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Midnight train from GA: A view of America from the tracks as airports struggle

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Re: Midnight train from GA: A view of America from the tracks as airports struggle

#31

Post by goalieca »

superultra wrote: post #7

I’ve taken this line - as many have and do all the time. Ride it once and you’ll realize why it’s the better way to travel in every way but cost and time - and both of those are a result of the United State unwillingness to fully fund something like Amtrak. As the author states traveling by train just a more pleasant experience. I should note that even though there is technically wifi on every Amtrak train, it’s cell…

> and both of those are a result of the United State unwillingness to fully fund something like Amtrak.

What kind of funding are we looking at? Is the issue that this is cost-prohibitive for reasons of scale that make this non-competitive for businesses themselves to fund as compared to elsewhere?

Re: Midnight train from GA: A view of America from the tracks as airports struggle

#32

Post by jeffbee »

adjejmxbdjdn wrote: post #10

> The train is still longer, and time is money, we are taught. But certainty has value, too, even if it means at 11:29 p.m. departure. Unfortunately this is misleading. Outside of the Northeast Acela corridor, there is no certainty in train travel in the U.S.. Although legally passenger trains are now supposed to have right of way over freight trains, in practice that’s just not the case. So a 14.5 hr train journey c…

Haha hours. There is no upper bound. The average Amtrak delay on Norfolk Southern is 19 minutes per 100 miles. And the worst cases are all horror stories. A freight operator sidetracks Amtrak while a miles-long coal train rolls through at a jogging pace. The coal train breaks down. The Amtrak crew can't legally operate any more because of federal time limits. You are 1000 miles from a city in the middle of nowhere and by the time they dispatch another crew to your train you've been surviving on Fritos for days.

Re: Midnight train from GA: A view of America from the tracks as airports struggle

#35

Post by Loughla »

adjejmxbdjdn wrote: post #10

> The train is still longer, and time is money, we are taught. But certainty has value, too, even if it means at 11:29 p.m. departure. Unfortunately this is misleading. Outside of the Northeast Acela corridor, there is no certainty in train travel in the U.S.. Although legally passenger trains are now supposed to have right of way over freight trains, in practice that’s just not the case. So a 14.5 hr train journey c…

So I took a consulting job in a small town in Illinois called Quincy. I couldn't fly there without connecting in St. Louis, but I could take the train from Chicago. It was billed at 6 hours.

It absolutely left on time but had to wait for three freight trains on the way. 9 hours later we got to the "station". One of the other passengers said that their previous trip was cancelled and Amtrak bought everyone bus tickets.

In the Midwest, there are no guarantees with trains other than you'll get there. Eventually.

Re: Midnight train from GA: A view of America from the tracks as airports struggle

#36

Post by hdgvhicv »

aziaziazi wrote: post #27
superultra wrote: post #7

I’ve taken this line - as many have and do all the time. Ride it once and you’ll realize why it’s the better way to travel in every way but cost and time - and both of those are a result of the United State unwillingness to fully fund something like Amtrak. As the author states traveling by train just a more pleasant experience. I should note that even though there is technically wifi on every Amtrak train, it’s cell…

I’m curious if a classic starlings antenna works at 100-300 km/h with occasional rotation, or will it need to be mounted on a targeting motor on top of the train?

Works on planes at 1000km/h so should be fine on trains in the open countryside (not in tunnels of course)

Re: Midnight train from GA: A view of America from the tracks as airports struggle

#37

Post by JKCalhoun »

standardUser wrote: post #26
superultra wrote: post #7

I’ve taken this line - as many have and do all the time. Ride it once and you’ll realize why it’s the better way to travel in every way but cost and time - and both of those are a result of the United State unwillingness to fully fund something like Amtrak. As the author states traveling by train just a more pleasant experience. I should note that even though there is technically wifi on every Amtrak train, it’s cell…

Years ago I tried to book a train from San Francisco to Chicago as part of a trip I had planned but found it to be more expensive and, more significantly, a multi-day journey instead of a few hours. If you happen to be an American living near one of the useful passenger rail lines, and desire to go to one of the few destinations it can take you to quickly and affordably, more power to you. But most Americans live now…

