A real life comparison of air vs rail

[Stinky The Clown]

Sparkly has a conference in Providence, RI. We're between Baltimore and DC. Plane or train, she would be leaving from BWI airport (or rail station).

She bought a plane ticket a good while ago. On US Air. $209 round trip. (She forgot about Southwest, which would have been about $189 - no biggie)

Her US Air flight leaves up there leaves at 9-ish and, after a layover, gets there at 1-ish. Four hours total. Plus getting to the airport an hour ahead (plus travel), Five and a half Hours. Plus travel to the conference, estimated at 30 minutes. Six hours total.

Her return flight leaves at 7-ish and, after a layover, gets here at 7-ish! Twelve Hours. Plus the hour ahead, plus travel is Thirteen and a half hours. That's a total for the trip of 19.5 hours.

Today, just for the hell of it, we looked at AMTRAK.

6 hours each way. Plus travel time to and fro. No hour ahead bullshit. No pat down. No showing of papers. No sweaty TSA fucker looking at her on an x-ray screen. Just 20 minutes.

So let's say 13 hours total for AMTRAK.

And the cost? $189.

And the carbon footprint?


Hahahahaha


You tell me ..... which would you choose?


Me?


AMTRAK ..... hands down. In fact, even if it was the same time and more money, I'd pick AMTRAK.

[liberal N proud]

1. When you have the option of rail

90+% of the country does not

[Taverner]

4. Yup. How am I going to do my Phoenix trips via train?

[Warpy]

18. I'll be able to zip up to Santa Fe by the end of the year

because we finally got north-south commuter rail in this state. Before, we'd have to go east or west and double back, a 600 mile trip to do 56 miles.

They've also announced that light rail will be started on old Rte. 66 going through town here. I'll have to ride my scooter to the University, but then I'll be able to buzz into Old Town whenever I want to without the hassle of parking.

This state is finally ahead of the curve in something. It's nice to see.

[Taverner]

21. I noticed those new LightRail tracks at ASU last week

Any chance they'll have that line going up to Scottsdale?

[Warpy]

22. Not a clue

Santa Fe and I are in NM.

[tired]

55. They are just connecting the ASU campus'

East, West, and the Tempe campus

[Taverner]

58. Damn - oh well

[tired]

75. Pretty much worthless if you ask me

They need to connect the major cities (Phoenix, Tempe, Scottsdale, Mesa)so that people dont have to drive everywhere. I see very few people riding this on a daily basis.

[Taverner]

77. Sounds like it

They do need to connect all of those metros. If anything people will ride it for the free AC.

[NancyG]

44. McCain is against Amtrak because of Phoenix

He was the chairman of the commitee dealing with Amtrak funding and has been trying to kill Amtrak for years. Word is that he is pissed that Amtrak doesn't go to Phoenix.

Defeat McCain.

[intheflow]

66. Amtrak goes to Phoenix.

Their website says they have two stations in Phoenix. :shrug:

[NancyG]

76. It's bus service from Flagstaff or Maricopa to Phoenix. nt

[Stinky The Clown]

20. You're right. This is my push to (re)develop rail

Rail is fully competitive, time and convenience wise, with air travel when the travel distance is up to 400 or 500 miles. This trip is about 400 miles.

I bet there's train track with a mile or two of wherever you are. I'm not for a moment suggesting all of it should carry passenger traffic. My point is that we can develop it if we have the national will and that the makings of a viable infrastructure is mostly already there.

[liberal N proud]

27. Where I presently live, Nearest rail 5 miles

Amtrak does run through. The only scheduled stop at three something in the morning.

BUT! I lived for 25 years in Missouri. When I moved there, there were three different railroads with no passenger service at all. By the time I moved away from that College town, all the railroad tracks had been removed.

I remember the last passenger train that went through my hometown in Iowa, I was all of 10 years old. Our parents took 30 miles away put us on the train and met us at home just so we could say we rode the last train through. Tracks gone.

Most of the midwest had rail to every community at one time. Today most of them have been abandoned, turned into hiking/biking trails or returned to the farmland they run through.


The Northeast is the only part of America with an abundance of passenger trains.

