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There is no reason to cross the U.S. by train, but I did it anyway

nytimes.com

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Re: There is no reason to cross the U.S. by train, but I did it anyway

#391

Post by hestefisk »

rayiner wrote: post #287
abalone wrote: post #278

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Other governments do it just fine.

Who? In most of Asia trains are privatized. In Europe, the passenger rail companies are in various stages of privatization. Rail in the UK is more or less privatised. Deutche Bahn, SNCF, Trenitalia, DSB, etc., are private companies. The government is involved in the sense they are the largest or sole shareholder, but they are run as for-profit corporations. For example, they compete in other countries. Many, such as…

DSB is NOT a for profit company in the normal sense. They rely on huge public subsidies to survive.

Re: There is no reason to cross the U.S. by train, but I did it anyway

#392

Post by ritchiea »

kuschku wrote: post #326
ritchiea wrote: post #146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Trains can also be pretty quaint in Europe today now that low cost airlines like Easyjet and Ryanair offer cheap flights to most major cities. I live in Berlin and even domestic trains are far more expensive than domestic flights to medium and large cities.

Are they? Düsseldorf-Munich for 26,70€ including reserving a seat. Kiel-Düsseldorf 29,90€. To get back, 26,90€. Kiel-Munich and back for 53,80€. Not even Ryanair is that cheap, especially when you consider that with trains you don’t have to go through security, have none of the check-in times and other bullshit, and can take luggage without paying a 60€ surcharge.

None of those are to or from Berlin. Munich might have cheaper rail options than Berlin, especially since Munich is a more traditional hub of industry. Flights Berlin to Köln are definitely cheaper than trains. Generally in my experience flights in Europe are less expensive than trains YMMV.

Re: There is no reason to cross the U.S. by train, but I did it anyway

#393

Post by gnopgnip »

afarrell wrote: post #6

Note that the author took a sleeper car. In terms of price, this is a bit of a luxury. As someone who has taken the Lateshore Limited service all the way from Chicago to Boston in just a regular seat, I would strongly advise you NOT to do that. It is just miserable.

In a lot of cases it is not as much of a luxury as you would expect considering the meals and how long it is. You can get a pair of tickets from SF(Emeryville) to Chicago with a sleeper room for about $675 total. A pair of coach train tickets is about $275 . A pair of one way plane tickets is $300 on the low end, and about $800 for a pair of first class plane tickets.

Re: There is no reason to cross the U.S. by train, but I did it anyway

#394

Post by Frondo »

TheRealEdAbbey wrote: post #375
reaperducer wrote: post #280

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's a wild generalization, based on a lack of experience or knowledge. A number of passenger railroads in the United States also have quiet cars. Metra comes to mind, but I know I've seen others. For americans its something quaint and wild whereas for europeans its just a basic form of transportation You're either repeating outdated cliches from the internet, or you must not live in a large metropolitan area with…

In America, "large metropolitan area with passenger train service" is the exception, not the norm.

I don't think this is actually true.

Looking at the top 20 metropolitan statistical areas in the US, you're already at nearly half the population of the US. And I know from the experience of having ridden commuter rail in most of those that most of them have commuter rail, i.e. passenger train service.

You've got to go pretty far down the list to find one without commuter rail or even a subway/light rail system (which I'm not counting as passenger train service).

If it isn't the majority, it's at least a normal experience for a huge swath of the population.

Re: There is no reason to cross the U.S. by train, but I did it anyway

#395

Post by amanaplanacanal »

takk309 wrote: post #370
landryraccoon wrote: post #360

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The federal highway system must be even worse then. It brings in zero revenue and costs way, way more than the trains.

Don't forget the usage tax we all pay for the highways via the Federal fuel tax. But I suppose that is not directly considered revenue.

Unfortunately that usage tax doesn't even begin to pay for maintenance and is subsidized from the general budget. Transportation funding is pretty bad in the US.

