Passenger Trains > Cardinal capacity

I was just able to book a roommette on May 24 (Memorial Day weekend) from Cincinnati to Newark. It was $399 - but I used AGR points.

Looking at the calendar, I am surprised that rooms were not already sold out on that date. I have often run into sold out status on the Cardinal for all kinds of dates, but pleased to be able to book this. I'm not sure where the price ranks for this one way trip since I almost always use points for bedrooms, but it didn't seem super expensive - although that does translate to a $798 round trip, which does sound like a lot.

We are flying home since this train does not operate on the day we wish to travel back to Cincinnati so Amtrak is losing out on that revenue. A try weakly schedule is really confounding.

Posted from Android

Hmm.  Perhaps another sleeper has been added?  I am traveling on the bird in a few weeks and I similarly found rooms open, which suprised me.  I do know that the Cardinal is hard to ride in the summer and early fall, every year.

It would be nice to add a coach or two, a sleeper, and a diner.  I would even take flex dining over the current situation.

Let us know how it goes.

Well, they are selling roomettes now in the Bagg/Dorm. This almost doubles the roomette revenue capacity, since onboard crew occupied the single sleeper as well as revenue passengers. So having the NINE rooms in the Viewliner II Bagg/Dorm open for revenue space too does help a LOT actually - even with both Viewliner II Sleeper and Viewliner II Bag/Dorm selling revenue sleeper space. 

jp1822 Wrote:
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> Well, they are selling roomettes now in the
> Bagg/Dorm. This almost doubles the roomette
> revenue capacity, since onboard crew occupied the
> single sleeper as well as revenue passengers. So
> having the NINE rooms in the Viewliner II
> Bagg/Dorm open for revenue space too does help a
> LOT actually - even with both Viewliner II Sleeper
> and Viewliner II Bag/Dorm selling revenue sleeper
> space. 

Please explain further what changed.  It has carried the bag/dorm and a full sleeper for quite some time.  I doubt there is less crew to house 

So the only crew who need sleeping space would be the cafe operator and maybe the crew chief, assuming there is one for this short country train?  Coach attendants stay there, as does the sleeper attendant.  So two rooms are used for crew, max, I would think, unless I am missing someone.

 

P Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> jp1822 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Well, they are selling roomettes now in the
> > Bagg/Dorm. This almost doubles the roomette
> > revenue capacity, since onboard crew occupied
> the
> > single sleeper as well as revenue passengers.
> So
> > having the NINE rooms in the Viewliner II
> > Bagg/Dorm open for revenue space too does help
> a
> > LOT actually - even with both Viewliner II
> Sleeper
> > and Viewliner II Bag/Dorm selling revenue
> sleeper
> > space. 
>
> Please explain further what changed.  It has
> carried the bag/dorm and a full sleeper for quite
> some time.  I doubt there is less crew to house 

Yup! Cardinal has carried the Viewliner II Bagg/Dorm for about two years now. Was transferring in Chicago between Lake Shore and Empire Builder and the Cardinal was on the adjacent track with Viewliner Bagg/Dorm on rear and then a private rail car. It was probably the second or third round trip at the time. It's a great change and addition from what was for nearly two decades with just one Viewliner sleeper year-round. It greatly helps the number of roomettes being sold. Such a positive thing. The Cardinal only got a second Viewliner Sleeper randomly over the years and just for the summer months, at best. Hopefully more change to come with the RESTORATION of a Diner and a third coach. One can hope!  

Crew on Cardinal needing sleeping car space:
1 - LSA
1 - Coach Attendant
2 - Sleeping Car Attendants (1 has a regular attendant's room, one doesn't)

They crew take roomettes, and when only 10 roomettes in the Viewliner II regular sleeper are for sale, capacity starts to get tight very quickly. There are 9 roomettes "available" in the Viewliner Bagg/Dorm, which is very nice. Every room counts. Every roomette is certainly needed on the Cardinal most of the time. Bad enough room #11 is the linen and storage closet for the Viewliner II Sleepers. Rooms turn over multiple times enroute on the Cardinal. Travelled it many times over the years and one time the room adjacent to mine turned over four times from Chicago to Washington DC. The Sleeping Car Attendant has their own room in the regular Viewliner Sleeper. Not sure why a second SCA is needed for the roomettes in the VIewliner Bagg/Dorm. Combined, the Viewliner Bagg-Dorm and Viewliner Sleeper still has about the same number of berths than a full Superliner Sleeper that's handled by one SCA. And all one level! It does help the LSA out though, by having two SCA's.   

I've traveled on the Cardinal when it had 2 sleepers, but no recollection of their capacity management prior to the bag/dorm.
As to your post, I'm still not clear. You seem to imply that Amtrak has not been selling the rooms in that car until now. That seems near impossible, although we know with Amtrak, anything is possible.

Posted from Android

Understand that none of the rooms in the Bag/Dorm/Sleeper are ADA compliant  and there has been concern about using the car for revenue service due to that fact.

mvrr10 Wrote:
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> Understand that none of the rooms in the
> Bag/Dorm/Sleeper are ADA compliant  and there has
> been concern about using the car for revenue
> service due to that fact.

IF true that’s insane. Not every car has to be ADA accessible. They just need a place that they can accommodate people that need accommodation, and the full sleeper does that. I’m all for helping handicapped people, but sometimes this stuff has just gone overboard.

Posted from iPhone

FRA, Amtrak, Joe   Manchn all  talk  a  DAILY  CARDINAL. Now is  the  time  to  remind  your  electd officials  in DC.