[Stinky The Clown]

34. That's true .... that's how it was .... that's how it is .......

..... but not how it can be.

I'd love to see train a viable option for all trips under 500 miles.

[Greyskye]

2. Yep. Plus, you can walk around at will

and your seats are at least marginally larger.

No free peanuts though. :sarcasm:

[marmar]

5. "No free peanuts though."

Even that's no longer true on airplanes. You can buy a snack bag for $1.

[Greyskye]

13. SouthWest still gave out snack bags as of a few months ago

Has it changed since then? :shrug:

[marmar]

14. Northwest, the airline I fly most often, stopped with the free peanuts/pretzels in coach...

.... Only the non-alcoholic beverages are free, and let's see how long that lasts.

[Cassandra]

3. When I have the choice, I always pick Amtrak

Another nice thing about them is, if you need to leave earlier or later than expected, you can call them. As long as they have the space, they are really flexible and friendly about changes.

[wryter2000]

6. I'll tell you what I choose

Every, single time...Amtrak. Unfortunately, the trains are often late because they get stuck behind freight trains. You want to check the train schedule like a hawk. You can do that on the website.

I'm a total Amtrak convert, though.

What you didn't factor into the equation is that Amtrak is totally comfortable. You could sleep in the seat if you had to. You're not jammed in like a sardine. Did you know blot clots are a real possibility on planes because you're held immobile for hours on long flights? You don't have to drive to the airport. On some trains, you can get a half decent meal. Amtrak employees are friendly and helpful and smile at you.

[napi21]

7. Rail travel is terrific IF you live somewhere where there is a

direct connection to where you're going. I checked on a rail trip from Gainesville Ga. to Pittsburgh, Pa. HA HA! 2 1/2 days, and they took the longest, most indirect route I could even imagine!

[Buzz Clik]

8. My last Amtrak experience was a beauty.

We needed to drive about 50 miles to catch the train that was scheduled to depart at about 5 am. We got a call at 3 am telling us the train was greatly delayed (we were grateful for the call) and they'd call back when it was time to come. It left about 5 hours late. We waited in the station roughly 90 minutes.

The delays along the trip (scheduled to be about 15 hours) continued to add up, and we pulled into Chicago about 12 hours late -- far too late to make our connecting train. We stayed the night in Chicago, and completed the last couple hours the next day.

On the way back, the train was cancelled completely due to some sort of strike. Luckily, they worked things out, and we were back in business the next day. Scheduled round trip travel time: 34 hours. Total number of hours delayed: 58 hours.

So, no more Amtrak for me.

[yardwork]

28. But that could easily happen while traveling by air.

I recently flew out of Chicago O'Hare - six hours after schedule. Instead of getting in at 9 pm I got in at 3 am. And we were lucky to get out at all.

[Stinky The Clown]

36. British Air from Naples to London .... 3.5 hours scheduled ........

........ 7 (seven) hours ON THE GROUND .... IN THE PLANE .... in Naples. They literally had to gas up again cuz the plane had been running so long. They served lunch after 4 hours. The AC broke and a mechanic crew came out to the plane and fixed it. WE WERE HELD HOSTAGE. THEY NEVER WENT BACK TO THE FUCKING GATE.

Got back to Gatwick and missed our flight to BWI. Bussed to Heathrow for a flight to Dulles. Dulles flight 3 hours late arriving due to weather back at Dulles on departure. One hour inbound delay for MORE weather. Cab to BWI (compliments of BA) to get our car.

Obviously rail was no option for the pond crossing, but from Naples to London? Its possible.

The Naples/London flight is the BA equivalent of a 'domestic' flight in the US. The service was far lower, the equipment not nearly as nice as the international equipment, and the crew was absolutely rude.

Shittiest trip we ever made.

[SoCalDem]

62. And people wonder why the rich used to travel by Luxury Liners across the "pond"?

I know air travel was not that "available" during the heydey of luxury liners, but the beast that air travel has been morphed into, is no picnic..

I will ALWAYS drive if given the chance..

