Passenger Trains > More Details on Coast Starlight Relaunch and Upgrades

The following is excerpted and transcribed from a memo from Jonathan Hutchison, Director of Amtrak Government Affairs West, dated 31MAY07, addressed to the Coast Rail Coordinating Council ahead of its Technical Committee meeting this Friday in Santa Barbara:

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Coast Starlight Upgrading

In the previous memo, the forthcoming rebranding of the Coast Starlight was referenced. Following is more detailed information about some proposed enhancements to the train. Please be aware that the following amenities are not guaranteed to be featured, as determining the final service levels/amenities is dependent upon Amtrak's fiscal situation and the resources that will ultimately be budgeted for upgrading this train. At this point, the "critical cost driver" is the refurbishment of the Pacific Parlor [sic] Cars. That said, the following amenities are being considered:

1. Cosmetically and mechanically upgraded Pacific Parlor [sic] Cars
2. Piloting an arcade car in place of the Kiddie Car
3. Complementary toiletry kit for first-class passengers
4. Complementary DigEplayers in sleepers (already being offered)
5. Restaffed Parlor [sic] Car with wine-tasting
6. Enhanced meals -- may include china service
7. Refurbished Superliner I equipment -- aka Empire Builder style consists

The exact timing of the revamped train is still being determined; again, the critical issue is the time required to refurbish the Parlor [sic] Cars. Consequently, the proposed launch date is between August 2007 and August 2008.

Sounds like some neat ideas for the train. The arcade game feature sounds neat, but I hope they do not make them coin operated as that will prove to be a headache. Maybe a better way is to sell some kind of magnetic card in the lounge where it can be inserted into a magnetic card reader in each machine.

One big improvement would be to eliminate the downstairs theater in the lounge car to create additional lounge car capacity. The original idea as explained to me by a marketing person at Amtrak they hired some years back was they were going to rent the space out for business meetings to generate additional revenue. She told me it was a hard sale and I don't know if she ever sucessfully booked any groups for it.

If they could ever get this train to be within a few hours of operating ontime on a regular basis there is huge potential for this train to do well. They proved that back in the middle 1990's before the service was slowly downgraded to what we have today. It is an interesting observation how long distance services have cycled up and down through the years. Revenue can be increased by improving service, thus creating greater demand for passage.

Todd Clark
Canyon Country, CA
Trainorders.com

Well, now that this train does run relatively ON TIME, it's "go time" for the relaunch.

Staffing is a must for the Lounge cars, and I would even staff the upstairs bar in the Lounge. People don't want to run down stairs all the time and wait in line for snacks.

Forget the nickel and diming stuff(Toiletries, dige packs), and staff the damn upper level lounge...You will get much more ebb and flow on the train.

AlwaysLate Wrote:
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> Well, now that this train does run relatively ON
> TIME, it's "go time" for the relaunch.

Did I miss a memo or something? Are you saying something happened and now it runs on time? I just checked the Amtrak status page and it looks like #11 has been arriving in LA early for the last few days. Or was this one of those deals where they added a few hours to the schedule to make it on time?

AlwaysLate Wrote:
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> Well, now that this train does run relatively ON
> TIME, it's "go time" for the relaunch.
>
> Staffing is a must for the Lounge cars, and I
> would even staff the upstairs bar in the Lounge.
> People don't want to run down stairs all the time
> and wait in line for snacks.
>
> Forget the nickel and diming stuff(Toiletries,
> dige packs), and staff the damn upper level
> lounge...You will get much more ebb and flow on
> the train.


Staff is expensive.

I know staff is expensive, but to me at least, it makes all the difference in train travel.

pacificparlour Wrote:
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> ... Please be aware that
> the following amenities are not guaranteed to be
> featured, as determining the final service
> levels/amenities is dependent upon Amtrak's fiscal
> situation and the resources that will ultimately
> be budgeted for upgrading this train....
>
> The exact timing of the revamped train is still
> being determined; again, the critical issue is the
> time required to refurbish the Parlor Cars.
> Consequently, the proposed launch date is between
> August 2007 and August 2008.

I think I had suggested before that the relaunch might be waiting for Kummant to see how much money he is going to get next year. Sure looks like that now. Any updates on how Amtrak legislation is coming?

How about staffing both levels of the Lounge Car? Seems to me that, with summer capacity crowds filling the train (and with a fairly long wait for food service downstairs) there's $$$ to be made serving drinks (and small snacks like nuts, chips, etc..) at the upper level bar.

For those suggesting upper level service in the Sightseer Lounge.......just curious if you've even been on-board while that position is staffed? I remember back when Superliners were brand new, and Amtrak did indeed staff the upstairs area for a brief time. My recollection is that this did not help matters much, as it just created a line in the lounge (and extra noise) and impeded traffic flow for people trying to walk through the car. It was basically a pain in the a*s as I remember it.

I did see the upper level of the Sightseer Lounge staffed last year on an Empire Builder trip that I took. The guy upstairs sold a small selection of sodas and cocktails, and a few bags of chips. That might work out a little better, so that people can walk up, get their stuff, and walk away. In that capacity, it seemed to work out well. But when stupid people go up to the counter and stare at the menu trying to decide if they want a hot dog or a hamburger, potato chips or Doritos, Pepsi or root beer, and a candy bar or a cookie......it makes the line get long very fast. Not always the passenger's fault, but it sure seems like it at times.

smitty195 Wrote:
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> I did see the upper level of the Sightseer Lounge
> staffed last year on an Empire Builder trip that I
> took. The guy upstairs sold a small selection of
> sodas and cocktails, and a few bags of chips. That
> might work out a little better, so that people can
> walk up, get their stuff, and walk away. In that
> capacity, it seemed to work out well. But when
> stupid people go up to the counter and stare at
> the menu trying to decide if they want a hot dog
> or a hamburger, potato chips or Doritos, Pepsi or
> root beer, and a candy bar or a cookie......it
> makes the line get long very fast. Not always the
> passenger's fault, but it sure seems like it at
> times.

