy little towns like Hyndman, Pennsylvania, and Paw Paw, West Virginia, where the long-long-short-long warning whistle of the train at each crossing echoes off the mountains that surround these valley towns.
What happens inside the train matters as well. One of the true charming parts of the ride is the dining car experience. It isn't just the warm, buttery grits and the crisp bacon. It is the people you meet because of the communal dining.
It was there on the Friday before former President Barack Obama's first inauguration where I met African-Americans traveling from as far as California by train to attend his inauguration. From veterans of the civil rights movement to young people caught up in his aspirational rhetoric, we were all sitting, conversing, sharing stories and experiences.
Last Monday, when I boarded the train for the first time this winter, I discovered the warm, buttery grits were no longer an option, replaced by a tub of yogurt and granola -- in a box. Dinner now came in a box. So did lunch. Gone were the crisp white tablecloths, and gone were the people who always cheerfully made whatever meal you wanted.
My first reaction was: If I were to want to be treated the way I am on an airline, I would take one. I took to Twitter and Facebook to express my disappointment in my best mom tone.
A call to Amtrak at first met deflection. As is the norm with spokesmen these days, they declined to talk and tried to insist I put my questions in email.
However, persistence, done courteously, sometimes does prevail. Apparently, I wasn't the only objector. Amtrak returned to hot meals by this past Wednesday.
The crisp, white tablecloths and the jobs have not returned. In fact, a month ago, employees held a small rally in D.C. to protest the dining service changes and the threat of outsourcing some 1,700 union food and beverage jobs.
Change is inevitable. Change is important. But it is often spurred by erroneous assumptions.
As Peggy Noonan commented on Twitter: "Amtrak's new management thinks trains are planes. A lot of us are on the train because we don't want to be on the plane."
Notably, Amtrak's new president, Richard Anderson, is the former chief executive of Delta Air Lines. There are a lot of things about rail service that can and should be modernized. But there are also some that shouldn't.
Anderson's next course of action should be a trip around the country by rail to listen to his devoted customers and learn who they are and why they ride. He and his team might realize what shouldn't be changed.
If 1,700 people were being paid government wages to make grits, they should have been fired long ago.
I would NEVER have guessed 8 hours by rail from Pittsburg to DC. I’d have thought half that at most.
85,000 daily riders on 300 trains. I’d say that 1700 food service employees is reasonable. I hope the union will become genuinely optional, but the number of workers (presumably two shifts and seven days a week) is reasonable for that number of trains.
the long-long-short-long warning whistle
The Empire Builder from Seattle to Chicago is a great trip provided you go first class (sleeper). It’s a forty-five hour trip through great country scenes.
Fifty years ago Delta was a fun way to travel... you'd get to the airport 15 minutes before takeoff and run out to board your plane. Meals were included and seats were wide and comfortable. Guess we can assume Richard Anderson keep with the tradition of making travel a form of punishment for everyone except phony 'elites'...
The condition of rails is why it’s so slow. Our trains have had to really slow down because they were derailing.
Obviously this particular rail line is antiquated. It takes twice as long as driving and there is only one inconvenient departure time. The government, via Amtrak should not be in the business of providing inefficient service and this line really should be cancelled in view of the bloated Federal budget and the shutdown.
If this guy wants an authentic rail experience, there are many privately operated tourist trains to choose from throughout the country. Many offer gourmet meals and special themes. I’m sure there is a nice on in WVA that showcases the beautiful scenery.
Why should the American Taxpayer subsidize her hot grits, white tablecloths and otherwise quaint experience?
Stop funding Amtrak.
Nice tax payer amusement ride you got there.
Ping for Willie Green
Ping for Dagny Taggart!
“Used to enjoy the Southern Crescent between Atlanta and New Orleans, back in the day.”
I have read good things about it. The Southern ran a first class train ‘til they turned it over to Amtrak in ‘79. I think it was ‘79.
I had heard for a number of years afterwards that Amtrak did a fairly good job of keeping up the reputation but I can’t speak for what it’s like now.
AAAOOOW!
I am probably the only person in the entire world reading about grits on FR as I was literally eating grits.
I have grits just about every morning, made by myself at home.
Still love trains but never ride on them.
Its a 10 trip from Charlotte to DC.. Can drive it at 6hrs.
But I can’t read, nap, and eat my take along Deli made ham and cheese sandwiches and a Beer !!!
I agree with the premise, rail cannot be an airline... If you treat people like they are on a cattle care, you will lose...
Amtrak however, just seems like it just wants to fail...
It can’t compete with the airlines on speed... but where it can blow them away is service... It doesn’t even have to be GREAT service... just ANY SERVICE will be better than domestic cattle soul crushing experience that is commercial air travel today.
However, Amtrak has to attract new customers as well... and this is where I just don’t see the effort. Maybe I am missing it, but can anyone tell me the last time they even saw ANY marketing for Amtrak?
Lord knows I can’t...
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