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Amtrak has finally decided to add a very modest amount of extra equipment to long-haul trains in order to accommodate holiday travel. Inasmuch as many holiday travel plans were finalized weeks ago, Amtrak's belated actions might well be characterized as "too little, too late." However, a review of reservations for one extra car, the third sleeper on the Texas Eagle, reveals that on some trips the car is almost sold out only 48 hours after the inventory was added to the reservations system. Imagine the long-haul ridership that could be achieved with intelligent equipment utilization!

Extra equipment will operate as follows:
#3-4 --> one extra coach --> 18 Dec to 2 Jan
#5-6 --> extra coach --> (CHI-SLC) and extra sleeper (CHI-DEN) --> 17 Dec to 6 Jan
#21-22 --> one extra sleeper (CHI-SAS) --> 20 Dec to 5 Jan
#27-28 --> one extra coach and one transition sleeper --> 16 Dec to 9 Jan (transition sleeper offers 16 economy bedrooms--now renamed "standard" bedrooms by Amtrak-- and one "accessible" bedroom [formerly called special bedroom] on lower level along with an unattended lounge area on lower area.)
#29-30 --> one extra coach --> 17 Dec to 5 Jan
#52-53 --> one extra coach --> 18 Dec to 7 Jan
#58-59 --> one extra sleeper --> 18 Dec to 6 Jan
#448-449 --> one viewliner sleeper in addition to (rather than in lieu of) a Heritage 10-6 sleeper. [Apparently the Heritage equipment DID NOT turn into pumpkins at midnight on November 10, 1996, as had previously been believed, due to Amtrak's reluctance to continue operating this equipment.]

Prepared for Arkansas Rail by Bill Pollard. Email: arkrail@aol.com

Posted: Monday, 16 December 1996.

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