NEWS



National Railroad Passenger Corporation
Amtrak Intercity
210 South Canal Street
Chicago, Illinois 60606
Fax: 312 655-2565


	   
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 				       ATK-96-96                     
May 9, 1996							       Contacts: 
								       Marci Larson               904-359-8190
								       Marc Magliari              312-655-1338
								       Mary Anne Reynolds  202-906-2513

AMTRAK CUSTOMERS GIVE VIEWLINERS RAVE REVIEWS

	CHICAGO --  Amtrak first class customers are offering unsolicited praise for the comforts and  conveniences aboard the new Viewliner sleeping cars, now operating on the Lake Shore Limited between Chicago and New York, via Cleveland and Buffalo, and the Crescent between New York and New Orleans, via Washington, D.C., and Atlanta.
	Eventually, 50 Viewliner sleepers will be in service on the Lake Shore Limited between Chicago and New York/Boston, the Crescent, the "Silver Service" trains between New York and Miami/Tampa and overnight NortheastDirect service between Washington, D.C., and Boston.
	Customers report the cars are attractive, quiet and comfortable.  They also enjoy high-tech features such as individual climate controls, in-room video monitors and stereo audio entertainment systems that make the trip even more pleasurable.
	Amtrak crews like the car's features as well, including advanced on-board diagnostic systems giving crews the ability to make adjustments to the Viewliner for maximum customer comfort.
	The Viewliners are a marked departure from even recent passenger train design -- roomier, more comfortable, with better light and larger windows for viewing the changing landscape outside.  
	Other improvements include wider upper berths, more in-room luggage storage, showers in bedrooms and a shower room for compartment passengers.
  
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	The most distinctive feature of the Viewliners is an additional row of windows, providing more natural light by day and exterior views for upper berth passengers at night. 
	Each Viewliner sleeping car can accommodate 30 revenue passengers, up from the 22-passenger capacity of the Heritage sleeping cars Amtrak has used since it began service in 1971.   
	Every Viewliner has 12 compartments, two bedrooms and another bedroom equipped for passengers who are mobility impaired.  All 15 rooms are self-contained, modular units that result in sleeping rooms that are quiet and well insulated. 
	Amtrak designed and assembled Viewliner prototypes in the early 1980's based on a long "wish list" of features desired by passengers and Amtrak crews. After tests and modifications to these prototypes, the company ordered 50 Viewliner sleepers in 1993. The order is being filled by Amerail and manufactured in Chicago and Hornell, N.Y.
	Modern Superliner equipment already is in use on Amtrak western trains and on selected routes in the east, but the popular bi-level cars cannot clear tunnels on other eastern routes.

NOTE: COLOR PHOTOS OF THE VIEWLINER ARE AVAILABLE BY CALLING (202) 906-3938


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