{"id":740,"date":"2026-04-24T16:10:44","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T07:10:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fleishmi.com\/?p=740"},"modified":"2026-04-24T16:10:44","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T07:10:44","slug":"indonesia-the-unexpected-country-amtrak-can-learn-from","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fleishmi.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/24\/indonesia-the-unexpected-country-amtrak-can-learn-from\/","title":{"rendered":"Indonesia: The Unexpected Country Amtrak Can Learn From"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Imagine getting on a train unlike any other. You climb aboard, step out of the vestibule, and an attendant shows you to your cabin. The hallway is a bit narrow but you\u2019re finally shown your room. This isn\u2019t an Amtrak roomette &#8211; it\u2019s your own personal day cabin on Indonesian Railways, and it\u2019s all first class! You get your own one-seater private cabin and waited on hand and foot by attendants for your entire trip! What\u2019s even better is that this is <em>cheap\u00a0<\/em>and won\u2019t even come close to breaking the bank!<\/p>\n<p>Granted something this extreme would be far fetched for Amtrak, America\u2019s passenger railroad carrier. \u00a0Amtrak already has private rooms, the aforementioned roomette, though they don\u2019t come as cheap as Indonesian Railways\u2019 premiere luxury product. In fact, you may need to add a zero at the end of the same price you\u2019d pay in Indonesia to get a short-distance trip in a roomette. The price locks a lot of people out which, for Amtrak, is not a positive.<\/p>\n<p>Globetrotters will scour the world looking for that all inclusive yet dirt cheap first class experience, whether it\u2019s in the air or on the rails. Indonesia brings affordability and luxury to anyone on a modest Middle American budget (you just have to get there, which\u00a0<em>will<\/em> break your bank). Indonesia isn\u2019t alone, however, in making first class travel inexpensive.<\/p>\n<p>Up in the heavens, Japan Airline and All Nippon Airways offer premiere first class service on all domestic Japan flights. This includes a comfortable day seat, sometimes full meal service onboard, and airport lounge access for added comfort. All of this at a maximum price of around US $300 one way &#8211; about the same cost as a bullet train in Green Class, one way, from Tokyo to Shin Osaka.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re talking about Amtrak, however, and not any major airline. For long distance trains, Amtrak offers only two classes: coach and first. Depending on how much money you want to flex with, your first class experience can be tailored to your preference. The common denominators, however, include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Free meals which include bottomless beverages but only one free adult drink<\/li>\n<li>Lounge access where there are lounges<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Pretty standard for a first class service\u2026 if you\u2019re getting on at LA, Chicago, New York, Washington or New Orleans. There\u2019s no lounge for you if you\u2019re getting on at an intermediate station like Schenectady, Cleveland, Alliance, Kansas City, etc. Which, for the price, wouldn\u2019t seem to be worth it\u2026 unless your destination is a city that has lounge access. Then, of course, you\u2019re good to go as even arrivals are granted entry, which can be good if you arrive off hours, scheduled or late.<\/p>\n<p>So, what is it that is being suggested? Amtrak has an opportunity to explore different levels of accommodations and attract more passengers to premium products. Not as cheap as coach but definitely not a class of service that will force someone into bankruptcy just to have a decent night\u2019s sleep on their journey. The Coast Starlight is said to have business class, which would make it the only long distance line with a business class product. However, the seats are no different than those on the Empire Service or United Airlines first class on their mainline planes.<\/p>\n<p>This is where Amtrak\u00a0<em>can<\/em> look to Indonesia for inspiration. This is the idea:<img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-738 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/fleishmi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_0666-300x269.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"269\" srcset=\"https:\/\/fleishmi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_0666-300x269.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/fleishmi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_0666-1024x917.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/fleishmi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_0666-768x688.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/fleishmi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_0666.jpeg 1131w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\"><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Imagine stepping aboard your Amtrak train, no matter where you are. You come into your new long distance coach (or modified Amfleet II \/ Superliner II) and you see\u00a0<em>that!<\/em> Single rows of seats with semi-private enclosures. It looks like first class on an airliner! Each seat has their own entertainment screen, full-flat seats, heated with massage function, plenty of storage and legroom for days! Best of all, you only paid\u00a0<em>slightly<\/em> more than a coach ticket but significantly\u00a0<em>less<\/em> than a sleeper!