CHEF GENE BENEFIELD MIGHT BE
MISTAKEN for Amtrak President
and CEO Richard Anderson
were it not for his immediate
surroundings and cheerful
demeanor. The 10-year Amtrak
veteran has just scooped a steak
off Viewliner II diner Madison’s
griddle on the New Orleans-
bound Crescent. He adds sides
of piping hot green beans and
mashed potatoes from the
steam table before server Gary
Siverio whisks the food out of
the gleaming kitchen to a table.
It’s a scene that may not last
much longer. Crews of the
Crescent and Silver Meteor, the
last two overnighters utilizing
new Viewliner II diners as orig-
inally outfitted to serve full
meals, have been told their jobs
will soon be eliminated. Amtrak
won’t confirm to Trains what
changes will take place, but the
Rail Passengers Association says
they will happen Oct. 1.
The company did announce
that after Jan. 15, 2020, Auto
Train’s coach passengers would
no longer get a complimentary
dinner or be able to visit a din-
ing car. A continental breakfast
is still included, presumably ona “to go” basis. Otherwise,
those travelers can buy café car
meals during the 16-hour trip
or are welcome to visit food
trucks stationed at the Lorton,
Va., and Sanford, Fla., termi-
nals before departure. Sleeping
car pricing will still include
dinner and breakfast, “but we
are still determining what the
menu will be,” spokeswoman
Kimberly Woods tells Trains.The expectation is that all
these eastern trains will shift to
the same kind of pre-packaged
food introduced on the Capitol
Limited and Lake Shore Limited
last summer [see “Amtrak
Debuts Cold ‘Contemporary’
Meals,” “Passenger,” September
2018]. Management deemed
the elimination of chefs and
servers to be feasible because
those trains serve only two18 OCTOBER 2019PASSENGER
Server Gary Siverio leaves the
kitchen with dinners prepared by
Chef Gene Benefield on the
southbound Crescent on July 21,
- Four photos, Bob Johnston
Amtrak changes will reduce amenities on ‘Crescent,’ ‘Silver Meteor,’ ‘Auto Train’
Food, space face a squeeze
Tables are set for breakfast in the Sightseer Lounge used as a diner for
Auto Train coach passengers in January 2015. But that may be no more.