Our free 10 day trip to Tahiti was a no-brainer, but anywhere we can get to by land, will be by car :)

[pt22]

45. Where the hell is Mussolini when we need him?

:silly:

[nilram]

46. Amtrak has NO priority on the rails...

You have my sympathies. It used to be that passenger rail was a priority, but now if there's a scheduling conflict, freight wins. They had to do that in their contracts, either to save money or in the terms of the consolidation that took passenger travel away from the freight lines. Going from Portland, Oregon to Seattle, you learn not to take the Pacific Starlight, since it starts out in Los Angeles and has all that way to take on delays. There's others that start out from here and they're almost always on time.

Of course, if passenger rail was made a priority, by contract or by Congress, we might get back to having functional passenger rail.

[xxqqqzme]

9. I only travel by rail anymore.

Physical limitations just makes it easier for me. My favorite part of rail travel is everytime I eat, I get to meet a new person.

[Carnea]

10. Anything between Boston and DC is a rail slam dunk.

Esp with Airport security as anal as it is. But outside of that corridor flying is still the best option.

[frogcycle]

11. would that America had been paying attention to these facts

since the 1950's

[marmar]

12. Plus the great convenience of going downtown to downtown....

..... I fly Detroit to Chicago relatively often. Detroit Metro Airport is 20 miles from downtown Detroit, and about 35 miles from my place in the burbs. Then when you get to O'Hare, it's 20 more miles into downtown Chicago (although at least you do have the option of the bumpy Blue Line ride into Chicago). When you factor in the price of gas and parking, the hassle, and the fact that a plane ticket is double that of Amtrak, it's stoooopid to fly unless time is paramount, and with the check-in time and waits, there's no great advantage there.
And though the Amtrak service between Detroit and Chicago, which shares tracks with freight lines, leaves much to be desired, it's all trains for me from now on.

[BrklynLib at work]

15. I have done some Amtrak traveling - NYC to DC, and to Boston, and back.

I think that the trains system in this country has been totally undermined by the auto and air industries. My trains trips have been comfortable, relaxing and for the most part, trouble-free.

Sadly, right now, some of the fares are much higher than airfare to the same destination. I wanted to take a train to Chicago last year - sleep on the overnight Lake Shore Express. The fare was REALLY HIGH!

I think that if the demand for railroad service increases enough, service Will improve and fares will go down.

I know for sure that I would rather take a train than drive, if the option is available.
I just wish the long trip fares were a bit lower, and service was provided to some of the more out-of-the way destinations.

[mrreowwr_kittty]

16. Living out here in the West, I miss Amtrak.

I used to take it all over the East coast. You could load your car on the train and take it to Florida. Less time than driving, saved gas, and about the same price when you took gas and a hotel stay into account.

[Initech]

17. I love Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner.

I take it to San Diego all the time. It's a nice smooth ride, I save money on gas, and I can drink a beer on the train while I'm on the way down. Doesnt get any better than that!

[Stinky The Clown]

26. I've taken the train from LA to San Diego a few times

It beats the hell out of driving. I love the part where it is, literally, closer to the ocean that the I5 ... down around San Onofre?

[TreasonousBastard]

19. You're forgetting that...

Southwest has a direct flight from Baltimore to Providence that's only a little over an hour flight time. Give it at most two hours on the plane each way with delays and all, but neither BWI nor Providence has much of a history of delays. USAir with its Northeast routes is absolutely the worst way to get anywhere an I can't understand why anyone flies them at all. Everything goes through Philadelphia, whether you change planes or not, and it makes stops like a local train. At least one of the stops will have a huge delay-- guranteed.

I still might take AMTRAK, though, just to avoid the sirport hassles, but remembering that bad weather blows out AMTRAK schedules as badly as it blows out airlines-- tracks get trees blown on them or the power goes out and it takes forever to fix things.

Years ago I used to know a lot of people who went to DC to talk to the regulators on a weekly basis, sometimes three or more days on a busy week. They would take the Continental shuttle out of Newark for a while, then get sick of that and take AMTRAK. Then they would get sick of AMTRAK and make the four hour drive down a few times.

Then they would start the cycle all over again.

[damntexdem]

23. How lucky to have the option.

When I have had the option, I have taken AMTRAK (including half-way across the country to LA and back). But for most destinations, the option just doesn't exist.

