Please sign the Move-On petition to keep long distance Amtrak routes!

[mnhtnbb]

I love trains. Grew up riding trains, including the 20th Century Limited and the Santa Fe Super Chief across the country from New York to
California. A year ago my husband and I took the Coast Starlight from Los Angeles to Seattle. Just this month we rode (round trip)
the Palmetto from Wilson, NC to Charleston, SC for our annual trip to enjoy several days of Charleston's annual Spoleto Festival.

The future is train travel--high speed train travel. Anyone who has ridden the superb high speed trains in Europe knows they are a wonderful
alternative to flying or driving. We were in France in April and rode trains from Paris to Strasbourg to Lyon to Bordeaux and back to Paris. All
were on time. All were part of the TGV (high speed) network. A network of high speed trains crossing the country is what is needed in the US: NOT eliminating the long distance network of trains.

More about the budget proposal to eliminate federal support for Amtrak: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/trump-budget-slashes-federal-aid-for-rail-long-distance-amtrak-routes/2017/05/23/55df2bc4-3fdf-11e7-adba-394ee67a7582_story.html



https://petitions.moveon.org/sign/save-amtrak-3?akid=185454.1370424.ksje7u&rd=1&source=mo&t=14


Please sign the petition and pass it along to your friends/family.

[oberliner]

1. Thanks for sharing this

I agree with your sentiments.

[mnhtnbb]

6. Just another example of backa$$wardness from Republicans.

We need more and better passenger trains--not less!

[oberliner]

8. I love those longer routes

Especially in one of the Viewliner roomettes.

[mnhtnbb]

12. We booked a bedroom for the Coast Starlight

and really enjoyed it.

Took one of the roomettes on a return trip from DC one time so my husband could stretch out for his afternoon nap. It was quite pleasant.

[Cha]

2. Signed, Mahalo!

[mnhtnbb]

4. Thanks, Cha!

[Happyhippychick]

3. Signed and shared on FB

[mnhtnbb]

5. Thanks, Happyhippychick!

[Happyhippychick]

14. :)

[Bernardo de La Paz]

7. Airlines get subsidized airports, air traffic control, and defence subsidized aircraft. . . nt

[Lee-Lee]

9. Signed! I wish Amtrak was more friendly to travel in my area

I like traveling by train but it's almost impossible from where I am. At least impossible to do in a way that makes it more convenient than flying.

I recently had to travel to D.C. for work and checked the feasibility of train.

Amtrak- nearest station is 1.5 hours away. Train leaves at 11:40pm and arrives in DC at 10:45. Return trip also crazy overnight hours. Round trip cost was $240

Air travel- Airport is 20 minutes away. Plane leaves at a reasonable hour and gets me in DC the afternoon before I need to be there instead of early, so I get 2 more nights at home. Round trip cost $198.

So essentially Amtrak was goinv to cost $42 more for a much longer transit time from a much less convenient station with the travel occurring and much, much less convenient hours.

Crunching the numbers even driving the company car would have been cheaper to my employer, and taken me out of the office less, than the train.

I even was willing to put up with some increased hassle and cost to use the train, but that was just a no win situation, and even had I wanted to my employer wouldn't have approved it because of the increased cost that came with me being out of the office for a longer period as well.

I don't know what the right combination of answers is to fix it, but I know they need to make it a lot more user friendly if they want people to adopt it as an alternative to flying or driving.

[mnhtnbb]

10. I hear you. We have ridden the train to DC several times

and I much prefer it to driving.

We have to go south first to pick up the train in Cary (30 minutes from where we live). So, yes, it takes a little longer
but is much less expensive than flying to DC from here. If we drive, we leave the car in long term parking at Franconia-Springfield
metro station and ride the metro in to DC.

On the trip I mentioned going to Charleston, the drive to Wilson from our house took about 80 minutes. We can't fly non-stop to
Charleston from Raleigh: you have to go to Atlanta or Charlotte and change planes. By the time you factor in enough layover
that you won't miss your connection PLUS driving to the airport and getting there with time to get through security (my husband always
gets pulled aside for the groping session due to his hip implant), it is about equal time. Round trip coach airfare was triple the price on Amtrak
for a business class seat due to senior discounts, and the trip was so much more pleasant. Get up from your seat when you feel like it.
The person's seat in front of you isn't in your lap when they recline it. It's fun to look out the window. I no longer want to drive I-95 so we really
enjoyed taking the train.

I wish we had high speed trains to DC and NY. I would take them in a minute. I hate flying. Really, really hate it. Don't want to do it anymore.

[zipplewrath]

11. Medium distance travel

Trains are predominately for those trips that are "too long" for the car and "too short" for the airplane. That's kinda a narrow window. Works well in regions like the Northeast, especially with the population/traffic density. But as soon as the length gets too long, or the population too thin, it starts to become problematic. It can also work well in and out of a population center like a Chicago. Basically it transports people in and out from distances too long for buses, with the added advantage of not having to deal with a car while in the urban center.

As well as the TGV works in Europe, train travel there really only works "well" when traveling in and out of major population centers. I've traveled extensively in France and unless I was going in and out of Paris, Lyon, or a few other major urban centers, it always ended up being more efficient to just rent a car and drive. Once you get to the urban center, you can dump the car and start taking public transport.

That said, I do believe we are going to see a resurgence of train travel in the US. Not anywhere near what it was, but more than we have now. Populations are shifting back to urban centers and that will bring a desire for more convenient travel in and out of them on those "too long for a bus" trips. It may also work for transport between them that is "too much hassle to take a plane" trips.

[mnhtnbb]

13. I think age of population is something to take in to account.

We drove a car all around France on our honeymoon in 1985. Now we're 66 and 74 and I have no desire to drive in France.

I learned to drive in southern California. Drove freeways--including all over L.A.--for many years. I don't want to drive freeways on long distance trips
anymore and I'm not the little old lady from Pasadena. People are crazy. They're on the phone; texting; tailgating; cutting in and out of
lanes; driving way over the speed limit. It's just crazy. Highway driving is way more stressful now.

There was a horrible accident on I-95 near the NC/SC border not long ago. A trucker didn't slow down for the construction zone; slammed into
a car and caused a multi-vehicle accident. Five people were killed, including two children. Completely preventable accident. When we drove
to Charleston two years ago, we passed two horrible car accidents: on I-95 and one on I-26. We later learned that the one on I-26 had a fatality.

[zipplewrath]

16. Yabbut

I understand, but unfortunately, the same things that make people want to stop driving, are also soon the same things that induce them to travel less in total. I don't see major infrastructure being driven by this market influence. However, it does tend to induce this market segment to choose to live in places that have non-car based transportation options for short, medium, and long distance travel, and that can include significant train travel.

[Hawaii Hiker]

15. Was the coast starlight an awesome experience?

On the Discover LA site, actor Rob Lowe talked about that train as one of LA's great experiences:

"Take the Coast Starlight up the coast. It's absolutely brilliant. I've taken it to San Francisco, but someday I'd like to take it all the way to Vancouver. It's one of the last great American named trains that's still around and as good as it ever was. Get a sleeper car - that's the ticket. Unfortunately it's not cheap, but it is amazing".

http://www.discoverlosangeles.com/blog/my-la-z-rob-lowe

[mnhtnbb]

17. Gorgeous scenery.

Took this shot from the club car early in the morning passing Mt. Shasta.

[brooklynite]

18. Why should I?

I don't dispute the need, but what value does a MoveOn petition have? What track record do they, or anyone else have with online petitions?

I you care about rail service, call or write your elected officials and explain why in your own words.