NARP blog

TRAINS: A travel choice Americans want

DC to Chicago by Night: Or, How I Learned to Stop Flying and Love the Rails

Friday, October 31, 2008

In the wake of my first truly long distance train ride, I’ve been thinking about the sense I have of my own mobility.

Now, as someone who is paid to think about the state of America’s transportation infrastructure in general, and trains and transit in particular, it’s probably a bad sign that I had taken this summer’s passing of cheap air fares to be synonymous with the death of cheap-AND-easy long-distance travel. But there you go. Whatever forces shaped my conceptions about travel included cars and planes and Amtrak on the Northeast Corridor, and that’s about it.

That being said, I was not prepared for how painless boarding a train in downtown Washington, DC on a Sunday afternoon and waking up in downtown Chicago on Monday morning turned out to be. All for around $150, roundtrip. Which was about $100 cheaper than any comparable airfare I could find (and I’m talking about red-eye, bottom of the barrel airfares here).

Doing a quick breakdown of the distances, I figured that the roughly 700 miles I covered between DC and Chicago would take me to any city in the northeastern United States, as far south as Jacksonville, Florida, and–of course–anywhere kind of between the District and Illinois. All of this assuming that Amtrak was actually able to run regular service between any two cities in my 700 mile radius.

The point is that I have a lot of friends in these theoretically train-accessible cities. Friends I’ve been putting off seeing because I thought I couldn’t afford to. Friends who are now going to need to get their couches ready.

You are now free to move about the country.

—Sean Jeans-Gail
NARP Assistant Director, Legislative Relations

Posted by NARP

Tags: air travel, amtrak, capitol limited, northeast corridor
(3) Comments

Lytton Op-Ed: CAHSR “Would Save Lives and Fuel”

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Kudos to NARP Board Member Dennis Lytton, whose op-ed piece, “High-speed rail would save lives and fuel,” the Daily Breeze (Southern California) published yesterday. Dennis does a fantastic job bringing into focus the long-term safety and environmental benefits the California High-Speed Rail project would bring. For more analysis, see the CAHSR Blog.

—Matthew Melzer

Posted by NARP

Tags: california high-speed rail, california proposition 1, california proposition 1a, dennis lytton, oil, safety
(0) Comments

Hospitality in Montana along the Empire Builder

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

On the way to the Portland, Oregon NARP Board of Directors’ meeting, I spent a night in Whitefish., MT on the Empire Builder route. There is but one taxicab in this great little town and it takes a break from noon to 3 PM.

Both our 2007 Golden Spike winner, Congressman Dennis Rehberg (R-MT), and the local town folks advised me to go to the Lodge at Whitefish Lake for good food and a spectacular view of the lake. The unexpected bonus was that across the lake and within the panoramic vista, the rail advocate can watch rail traffic across the lake just to the West of the Amtrak station.

As an example of the hospitality here, I e-mailed the lodge to see if their van would pick up a non-guest without a car for lunch. They immediately replied yes and asked where I was. I walked out the door of the VFW (open to all), and the promised van pulled in.

Not only was I welcomed by several staff and enjoyed a superb lunch, but I was taken up the mountain to get great photos of the lake and mountains of this gorgeous area. Everyone I met treasures the Amtrak Empire Builder that defines vital transportation for both those living here and travelers lucky enough to be able to enjoy this rugged area’s charms. They also await the restoration of Amtrak through the southern tier on the old North Coast Hiawatha route through Billings and Missoula.

Jim Churchill
NARP Vice President-Northeast

Posted by NARP

Tags:
(2) Comments

A Look Inside Amtrak’s New Dining Car Menu

Tuesday, October 07, 2008

Amtrak introduced new, expanded national dining car menus on October 1. Click here to see the menu (.pdf) (there’s also a new separate menu for the City of New Orleans Cross-Country Cafe).

The children’s menu is now included on the new three-panel menu, with specials recited verbally. Desserts are downsized, while some entrees are upsized. Some entrees utilize a new deep-dish plate. Several items are in rotations of three across the route system. Many of the items are supplied by new vendors. For example, the veggie burger is now Amy’s Organic and not Gardenburger. The Flat Iron Steak is packaged pre-marinated with garlic butter before it hits the griddle. The Buffalo Wings appetizer is back, and thankfully the menu specifies that it is not included in sleeper fares (which had been a source of conflict). Amtrak will re-evaluate its menus before the Summer 2009 peak season.

Below are notes on only the items that have multiple rotation cycles (one per train), which are not specified on the menu.

Breakfast

Chef’s Good Morning Special:
1) Breakfast burrito (scrambled egg, cheeze and chorizo)
2) Egg, broccoli, and bread Strata
3) Sourdough sandwich (scrambled egg, cheddar, Canadian bacon)

Today’s Omelet Selection:
1) Garden vegetable
2) Primavera
3) Mexicali vegetable

“Extra” Special: Eggs cooked to order, up or over (not printed on menu, available only on select trains with sufficient staffing).

