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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

#51

Post by gruez »

dylan604 wrote: post #25
tzs wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

Great, but it's still 9.5 hours of time on the wheel. Train/plane eliminates that. So even if it is 1/3 cheaper in fuel, it's something that needs to be considered.

>So even if it is 1/3 cheaper in fuel, it's something that needs to be considered.

Not to mention wear on the car.

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

#52

Post by stego-tech »

I've taken multiple Amtrak routes, all out of the Northeast Corridor but eventually crossing the country West or South.

You don't take Amtrak because you want to get there fast, and you don't really take it because it's cheaper than flying. You take it because you can, and because it's more important to you to be (comparatively) comfortable instead of rushing from A to B. You take it because of the sights, the people, the chance encounters, the proximity to city centers that airplanes can never hope to match. It's an experience in and of itself that's distinctly foreign to many Americans, and one I wholeheartedly recommend.

Sitting in a roomette, crossing from Boston to LA over a long weekend, sharing delicious meals with total strangers as the countryside whizzed by (or we sat on a siding waiting on a freight train).

Just not comparable.

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

#53

Post by doomspork »

stego-tech wrote: post #52

I've taken multiple Amtrak routes, all out of the Northeast Corridor but eventually crossing the country West or South. You don't take Amtrak because you want to get there fast, and you don't really take it because it's cheaper than flying. You take it because you can , and because it's more important to you to be (comparatively) comfortable instead of rushing from A to B. You take it because of the sights, the peopl…

Couldn't have said it any better. The experience and the people I've met make it worth it. It's a great little adventure.

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

#54

Post by Finnucane »

PostOnce wrote: post #22
homeonthemtn wrote: post #2

Whoa, forget the train, folks check out this website. This is active??

Active and beautiful , I can start reading without having to scroll down, which I have to do on the AP site. I miss when the web looked like this, and pages were documents instead of applications. We built the wrong web, we needed two, one for documents, and one for applications, but we built this rube goldberg contraption instead.

Just gotta zoom _way_ in to make the text readable, though.

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

#55

Post by chiph »

supertrope wrote: post #40
goalieca wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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…

The S-Line project is underway in NC and VA. It will rehabilitate an abandoned line (the former Seaboard Coast Line) to allow faster travel between Raleigh and Richmond. It won't be electrified but will allow trains to run at up to 110 mph/177 kph which is a big improvement over the current 60-70 mph (when the passenger train isn't being delayed by a freight train).

They are currently doing a couple of grade-separation bridge projects in north Raleigh and some minor curve straightening. Since the S-Line is not currently being used they can straighten many of the curves since there won't be any impact to existing operations.

The S-Line right of way is owned by CSX and they will be running freight on it. The budget wasn't there to acquire all of it by NCDOT and VA and dedicate it to passenger service.

https://www.ncdot.gov/divisions/rail/s-line-projects/raleigh...

https://vapassengerrailauthority.org/projects/richmond2ralei...

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

#57

Post by satvikpendem »

stego-tech wrote: post #52

I've taken multiple Amtrak routes, all out of the Northeast Corridor but eventually crossing the country West or South. You don't take Amtrak because you want to get there fast, and you don't really take it because it's cheaper than flying. You take it because you can , and because it's more important to you to be (comparatively) comfortable instead of rushing from A to B. You take it because of the sights, the peopl…

This is not really true, at least for the northeast corridor. Amtrak is the fastest way to get from DC to NYC for example due to traffic in the city if driving or taking the bus, and the distance from the airport (LGA or JFK) to the final destination in the city if you're flying. I take Amtrak somewhat begrudgingly because it often can be way more expensive than flights which are subsidized generally speaking over passenger rail these days, because it's simply faster.

And I honestly don't know what adventures people are talking about, most people keep to themselves. I've had more stranger experiences on flights than I have on Amtrak but maybe it's different in the West Coast.

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

#58

Post by satvikpendem »

Reason077 wrote: post #19

> ”… booked the train overnight and into game day across a 650-mile route … A 14½-hour weekend train ride” Just by way of comparison, in China the 819-mile train route between Beijing and Shanghai takes 4.5 hours.

Imagine if we had passenger rail like Asia does, it would be amazing. But sadly it's all a matter of political will, the US simply does not want to create such a rail system where we can take bullet trains from NYC to LA.

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

#59

Post by pfg_ »

satvikpendem wrote: post #57
stego-tech wrote: post #52

I've taken multiple Amtrak routes, all out of the Northeast Corridor but eventually crossing the country West or South. You don't take Amtrak because you want to get there fast, and you don't really take it because it's cheaper than flying. You take it because you can , and because it's more important to you to be (comparatively) comfortable instead of rushing from A to B. You take it because of the sights, the peopl…

This is not really true, at least for the northeast corridor. Amtrak is the fastest way to get from DC to NYC for example due to traffic in the city if driving or taking the bus, and the distance from the airport (LGA or JFK) to the final destination in the city if you're flying. I take Amtrak somewhat begrudgingly because it often can be way more expensive than flights which are subsidized generally speaking over pa…

This only applies to sleeper car routes. You're on the traib for 2-3 days, mostly with no cell service. If you eat in the restaurant car, they will seat you with strangers. If you sit in the observation car, there's a bunch of other people sitting there too.
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