Unfortunately, staffing railroad dining cars is quite different from staffing a local restaurant. At a local restaurant, if one or two employees do not show up, the establishment can usually muddle through somehow.

With a railroad dining car, if one or two employees do not show up, the dining car may not be able to function, as each member of the small crew has a very specific role. If the dining car operates without a full crew, much of the supplied food may not be used and may go to waste. (And, obviously, the potential patrons will not be happy.)

Also, the logistics of sourcing and loading food for dining cars is quite different from that of restaurants. If a local restaurant runs out of or has a problem with a key ingredient, it can usually get it from a local grocery store within a few minutes.


Europe has had (and probably still has) some privately operated dining cars. But, there the volume is great enough to have an appropriate support infrastructure and to be able to purchase supplies in large enough quantities to get volume discounts.


Years ago North Carolina's Rail Division, which operates in-state trains in conjunction with Amtrak crews and state-owned equipment, tried to have staffed food service cars. These were not supposed to be full-service diners, but rather to provide some basic hot fast food. If I recall correctly, they tried at least two different contract vendors, neither of which worked out. (The vendors had problems with staff showing up and just did not do enough volume business to make money.) Reluctantly, the state converted the lounge cars to vending machines -- though coffee and bottled water are free.

-- Ernest