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The night train revolution has been hailed as an alternative to airplanes

cnn.com

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Re: The night train revolution has been hailed as an alternative to airplanes

#71

Post by wkat4242 »

baz00 wrote: post #12
wkat4242 wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah I'm all for fighting climate change but air travel should be excepted until there's battery-powered options available. We can't go back to the dark ages of travel. And especially internationally in Europe the rail network is shit and has way too little capacity. There's almost no good international high speed rail. It's only in countries that invested in it locally like Germany, France and Spain.

Completely agree with this. Anyway shifting all our trips to train travel is not the answer. The answer, which I do prefer, is not travelling at all when avoidable. I only ever travel for holidays and funerals. Never on business. All business can be conducted on conference calls.

As someone who lives in another country I don't really agree. I do agree some trips (especially business) are avoidable. There's an unfortunate stigma that if you don't travel for a meeting you're not considering it important enough. I personally really like VR meetings as a replacement, they make me feel much more together.

But for personal use I don't think travelling less is an option. I hate travel but it's important to see family too. We can't just roll the world back to where a different continent was unreachable.

Re: The night train revolution has been hailed as an alternative to airplanes

#72

Post by thinkingtoilet »

linuxftw wrote: post #63
thinkingtoilet wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I feel very similar to you. My family took an overnight Amtrak from Albany to Chicago. We got a full sleeper room which ranges from $500-$1000 per person per room, which is certainly more expensive than a flight, and I recognize it's a privilege that we can afford it. That being said, it was far more enjoyable than flying. It left Albany at 7pm and the kids (3 and 5) were beyond thrilled to be on a train. Laying back…

$1k/ticket you can easily fly 1st class for that amount, usually less. I can't imagine making this type of trade off.

$1k is on the high end, if you were traveling Dec. 23rd or something like that. The last time I did this the price was $680 per person, which again is more expensive than a flight, but for me was totally worth it and so much more enjoyable than a flight I don't know if I'll ever fly home again. However, to each their own. I fully understand this isn't for everyone.

Re: The night train revolution has been hailed as an alternative to airplanes

#73

Post by amluto »

linuxftw wrote: post #63
thinkingtoilet wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I feel very similar to you. My family took an overnight Amtrak from Albany to Chicago. We got a full sleeper room which ranges from $500-$1000 per person per room, which is certainly more expensive than a flight, and I recognize it's a privilege that we can afford it. That being said, it was far more enjoyable than flying. It left Albany at 7pm and the kids (3 and 5) were beyond thrilled to be on a train. Laying back…

$1k/ticket you can easily fly 1st class for that amount, usually less. I can't imagine making this type of trade off.

For most short-to-medium-length flights, first class merely upgrades you from a seat that is massively larger than a small child to a seat that is even more massively larger than the child. You’re still stuck on a plane with a fasten seatbelt lights for exactly the same amount of time. (Maybe longer because first class often comes with early boarding.)

Re: The night train revolution has been hailed as an alternative to airplanes

#74

Post by landemva »

bunderbunder wrote: post #55
VyseofArcadia wrote: post #40

I regularly take the Amtrak Crescent overnight to visit family down south. With two people (my wife and I), a roomette has been about on par with air travel pricewise the last couple of times we've traveled. Total privacy, comfy accomodations, internet access, meals and snacks included. Yeah, it does take longer, but frankly I find air travel to be stressful and uncomfortable. The longer travel time is worth it to me…

I've flown first class. Whether it counts as nicer or not probably depends a lot on your preferences. The actual service provided on a first class plane flight is definitely more classy. Everything in the plane is more likely to be in perfect repair, with no signs of wear and tear like you see on Amtrak's aging Superliners. And the flight attendants are more likely to give you "first-class" treatment than an Amtrak p…

First Class flight within USA is significantly different than a international long haul first class flight. But nobody takes an over water long haul train, so these are different markets.

