Passenger Trains > Amtrak vs. Covid

I am thinking about buying the $299.00 rail pass.
Are masks still required on western trains?
Can coach passdngers eat in the dinner yet?
Thank you

Yes to the first question and no to the second.

Sounds like fun, right!

Bob

Posted from Android

The price is right but no dining car access/opportuniity on a long distant train - NO WAY, Jose-!

Bring plenty of snacks-!


all-nite-junk-train Wrote:
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> I am thinking about buying the $299.00 rail pass.
> Are masks still required on western trains?
> Can coach passdngers eat in the dinner yet?
 

No ticket from me until both those issues are reversed.

As long as coach passenger diets are restricted to breakfast sandwich, pepperoni pizza, and cheeseburger, I will not ride Amtrak beyond a day trip and what I can safely keep in an insulated bag with ice packs, and pack some potassium and probiotic capsules to neutralize the sodium and carbs when I do have to relent and eat their truck stop garbage.

At least when I drive, I don't have to eat at Pilot and Flying J - I can find a local restaurant, a Denny's or IHOP to eat real food. Yes, Amtrak can stock RB, turkey and ham&cheese sandwiches on whole wheat, and sell hard-boiled egg packages, but they don't want to because they don't want your business. 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/22/21 07:54 by joemvcnj.

joemvcnj Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> As long as coach passenger diets are restricted to
> breakfast sandwich, pepperoni pizza, and
> cheeseburger, I will not ride Amtrak beyond a day
> trip and what I can safely keep in an insulated
> bag with ice packs, and pack some potassium and
> probiotic capsules to neutralize the sodium and
> carbs when I do have to relent and eat their truck
> stop garbage.
>
> At least when I drive, I don't have to eat at
> Pilot and Flying J - I can find a local
> restaurant, a Denny's or IHOP to eat real food.
> Yes, Amtrak can stock RB, turkey and ham&cheese
> sandwiches on whole wheat, and sell hard-boiled
> egg packages, but they don't want to because they
> don't want your business. 

Actually Casey's, Pilot, Circle K have gone into sandwiches and packaged salads etc.  While far from exciting you can get a turkey club or a salad etc, muffin, fruit plates.
Travelling to cover distance, railfanning or not interested in spending time at a sit down I bounce in and out in no time.  They are now a substitute for fast food.

Fill up, use the bathroom(Lol, lets ot start), grab a coffee or a soda and a light sandwich and be on my way.  Problem I have with sitdown is the unexpected time element.

Bob

You can expect masks on Amtrak and the airlines for some time to come.  It's the only way to stay safe except for requiring all passengers to show vaccination certificates, which I think may happen for foreign travel but is unlikely domestically.  The problem in the diner is that presently Amtrak will not seat people who aren't traveling together at the same table, which substantially reduces diner capacity, effectively limiting it to sleeper passengers.  Again, requiring proof of vaccination is the only obvious alternative, but no one--not Amtrak, not the airlines--seems willing to do that.  I do think that it would be nice to expand the food available to coach passengers.  Amtrak is bringing back real food to the diner (I can say from a recent trip that the current stuff is horrible except for breakfast) starting June 23, so maybe it can expand the options in the lounge car.  I would say, however, that the lounge cheeseburger is better than any of the pre-June 23 lunch/dinner options in the diner.

I believe Sep 13th is the de-masking date nationwide. But vaccination and infection rates vary widely. 

A county in Missouri has a 6 fold increase in hospitalizations in the last month with a 1st vax rate of 36%, 2nd vax at 32%. That is a very narrow disparity indicating they do not want to get vaccinated. 

Manatee County, FL office just had a Covid outbreak with 6 infections that produced 2 deaths. An exposed and vaccinated person in that IT department did not get infected. This is the highly dangerous "Delta" variant. 

I have been vax'd, but still and all do not want to be anywhere near these people nonetheless. You never know who you are sitting next to, we can't have vaccine passports, or showing own CDC card to get exemptions, hence the mask mandate. 



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 06/22/21 11:48 by joemvcnj.

BobB Wrote:
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> Again, requiring proof of vaccination is the only obvious alternative, but no one--not Amtrak, not the airlines--seems willing to do that. 


Just another example of Americans being whipped into a frenzy by the folks picking their pockets. Look at how many states are moving to outlaw such a common sense solution.

