A tradition over 150 years old, the railroad dining car serving fresh-cooked meals, is scheduled to arrive at its last station over the next year as Amtrak goes through what it calls an “evolution.”
The fresh-cooked meals served in a dedicated dining car and a favorite of many long-distance travelers are giving way, route-by-route to assortments of pre-cooked meals, served at seats or in roomettes and compartments, with breakfast reduced to a continental buffet. The multi-night cross-country routes will keep their actual dining cars, but without the white tablecloths and fixed meal hours.
According to Amtrak, it’s both a cost-cutting move and a bow to a new demographic it’s trying to attract: millenials. Amtrak’s chief of ‘customer experience’ says “The concept is to provide service the way our customers want rather than have everybody conform to one service delivery. Some people really like it and view it as sort of a nostalgic train experience. Some people, especially our new millennial customers, don’t like it so much. They want more privacy, they don’t want to feel uncomfortable sitting next to people they don’t know.”
Photo: On the Sunset Limited (PHeymont/TravelGumbo)
