I can't believe how much is changing.
It may seem a little surprising at first glance, but earlier in the thread (or perhaps it was on the Amtrak forums - I don't recall) someone recently posted the financial statements for Amtrak, by route. There were only a few routes that were profitable, and I was really surprised to learn that the Auto Train was not one of them. That's not the whole story, of course, but it is a big part of the story: The question is will cutting costs cut in to revenues. As someone who takes the train because driving both ways is just too much driving, and I don't fly, I can understand how market analysis could conclude that cutting costs will save more money than it would lose in revenues.
The business plan actually seems to say that they feel that there is untapped revenue - money that they had to turn away because of limited capacity (as indicated by the addition of a new coach car). So not only do they apparently have the data that shows that the cost cutting will be a net-gain, but it seems say that more people will take the train in the future, even after the cost-cutting, than are taking it today.
Maybe it is just wishful thinking though. Maybe this is just the last gasp before Amtrak gives up trying to operate the Auto Train, due to the losses it incurs. Silver Service is a strategic service. It keeps the rails a viable passenger option in that part of the country, and that's a national priority. But Auto Train isn't strategic in that way.
What they did is bait & switch.
I'm sure they use the same language in the contract as the airlines, that what you're buying is just the passage from one place to another, and the provision of a sleeping accommodation of a specific configuration (if applicable). Consumer protection is better now than it was in the recent past, perhaps, but it is still pretty abysmal, and nowhere near it was "back in the day".
You are right...as a sleeper car passenger I enjoyed the privacy of the sleeper cars and not having everyone go past our room.
Does anyone know if the latch to the bedrooms can be locked from the outside with a personal padlock? Or are we now going to have to worry about two or three times as many people having the ability to walk into our rooms and rummage through our things while we're at dinner.
If it was just DH & I traveling, I really would not worry about the change in food (even though I think sleepers pay more $$ for the rooms so the food should be better quality). But traveling with DD8 who does not eat chicken nuggets or "jar" gravy on macaroni, I will need to prepare in advance for her dinner meal. Hopefully, as these changes are implemented, fellow board members will post their experiences. 