Brian

choodude Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> BobB Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Again, requiring proof of vaccination is the
> only obvious alternative, but no one--not Amtrak,
> not the airlines--seems willing to do that. 
>
>
> Just another example of Americans being whipped
> into a frenzy by the folks picking their pockets.
> Look at how many states are moving to outlaw such
> a common sense solution.
>
> Brian

Nope. Where's the science in these statements?

Politics aside, vaccine cards are INVALID for international travel for a reason. Only way to prove non-infection or immunity is by tests: PCR tests for non-infection, and antigen tests for antibodies. I'm not a medical professional, so I defer the detailed explanations to the medical experts, but tests, especially the PCR is the best way to prove non-infection.

FYI, vaccinated people can test positive for antigen tests, since the vaccine should have produced anti-bodies.

Vaccine cards are only slightly better than word of mouth to "prove" vaccination, especially if you've seen one of the cards. Suddenly, common sense isn't so common anymore. I'm not agreeing with anti-vaxxers here, by the way, but people need to think before making random statements/anti-statements.

A true Vaccine Passport is more sophisticated than those easy to counterfeit Covid-19 medical cards. Do your research.

Brian

Posted from Android

choodude Wrote:
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> A true Vaccine Passport is more sophisticated than
> those easy to counterfeit Covid-19 medical cards.
> Do your research.
>
> Brian

I already did the research.

You didn't think. You're just defending a position. Tests are only way to know a person's true COVID status. There are other issues I didn't mention which will make implementation of "vaccine passports" difficult. So it's your turn to do research.

WrongWayMurphy Wrote:
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> No ticket from me until both those issues are
> reversed.

That's my viewopoint too!

cchan006 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> choodude Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > BobB Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > > Again, requiring proof of vaccination is the
> > only obvious alternative, but no one--not
> Amtrak,
> > not the airlines--seems willing to do that. 
> >
> >
> > Just another example of Americans being whipped
> > into a frenzy by the folks picking their
> pockets.
> > Look at how many states are moving to outlaw
> such
> > a common sense solution.
> >
> > Brian
>
> Nope. Where's the science in these statements?
>
> Politics aside, vaccine cards are INVALID for
> international travel for a reason. Only way to
> prove non-infection or immunity is by tests: PCR
> tests for non-infection, and antigen tests for
> antibodies. I'm not a medical professional, so I
> defer the detailed explanations to the medical
> experts, but tests, especially the PCR is the best
> way to prove non-infection.
>
> FYI, vaccinated people can test positive for
> antigen tests, since the vaccine should have
> produced anti-bodies.
>
> Vaccine cards are only slightly better than word
> of mouth to "prove" vaccination, especially if
> you've seen one of the cards. Suddenly, common
> sense isn't so common anymore. I'm not agreeing
> with anti-vaxxers here, by the way, but people
> need to think before making random
> statements/anti-statements.

Vaccine's haven't proven very effective anyway, I for one will put the miles on my Escape until this crap is over!

ProAmtrak Wrote:
-----------------------------------------------------
>
> Vaccine's haven't proven very effective anyway, I
> for one will put the miles on my Escape until this
> crap is over!

I don't know where you get your information from, but you couldn't be more wrong.  The messenger RNA vaccines in particular (Pfizer and Moderna) are better than 95% in protecting you from becoming infected when exposed to the virus, and nearly 100% effective in keeping you from getting severely ill. 

Dave

ProAmtrak Wrote:

> Vaccine's haven't proven very effective anyway, I

Really ?
How do you explain the overwhelming majority of hospitalizations are the unvaccinated ?
That in NJ, only 0.06% of those vaccinated got sick. 
That a rural Missouri county hospitalization rate is 5 times what it was a month ago, where the vaccination rate is just 32%
That the one exposed person in a Florida county building IT department who was vaccinated did not go to the hospital and was not infected ? (4 others who were unvaccinated did, 2 of them died)

choodude Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Look at how many states are moving to outlaw such
> a common sense solution.
>
> Brian

Maybe you should ask yourself WHY it is being outlawed??!!

Posted from Android

ns1000 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> choodude Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Look at how many states are moving to outlaw
> such
> > a common sense solution.
> >
> > Brian
>
> Maybe you should ask yourself WHY it is being
> outlawed??!!
>
> Posted from Android


The truthful answer to that question is so far deep into present day divide and conquer wedge American politics that even I won't comment in this forum.

Brian

ProAmtrak Wrote:
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I for one will put the miles on my Escape until this crap is over!




It's been over for me for awhile. My entire family and social circle have been fully vaccinated for some time.

Brian

Posted from Android