Amtrak is flat out blaming Millennials for killing the dining car.
Evidently my love of the Amtrak shared dining car experience is generational. I also thought Matt Dillon was awesome in Singles.
WaPo:
“It is part of an evolution,” said Peter Wilander, who oversees Amtrak’s customer experience. “The concept is to provide service the way our customers want rather than have everybody conform to one service delivery.
“Some people really like [the dining car] and view it as sort of a nostalgic train experience,” Wilander said. “Some people, especially our new millennial customers, don’t like it so much. They want more privacy, they don’t want to feel uncomfortable sitting next to people” they don’t know.
It’s that demographic, he said, that Amtrak wants to attract with more contemporary car designs and food options.
I suppose I can chat with the Mennonites in the observation lounge, but it will not be the same.