Hi JS!

Very fine trains from MBTA 👍💯

Is it the new Acela?

overnight train 66

lol, that's 66. 65/66/67 all run relatively short. Ideally, there would be a Viewliner sleeper on the rear of those trains, but logistical difficulties prevent that from happening at this time.

@@FanRailer ok

You hit the crux of the matter with your comment, ie, “hire”. I’d rather hear an automated voice and see Amtrak put that money towards more tangible improvements in service.

@@FanRailer I think a non-recurring expense to un-automate announcements which every single traveler using the station experiences is a pretty reasonable ask. What tangible service improvements would you suggest for a similar budget?

For this single expense, probably nothing terribly noticeable. It's more about the principle behind the expenditure. They're trying to run a business. Why waste money on something only a fraction of the patronage would truly appreciate when there's a free alternative that gets the job done? If transportation companies pandered to every single piece of minutiae like this to satisfy everyone's personal opinion on something, they'd be even more in the red than they already are. Amtrak and other commuter railroads already have to fight for every dollar of funding they can get from the government, so anything deemed non-essential really isn't on the table for discussion. Just look at LIRR and their new M9 railcars; the pre-recorded announcements on those cars are now synthesized as opposed to sound recorded like they were for the M7s.

@@FanRailer Like I said in my original comment, I know it's a small thing. But I feel like it's a small expense that could inject a welcome element of humanity and hospitality that passengers in the station would appreciate, even if they don't specifically notice. It's a shame that Amtrak and other passenger railroads have to fight so bitterly to get funding which is still liberally dolled out for road infrastructure. I agree that they need to prioritize allocation of spending for things that can increase ridership and hopefully provide material return on investment. Hopefully someday the little things can be better, too.