Passenger Trains > No More Cooked Meals?

Hi,

A friend of mine that works on the Coast Starlight told me that Amtrak is
going to perform some major changes to the dining car. First, there will be
no more meals perpared on the train. Secondly, the selections will be greatly
reduced, and Thirdly, all of the meals will be precooked and 'microwave' heated
for consumption. What I'd like to know is: How much of this is true? And what
can we do, as frequent long distance train travelers, about it? Thanks.


Howard Dean
Alameda, CA

Well not much really you can change, its something that lots of places are going. I was in the Food service industry for 6 years and did schooling also, and this is how its going to for even Casinos and restaurants. Since its cheaper in the long run, because you can lock your self into 1 price and such for like a 1 year period for example, and say the price of 1 of your vegtables goes up in Price, you still pay that same price, but also some times its very little it will go up if its that dramtic. Another thing that is why Amtrak and other places are doing this for is the quality. When you get a meal made by 1 person, and then the next trip you order that same meal, and another person makes it, it may be totally different between thoes 2 people, so Amtrak probably wants consistency. The last but not least thing, is 1 of the biggest things that has been coming around right now in the industry as a whole, and is even hitting your local supermarkets and such, is Sanitation and Health & Safety. The reason I say this, sanitation is 1 thing, and its a little hard to keep your area clean while you work in a moving train at 70+mph, and still keep your safety up, and along with mechanical issues with keeping things cold between meals and also the equipment that you cook with is in working order (for example, the flat top grill dies in the first part of the trip, you still have the rest of that trip with out a flat top grill for all your meals, so you have to basically cancel lots of your menu). As a person who still keeps close ties with the food industry as a whole, its 1 of the best ways for the consumers and large corporations to do this type of cooking, then it is to have all the trained staff that will cost you more, and also the raw products with the waste that comes off, costing you more, and such. But its also you loose that sense of true romance with Railroad food cooked to order and made for a person with special needs or anything of that sorts.

When I took VIA rail a few years ago, they had already most of there menu to the pre-set foods/pre-made meals, but still had the cook in the kitchen making the plates and also making the special needs meals for people. This was all done in the little kitchen of the Skyline cars, and was for Coach passengers, but still they did 4 or 5 sittings a night when I was onboard, and thats for about 20 passengers at a time, and did great service till the end and never ran out of food. I say the way Amtrak is going is good for large productions of every day trains, but for trains like VIA Rails Canadian, the set menu for the Skyline was great and was the same for all dinners, all the lunches, and all the breakfast, and did great business, and was all simple but good food for every day passengers, and still was just a step above most restauarnts.

Telus6429
Ian
Windsor, Ontario
http://www.trainweb.org/swontariotrain/index.html
http://www.trainweb.org/wmrc/index.html
http://www.railpictures.net/showphotos.php?userid=199

If this happens, any Amtrak desire for "quality and consistency" will have little to do with it -- except possibly for public justification. Cost is the driving force, and the Bush administration is behind it. And no microwaved steak is going to substitute for the real thing cooked fresh on the grill.

I don't suppose the value of a fresh, hot meal is considered too much by "first class" passengers even though it's part of the ticket price, but then again, current leadership seems bent on destroying "first class" anyway. I don't know, does "first class" cost more to provide than it brings in? If so, maybe this really is the right outcome, though it's a shame.

They tried this game in the Reagan era of the early 80s and lost lots of passengers. A pretty sad time for Amtrak. They didn't gain a thing, still cost them the same amount of money.

Telus, a person very experienced in the general food industry, says Amtrak food preparation is simply adopting the more cost effective food serving techniques of commercial entities such as casinos. Why does a newspaper person have to tie the Amtrak manifestation of this food industry trend to Bush?

Serving pre-cooked and warmed meals is not necessarily a bad thing. First class airline meals are just that and those are pretty good meals by any standard. Done right (and that is the operative term), Amtrak should be able to provide far better consistency with pre-cooked food than with food prepared from scratch on board. Back when Acela offered full meals in First Class, those were basically airline First Class meals warmed on board in convection ovens (not microwaves), and they were very good. So Amtrak has done this successfully before with no compromise in quality.

Success is all in the implementation of the program. That, quite frankly, is what gives me pause with this rumor. We are dealing with Amtrak, after all. It is kind of like the fear of the USPS opening restaurants in the post offices. How this will actually turn out is anybody’s guess.

prr60 Wrote:
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> Success is all in the implementation of the
> program. That, quite frankly, is what gives me
> pause with this rumor. We are dealing with
> Amtrak, after all. It is kind of like the fear of
> the USPS opening restaurants in the post offices.
> How this will actually turn out is anybody’s
> guess.

The Portland, OR Main Post Office has both a snack bar located just to the left of the postal counter and at the main entrance, and a cafeteria that is open to the public on the second floor. Which is about the same number of dining options as either the Greyhound Station (located two blocks east) and Union Station (another block to the north), as well as the same number of dining options as the Coast Starlight (lounge car, dining car).

