Loving trains
I took Amtrak from New Rochelle to Philly. Large, comfortable seats that really recline—plus a couple of power outlets next to the seat. Good reading lights. Ample luggage space, and people tended to put their luggage above their own seat rather than in the first empty space they came to (presumably because people get on and off at each stop, so you want to keep an eye on your belongings).
By chance, I entered a “quiet car”, which (they emphasize) has a “library” atmosphere: no cellphone conversations allowed at all and cellphones must be set to “vibrate.” So it’s text messaging only, in effect. Any music, games, or the like must be through headphones only. No conversation. It was wonderful.
I love trains and wish that the USA had more affordable train service, of course in the NE corridor the service is frequent and seems well managed and from my experience quote affordable.
Yet, when quoting long distance travel on the AMTRAK on the long distance service runs, it is just not that convenient nor is it affordable in comparison to other methods of transport.
I just don’t understand why high speed rail service has not gotten off the ground in the US. You can pack a lot of people onto a train and easily add more cars rather than more voyages like the restrictions for air or bus.
Nick
12 October 2010 at 7:49 am
It is actually quite expensive usually on the NE corridor even. You can find bargains ($76 round trip from Philly to New Rochelle, NY — just north of NYC) but often well out of range of driving or taking a bus.
Anonymous
12 October 2010 at 8:07 am
The Son told me that, in the US, freight trains have priority over passenger trains, thus the occasional 7-hour delays. I mentioned this odd priortization to someone as we waited on the platform, and she pointed out that freight trains nowadays are extremely long and heavy and very difficult to stop: the problem due to physics.
Still the US is unaccountably timid about passenger rail service. No doubt the airlines and bus lines and car manufacturers lobby heavily against a national investment in rail travel (even matching the government investment in highways and airports would be a start), and of course the GOP strongly opposes passenger rail service. (Along with almost everything else, I have to note.)
LeisureGuy
12 October 2010 at 8:18 am
The priority depends on who owns the particular rail line. There are two commuter train routes to/from Baltimore-Washington, D.C.: the Penn Station line and the Camden Station line. The Penn line tracks are owned by Amtrak in the stretch between Baltimore and D.C., and passenger trains have priority over freight trains (and Amtrak trains over MARC commuter trains). The Camden line tracks are owned by CSX between Baltimore and D.C. and freight trains have priority over passenger trains. Many more delays on the Camden line as a result. The ownership of rail lines is totally Balkanized in the U.S., so it is impossible to have comprehensive policy planning on many issues.
The Eldest
12 October 2010 at 8:29 am
I believe one reason our country is timid is because in all the years that AMTRAK has been in service, it has never once turned a profit. Its original mission was to do just that, but it just never can seem to be run as an efficient business when politicians and special-interest groups are at the helm.
Ryne Smith
13 October 2010 at 12:06 pm