[Stinky The Clown]

30. That's kinda the point of this post

It is an option that ***should** be more widely available.

At an absolute minimum, we should have regular, modern rail service .......

- Chicago as a hub with service to/between Minneapolis, St Louis, Kansais City, Indianapolis, Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, Detroit, etc. And a long distance, high speed train to New Orleans and/or Houston or Dallas

- Houston, New Orleans, Dallas, San Antonio, Austin, Tulsa, OK City, even Brownsville and Midland.

- Denver, with service to/between Ft Collins, Greeley, Boulder, C-Springs, maybe Pueblo.

- LA, SFO, PHX, Vegas, San Diego, then connect up the coast to Portland and Seattle and inland for the Sacramento to Fresno line

- Miami to the Keys and up to Savannah and Chas'n, to Atlanta

These areas all make as much sense for rail as the Northeast Corridor. Some already have commuter rail (Chicago, for sure)

Given these rail complexes, the next step is an interconnect with a national high speed rail. If we can get 300 mph rail in the midwest and west, we can, indeed, have time competitive national rail. The biggest single cost is condemnation to get right of way. The right of way **already exists**. We just need to modernize it.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

24. real life comparision air vs rail

Atlanta to Seattle...(the most common trip i make)

RAIL
Atlanta to DC 13h49m 6h layover
DC to Chicago 17h35m 5h35m layover
Chicago to Seattle 46h5m

I THINK I CAN STOP RIGHT THERE

In other words I leave on 25JUN @ 8:21PM and arrive in Seattle on 29JUN @10:20AM

Amtrak is just NOT an option for MUCH MUCH MUCH business related travel...even at 200mph this would probably not be an option...

sP

[Stinky The Clown]

31. No argument

As I said in another answer up thread, rail is competitive time wise only up to 400 or 500 miles.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

35. there are too many people who think this is the only

inter-city travel option that we should be considering and that the airlines will die off...don't think either of those will ever come to pass...and if everyone starts traveling by rail over these 400-500 mile hops you're speaking of...those will become just about as unbearable as air travel is now...

sP

[Stinky The Clown]

38. I'm not sure that's true at all ......

Trains carry many, many more people than planes. Because they're economical to operate, they can easily add more capacity to keep up with demand. They can add cars to existing trains or they can add entire trains. The capacity could double or triple with little impact on anything ..... planes already fill the skies and at seasonal peak, the military actually relinquishes air space to civil aviation to allow marginally more capacity.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

42. i would have to disagree with some of that...

1) Train capacity is limited by several factors but I see simple rail congestion being the primary one...too many cars and not enough tracks...
2) Air capacity is limited right now primarily by technology...not space...improvements to ATC networks and technology would allow for many more planes in the air (not that this is good for fossil fuel burning).

I have been looking over the AMTRAK schedules...I tried 7 different departure dates to IND from ATL...found ONE with any seats available...and only coach at that. If this is such an economical way to move people...and there are so many sold out trains, why are there not more on the rails???

sP

[Stinky The Clown]

48. "....... why are there not more on the rails???"

Two words ..... Con Gress

What we need is Pro Gress

[uppityperson]

33. To visit family in midwest, up til now amtrak cost more, took an extra day.

And no, I don't sleep well in coach seats so would arrive exhausted. To pay for a tiny berth ups the cost even more. It will get there, that it is less expensive, but not yet. And it does take an extra day.

[pt22]

47. Well, to be fair that's how it is NOW, not necessarily how it COULD be.

:D
Sorry for shouting, just wanted some emPHAsis in the right place. :silly:

[MindPilot]

25. youcantgettherefromhere.com should be Amtrak's website

I have to go to a weekend conference in Chicago. Round trip from San Diego is almost six days of travel time including several hours on a bus. And the price? I could fly first class, take a limo to the hotel and have money left over to pay a hooker for what that train ride costs.

That is not even considering the risk of missing the conference because the train is a day late!

[Stinky The Clown]

32. Long distance rail (over 500 miles) is not a real option for most people

And may never be.

No argument.

But under 500 miles it is fully competitive.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

37. i am sorry Husb...it just isn't

even with a fairly decent station here in the Brookwood area of ATL there are trips that just cannot be done...now...

