On July 1, Amtrak's Silver Star became the unfortunate subject of a 10 month long food service cost-cutting "test" when Amtrak chose to eliminate the Star's dining car.
FCRP believes that rail passengers must speak up now to let Amtrak and our federal elected officials know that offering up frozen pizza and ramen noodles for dinner is not just an unacceptable bill of fare and a poor business solution. It's just plain cheap.
Let your voice be heard!
For some passengers, the elimination of dining cars on these trains has meant enduring 24 hours on 91/92 with no other on-board options besides a sandwich or junk food in the lounge car.
Among other negative effects, this move has left some major Southeast cities like Tampa, Raleigh and Columbia with substandard long distance trains operating entirely without dining car service.
Shortsighted cost-cutting aside, the return of a dining car to the Silver Star will be best for Amtrak's bottom line over the long run.
FCRP has heard from rail passengers who are fearful that the elimination of dining cars on other long distance trains will emerge as a permanent cost-cutting "solution" once this "test" is over. To prevent that from happening, we must speak up now.
Please help us let Amtrak and our elected officials know that passengers on trains 91/92 should not be treated like second-class citizens. Let's return civility to the Silver Star and preserve it for all of Amtrak's long distance trains.
--Jackson McQuigg