Re: There is no reason to cross the U.S. by train, but I did it anyway

#396

Post by bdamm »

jackschultz wrote: post #54

Last year my sister had a week off and took the Empire Builder across the country out west. Lots of talk about how the sleeper car is worth it and I remembered she didn't, so I asked her her take and this is the response: "I traveled alone on the Empire Builder from Milwaukee to Portland, Oregon (two nights/almost 48 hours) in June 2018. I wanted to get a sleeper car but waited too long to book so my only option was…

This is like my own experience. I've done Vancouver->Seattle->Oakland, which is beautiful. Train friends were all fun and some memorable. Also Oakland->Chicago, with my wife and 4-yr old son in a family sleeper. We had a great time. The California, Utah and Colorado segments were stunningly beautiful. And we all enjoyed the shower when we checked in to our hotel in Chicago, which was basically a block or two from the train station. Outstanding.

Its not an airliner, or a bus, or a car, and that's a good thing.

Re: There is no reason to cross the U.S. by train, but I did it anyway

#397

Post by caymanjim »

cubano wrote: post #151
chrisseaton wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> While waiting, there was a guy with a guitar in the observation car, and we had a nice sing-along. That bit sounds like hell to me but I'm glad you had fun! In the UK we have special carriages where you're not allowed to make a noise so you can avoid that kind of thing.

Even if the guy was really good? I personally think a well-executed acoustic guitar singalong can add a lot of real joy to any group experience. I've played in rock bands since I was 15 (I'm north of 50 now), and I've been on stage in front of a thousand people and I've played to killer mosh pits and all that, but my best memories of all those years were the after-parties where it was just me and my bassist with acou…

I am viscerally repulsed by public music playing in places where I can't reasonably escape. The absolute worst that I'm frequently stuck with is busking in NYC subway cars/stations. The music is usually terrible, although sometimes good, and on rare occasions great, but I don't think it should be allowed at all.

I don't have as much of a problem with street-corner busking, in large part because it can be avoided, but even that drives me nuts when I can't get away from it (outside a place I work, for example).

I love music, and when I'm in the mood, I'll seek out a street performance. City parks are great for this, and I think they're an appropriate venue. A rail car is not even remotely appropriate, and a subway station during your unavoidable morning commute, with loud brass instruments and a shitty PA system, echoing off the walls, ought to be a crime.

Re: There is no reason to cross the U.S. by train, but I did it anyway

#398

Post by mobilefriendly »

NittLion78 wrote: post #347
munk-a wrote: post #246

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My wife and I were (up here in Canada) looking for a nice mellow train ride with scenery, out of Vancouver you can catch a train to Jasper and on northward to Prince George but... the cost of both of us to ride and have a cabin for two is 5k, so alternative to taking a 4 day train ride is flying out to london three separate times for the weekend. Alternatively we could book a fancy hotel room in down-town for two wee…

At least in the US, I think it's the combination of cheap airfares + the tracks being owned by freight companies, so there's not a ton of profit incentive to make it better and attract more riders. I assume Canada has a similar history/present.

Amtrak is a government subsidized entity with monopolies on certain passenger rail, it really doesn't have a strong profit incentive.

Re: There is no reason to cross the U.S. by train, but I did it anyway

#399

Post by brailsafe »

Canadian here to offer an anecdote. I spent about 80 days road tripping and living out of the car with my gf between julyish to Nov in the US, coming from Vancouver. My car died near Fresno and I had about 2 days to figure out what to do with almost all of my posessions and find a way home. After considering our options we decided to take the train from Fresno to Vancouver with some heavy and annoying baggage, and then I'd later Train from Vancouver to Winnipeg for christmas.

Context out of the way, AmTrack was great and mostly on time with some killer scenery and no WiFi in economy. We really enjoyed the 30 hours or so plus the 2 hour bus ride. The train from Van to Winnipe was also fantastic in Economy, albeit a little uncomfortable and much more dated than the trains in Cali. It was just me solo, so I made some friends and got some work done, if I was single I'd maybe find a closer friend. Killer scenery. Highly recommended but it will cost you to be comfortable or pretentious.

Re: There is no reason to cross the U.S. by train, but I did it anyway

#400

Post by conorh »

I’ve done Amtrak with my young kids twice, Tampa to DC overnight, in a sleeper cabin as described in the article. They love it, we love it. Hanging out, watching the scenery go by, exploring the train, meeeting other passengers, reading, playing on devices, playing games (the kids love making little forts in the upstairs bunk). It is a wonderful way to travel. We do the train one way and then fly back to save time.
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