The EB should have lounge cafe menus in every seatback, so shame on the crew if they didn't make the announcement, "If you're coming to the lounge car from your seat or compartment, please try to have a good idea of your desired selection before entering the lounge."

Staff is expensive. Restoring the Parlour Car LSA should be top priority, followed by more Dining Car Servers, a second Chef, and Coach Attendants in every coach (especially now that one of them handles revenue Trans Dorm space).

They have consistently PROVED they cannot maintain daily service with 5 parlors as very frequently more than 1 is out of service. Better budget idea would be to buy back the 1 from the private party and refurb it to add to the pool.

When did it become such rocket science to figure out what your customers want and provide the means to give it to them? This has long made the difference between a successful business and and a failure.

ProRail Wrote:
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> When did it become such rocket science to figure
> out what your customers want and provide the means
> to give it to them? This has long made the
> difference between a successful business and and a
> failure.


It is rocket science to figure out how to afford it. There are limited resources to work with. Another way of looking at it is losing more money in itself is a failure. And, Amtrak is hardly a business...it's a government agency.

It would be nice if the 5th Parlor is restored to operation. That's largely the problem - there's no spare Parlor Car as a result of the 5th Parlor Car awaiting repairs in Beech Grove (and has been for quite a long time now). Only four train sets are needed for the Coast Starlight. So the 5th Parlor Car was the "backup."

The Empire Builder seems to be doing well with its upgrades, so hopefully similar items will flow through to the Coast Starlight. However, I haven't heard about refurbed Superliner I sleepers being turned out of Beech Grove - or as aggressively as they were with the Empire Builder re-launch.

I was hoping Amtrak could do better with just digiplayers and the arcade! More thinking outside the box would help. How about also providing some sort WiFi service - where practical along the route. I'd use the service at night, or perhaps instead of bringing a book to the Sightseer Lounge, I'll bring the laptop and camp out at one of the booth tables for an hour or two catching up on e-mails, news etc. The Coast Starlight traverses some of the most fantastic coastal and Pacific Northwest scenery. One shouldn't be buried in a digiplayer or arcade that much!

The scenery and service sells the train - and should be a driver. The Pacific Parlor Car and Superliner Sightseer Lounge car provides the best opportunity for such. Selling drinks and snacks on the upper level of the lounge seems to have had positive effects on the Empire Builder. I've never encountered any line on the upper level. Once I see there are no customers, I'll just walk-up to buy my drink.

I also agree that more could be done with the lower level of the Pacific Parlor cars. As such outfitting the Parlor Car as a lounge for sleeper passengers is a good chief priority. But enhancing the onboard experience - dining, environment, service - is equally important for coach and sleeper service. Amtrak did a nice job with this train in its upgrade in the mid/late 1990s - those efforts should also be considered. Champagne, flowers and other goodies went a long way.

Amtrak could even sell a separate service package for passengers looking for "extras" - whatever that may be. And of course building in pre-paid meals (via ticket receipt or coupon) to coach passengers may also be a consideration for Amtrak to consider - similar to how the cost of meals is built into the sleeper car price.

Hopefully we will see the re-launch of the the Coast Starlight sooner rather than later!

Sounds excellent. I had heard of most of those, however the bring-back of the toiletries bag sure will be a blast from the past...

A Customer Service Manager on a recent trip of mine mentioned possible internet access in the bottom of Pacific Parlour Cars... I wonder if this is still being considered.

And great ideas jp1822!

Wow, Jonathan Hutchison eh? He's truly a professional, and has the passion for passenger travel. Is quite the avid railfan, and he does read this forum.

Congrats on your step up Jonathan, when are you going to become President of Amtrak? :)

The EB has the upper level of the Lounge staffed, and frankly I quite enjoyed it. Did much to improve the "Professional Atmosphere" of the train. The refurbished lounge cars 33020 and 32024 (the ones i rode) had tables at one end of the top level, which was well utilized by the passengers.

> the toiletries bag

Norfolk Southern used to use 'em.

reindeerflame Wrote:
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>
>
> It is rocket science to figure out how to afford
> it. There are limited resources to work with.
> Another way of looking at it is losing more money
> in itself is a failure. And, Amtrak is hardly a
> business...it's a government agency.

When the airlines do not require one penny more of federal,state, county and city funding I will understand the goverment agency part of your comment.
But for now the airlines and other modes of transportation require billions upon billions of our tax dollars to succeed.
On the other hand I want all the long distance train travel federal aid to go into high speed rail, so we can better our transportation needs for everyone.

Problem with all of this is they've already pissed away all the good paying customers they had aquired in the mid-90's by downgrading all the service, not showing up with Parlors, and terrible OTP.

Most of those folks are "never agains" regardless of what Amtrak will try to promise. Amtrak can not be trusted and the public has figured this out. And we all know it's inevitable, the one train you will book yourself on will show up late, and will not have a parlor car and no replacement for it provided either.