Passenger Trains > Second Roanoke train anounced

https://media.amtrak.com/2022/06/amtrak-increases-daily-service-to-roanoke/

Andy

Wonder if it ever occurred to Amtrak to provide a train number and schedule for the new Roanoke service! But considering that Amtrak no longer "publishes" schedules, perhaps that is a bit too much to ask.

It took a while, but by doing some trial bookings I found the new Roanoke trains will be the inbound 151 from New York, arriving Roanoke at 1 PM.  Outbound the new train will be 66 departing Roanoke at 4:30 PM for Boston.  Both trains will operate seven days a week.  Apparently 65/67 will operate as before, Boston to Newport News.  There is also a very minor tweaking of the existing weekday trains 171 and 176, with both operating about 10 minutes later, also effective July 11.

It appears the overnight sleeping car service on 65/66/67 will not be restored unless the sleeping car would be cut off or added in Washington.  Has Amtrak made an announcement about that?

Jim

Here's another question.  66 and 65/67 used to have checked baggage car service in a baggage car.  With these trains going different routes, will checked baggage service return on these trains?  They used to offer the only checked baggage service north of NYP.  As a guess, the answer is no.

Jim

Steven Gardner has struck again. Kill checked baggage, kill the sleeper revenue,and of course no public timertables. Run a steel-wheeled MegaBus.

Checked baggage cost money. Personally I'd rather have a train without Checked Baggage than have no train at all.

DevalDragon Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Checked baggage cost money. Personally I'd rather
> have a train without Checked Baggage than have no train at all.

Lack of it costs revenue. There was never a trainoff because the train had a baggage car. $36 fire sale on coach fares for 456 miles also costs money. Stop thinking like Greyhound and Megabus. They are failed business models. 

joemvcnj Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> DevalDragon Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Checked baggage cost money. Personally I'd
> rather
> > have a train without Checked Baggage than have
> no train at all.
>
> Lack of it costs revenue. There was never a
> trainoff because the train had a baggage car. $36
> fire sale on coach fares for 456 miles also costs
> money. Stop thinking like Greyhound and Megabus.
> They are failed business models. 

I would be curious to see any statistics that people don't ride trains because there's no checked baggage.

Trains in Europe don't offer checked baggage and seem to be doing fine. Everyone's favorite Brightline doesn't offer checked baggage either, come to think of it.

DevalDragon Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> joemvcnj Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > DevalDragon Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > > Checked baggage cost money. Personally I'd
> > rather
> > > have a train without Checked Baggage than
> have
> > no train at all.
> >
> > Lack of it costs revenue. There was never a
> > trainoff because the train had a baggage car.
> $36
> > fire sale on coach fares for 456 miles also
> costs
> > money. Stop thinking like Greyhound and
> Megabus.
> > They are failed business models. 
>
> I would be curious to see any statistics that
> people don't ride trains because there's no
> checked baggage.
>
> Trains in Europe don't offer checked baggage and
> seem to be doing fine. Everyone's favorite
> Brightline doesn't offer checked baggage either,
> come to think of it.

Oh please stop with this nickel and dime nonsense. Do you work for Amtrak ?  Baggage cars here exist for a reason, and their cost is miniscule. We bought them and they are to be used. I don't care about Europe or Brightline. Amtrak runs empty coaches in corridor trains all the time in consists.  If you want to save money, we'll save a billion a year by shutting down the whole NEC.  



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/22/22 10:28 by joemvcnj.

joemvcnj Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> DevalDragon Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > joemvcnj Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > > DevalDragon Wrote:
> > >
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> >
> > > -----
> > > > Checked baggage cost money. Personally I'd
> > > rather
> > > > have a train without Checked Baggage than
> > have
> > > no train at all.
> > >
> > > Lack of it costs revenue. There was never a
> > > trainoff because the train had a baggage car.
> > $36
> > > fire sale on coach fares for 456 miles also
> > costs
> > > money. Stop thinking like Greyhound and
> > Megabus.
> > > They are failed business models. 
> >
> > I would be curious to see any statistics that
> > people don't ride trains because there's no
> > checked baggage.
> >
> > Trains in Europe don't offer checked baggage
> and
> > seem to be doing fine. Everyone's favorite
> > Brightline doesn't offer checked baggage
> either,
> > come to think of it.
>
> Oh please stop with this nickel and dime nonsense.
> Do you work for Amtrak ?  Baggage cars here exist
> for a reason, and their cost is miniscule. We
> bought them and they are to be used. I don't care
> about Europe or Brightline. Amtrak runs empty
> coaches in corridor trains all the time in
> consists.  If you want to save money, we'll save
> a billion a year by shutting down the whole
> NEC.  


The cost isn't in adding the baggage car. The cost is in the labor of loading and unloading the baggage car.

Adding station agents along the NEC to work two trains on the NEC in the middle of the night just to handle free baggage isn't a good use of the limited resources Amtrak has.

DevalDragon Wrote:

> The cost isn't in adding the baggage car. The cost
> is in the labor of loading and unloading the
> baggage car.
>
> Adding station agents along the NEC to work two
> trains on the NEC in the middle of the night just
> to handle free baggage isn't a good use of the
> limited resources Amtrak has

Some of the stations have staff to handle it. and BTW, the reservation system states checked baggage. I checked on train 65 to Richmond, VA in late July. How they will cycle the car, I have no idea.

Boston, Providence, Baltimore and Washington are not served in the middle of the night. New York always has staff. 

Without it and the foolish removal of the Boston baggage car on 448/449, Boston would have no checked baggage service at all. Long distance passengers do check their bags there with other trains. 



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 06/22/22 12:26 by joemvcnj.

The Commonwealth of Virginia has little interest in being dunned for additional equipment charges.

Paul Wilson
Arlington, VA

joemvcnj Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Some of the stations have staff to handle it. and
> BTW, the reservation system states checked
> baggage. I checked on train 65 to Richmond, VA in
> late July. How they will cycle the car, I have no
> idea.

There's something screwy in the reservations system.

Checking Washington to Newport News on July 13, train 67 shows checked baggage available. 67 turns to run north as train 186: no checked baggage.
 

Paul Wilson
Arlington, VA



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 06/22/22 13:01 by Dcmcrider.

I figured it out. Took me much of the afternoon playing around with endpoints. 

65/67 has checked baggage all the way from Boston to Newport News
66 only does from Washington to Boston, not from Richmond or Roanoke. 
So the car will be cut at Washington when 65/67's northbound Regional couplet (whatever its number, and it has no checked baggage)  and then gets added to 66 at Washington, 90 minutes hence.

If a sleeper is ever returned, or even an Amfleet-2 overnight Quiet car (if they had some sense), they can do the same thing.  

I do not believe six billion dollars will qualify Amtrak as limited resources!

Norm

Norman Orfall
Helendale, CA
TIOGA PASS, a private railcar

Roanoke has no agent, not even a station (yet).  But Lynchburg and Charlottesville have agents who could have handled checked baggage.  But with the "split" of 66 and 65/67,  it makes some sense to have the baggage car off 186 added to 66 in Washington.  Richmond Staples Mill station and Newport News have the tradition of handling checked baggage in the past.