Amtrak Needs Work

[howeird]

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Originally uploaded by how3ird.

Okay, so this was the only duct tape repair I saw on my two Amtrak trips this week, but it points up the fact that the passenger cars need to be re-designed and replaced. With gas prices soaring, and airport Security Theater way off the charts, this is the time for a major investment in passenger service. If Union Pacific had any brains they would set up a competing passenger service instead of trying to sabotage Amtrak.

My biggest gripe about Amtrak, besides the horrific never-on-time record, is the cars are not photographer-friendly. The windows are high-glare, so is the internal lighting. The lounge car, aka sightseer car, has high-glare windows and lighting and the seats are arranged in a way which wastes 30% of the potential viewing space. They also have left in place legacy space-stealers such as a kiosk area where they used to have a snack bar, and a fixture which used to have a pair of pay phones. They don't clean the windows enough, either (something which should be done at every major stop, IMHO - give some high school kids a couple of extra bucks).