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A “dining car” means very few passengers per vehicle. That’s not how real rail tends to work, just tourist jollies (there are exceptions, but even then the vast

by chgs 1y ago

A “dining car” means very few passengers per vehicle. That’s not how real rail tends to work, just tourist jollies (there are exceptions, but even then the vast majority of passengers do not use the facilities)

eigenspace 1y ago
Here in Germany we very much have 'real rail', and every high speed long distance train has a dining car. Our trains have very high passenger counts too. I think the standard ICE-4 carries around 800-900 passengers depending on the number of carriages. The dining car takes up just one carriage and is a very nice addition to the train experience. The hot food is usually not the best, but it's better than nothing, and it's very nice to go grab a beer, coffee, or pastry and stretch your legs in the middle of a journey. This is normal pretty much throughout europe on long distance trains. I know at the very least it's standard in Germany, France, Austria, and Italy. Maybe you're thinking of regional commuter trains that don't have dining cars?
- dfxm12 1y ago
  every high speed long distance train has a dining car That you're using multiple qualifiers here suggests that these could still be exceptions.
  - eigenspace 1y ago
    In Germany with Deutsche Bahn there are three classes of trains: Regional, Intercity, and Intercity Express. Intercity Express is the high speed long distance train, and are the most common long distance trains by a long shot. They're the ones that have the dining cars. Regular Intercity trains usually don't have dining cars, but they're rather rare. I've still never actually ridden one because they're almost never used (since Intercity Express is so sucessful, and the Regional trains are fast enough for journeys of around 200km)
- chgs 1y ago
  And how many of those 800-900 actually eat in such a car, rather than collect something from the buffet and return to their seat. 95% of passengers are not sitting in a dining car watching the world go by in an Amtrak style experience.
rsynnott 1y ago
Many long-distance intercity trains would still have a dining car, though it certainly wouldn't be able to accommodate all passengers! Over the last few decades they have generally died out on shorter intercity routes, granted.

by chgs 1y ago

eigenspace 1y ago

Here in Germany we very much have 'real rail', and every high speed long distance train has a dining car. Our trains have very high passenger counts too. I think the standard ICE-4 carries around 800-900 passengers depending on the number of carriages. The dining car takes up just one carriage and is a very nice addition to the train experience. The hot food is usually not the best, but it's better than nothing, and it's very nice to go grab a beer, coffee, or pastry and stretch your legs in the middle of a journey. This is normal pretty much throughout europe on long distance trains. I know at the very least it's standard in Germany, France, Austria, and Italy. Maybe you're thinking of regional commuter trains that don't have dining cars?

dfxm12 1y ago
every high speed long distance train has a dining car That you're using multiple qualifiers here suggests that these could still be exceptions.
- eigenspace 1y ago
  In Germany with Deutsche Bahn there are three classes of trains: Regional, Intercity, and Intercity Express. Intercity Express is the high speed long distance train, and are the most common long distance trains by a long shot. They're the ones that have the dining cars. Regular Intercity trains usually don't have dining cars, but they're rather rare. I've still never actually ridden one because they're almost never used (since Intercity Express is so sucessful, and the Regional trains are fast enough for journeys of around 200km)
chgs 1y ago
And how many of those 800-900 actually eat in such a car, rather than collect something from the buffet and return to their seat. 95% of passengers are not sitting in a dining car watching the world go by in an Amtrak style experience.

rsynnott 1y ago

Many long-distance intercity trains would still have a dining car, though it certainly wouldn't be able to accommodate all passengers! Over the last few decades they have generally died out on shorter intercity routes, granted.