Amtrak is trying to gin up new business by offering $100 in free alcohol to customers on some overnight trains.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/TRAVEL/getaways/08/01/booze.train.ap/index.html

"Mothers Against Drunk Driving questioned whether $100 in free alcohol was too much."

I have to agree with MADD. I think you're asking for problems. I have seen it too much in my life when I used to be a club DJ on nights the club offered beer, wine and well drinks for a buck.

Having DJ'd a few hundred wedding receptions, company parties, private events where alcohol is served, I have seen the absolute worst it can do. In moderation it can actually make a party great.

Reeling people in like this seems almost prostitute like to me. Of course, being a non-drinker probably carries a lot of weight with me too.

Eww, stuck on a train with a bunch of people in varous stages of intoxication, probably randomly puking.

A pot train would be much nicer.

Oh, what a terrible idea. Encouraging people to drink more than they would to to use their "credit"? No,not good. Amtrak, please discontinue this immediately.

Ugh. Amtrak is already known for schedule unreliability, slow service, and high prices for said service.
I read an article a while back that, despite these things, families with children would use trains that ran through the night since could sleep during the night while getting to where they're going, and wouldn't have to pay for a motel room along the way.
I should mention that I don't drink, either.
Sure makes Greyhound look better and better.

Well... there is an upside.

Drink enough, and the other problems just don't matter so much!

Might be cheaper than addressing them. Besides, they can mark up the value of the booze, deliver maybe 30 bucks worth, call it $100.

It's possible to forget who you are for just a little over $5.00. Getting somebody hammered is just not expensive.

OMG.....After a recent "Slamtrak" ride halfway across country with some of the smallest and nastiest bathrooms I have ever seen, I can't imagine what they would look like with a train load of drunks puking in on and around them! If you did not throw up cause you were drunk you'd throw up just hearing someone else wretch up his "Quality" meal he had while on the train or by catching a wift of "Burrito" vommit from the snack bar! If your lucky you won't get nailed by a "HotDog" vommit projectile!

CLEAN UP...isle 3,4,5,7,12,13,15,19,23,24,27,31,33,34,35,36

I have ridden Amtrack from Seattle to chicago a few times, get the low end sleeper car, its not a bad ride, the cost includes meals and some booze. If your nor in a hurry, beats the heck out of a cramped airplane.

Ya but anymore the price is just not that much better when you compare a sleeper to a plane ticket. Do the sleepers have electrical outlets. The regular couch cars did not have any. There was one next to the floor in the isle of the observation car that everyone had to take turns sharing till I showed up. I read up on it and knew there was very few outlets and brought a 6 outlet strip with me. I had no problems going straight to the front of the line for outlet use!

Sleepers had electrical outlets.

This is also the same Amtrak with the deep discounts for non-citizens of the United States.

http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Amtrak/am2Copy/Simple_Copy_ Page&c=am2Copy&cid=1081442673945&ssid=296

In fact, if you crunch the numbers for a 30 day pass, it is a third to half as much as the same travel for a United States citizen.

Our tax dollars at work.

The last sleeper car train trip I was on was the Empire Builder. It wasn't too bad . . . and the train was on time too. Too bad it was owned by Great Northern Railroad at the time!