Earlier this year, Skift held its annual two-day NYC event at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Frederick P. Rose Hall. 

This was the third time that I had the opportunity to attend this amazing travel conference.

Moderated by members of Skift’s executive and editorial teams, each day consisted of several 20 minute “Ted Talks” provided by leaders in the travel industry including Sam Shank, head of Hotels, Airbnb; Mark Okerstrom, President and CEO of Expedia; and Benjamin Smith, CEO of Air France-KLM.

Amtrak President and CEO, Richard Anderson also appeared to discuss the need to transform America’s railroad system. The former head of Delta Airlines briefly spoke about the company’s significant “requests for proposal” or RFP to bring modern European train set technology to short-haul intercity markets. This is considered to be a route of up to 300 to 400 miles in the U.S.  Anderson explained that the goal was to offer a service that’s reliable and modern and is consistent with travelers’ experiences around the world on modern passenger railroads.

Anderson further discussed Amtrak’s desire to make trains including the Acela more accessible to those with disabilities as well as improvements in its mobile app. There’s also been a lot of publicity concerning Amtrak’s removal of its iconic dining cars. Click HERE  to learn more about this.

 

So what’s on the top of your list for improving our Amtrak transportation to and from the Capital Region?

Along with the obvious better WiFi and on-time arrival/departure concerns, it would be nice to have a decent route to Boston to visit close friends and relatives.

I’d also like to avoid standing in a cramped roped-off line for more than half of an hour in NYC’s Penn Station to board the train. Yes, I could arrive later, but the chance of sitting with a family member or friend would be significantly reduced as there’s no assigned seating.  Acela First Class and Northeast Regional Business Class both have this type of service but this can be pricey. Also if you purchase the more expensive Business Class ticket for our train service, you’ll at least know that you’ll have a seat in the last train car.

Let us know what you think!