US national operator Amtrak has announced that it will be dispensing with traditional dining cars, where meals are served at communal tables.
According to The Times, the decision is being mourned by some as it will limit the chances of an encounter with a mysterious stranger - as made famous in a scene in Alfred Hitchcock’s thriller North by Northwest.
Amtrak defended the changes by suggesting that “younger generations do not wish to sit and eat dinner with strangers, but would rather look at their phones”.
We've read it in: The Times, November 16 2019, p48