ATL to IND... Fare $498 Time 32h24m with layovers... it is 535 miles...

Totally and completely unacceptable...the only way it becomes interesting is DIRECT and NON-STOP...and THAT will never happen with rail service...

sP

[Stinky The Clown]

40. That's a route limited by frail infrastucture

That train probably never gets about 50 mph. In the NE Corridor, they get up well over 100 - 120 mph for all but a few (relatively) short runs.

Where there are grade crossings, lots of freight traffic, and too-sharp curves, you get slow service.

My 500 mile statement assumes decent infrastructure. The 500 mile notion has to do with train speed on good trackbed. We're not there yet. but if we commit to it, the 500 mile limit is very viable.

[MindPilot]

49. It's OK if you are there for the trip not the destination

A few years ago I rode the train from DC to San Diego. It was a nice relaxing four days, and that was basically my vacation.

But by the time we rolled into LA, the car behind mine had a broken septic system so there was almost always a line for the toilets in my car. The A/C in my car was stuck on full cool; in the berth it was OK, but you needed a jacket to wait in line to pee. One of the doors on the club car wouldn't close so it was unbearably noisy and the lights flickered on and off. It was like we were limping back from a combat mission, not a cross country trip in the 21st century.

The California Zephyr is arguably one of the most scenic train rides in the world. My wife-at-the-time bought tickets to Denver as a birthday gift; we took the trip over Thanksgiving and it was fantastic.

Except there was no dining car.

We lived on whatever fast food they had in the club car. To Amtrak's credit, they did stop in some little town and sent the conductors to the grocery store(s) so the entire train enjoyed (well, we ate them) turkey sandwiches.

Second time I rode the Zephyr, we got stuck in the Moffit tunnel due to track repairs up ahead. It was during dinner (at least there was a dining car this time) but the cars just fill up with diesel fumes and it made for a very unpleasant meal. I heard from the steward that a couple people actually passed out.

[dysfunctional press]

29. real-life for the eastern rail corridor.

the rest of the vast, spread-out country...?

not so much.

[NancyG]

39. I take Amtrak across the country for shows.

I have an Amtrak miles MasterCard that I put all my business and personal on.

I get the deluxe room with toilet and shower. San Fran to Chicago should be a $1700 trip, but free with 30k miles. I know this would be impossible for most, but I use my miles.

DH just came with me to my mother's funeral and he is now in love with the train.

Sure it takes 3 days. But I arrive very happy. Meals on white linen included in first class. Get to meet all kinds of people at dinner.

McCain has been vehemently anti-Amtrak funding for years. Please help keep him out of the WH.

Take the time sometime and take a long-distance Amtrak trip. The best hands down is the California Zephr from the Bay Area to Chicago thru the Sierras and Rockies. Totally amazing. And three 50# bags free.

Go Amtrak. And slow down. Arrive refreshed. If you don't make the connecting train, they put you up for free. Or send you in a cab to chase down the train.

Go Obama.

[Stinky The Clown]

41. Here! Here!

I am **totally** with you!

[NancyG]

43. Do you have the Amtrak GuestRewards MasterCard?

http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Amtrak/am2Copy/Hot_Deals_Page&c=am2Copy&cid=1178294007795&ssid=224

or at least sign up for the GuestRewards Program.

[goodinuf]

51. Photo of Amtrak room

Here is a photo of the DW reading in our deluxe room as we travel through Montana. On the right, is the door to our bathroom with shower. She forgot to mention the meals were included, the free wine tasting, and the complementary champagne.

[goodinuf]

54. Another Photo of Amtrak room

Here is the lower bunk in a deluxe room on the Amtrak Coast Starlight. The location is in California, probably west of Sacramento.

[Oeditpus Rex]

57. The problem with that is

mostAmericansdon'twanttoslowdown.Hell,they'lltellyoutheycan'taffordtoslowdownbecausetimeismoneyandmoneyistime
andwastingeitherisamortalsin.Evenifitweren't,howcanpeopleaffordtoslowdownwhenthey'vegotthingstodo,peopletomeet?
Gottagettherenow,gottagettherenowgottagetthereNOW!

