71–80 of 267 posts
Having taken the Zephyr before, despite not being practical, Amtrak is really stupidly beautiful. There's something stunning in being in the middle of the mountains with nothing around.
My parents took me on a trip via the California Zephyr, Coastal Starlight, and Empire builder when I was 5 years old. I'm now in my 40s and that was one of the most memorable trips I've ever taken. I re-took the California Zephyr with my wife some years ago, and hope to take it again with my child some day. Memorable travel, not just memorable destinations.
I think I recognize that section of Chicago's train station from my favorite scene of all time. That shootout scene from the movie The Untouchables. Correct me if I am wrong.
The post suggests that "freight trains have priority." By law, passenger travel is expected to have "precedence." Read: https://www.amtrak.com/content/dam/projects/dotcom/english/p...
Interesting! Your link suggests that legally passenger trains are supposed to have priority, but that in practice freight trains are given priority. I didn't know this, and it makes me even madder! But as far as an explanation for why Amtrak trains are so often delayed (which is how it appeared in OP?), it appears to be correct that it's because freight trains are given priority. It's just that... they're not suppose…
In other words, freight rail has optimized very hard on saving costs, and since they own the tracks, there's not much Amtrak can do to win.
I think the only real solution is dedicated, grade-separated tracks for passenger trains (ideally high speed), but that's unfortunately a pipe dream :(
I would guess maybe in American culture, people would not be willing to sleep in a room with strangers, too bad, because it seems that the USA in the past had developed exactly this type of sleeper car: http://streamlinermemories.info/?p=5983
I've come close to booking a long haul with roomette, when I've had the time and could work on the train. In the end always decided the cost was too much, and at the same time sleeping in coach on Amtrak is not a nice experience.
Are these niche Amtrak routes profitable or just political pork necessary to get politicians on board with funding Amtrak?
If, as so many are here, you’re in the Bay Area, the Coast Starlight from San Jose is a great way to travel down to LA or up to Portland or Seattle. It’ll take a while - but the trip, and the scenery, are part of the point.
As a caveat: try not to do it around the holidays, though. Very busy and very little scenery in the PNW due to shortened days. ...and also sometimes you'll get a passenger who talks about chemtrails, a concessions stand worker who's Officially Had Enough Bullshit, a locomotive that stops working, and someone dying of a heart attack in the middle of nowhere. But I'd like to think that these are more exceptional circum…
I have had some interesting tablemates in the restaurant car though - they always fill all seats so you never know who you’ll be sitting next to for a meal! In retrospect maybe that actually was part of the charm too?…
Nice read. I wish we had train configurations like those I took years ago in Europe: cabins with with 6 seats that converted to bunk beds in the evening-- even in coach class. I would guess maybe in American culture, people would not be willing to sleep in a room with strangers, too bad, because it seems that the USA in the past had developed exactly this type of sleeper car: http://streamlinermemories.info/?p=5983 I…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I wouldn’t call them niche, but no, the long distance routes are not profitable and never will be. They were introduce by the Rail Passenger Service act of 1970, and probably were initially requested, for better or worse, to serve as political pork for Amtrak funding as they serve rural communities as well as tourists. One could also argue that Amtrak is kept hostage, and can never offer high quality service (prior t…
You're right in that the long distance routes don't really make sense on their own, but if you view them as a bunch of shorter commuter routes which happen to be there anyway, then connecting them up tip to tip with a daily "long distance" route makes a lot of sense. To the commuters, it doesn't matter that one of the trains they might board on a given day will continue going long after they get off. But the benefit…