Riding trains in these day of COVID-19
May 2nd, 2020
May 1, 2020 -
I’m aboard Amtrak’s Texas Eagle, train #21, en-route to Fort Worth, Texas today and it’s eerily quiet onboard.
Life on Amtrak’s national rail system in these days of COVID-19 reminds me of a tune rolling around in my head. Do you remember the Arlo Guthrie folk song “City of New Orleans”? The lyrics “fifteen cars and fifteen restless riders, three conductors and twenty-five sacks of mail” remind me we are a low point in moving people from point A to point B across the nation. Trains, planes and buses operate today with a bare fraction of seats filled as the Coronavirus decimates our transportation system.
The Texas Eagle today carries no sacks of mail like Arlo Guthrie's song. Amtrak gave up the mail business to trucks and airlines a long time ago and we only have a conductor and his assistant along with a coach attendant. We’re carrying about half of the fifteen riders in the song that laments the demise of the famous-named train between Chicago and New Orleans. The musical theme feels about right since the train today is a dead zone of quiet, devoid of conversation, no kids playing in their seats, no conversation between friends.
Amtrak announced that they are" limiting sales to 50% of seat capacity to ensure ample space on the train". No worries. I am one of only eight coach passengers on the train at this point. The riders on my journey today are off to see family, friends or to comfort loved ones. One rider doesn't want to fly, one millennial doesn't own a car, another is mobility impaired. Several of the passengers are bound for small to medium size cities with no commercial airport or intercity bus service. It's Amtrak to the rescue.
I am spaced out and can easily practice social distancing six feet apart in my comfortable seat for my trip to Cowtown. A second coach, closed off and devoid of any passengers, is directly behind us. There's no reason to open it open on this trip. In non-COVID times the train can be found with coaches filled with travelers, some watching movies on their laptop and iPad, some dozing, some engaged in animated conversations with nearby passengers about their travel adventures.
My eight fellow passengers have cloth face coverings but when you are seated at least two to three rows apart you have a tendency to relax the rules a bit and leave them off except for wandering around. The two-by-two across the aisle seating is still better than being crammed into a middle seat in an aluminum tube. While airlines have cut back on flights and have pulled out of some small and medium markets during the pandemic, Amtrak's "magic carpet made of steel" continues to shuttle back and forth every day and serve as a lifeline to communities across the country.
Up ahead of my coach is the Sightseer Lounge where a solitary passenger is playing tunes on his phone as the train rocks and rolls down the tracks. The tables on my end of the car are scrubbed clean, no crumbs on the carpet, the windows spotless. Downstairs a lead service attendant handles the food service area, poised for the usual rush of customers wanting sandwiches and drinks, which won’t happen today. It's a "no contact travel experience" according to the Amtrak website, which also means that cash for food and beverages are a no-no so be sure you bring your debit or credit card.
The Cross Country Café, ahead of the lounge car, is only serving boxed pre-packaged meals instead of hot food at breakfast, lunch and dinner. Amtrak says that's a temporary change to limit their decimated food sales. Having experienced Amtrak's 'contemporary dining' on their eastern trains, I pray that the pre-packed meals are short lived and a real dining car service returns in the near future. There's nothing like a thick juicy Am-burger for lunch or steak for dinner. No need to rush for lunch as there is plenty of spaced out seating. Communal dining, which allowed you to chat with your fellow passengers four to a table, has been curtailed. One sleeping car at the head of the train holds just a handful of passengers on their overnight journey between Chicago, San Antonio and points in between.
An announcement is made on the PA system to maintain social distancing and that enhanced cleaning that is being done on trains and in stations to keep everyone healthy. Amtrak says that "nothing is more important then the safety of its customers and employees." Because of the extremely light passenger load many of the fixtures on the train may never be touched by human hands when the service reaches its final destination at San Antonio but it is comforting to know that protocols are in place to keep you safe.
The masked conductor, wearing disposable gloves, ambles down the aisle to remind us it's time to hop off at Fort Worth. It's time for a crew change and a refueling stop. The train pulls so far down the platform from the station you'd think you were walking into town from a suburb. I thought at first we were going to be quarantined.
There are no lines of riders streaming off the train into the city or waiting for the conductor to check their ticket and assign a seat or sleeper for the southbound departure. All you can see down the platform are a few train crew members and a couple of passengers getting some air on their stopover.
The waiting room at Fort Worth's Central Station is so quiet you can almost hear the proverbial pin drop. An Amtrak ticket agent and a lone passenger break the quiet. It's a surreal feeling in a bustling transportation center for three different rail services, multiple city and intercity buses, taxis and rental cars any other time.
If you long for solitary peace and quiet and not having to rub shoulders with other passengers then now is your time for a trip by train. Bring a book, watch the spectacular scenery go by (except for the graveyards of rusted automobiles), pull out your laptop or just stretch out an relax in a wide coach seat or crawl into your private sleeping car room.
I'll leave Arlo Guthrie to pine over the "disappearing railroad blues". I'm looking forward to being back on the rails for business or pleasure. For those of us that like talking to people and enjoying the journey with a companion or friend I can’t wait until the masks come off and we can socialize again on a national network train.
