More Cutbacks Don’t Mark End of the Line for Amtrak : Railroad: Reduced runs, some route cuts are part of the picture, but also new cars, waiting rooms and popular air-and-rail tours.

As a result of the recent cutbacks in Amtrak service--some phased out in Feb. 1, some April 1 and more scheduled for June and September--some rail travelers may be inconvenienced and many may find it harder to book reservations on some trains. But the reductions, designed to trim Amtrak’s operating losses, do not mean the national passenger railroad is defunct. Far from it.

If Amtrak gets its finances in order--and the budget cuts are a dramatic step in that direction--the rail system promises to provide both business and leisure travelers a more pleasant and more economical trip, albeit on fewer routes. On-time performance is up, according to Amtrak records; many aging rail cars are being replaced by sleek new Superliners and, in the future, Viewliner cars, some equipped with private showers; dining car menus have been enhanced, and linen and china are back on the tables. The convenient air-and-rail tour package program has been expanded.

“It is the most popular package Amtrak offers,” said spokeswoman Patricia Kelly. And rightly so. Travelers who want to see the United States coast to coast from a train window can ride the rails in one direction and fly back, or vice versa--utilizing discount fares normally available only to passengers traveling round trip on a single mode of transportation.

In a continuing push for comfort, Amtrak, which carries 22 million intercity passengers a year, has opened four spiffy waiting rooms, called Metropolitan Lounges, for first-class ticket-holders in Washington, New York, Philadelphia and Chicago. Coffee, tea and soft drinks are complimentary, and when your train departure is called, redcaps appear to help tote your luggage and escort you to your seat. You qualify for first class if you hold a Club Service ticket on trains between Washington and Boston or have booked first-class sleeping accommodations on long-haul trains.

Like the airlines, with which it competes for passengers, Amtrak frequently offers discounts on tickets during off-peak travel periods. Perhaps its best bargain is the half-price coach fare for children ages 2 to 15 traveling with their parents or grandparents, an aunt or uncle, which is available any time. Each adult with any coach fare can be accompanied by two children at this reduced rate. In a special promotion last summer, children rode the train for as little as $29 between Boston and Florida. Similar discounts can be expected in the months ahead.

Also like the airlines, Amtrak’s best discounts are capacity controlled, which means that only a limited number of seats is available at the lowest price, and they go to passengers who book first. A quirk of the fare system is that a round-trip fare may cost only a few dollars more than a one-way fare.

Perennially threatened by the loss of its federal subsidies, Amtrak seems always to be teetering on the brink of survival, and many expected the new budget-cutting, GOP-controlled Congress to wreak further havoc. (Amtrak has eaten up 18.7 billion in federal money since it was created 24 years ago.) Nevertheless, the system has improved substantially since it was created in 1971, and indications are that it will keep improving. This latest season of crises is an appropriate time to examine what Amtrak offers travelers.

My own experience with Amtrak, as a lifetime train traveler, has always been favorable. I have crossed the country twice by train--sitting up in a coach seat the entire way--and was enthralled by the scenery and the experience. Two winters ago, when the so-called “snow storm of the century” struck the East, I was able to catch a train back to Washington from Boston when my flight was canceled and I was told no airline seats would be available for the next 48 hours.

Among the cutbacks that took effect Feb. 1: * The Palmetto, which used to operate daily between New York City, Charleston, S.C., and Tampa, Fla., was eliminated.

* The Crescent, operating between New York, Washington and Atlanta, is still daily in each direction, but only triweekly between Atlanta and New Orleans.

* Empire Builder, a daily between Chicago and Seattle/Portland, Ore., via St. Paul/Minneapolis, remains a daily on the Chicago-St. Paul segment, but the continuation to Seattle and Portland has dropped to four times a week.

* Desert Wind, formerly daily between Chicago and Los Angeles via Salt Lake City, now runs three times a week.

Among changes phased in April 1:

* Amtrak has cut its combination rail and bus service between Los Angeles and Yosemite National Park from three trips each way each day to two--and one of the trips each way currently takes about 11 hours, and either starts or ends in Los Angeles in the middle of the night.

* However, daily Capitols service between San Jose, Calif., and Roseville via Sacramento (three round trips), which was to have been eliminated, has been retained, albeit with the Emeryville-San Jose segment now served by bus.

* Among route segments that have been eliminated are Philadelphia-Atlantic City and New York-Montreal (the Montrealer), which has been replaced with a daytime train called the Vermonter.

Amtrak acknowledges that passengers considering trips aboard the affected trains and routes may be confused. The spring timetable incorporates the changes, but Amtrak’s free, 81-page 1995 travel planner, “Amtrak’s America,” had already been printed, and none of the changes are in it. The new schedules will be available in the computer reservation systems of Amtrak, 800-USA-RAIL (800-872-7245), or from travel agents.

Christopher Reynolds is on vacation.