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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

#81

Post by kortilla »

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…

Agree except for the meals. They are just OK. The experience of talking to other people on the train can be nice but the food itself is not “delicious”.

If you really like to have good food when you travel, the dining car wears thin quite quickly. I lament the lack of options for better food (I would happily pay more).

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

#82

Post by saagarjha »

A lot of people here talking about the northeastern routes, but there's another good one that is kinda worth it: San Jose to Santa Barbara on the Coast Starlight, on account of SBA being very expensive to fly through. It's about 8 hours (driving is 5-6) and comparable in price to a bus (and it is probably beating gas right now, to be honest). And the tracks go by some of the prettiest coastline in the United States, usually around sunset too.

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

#83

Post by CalRobert »

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…

For what it's worth, I love trains, and the romance of them, but I ALSO love taking it from Oakland or Richmond to Sacramento and sipping a beer while I look through the window at all the poor saps stuck on I-80. I've had that drive take 4+ hours before on a Friday, especially when people are headed to Tahoe.

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

#84

Post by CalRobert »

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…

Many many years ago I took the train from San Luis Obispo to Sacramento and enjoyed a meal in the dining car, with set times and seating assignments. It was a really interesting conversation with my randomly chosen tablemates. Sadly I don't think they do that anymore.

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

#85

Post by CalRobert »

999900000999 wrote: post #62
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…

You take it for a variety of reasons. The only profitable routes are Boston to Washington DC. Outside of that it's both better and worse. Sometimes you meet friendly people, sometimes your stuck next to folks with hygiene issues. I've had way more chance encounters flying, went out with a girl once. It's cool, but so underfunded that I don't think it'll ever catch up to say Japan. An 18 hour highspeed NYC to LA train…

In fairness, we don't have many profitable freeways either.

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

#86

Post by ghaff »

saagarjha wrote: post #82

A lot of people here talking about the northeastern routes, but there's another good one that is kinda worth it: San Jose to Santa Barbara on the Coast Starlight, on account of SBA being very expensive to fly through. It's about 8 hours (driving is 5-6) and comparable in price to a bus (and it is probably beating gas right now, to be honest). And the tracks go by some of the prettiest coastline in the United States,…

There are probably a few other city pairs like Seattle to Portland’s and Raleigh to Charlotte that are reasonable.

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

#87

Post by ghaff »

satvikpendem wrote: post #75
shiroiuma wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is no world where bullet trains between NYC and LA would make any financial sense at all. The trains can't possibly go fast enough for passengers to be satisfied with the speed (even maglev isn't fast enough), and the cost of track construction and maintenance would never be paid for by ridership. I live in Japan; bullet trains are great here, but the distances they cover are quite short by American standards.…

In China it's a matter of politics rather than financial sense, of unifying the country hence why they have them in ethnic minority areas too. The trains would be like roads, sure, most people wouldn't take them from one end to the other, A to Z, but there are enough people to take them from A to D, J to N, Q to T, so to speak. If one could commute in one hour from Boston to DC for example each way, daily without fly…

Zoom isn’t a replacement for in-person meetings all of the time but it’s pretty good for a lot of purposes. I’m on a non-profit board and we do have a couple meetings a year when we ask people to try to make it in person but the rest is planned to be virtual.

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

#88

Post by skywal_l »

999900000999 wrote: post #62
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…

You take it for a variety of reasons. The only profitable routes are Boston to Washington DC. Outside of that it's both better and worse. Sometimes you meet friendly people, sometimes your stuck next to folks with hygiene issues. I've had way more chance encounters flying, went out with a girl once. It's cool, but so underfunded that I don't think it'll ever catch up to say Japan. An 18 hour highspeed NYC to LA train…

> An 18 hour highspeed NYC to LA train would be amazing.

Often I think of the cut intro scene for "Escape From New York" where Snake robs some sort of bank and then escape in the inter state subway[0]. That future is grim but at least they got high speed long distance underground subways.

[0]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsLT-zRWWdQ

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

#89

Post by ghaff »

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…

I usually take the Regional on my own dime though last trip I got a deal on the return leg on Acela. The downside of Amtrak for me is that the Boston south suburban station is an hour drive in basically the wrong direction. But I hate hate driving into Manhattan.

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

#90

Post by rbanffy »

satvikpendem wrote: post #75
shiroiuma wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is no world where bullet trains between NYC and LA would make any financial sense at all. The trains can't possibly go fast enough for passengers to be satisfied with the speed (even maglev isn't fast enough), and the cost of track construction and maintenance would never be paid for by ridership. I live in Japan; bullet trains are great here, but the distances they cover are quite short by American standards.…

In China it's a matter of politics rather than financial sense, of unifying the country hence why they have them in ethnic minority areas too. The trains would be like roads, sure, most people wouldn't take them from one end to the other, A to Z, but there are enough people to take them from A to D, J to N, Q to T, so to speak. If one could commute in one hour from Boston to DC for example each way, daily without fly…

> it's Zoom

I heard something like that about the Concorde at the Air and Space Museum. What killed it was not fuel costs, but cheaper long-distance phone calls and fax machines.

But if a country takes the Chinese approach and pushed inexpensive rail as a way to open new economic opportunities, the idea of flying as your daily commute moves from ridiculous to feasible (if you replace the airplane with a train).

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