Lunch

Chef’s Luncheon Special:
1) Chicken, leek, and mushroom ragu
2) Thai red curry coconut chicken
3) Pork chile verde with roasted peppers and corn

Today’s Warm Sandwich:
1) Garlic chicken with provolone on wheat berry bread
2) Smoked turkey and muenster on pretzel roll
3) Beef pastrami with swiss on rye

Freshly Made Specialty Salad:
1) Tropical pineapple chicken
2) Albacore white tuna
3) Smoked turkey with walnuts and cranberries

Dinner

Today’s Seafood Selection:
1) Wild Grilled Alaskan Salmon
2) Wild Grilled Mahi-Mahi
3) Whole Baked Idaho Trout

Chef’s Marketplace Dinner Special [route-specific]:
Capitol Limited, Coast Starlight: Phillips Seafood Coastal Crab cakes in Maine lobster sauce
Crescent: Chicken and Andouille Sausage Jambalaya (no side veggies or starch)
Empire Builder (westbound): Roast Chicken Breast in wild Morel mushroom dynamite sauce
Empire Builder (eastbound): Red Rosemary-braised Roasted Lamb shank
California Zephyr: Pan-roasted Pork Tenderloin in roast garlic balsamic fig sauce
Silver Service: Phillips Seafood Coastal Crab cakes in Floridian green chile tomatillo sauce
Southwest Chief: Chicken and Cheese Trio of Enchiladas brushed with Santa Fe adobo sauce in salsa verde
Sunset Limited: Texas BBQ Pit-Smoked Beef Brisket [same as on Texas Eagle Cross-Country Cafe, but with larger portion]

Vegetarian Pasta:
1) Spinach and ricotta rollatini in vodka sauce
2) Jumbo ravioli stuffed with ricotta and baked red peppers in pesto alfredo sauce
3) Three-cheese jumbo ravioli in herb marinara sauce

There are two types of side vegetable medley loaded on each train, with one served each night (3 cycles, for 6 types total).

Dessert

Chocolate Dessert:
1) Raspberry Chocolate Tango drizzled with white and dark chocolate
2) Three-layer Oreo Chocolate Dream Bar
3) Chocolate Caramel Peanut Torte

Nut/Fruit Dessert:
1) Lemon Crumb Cake
2) Lemon and Barry Creme Torte
3) Green Apple and Almond Frangiapan Bar

Cheesecake Dessert:
1) Cheesecake topped with fired brulee on graham cracker crust
2) Classic New York Cheesecake on graham cracker crust
3) Raspberry White Chocolate Swirl Cheesecake

Menu cycles are as follows:

Effective now:
Cycle 1: Trains 1, 4, 19, 91, and 98
Cycle 2: Trains 2, 6, 7, 11, 20, 29, 30, 92, and 97
Cycle 3: Trains 3, 5, 8, and 14

Effective February 1, 2009:
Cycle 1: Trains 3, 5, 8, and 14
Cycle 2: Trains 1, 4, 19, 91, and 98
Cycle 3: Trains 2, 6, 7, 11, 20, 29, 30, 92, and 97

Have you tried the new menu? What are your impressions? Is Amtrak successfully balancing the need to both improve its offerings and keep costs down?

—Matthew Melzer

Posted by NARP

Tags: amtrak, food service
(3) Comments

Seeing an Old Friend Again

Saturday, October 04, 2008

While volunteering today at the NARP table at the 100th anniversary of Washington Union Station celebration, I bumped into a couple of old “friends.” The first was the Pennsylvania Railroad’s famous GG-1 4935, the venerable motor that was restored back about 1976 and ran in regular Amtrak service until its retirement.

After it had been overhauled and repainted in its original Brunswick Green, its scheduled debut was at the head of the 3:05pm train out of WAS, the Murray Hill. Its consist was a string of Amfleet cars with the observation business car #120 Pennsylvania on the rear (this “friend” was also here at Washington Union Station’s centennial today).

So in those times and with this knowledge at hand, I positioned myself trackside by the old Railroad Inn in Bowie, MD to watch it pass by. The kicker here is that on the platform of #120 was a white-haired old gent to whom I waved and, as I recall, waved back.

This man was none other than one of the greatest industrial designers the world has ever known, Raymond Loewy!

Not only had he designed the great GG1 on the head end of that day’s Murray Hill, but also the streamlined Studebaker automobile, the paint scheme on Air Force One, the 7-Up logo and the Pepsi plant in Russia that heralded the closing of the Cold War.

As we turn the corner toward more and better American rail service, it is and has been great to be part of the effort and to remember some of the milestones that we passed on the way.

Jim Churchill
NARP Vice President-Northeast

Posted by NARP

Tags:
(0) Comments

Good Week for Trains

Thursday, October 02, 2008

On Monday, the Senate voted 69-17 to cut off debate, clearing the way for the long-sought up-or-down vote on the Rail Passenger Investment Act (now named for and including the rail safety provisions). On Wednesday evening, the Senate gave final approval to the bill 74-24 (actually, one vote stronger than the financial overhaul bill that followed, which passed 74-25).

The roll call of how senators voted Wednesday night will be of great interest. It can be viewed here.

The members-only section of our web site has a more user-friendly version of the roll call, alphabetical by state, and side-by-side with other Senate votes of interest to us. (Update: It also has a stand-alone chart for the Senate vote on H.R. 2095.)

On Tuesday, Transportation Secretary Mary Peters traveled to Richmond on the train with Federal Railroad Administrator Joseph Boardman to announce the $30 million in grants to 13 states, the first-ever such set of grants. She also emphasized strong ridership growth on trains and transit, and the decline in driving. Details, including list of the grants, are available here.

—Ross Capon

Posted by NARP

Tags: amtrak reauthorization, fra, safety, usdot
(0) Comments

» Recent Entries

» Blogroll

National & General

Regional & Local

» Terms of Service for Comments

You may register to post comments in response to NARP-generated postings on the Blog. By registering you agree 1) that all comments will be relevant to the respective posting and 2) not to post any messages that are obscene, vulgar, slanderous, hateful, threatening, or that violate any laws. We reserve the right to permanently block postings from any user who does not abide by the above terms. NARP reserves the right to remove, edit, or move any messages for any reason.