It’s official, Amtrak is discontinuing
dining service. They are easing into the change, but cooked-to-order food
will be replaced by pre-packaged food. The articles I’ve read have been short
on logistics. Will patrons order when they ticket? Will a car or two be devoted
to something that looks like the old Horn & Hardart?
Dining cars will be “modernized.” No more tables. The
roomette and sleeping car patrons may have booths, at least for a while, but
the concept is to move to a café setting. Amtrak says the changes are being
made to appeal to the millennials who desire privacy over companionship.
Really? Then why are GenZ and Millennials self-ranked
as the loneliest generation? Half the fun of a dining car is sitting with
strangers who, by the end of the trip, have become high-level acquaintances. One
of the joys of eating on a train, even in this connected age, is speaking with other
humans, and if you are a writer, listening in on multiple conversations
swirling around.
Amtrak, what are you thinking? Can you imagine Rachett
confiding in Poirot over a microwaved bit of cod and potatoes? Each party
seated in his own club chair more engrossed in Alto’s Adventure than conversation.
Closed room mysteries require interaction. Where better to interact than over
dinner? With strangers. Christie enjoyed train travel. She frequently drew her
inspiration from true-to-life events. Murder
on the Orient Express was a mash-up of the Lindberg kidnapping and actual
events that stopped and stranded the Orient Express. For the story to work in a
modern day Amtrak train, Wi-Fi would need to fail.
Ah, there’s an inspiration – a long journey over the rails
without e-mail or electronic distraction. Yes, murder would be afoot!
Has train travel been a part of your life? Will you miss the
dining car?
