Winging It

Amtrak last week added food-cart service to four more of its Acela Express trains that run between Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Washington. Ten Acelas, all of them leaving one of the end points between 1 p.m. and 4 a.m., now have the rolling carts on them, allowing you to buy a snack or a drink without ever leaving your seat. Regular cafe service is still available, and first-class passengers get meals served at their seats (you can't call the meals "free" -- you paid for it in your very pricey ticket.)

We have found rolling cart service on European trains convenient and appealing, although it's been a few years since we rode trains extensively there, so we hope it's still being offered. (If not, let us know.). In fact, the service in Germany and Switzerland was so handy, we kept buying something every time the cart came by, consuming more coffee and snacks than we should have!