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Rising Waters Are Drowning Amtrak's Northeast Corridor

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Re: Rising Waters Are Drowning Amtrak's Northeast Corridor

#11

Post by ams6110 »

pavel_lishin wrote: post #7
mikejulietbravo wrote: post #3

As a very frequent Amtrak rider, I’m pretty conflicted here. On one hand, climate change is bad. On the other hand, giving the Amtrak fleet a bath, or altogether destroying it sounds pretty good to me.

> On the other hand, giving the Amtrak fleet a bath, or altogether destroying it sounds pretty good to me. Why?

Amtrak is hands-down the worst passenger rail service I've ever used, out of services in four different countries. I will say I've never used Amtrak in the Northeast which I understand is somewhat better than the rest of the country, but that's not saying much.

Re: Rising Waters Are Drowning Amtrak's Northeast Corridor

#12

Post by koops »

jackcarter wrote: post #9
koops wrote: post #2

The US east coast has post-glacial rebound and Atlantic meridional overturning circulation slowdown to compound their sea-level problems. But most the rise is nothing special compared the rest of the world, which is the worst part of this.

Won't post-glacial rebound counteract rising sea levels?

Unfortunately no, not here. The metaphor I've heard is continent as couch cushion: the glacier was "sitting" on the upper part of North America, pushing up the edges. Now that weight is gone, the coasts are dropping slightly.

Re: Rising Waters Are Drowning Amtrak's Northeast Corridor

#13

Post by zaroth »

koops wrote: post #12
jackcarter wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Won't post-glacial rebound counteract rising sea levels?

Unfortunately no, not here. The metaphor I've heard is continent as couch cushion: the glacier was "sitting" on the upper part of North America, pushing up the edges. Now that weight is gone, the coasts are dropping slightly.

It’s fantastic and even mildly hilarious that this is a real effect at such a massive scale.

Re: Rising Waters Are Drowning Amtrak's Northeast Corridor

#14

Post by darkerside »

koops wrote: post #12
jackcarter wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Won't post-glacial rebound counteract rising sea levels?

Unfortunately no, not here. The metaphor I've heard is continent as couch cushion: the glacier was "sitting" on the upper part of North America, pushing up the edges. Now that weight is gone, the coasts are dropping slightly.

If it's sitting on top, wouldn't it push down? Or do you mean upper as in north?

Re: Rising Waters Are Drowning Amtrak's Northeast Corridor

#15

Post by darkerside »

ams6110 wrote: post #11
pavel_lishin wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> On the other hand, giving the Amtrak fleet a bath, or altogether destroying it sounds pretty good to me. Why?

Amtrak is hands-down the worst passenger rail service I've ever used, out of services in four different countries. I will say I've never used Amtrak in the Northeast which I understand is somewhat better than the rest of the country, but that's not saying much.

Northeast corridor is not perfect, but very usable. Much preferred to flying between most of Boston, NY, Philly, DC, etc.

Re: Rising Waters Are Drowning Amtrak's Northeast Corridor

#16

Post by jackcarter »

koops wrote: post #12
jackcarter wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Won't post-glacial rebound counteract rising sea levels?

Unfortunately no, not here. The metaphor I've heard is continent as couch cushion: the glacier was "sitting" on the upper part of North America, pushing up the edges. Now that weight is gone, the coasts are dropping slightly.

Ah, that’s interesting and believable. Do you know where you heard that?

I found this article, which talks about a slightly different effect: If Antarctic ice melts more quickly than arctic ice, then the Antarctic land rebound will shove southern-hemisphere water north, raising sea levels in the northern hemisphere. The opposite effect happens if arctic ice melts before Antarctic ice.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/oct/01/cities...

Re: Rising Waters Are Drowning Amtrak's Northeast Corridor

#17

Post by 13of40 »

ams6110 wrote: post #11
pavel_lishin wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> On the other hand, giving the Amtrak fleet a bath, or altogether destroying it sounds pretty good to me. Why?

Amtrak is hands-down the worst passenger rail service I've ever used, out of services in four different countries. I will say I've never used Amtrak in the Northeast which I understand is somewhat better than the rest of the country, but that's not saying much.

I've only used it on the west coast, but it seems like the service, cleanliness, etc. are comparable to European and Asian trains, but because the Amtrak trains are super slow and the distances here are so much greater, riding anywhere on it is a terrible experience. Not to mention the fact that it's almost as expensive as flying. (Just checked and it would cost me $79 to fly to Portland from Seattle and $53 to take the train. Kind of a no-brainer.)

Re: Rising Waters Are Drowning Amtrak's Northeast Corridor

#18

Post by koops »

jackcarter wrote: post #16
koops wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unfortunately no, not here. The metaphor I've heard is continent as couch cushion: the glacier was "sitting" on the upper part of North America, pushing up the edges. Now that weight is gone, the coasts are dropping slightly.

Ah, that’s interesting and believable. Do you know where you heard that? I found this article, which talks about a slightly different effect: If Antarctic ice melts more quickly than arctic ice, then the Antarctic land rebound will shove southern-hemisphere water north, raising sea levels in the northern hemisphere. The opposite effect happens if arctic ice melts before Antarctic ice. https://www.theguardian.com/comm…

Here the Woods Hole oceanographers talk about it without the couch analogy:

https://www.whoi.edu/news-release/why-is-sea-level-rising-hi...

Re: Rising Waters Are Drowning Amtrak's Northeast Corridor

#19

Post by abstractbeliefs »

arethuza wrote: post #5
hprotagonist wrote: post #4

Even a decade ago, some long stretches through connecticut reminded me a lot of the tramway sequence in Spirited Away : https://vimeo.com/91985775

The train I get along the Fife coast on the way into Edinburgh is so close to the sea I often find myself wondering if you could jump from the train into the sea...

Probably could between Aberdour and Burntisland, as you pass silver sands

Re: Rising Waters Are Drowning Amtrak's Northeast Corridor

#20

Post by ilikehurdles »

ams6110 wrote: post #11
pavel_lishin wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> On the other hand, giving the Amtrak fleet a bath, or altogether destroying it sounds pretty good to me. Why?

Amtrak is hands-down the worst passenger rail service I've ever used, out of services in four different countries. I will say I've never used Amtrak in the Northeast which I understand is somewhat better than the rest of the country, but that's not saying much.

It's not going to magically get replaced by a better service if it disappears. The way I see it they have limited capital and no shortage of antagonist political forces. The NE corridor was often worth riding despite other options, and the train connecting portland with seattle was pleasant as well, for me.
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