But I've never eaten there...so I can't attest to the quality.

WAF Wrote:
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> They tried this game in the Reagan era of the
> early 80s and lost lots of passengers. .

Ahhh yes .... the 'menu-offs' of the 80's. Back then, my parents and I were on a reasonably lengthy vacation ... mostly by train (the ride included the RGZ, Desert Wind and the IIRC, San Francisco Zephyr).

Anyhoo ... my dad, looked forward to nice dinners aboard the SFZ enroute to CHI. Between the time when my dad booked the trip and we rode, the dining car fare was sharply reduced to paper plates, etc. We learned of this either when we boarded or when we arrived in the diner. To say he was unhappy would be pretty accurate. My mom recalls the chef coming up from the lower level (Superliner diner) apologizing to the passengers. Apparently this was a snap decision by someone higher up.

To set the context of the following scene, my dad was the kind and friendly sort. Of many positive attributes, I should add tact wasn't exactly at the top of the list. When he felt he'd be short-changed, he could wind up like a jack-in-the-box. If something was on his mind, he'd often voice those thoughts. His voice? It could carry ... sort of like a foghorn on a murky night. ;-)

Fast forward a year to a N&W 611 powered excursion rolling toward Alexandria, VA. Ok class ... can anyone name an Amtrak president who liked steam? Anyone? The rumor spread pretty quickly on the train that Graham Claytor was aboard, walking through the train.

So there we were ... on a lightweight car whose aisle ran along the wall only to zig zag to the center at the vestibule. As Mr. Claytor attempted to head for the vestibule, my dad buttonholed him right in the corner of the aisle! My mom was behind him, equally prescient and mortified, attempting to defuse the situation.

I would think Mr. Claytor received a lot of "feedback" on the change to the menu ... to the extent the menu was restored.

* JB *

It's already been widely reported that, starting on a limited number of routes, food service will be consolidated into one "Diner-Light" car. A single-level prototype has been built. I don't know what's happening on the Superliner side. It will be far better equipped than a normal cafe's bar, and not quite as well equipped as a diner kitchen. The downside is the obvious loss of the spaciousness and ambiance of two discrete types of food service offerings in two separate cars. But indeed, food service might not necessarily decline if done right. And imagine being able to get your meals any time you want throughout the day, no having to make a stupid dining car reservation. This program could go either way. I'd reserve judgment for now.

Hey it worked for the SP. One of the finest dining experiences to be had was eating a meal in one of SP's luxurious AutoMat cars.

photobob Wrote:
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> Hey it worked for the SP. One of the finest dining
> experiences to be had was eating a meal in one of
> SP's luxurious AutoMat cars.

These will not be AutoMat cars. They will in fact be better staffed than current cafe cars. The analogy to how first class airline meals are prepared is correct, as the Diner-Lights will have an expanded galley. More booths will also take the place of where the Amfleet II smoking rooms are/were.

Make no mistake, this *IS* a cost-saving measure. Amtrak readily admitted as much when announcing the project to employees in September. Perhaps Amtrak's critics who feel that the company's operations are wasteful and inefficient should be pleased with this initiative.

How can they be better staffed then the current cars if they are on a money cutting binge?

photobob Wrote:
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> How can they be better staffed then the current
> cars if they are on a money cutting binge?

No more diner, beefed-up "Diner-Light" (cafe) staffing.

photobob Wrote:
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> How can they be better staffed then the current
> cars if they are on a money cutting binge?


Diner has a staff of 3 or 4 and a snack/lounge car 1. This new car will probably have a staff of 2.

During the Reagan era the food was so bad that I just ate hot dogs in the lounge car until they started cooking the steaks aboard.We all been that done that.


Take the Prime Rib that Amtrak now serves, the diections say to Microwave it but the chefs grill it and dries it out badly.
What would they do we pre cooked food?

Back to hot dogs for we if they do it.


Chris

My God going to Spirit gas station (what was Texaco) in Dunsmuir to eat sounds more appetizing than eating on Amtrak.

Sam Reeves
—
http://www.samreevesphoto.com

Hey Amtrak is turning into "Its all crap now".

JPB Wrote:
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> Telus, a person very experienced in the general
> food industry, says Amtrak food preparation is
> simply adopting the more cost effective food
> serving techniques of commercial entities such as
> casinos. Why does a newspaper person have to tie
> the Amtrak manifestation of this food industry
> trend to Bush?


Haven't read this board much, have you, JPB?

Hey---Back in the 1890's, we carried our home prepared picnic basket aboard to enjoy a meal...did not have to leave our seat so did not miss any railroad action out the window.....

If food service is discontinued on long distance due to Congressional mandates in the recent legislation, maybe Amtrak can contract with KFC to supply box lunches for sale on the LDT's. I saw a recent news item that KFC was thinking about calling itself "Kentucky Fried Chicken" again, because fried chicken is no longer taboo. Amtrak can market the new long distance train service as Amtrak "Chicken Bone Express" service.