Taking days to get to Chicago from Emeryville is all part of the fun of it. Enjoy the journey…

Re: Midnight train from GA: A view of America from the tracks as airports struggle

#38

Post by standardUser »

JKCalhoun wrote: post #37
standardUser wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Years ago I tried to book a train from San Francisco to Chicago as part of a trip I had planned but found it to be more expensive and, more significantly, a multi-day journey instead of a few hours. If you happen to be an American living near one of the useful passenger rail lines, and desire to go to one of the few destinations it can take you to quickly and affordably, more power to you. But most Americans live now…

Taking days to get to Chicago from Emeryville is all part of the fun of it. Enjoy the journey…

Spoken like one of the small percentage of Americans who can afford to tag on extra days to their PTO to enjoy a nice view.

Re: Midnight train from GA: A view of America from the tracks as airports struggle

#39

Post by Arainach »

tzs wrote: post #16
dylan604 wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I deliberately chose a low mpg value. Most people are driving SUVs what I assumed 20mpg would be safe. My car averages about 26mpg. I have no insight into how many kilometers per liter UK cars get, but the translated £/litre to $/gallon has always shocked me at the price paid on that side of the pond. If Americans had to to pay the same rate, we'd have better mpg ratings as well.

That's way too pessimistic. Among SUV drivers in the US the biggest segment is compact SUVs (think Toyota RAV4 or Honda CR-V). Then midsize (like Toyota Highlander or Hyundai Palisade), subcompact (Mazda CX-30, Hyundai Kona), then full sized (Chevy Tahoe, Ford Expedition). RAV4 non-hybrid is around 35 mpg highway. CR-V 34 mpg highway. In midsize, Highlander is 29 mpg highway, and Palisade is 25 mpg highway. In subcom…

> RAV4 non-hybrid is around 35 mpg highway. CR-V 34 mpg highway.

....35mpg at 60mph and little traffic, maybe. I can't speak for that specific model, but most vehicles I've driven do significantly worse than advertised.

My Subaru Legacy advertised 27 City, 35 Highway, 30 Combined. In practice I average 25-26 while commuting and on extended highways drives more like 29, still on stock tires.

Re: Midnight train from GA: A view of America from the tracks as airports struggle

#40

Post by supertrope »

goalieca wrote: post #31
superultra wrote: post #7

I’ve taken this line - as many have and do all the time. Ride it once and you’ll realize why it’s the better way to travel in every way but cost and time - and both of those are a result of the United State unwillingness to fully fund something like Amtrak. As the author states traveling by train just a more pleasant experience. I should note that even though there is technically wifi on every Amtrak train, it’s cell…

> and both of those are a result of the United State unwillingness to fully fund something like Amtrak. What kind of funding are we looking at? Is the issue that this is cost-prohibitive for reasons of scale that make this non-competitive for businesses themselves to fund as compared to elsewhere?

Amtrak was created to preserve the last vestiges of passenger rail when private businesses pulled out. It has conflicting missions so it's never going to be competitive in service.

Amtrak does not own its own rail network. It has priority over cargo trains de jure but in practice cargo takes priority. Many areas only have one set of tracks and trains can only pull over onto sidings when they exist. Class 1 railroads are capital intensive so to be more profitable they don't spend any money they don't have to. Such as more sidings, more train yards, not maximizing the length of trains so they fit onto those sidings, or more than one operator per train. Class 1 railroads are focused on cargo and making money, not helping Amtrak trains go first. The government doesn't care to enforce the law either. https://www.bls.gov/opub/btn/volume-13/tracking-productivity...

Amtrak operates routes that suffer from low demand instead of focusing on the New York Washington DC route. It's about counting US Senate votes as much as customer satisfaction or breaking even.

The Federal government heavily subsidized cars starting in the 1950s through the Interstate Highway System. Cars and airliners are considered critical passenger transportation infrastructure, trains are not.

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