Re: The night train revolution has been hailed as an alternative to airplanes

#75

Post by nerdbert »

baz00 wrote: post #6

It's not. It's expensive, noisy, takes a long time (6h door to door) and is uncomfortable as fuck. I recently had to go to Edinburgh. It was £235 standard class to get a train that takes several hours. Or £80 to get a plane that takes 2h door to door (1h in the air). If I want to go anywhere in Europe it's quicker, easier and almost always cheaper to fly. Even on a bad Lufthansa flight where everything goes wrong :)…

> I can't get to the English Channel and across it at any time for twice that.

Eurostar St Pancras - Lille €144 Monday evening. But I agree that the prices of air vs rail are way out of whack.

https://www.eurostar.com/search/rw-en?origin=7015400&destina...

Re: The night train revolution has been hailed as an alternative to airplanes

#76

Post by phanimahesh »

In India, for anywhere there's an overnight bus or train, I prefer it to a flight. Then again, our train and bus networks cater to a very large population, and trains in particular are dirt cheap.

I remember going from Hyderabad to Delhi, a distance of 1500+ km, for Rs 626 or so during my college days, in a sleeper coach. (2010) The ride took 26 hours, but was comfortable, and my only means of travel to and from college multiple times a year. The price is now 695 for a sleeper coach, or about 8.5 USD. 3-tier ac is more comfortable at 1825 INR, about 22 USD. A one way flight is about 50-55 USD equivalent and takes 2h30m or so.

I used to tell people anyone who flew from hyderabad to bangalore was a masochist. It was my regular route, and an overnight sleeper ac bus costed the same as what a cab would cost me to and from airport alone. In addition, due to travel times, security checks, etc the overall time lost was far greater by air, given that you can sleep well and wake up refereshed when travelling by bus.

The only times I take a flight these days is if the bus or train options take over 15 hours or if there's. No good overnight sleeper option. Time awake and lost to transportation tilts in favor of shorter air travel then.

Re: The night train revolution has been hailed as an alternative to airplanes

#77

Post by nerdbert »

sidewndr46 wrote: post #70
jmclnx wrote: post #5

>At least that’s the theory – and why the new wave of night trains are being touted as one way to replace short or even medium-haul flights across Europe and the US. I am sure in the US it is and will always be talk. Train service in the US is terrible compared to what is in the EU. It will never happen. Maybe this will work in Boston where the subways run a 3 MPH (~5kph) due to ignored repairs over the past 30/40 ye…

3 mph, isn't that like a brisk walking speed for most adults?

Yes, it does in fact go slower than walking pace in some spots.

https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2023/02/21/green-line...

Re: The night train revolution has been hailed as an alternative to airplanes

#78

Post by nerdbert »

KingOfCoders wrote: post #35

I went on one with a bed (6 people) some years ago from Berlin to Vienna and it was a nightmare (OEBB Nightjet). It stopped several times and there were constantly people getting in and out of bed, storing suitcases, getting dressed etc.

With the 4-bed one, if you're on the top bunk, it's not bad, unless you get unlucky and your compartment mates are particularly rude.

The 6 is too much for me.

Re: The night train revolution has been hailed as an alternative to airplanes

#79

Post by nerdbert »

t-3 wrote: post #8
xwdv wrote: post #4

In Europe these night trains are useless IMO. Air travel within Europe is cheap and easy, night trains are far more expensive, slow and run unreliable schedules sometimes, and they often don’t even take you to places you want to go. In America though, night trains would be awesome, since air travel is expensive, hellish, and the country is built in a way that the destinations most people will want to go to are alread…

> since air travel is expensive, hellish, and the country is built in a way that the destinations most people will want to go to are already laid out in an efficient layout due to the car focused culture. What? Air travel may be hellish, but it's super-cheap domestically compared to driving or trains. Both air and train share the issue of needing to rent a car or pay to be ferried about at $destination.

My at-destination-ferrying costs rarely if ever exceed €10/day, usually less, since unlimited metro/bus passes are widely available.

Re: The night train revolution has been hailed as an alternative to airplanes

#80

Post by sidewndr46 »

nerdbert wrote: post #77
sidewndr46 wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

3 mph, isn't that like a brisk walking speed for most adults?

Yes, it does in fact go slower than walking pace in some spots. https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2023/02/21/green-line...

well I guess it is out of the weather at least. Plus you could transport groceries on it I guess?
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