[babylonsister]

67. "McCain has been vehemently anti-Amtrak funding for years." This needs it's own thread! nt

[REACTIVATED IN CT]

50. I definitely would choose Amtrak

But don't beat yourself up about flying instead if the trip is this week- they are repairing a bridge in New London so there is no service from CT to Boston this week.

[Stinky The Clown]

53. You're kidding!

Hahahaaha ...... The irony! (Sparkly's from new London. Go Whalers!)

[REACTIVATED IN CT]

59. I kid you not

I heard it on the radio this AM. Funny what you retain out of all you hear on the airwaves. Maybe it stuck with me since the RR tracks are 2 blocks away from my house so I won't be hearing too many trains this week - just the commuter trains

http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Amtrak/am2Copy/News_Release_Popup&c=am2Copy&cid=1178294179766

[NancyG]

52. 2 more recommendations for Greatest Page

Please.

Amtrak needs the attention.

[DFW]

56. For short distances, it makes all the sense in the world

I travel by train as much as possible, although here in Central Europe,
it's a lot easier than in North America, where routes are limited, especially
once you leave the Northeast.

But when I have to be in Germany one day and California the next, the rail option
tends to fade somewhat.

[Trailrider1951]

60. I leave on Friday to take my vacation trip to see my son and

his family in Seattle. I am in the Austin area. Friday evening I will board the Texas Eagle in Taylor, Texas, which originates in Chicago. At that point, my vacation begins (not when I arrive at the Seattle Airport). I will have a nice sit-down dinner in the Dining Car, and will relax afterward in my spacious coach seat while we journey to San Antonio. There, in the middle of the night, our cars will be attached to the Sunset Limited which originates in New Orleans (since Katrina tore up the track eastward). I will awake somewhere in West Texas, and have a nice breakfast, again in the Dining Car. The rest of the day will be spent watching scenery in the Lounge Car, watching DVDs in my coach seat, and walking through the train to talk to the Amtrak staff and my fellow passengers. The next morning I will awake to the scenery near the Salton Sea in California. About 10 am, if the train is on time, which is not often, I will arrive in Los Angeles' Union Station, one of the most beautiful train station in the US. I'll explore Chinatown, have lunch/dinner there, and stay overnight in a hotel. The next morning, I will board the Coast Starlight for the second leg of my journey to Seattle. The ride will last about 2 days, and I will arrive the following evening. Eight days with the family, surely not enough, doing all the Pacific Northwest things, and then time to go home. I'll take the Coast Starlight to Sacramento, CA, and there I will catch the eastbound California Zephyr to Galesburg, IL (if the flooding there permits). With a five-hour layover there, I'll have lunch at the vegetarian Deli near the station, and walk to the Carl Sandberg boyhood home just south of the train station, to take a tour and perhaps purchase a volume of his poetry. Then I'll board the Southwest Chief to Kansas City, late pm arrival, and will take a thruway bus (sponsored by Amtrak) to OK City, where I will board the Heartland Flyer at about 8 am to head south to Texas. The HF meets up with the Texas Eagle at Ft Worth, and will deliver me to Taylor the same day.

God, WHAT AN ADVENTURE!!! I cannot think of a better vacation! I absolutely LOVE train travel! It allows me the REAL EXPERIENCE of (America) the trip, and as long as the trains run, I WILL NEVER FLY AGAIN! And the cost? As with most modes of travel, the longer the time between the time you buy your tickets and the time of your trip, the cheaper the trip will be. I bought my tickets last January, and I paid $418 for the whole trip, not including the hotel in LA. At amtrak.com, you can book your trip 11 months in advance, for the lowest price.

Some links:

www.amtrak.com

www.amtraktrains.com

www.on-track-on-line.com

[NancyG]

61. Our next Amtrak trip will be to New Orleans...

Starting in the cute little Mission station in Davis, CA, where we can leave our car, we'll board the CA Zephyr and delight in the Sierras and Rockies, then experience the size of America going thru the Heartland to the Crossroads of the Nation in Chicago. We'll board the City of New Orleans and experience a whole new part of America and check out NO.

