Amtrak's next-gen Acela train: “Wi-Fi, craft beers and reliable schedules”
1–10 of 22 posts
Re: Amtrak's next-gen Acela train: “Wi-Fi, craft beers and reliable schedules”
#2I've never taken Amtrak, but from what I understand, it's not that great outside the northeast megalopolis. Every time I've looked at their site, it's always been only barely cheaper than flying and often has no trains to a destination I search. Especially if that destination is not a huge city
Re: Amtrak's next-gen Acela train: “Wi-Fi, craft beers and reliable schedules”
#3I've never taken Amtrak, but from what I understand, it's not that great outside the northeast megalopolis. Every time I've looked at their site, it's always been only barely cheaper than flying and often has no trains to a destination I search. Especially if that destination is not a huge city
"Cheaper" isn't a huge component of Amtrak's value proposition. It's usually slightly cheaper than flying, but not much.
The reason to take the train (for me) is that it tends to be much more comfortable and lower-stress than flying or driving. Sometimes it's faster than flying (over short distances).
There are many factors that can spoil this value prop - delays, crowded cars, lack of connectors requiring bus transfers, all of which happen with regularity. Even so, I'll always prefer taking a train over flying and driving as long as it's convenient to do so.
Re: Amtrak's next-gen Acela train: “Wi-Fi, craft beers and reliable schedules”
#4I've never taken Amtrak, but from what I understand, it's not that great outside the northeast megalopolis. Every time I've looked at their site, it's always been only barely cheaper than flying and often has no trains to a destination I search. Especially if that destination is not a huge city
> Former Delta Airlines CEO, Richard Anderson, now runs Amtrak. He said the new Acela is "incredibly important" to the future of the company.
> "It really lays out a clear vision for what short haul, inter-city passenger rail transportation can do for this country. And this country is going to need it in more and more corridors because millennials don't want to drive and you cannot add enough lane miles for 100 million more people," Anderson said.
I was in a bind the other day and needed to travel ~30 miles between two midwest cities (on the Texas Eagle train). Grandmother drove to hospital, I drove her and her car home, and then grabbed an Amtrak ticket (on Amtrak.com, excellent purchase UX) back to the hospital to get my car; total cost was $8.50 and I didn't even need to present my ticket to the conductor at boarding, just my last name. National treasure.
Do trains have an uphill battle in car and air travel centric America? Most definitely. But the value is there, and this article explains why that value should be nurtured and grown.
Re: Amtrak's next-gen Acela train: “Wi-Fi, craft beers and reliable schedules”
#5As someone who commutes on the shared train lines used for the NYC to DC route I for-see more delays for my commute to make the reliability numbers go up. Screw over the many for the benefit of a few... Many being the normal more commuters out of New York Penn Station.
Re: Amtrak's next-gen Acela train: “Wi-Fi, craft beers and reliable schedules”
#6I've never taken Amtrak, but from what I understand, it's not that great outside the northeast megalopolis. Every time I've looked at their site, it's always been only barely cheaper than flying and often has no trains to a destination I search. Especially if that destination is not a huge city
The one advantage I've heard about taking the train is that prices are usually flat. If you need to book a trip the next day you will pay through the nose for most airfare. Train trips on the other hand will mostly be the same price no matter when you book. Aside from that small exception, air travel is MUCH faster/cheaper/convenient.
Re: Amtrak's next-gen Acela train: “Wi-Fi, craft beers and reliable schedules”
#7The improved performance and amenities from better Acela will translate into more profits for Amtrak to improve the other lines that run. For Amtrak, I can arrive 5 minutes before it leaves, have plenty of space in my seat, food that's a lot better then airlines, and walk around when I want to which is so much better then the airplane experience. I can't wait for the new trains to come.
Re: Amtrak's next-gen Acela train: “Wi-Fi, craft beers and reliable schedules”
#8I've never taken Amtrak, but from what I understand, it's not that great outside the northeast megalopolis. Every time I've looked at their site, it's always been only barely cheaper than flying and often has no trains to a destination I search. Especially if that destination is not a huge city
[deleted]
Re: Amtrak's next-gen Acela train: “Wi-Fi, craft beers and reliable schedules”
#9I've never taken Amtrak, but from what I understand, it's not that great outside the northeast megalopolis. Every time I've looked at their site, it's always been only barely cheaper than flying and often has no trains to a destination I search. Especially if that destination is not a huge city
Outside the Northeast Corridor, you're absolutely right, it's not great.
Acela runs inside the Northeast Corridor, however, and for that market even the current version is pretty compelling. I take it periodically to travel between DC and NYC; it costs approximately the same as flying, but offers wide seats with built-in power sockets, lets you get up and stretch your legs if you want to, and doesn't require you to run the ridiculous security gauntlet that's mandatory at airports. Plus it drops you right in midtown Manhattan, so if you're there on business getting to where you probably want to go is easier and cheaper than it would be from an airport.
The main downsides are that it's a little slower than flying (though if you include time spent dealing with airport security the difference narrows), the trains are starting to show their age a little, and in NYC they drop you at Penn Station, which is a structure straight out of Dante's Inferno. New, faster trains would help ameliorate two of these three problems. (I'm not sure anything could be done to improve Penn Station, except maybe burning it to the ground and salting the earth it stood on.)
Re: Amtrak's next-gen Acela train: “Wi-Fi, craft beers and reliable schedules”
#10I've never taken Amtrak, but from what I understand, it's not that great outside the northeast megalopolis. Every time I've looked at their site, it's always been only barely cheaper than flying and often has no trains to a destination I search. Especially if that destination is not a huge city
Outside the Northeast Corridor, you're absolutely right, it's not great. Acela runs inside the Northeast Corridor, however, and for that market even the current version is pretty compelling. I take it periodically to travel between DC and NYC; it costs approximately the same as flying, but offers wide seats with built-in power sockets, lets you get up and stretch your legs if you want to, and doesn't require you to r…
[deleted]