Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, January 8, 1995 TAG: 9501070073
SECTION: TRAVEL PAGE: G-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JAMES T. YENCKEL THE WASHINGTON POST
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
If Amtrak gets its finances in order, and the budget cuts are a dramatic step in that direction, the rail system promises to provide both business and leisure travelers a more pleasant and more economical trip, albeit on fewer routes. On-time performance is up, according to Amtrak records; many aging rail cars are being replaced by sleek new Superliner and Viewliner cars, some equipped with private showers; dining car menus have been enhanced, and linen and china are back on the tables; and the convenient air-and-rail tour package program has been expanded.
``It is the most popular package Amtrak offers,'' said spokeswoman Patricia Kelly. And rightly so. Travelers who want to see the United States coast-to-coast from a train window can ride the rails in one direction and fly back, or vice versa utilizing discount fares normally available only to passengers traveling round-trip on a single mode of transportation.
In a continuing push for comfort, Amtrak, which carries 22 million inter-city passengers a year, has opened four spiffy waiting rooms, called Metropolitan Lounges, for first-class ticket holders in Washington, New York, Philadelphia and Chicago. Coffee, tea and soft drinks are complimentary, and when your train departure is called, redcaps appear to help tote your luggage and escort you to your seat. You qualify for first class if you hold a Club Car ticket on the Metroliner between Washington and New York or have booked first-class sleeping accommodations on long-haul trains.
Like the airlines, with which it competes for passengers, Amtrak frequently offers discounts on tickets during off-peak travel periods. Perhaps its best bargain is the half-price coach fare for children ages 2 to 15 traveling with their parents, which is available any time. Each parent paying a full coach fare can be accompanied by two children at this reduced rate.
Amtrak is reducing the frequency of several long-distance trains from daily to three or four times weekly, and it is eliminating some short routes or segments of routes altogether. Overall, it is cutting train service by about 21 percent, mostly in the Midwest.
Beginning Feb. 1:
Silver Star, which operates daily between New York City and Miami via Washington, will be cut to three times weekly. Since this is what was announced, Amtrak officials have begun to reconsider plans for Florida service, and this schedule could change before Feb. 1. Silver Meteor, another New York-to-Miami daily through Washington, will run four times weekly. Again, Florida schedules are being reconsidered, and this service also could change before Feb. 1.
Crescent, a New York-to-New Orleans daily via Washington and Atlanta, will continue as a daily on the New York-Atlanta segment, but the segment to New Orleans will operate three times weekly. The departure days have not yet been determined.
Empire Builder, a daily between Chicago and Seattle/Portland, Ore., via St. Paul/Minneapolis, will remain a daily on the Chicago-St. Paul segment, but the continuation to Seattle and Portland will drop to four times a week. Trains between Chicago and Seattle/Portland will depart each way on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.
Desert Wind, a daily between Chicago and Los Angeles via Salt Lake City, will run three times a week. It will depart each way on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Beginning April 1:
The Boston-Washington route will lose three of eight daily round trips.
The New York-Washington Metroliner will operate 16 rather than 17 round trips daily on weekdays.
The New York-Albany route will be served by one less round trip.
Daily Hiawatha service between Chicago and Milwaukee (seven departures each way) will be eliminated, as will daily Pere Marquette service between Chicago and Grand Rapids, Mich. (one departure). Daily Capitols service between San Jose, Calif., and Roseville via Sacramento (five departures) will also be killed. States have the option of funding the eliminated trains, the Amtrak announcement said.
Ten route segments also will be eliminated. These include some but not all the trains between St. Louis and Kansas City, Mo.; Birmingham and Mobile, Ala.; Detroit and Pontiac, Mich.; Detroit and Toledo, Ohio; Philadelphia and Atlantic City; Philadelphia and Harrisburg, Pa.; Springfield, Mass., and Boston; and New York and Montreal (the Montrealer) and connecting Thruway Bus Service between Garret and Fort Wayne, Ind., and between St. Louis and Carbondale, Ill.
With the end of the Montrealer, Vermont loses train service. Amtrak will continue to serve Montreal from New York via Albany on the Adirondack. Through service from Washington to Atlantic City aboard the Atlantic City Express ends with the demise of the Philadelphia-Atlantic City segment. However, passengers can transfer in Philadelphia to New Jersey Transit trains serving Atlantic City. The Pennsylvanian and the Broadway Limited will continue to provide service between Philadelphia and Harrisburg, and the Lake Shore Limited will provide Springfield-Boston service.
Amtrak's spring timetable, expected to be available later this month, will incorporate the changes. The changes are not included in the current fall/winter 1994-95 timetable. The new schedules will be available in the computer reservation systems of Amtrak, 800-USA-RAIL (800-872-7245), or travel agents. Travelers who have booked a train for which the schedule has changed will be contacted.
Because Amtrak's 1995 travel planner, ``Amtrak's America,'' had already been printed, none of the changes will be in it. The free 81-page booklet describes Amtrak's routes, tour packages and variety of seating, sleeping and dining cars with very helpful diagrams. Copies are available from the Amtrak number above.
by CNB