Texas Rail Advocates President Peter LeCody
I’m aboard Amtrak’s Texas Eagle, train #21, en-route to Fort Worth, Texas today and it’s eerily quiet onboard.
Life on Amtrak’s national rail system in these days of COVID-19 reminds me of a tune rolling around in my head. Do you remember the Arlo Guthrie folk song “City of New Orleans”? The lyrics “fifteen cars and fifteen restless riders, three conductors and twenty-five sacks of mail” remind me we are a low point in moving people from point A to point B across the nation. Trains, planes and buses operate today with a bare fraction of seats filled as the Coronavirus decimates our transportation system.
The Texas Eagle today carries no sacks of mail like Arlo Guthrie's song. Amtrak gave up the mail business to trucks and airlines a long time ago and we only have a conductor and his assistant along with a coach attendant. We’re carrying about half of the fifteen riders in the song that laments the demise of the famous-named train between Chicago and New Orleans. The musical theme feels about right since the train today is a dead zone of quiet, devoid of conversation, no kids playing in their seats, no conversation between friends.
Amtrak announced that they are" limiting sales to 50% of seat capacity to ensure ample space on the train". No worries. I am one of only eight coach passengers on the train at this point. The riders on my journey today are off to see family, friends or to comfort loved ones. One rider doesn't want to fly, one millennial doesn't own a car, another is mobility impaired. Several of the passengers are bound for small to medium size cities with no commercial airport or intercity bus service. It's Amtrak to the rescue.
I am spaced out and can easily practice social distancing six feet apart in my comfortable seat for my trip to Cowtown. A second coach, closed off and devoid of any passengers, is directly behind us. There's no reason to open it open on this trip. In non-COVID times the train can be found with coaches filled with travelers, some watching movies on their laptop and iPad, some dozing, some engaged in animated conversations with nearby passengers about their travel adventures.
My eight fellow passengers have cloth face coverings but when you are seated at least two to three rows apart you have a tendency to relax the rules a bit and leave them off except for wandering around. The two-by-two across the aisle seating is still better than being crammed into a middle seat in an aluminum tube. While airlines have cut back on flights and have pulled out of some small and medium markets during the pandemic, Amtrak's "magic carpet made of steel" continues to shuttle back and forth every day and serve as a lifeline to communities across the country.
Up ahead of my coach is the Sightseer Lounge where a solitary passenger is playing tunes on his phone as the train rocks and rolls down the tracks. The tables on my end of the car are scrubbed clean, no crumbs on the carpet, the windows spotless. Downstairs a lead service attendant handles the food service area, poised for the usual rush of customers wanting sandwiches and drinks, which won’t happen today. It's a "no contact travel experience" according to the Amtrak website, which also means that cash for food and beverages are a no-no so be sure you bring your debit or credit card.
The Cross Country Café, ahead of the lounge car, is only serving boxed pre-packaged meals instead of hot food at breakfast, lunch and dinner. Amtrak says that's a temporary change to limit their decimated food sales. Having experienced Amtrak's 'contemporary dining' on their eastern trains, I pray that the pre-packed meals are short lived and a real dining car service returns in the near future. There's nothing like a thick juicy Am-burger for lunch or steak for dinner. No need to rush for lunch as there is plenty of spaced out seating. Communal dining, which allowed you to chat with your fellow passengers four to a table, has been curtailed. One sleeping car at the head of the train holds just a handful of passengers on their overnight journey between Chicago, San Antonio and points in between.
An announcement is made on the PA system to maintain social distancing and that enhanced cleaning that is being done on trains and in stations to keep everyone healthy. Amtrak says that "nothing is more important then the safety of its customers and employees." Because of the extremely light passenger load many of the fixtures on the train may never be touched by human hands when the service reaches its final destination at San Antonio but it is comforting to know that protocols are in place to keep you safe.
The masked conductor, wearing disposable gloves, ambles down the aisle to remind us it's time to hop off at Fort Worth. It's time for a crew change and a refueling stop. The train pulls so far down the platform from the station you'd think you were walking into town from a suburb. I thought at first we were going to be quarantined.
There are no lines of riders streaming off the train into the city or waiting for the conductor to check their ticket and assign a seat or sleeper for the southbound departure. All you can see down the platform are a few train crew members and a couple of passengers getting some air on their stopover.
The waiting room at Fort Worth's Central Station is so quiet you can almost hear the proverbial pin drop. An Amtrak ticket agent and a lone passenger break the quiet. It's a surreal feeling in a bustling transportation center for three different rail services, multiple city and intercity buses, taxis and rental cars any other time.
If you long for solitary peace and quiet and not having to rub shoulders with other passengers then now is your time for a trip by train. Bring a book, watch the spectacular scenery go by (except for the graveyards of rusted automobiles), pull out your laptop or just stretch out an relax in a wide coach seat or crawl into your private sleeping car room.
I'll leave Arlo Guthrie to pine over the "disappearing railroad blues". I'm looking forward to being back on the rails for business or pleasure. For those of us that like talking to people and enjoying the journey with a companion or friend I can’t wait until the masks come off and we can socialize again on a national network train.
Texas Rail Advocates President Peter LeCody