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Dec 10, 1970.
AMTRAK DINING CAR PRICES RISING Trains 21, 22, 58, 59, 421 and 422 now have a different menu than the rest of the long-distance trains. These trains use preplated meals prepared off the train and the prices appear substantially higher than rail travelers are accustomed to paying. This change is no doubt part of the DOT effort to increase Amtrak income, but could have the effect of reducing train patronage. On one of the two rotating menus, breakfast items consist of three choices with meat, each priced at $10, and one cereal choice at $6.75. At lunch, a cheeseburger is $7, a sandwich (type varies) is $7.25, barbecue chicken with potato wedges, corn and salad is $12, and soup (minestrone or chicken noodle) is $4. At dinner, a beef entree (braised or tenderloin) is $18; a chicken entree is $17.50; cod fillets are $16.50; cheese tortellini is $11; and an "evening special" is $12.50. |
Art Lloyd and Paul Bendix said
in an opinion piece July 25 that a "Regional Affil-
iate” should be formed to take over responsibility for the Coast Starlight, since Amtrak is having poor success with Union Pacific meeting timekeeping requirements. The states of CA, OR and WA should join up in such a regional affiliate, Lloyd and Bendix said, since they have had much success with their Western regional routes. They said: “Since 2001, with draconian budget cuts and the ousting of Amtrak’s popular president, David Gunn, the Starlight’s service and equipment have deteriorated. Congress has fought back with bipartisan support for rail. Still, ideological oppo-sition from the Bush administration and chronic delays from freight trains jeo-pardize Amtrak’s once-a-day service along the West Coast.” They add, “The feds seem determined to kill the Starlight. Passengers keep paying to keep it alive. In today's reality, California, Oregon and Washington must operate the train. A regional affiliate—call it Amtrak Pacific— should run the Coast Starlight in conjunction with the national system.” Amtrak train cancellations to continue through at least July 1 due to heavy rain and flooding that began last weekend. Amtrak issued the following bulletin Jun 29:
* All Empire Corridor train service west of Albany,
(Amsterdam, Utica, Rome, Syracuse, Rochester, Depew, Buffalo, Niagara Falls,
Toronto) is canceled through Saturday, July 1. No alternate transportation
west of Albany is being provided.
Amtrak will reassess the progress on track repairs daily and announce
a service restoration date as soon as possible.
House votes $1.114 billion for Amtrak The full House of Representatives in late June voted to allow Amtrak $1.114 billion for the next fiscal year, an increase from the $900 million that a House committee had recommended. The larger amount would bring the Amtrak money up to the level requested by the Bush-appointed Amtrak Board. It is still $394 million below the current year's funding. There was no indication, however, that the Amtrak micro-managing language had been removed from the bill. The increase for Amtrak was sponsored by Rep. Steve LaTourette, (R-Ohio). He said he felt sure that the Senate would increase the figure further. The complete bill, of which this is a part, will be voted
on Friday, June 16.
Refuting some myths about long-distance train travel Tunnel work is disrupting Coast Starlight service in Southern California VIA's CANADIAN is back partially on Canadian Pacific rails Amtrak funding action in the Senate Spring-summer schedule changes for St. Louis-Kansas City coming Killing Amtrak slowly from within
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