<\/p>\n<p>These seats are perfect for overnight travel as well. With their full-flat conversion, you\u2019re able to have a bed-like experience, complete with a sheet, blanket and pillow, provided by your attendant! You sit down and in the information pocket next to the window is a menu. Just like on Acela in the Northeast, there\u2019s a cart service which comes through in lieu of you getting up and going to the cafe car (though that\u2019s definitely an option &#8211; you just pay more to have things brought to you).<\/p>\n<p>So what is it, exactly, that you would get with something like this?<img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-734 alignnone\" src=\"https:\/\/fleishmi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_0667-300x177.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"177\" srcset=\"https:\/\/fleishmi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_0667-300x177.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/fleishmi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_0667-768x452.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/fleishmi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_0667.jpeg 995w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\">Here\u2019s the idea:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>No lounge access &#8211; The idea for this product is to give an alternative to the traveler who can spend a little bit more than budget. Keeping the lounge exclusive to first class is not a negative here, especially with a seat and not a room. For the train attendants, turnover for the next passenger takes a fraction of a fraction of the time of turnover for a roomette or bedroom.<\/li>\n<li>At-seat cart service (on demand), which has paid products rather than free<\/li>\n<li>Free dining car meals, just like first class, without alcoholic beverages<\/li>\n<li>At-seat delivery of dining car meals available, at-cost (the meal itself would be free but the passenger would pay to have the attendant bring it to their seat)<\/li>\n<li>Free coffee on demand, though! Gotta have that perk!<\/li>\n<li>Turndown service is nonexistent. That\u2019s all self service!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The process of service would be like this:<\/p>\n<p>1. Passenger boards the train, scans their ticket into a reader above the seat (think Japan Rail Green Cars). Ticket is validated right there at the seat, no need for a conductor\u2019s visit to check the ticket.<\/p>\n<p>2. The passenger is, of course, greeted by the attendant who helps stow non-heavy bags (or bags they can lift safely). The attendant gives the passenger a tour of the accommodation, and features the food options.<\/p>\n<p>3. If during the night, the passenger, who now is familiar with the seat, can make their own bed. Bedding is provided.<\/p>\n<p>4. The next morning, the passenger can fix their seat, deposit the bedding into a used bedding bin, and continue their journey.<\/p>\n<p>5. If the passenger gets up in the middle of the night to de-train, the attendant can flip the seat back for the next passenger with little effort.<\/p>\n<p>The draw is the product, itself. A full-flat seat, elevated service, slightly elevated price, but greater comfort. Amtrak is famous for its maxed out comfort levels even in coach class on long distance trains. This, being one step above that, would be an enormous leap that Amtrak would make bank with! One or two cars of these on a long distance consist and they\u2019d probably sell out, almost every time.<\/p>\n<p>Think of premium economy on a plane\u2026on steroids!<\/p>\n<p>The truth is, this level of service is already available on Indonesian Railways. Passengers can take a sleeper train across the main island, wake up refreshed and ready to enjoy the day. This doesn\u2019t help the traveler going from Kewanee to Denver, but if Amtrak were to bring something like this over, it would make that trip so much more enjoyable and make Amtrak that much more profitable!<\/p>\n<p>Amtrak, historically, has been looking to Europe to improve their service offerings. Acela was born from researching Sweden and Germany\u2019s high speed trains. The Venture coaches were born from Italian and French railroad influences. For Amtrak to bring to passengers what they\u2019re hungry for, perhaps they need to look the other way.<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps the secret to world class passenger railroading isn\u2019t in Europe.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s in Asia.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Imagine getting on a train unlike any other. You climb aboard, step out of the vestibule, and an attendant shows you to your cabin.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":736,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[22],"tags":[23,141,136,138,142,137,140,139],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fleishmi.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/740"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fleishmi.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fleishmi.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fleishmi.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fleishmi.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=740"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/fleishmi.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/740\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":741,"href":"https:\/\/fleishmi.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/740\/revisions\/741"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fleishmi.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/736"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fleishmi.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=740"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fleishmi.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=740"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fleishmi.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=740"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}