The trip home will be on the Sunset Ltd thru southern Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico and Arizona into LA , then a beautiful trip up the Coast on the Coast Starlight with the renovated parlor car, wine tastings and plenty of tales with other travelers.

All free with my Amtrak MasterCard points. http://www.amtrakguestrewards.com/

[kevinbgoode]

70. What a lovely journey!

Now you'll be passing by my home as you go through Carbondale, IL heading south from Chicago. . .between 1 and 1:30 a.m. Make sure you wave if you are awake.

I've taken that train to N.O. several times - but not since Katrina. You'll be pleased that the station is a very short cab ride from the French Quarter - and I walked to my hotel on one trip because it was only about 2-3 block away. Most hotels in the downtown area have free/cheap shuttles to the Quarter. Cabs are also easy to get at the station.

If you get the chance and have the interest, do visit the National D-Day Museum - which is now the National World War II Museum. I STILL have not visited it, and hope to go down there this summer just to get that in. . .and if you like a little slot action, there is a casino right downtown along the river. The Quarter has so much going on that you'll find lots of fun things to do, I'm sure. . .and the food is wonderful!

Oh..I'll put the link for that WWII museum web site. ..just in case you might have an interest:

http://www.ddaymuseum.org/

[kevinbgoode]

69. What a nice story!

I love Amtrak as well, and have taken it several times from southern Illinois to New Orleans (maybe a 14 hour journey) and from here to Chicago to Washington, D.C. for conferences. For me it is the best part of a vacation, especially if I'm going somewhere to do some work - I can relax, meet people as I choose, have a few nice meals, use my cellphone in the club car or if I have a roomette (I don't use the cell phone in coach except for very fast calls - I find it annoying when passengers talk for hours on their phones).

I found myself on my last trip to Washington being happy that it was five hours late - we got an extra meal, I got some work done, I had a lovely conversation with another passenger, and I felt relaxed when we reached Union Station. I absolutely love the downtown-to-downtown approach - I spent no money on cabs (my hotel furnished a shuttle for the few blocks to/from the station), could walk or take the subway anywhere rather quickly, and felt like every minute was an adventure, including the conference! So much more fun than rushing to the plane - rushing to the destination - rushing for a cab - rushing to start networking....ugh.

One thing people should know is if they are students with a student advantage card ($20 a year) they get 15% off all Amtrak coach travel. And I regularly cruise the "Hot Deals" listings at the site - once I went from Indianapolis to Washington, DC (roundtrip) for just over $60! Those hot deals give me dirt cheap tickets to Chicago (320 miles one way) and I can relax with coffee in the club car or listen to music with headphones.

They've recently started redoing some of the menus - I read they are doing cajun stuff on the City of New Orleans now for the dining car - what a nice touch!

I'm only on the Guest Rewards program, but have been slowly saving for the last five years for a deluxe room trip to the West Coast. . .I'm only halfway there, but. . .:-).

[galledgoblin]

63. agreed, although the better comparison would be

trains to cars. I know many more people who use cars for < 500 mile trips than use planes or trains.

it'd be much harder to calculate through, since you'd need to start including the maintenance costs of road and rail infrastructure, the cost to keep a personal car, fluctuating costs of gas, the additional benefits (safety, benefits from someone else driving, benefit of not being confined to a seat), etc etc etc.

in any case, I prefer taking the train to other forms of transit.

[babylonsister]

64. You're lucky you live relatively close to RI. Try that from TX.

But my mantra is, regardless of where you're going, it will take you ALL DAY LONG to get there, even if it's a two hour flight. That somehow comforts me.

[Hekate]

65. That is great. I love taking Amtrak along the California coast --no hassles at all....

However, when I got too aggravated at the airport hassles of going back and forth to Salt Lake City when my mom was sick, I checked out Amtrak and was absolutely dismayed. From Santa Barbara you have to take a train to Sacramento. Then you have to stay overnight -- no options about that. Then the next day you head out for Salt Lake City. Yikes! Two days and a night instead of a couple of hours!

I would love to see Amtrak fully nationalized and subsidized the way roads (and hence cars) always have been. At this point I'd rather go by rail than fly.

Hekate

[bvar22]

68. RxR can move 1 ton of freight 431 miles on ONE Gallon of fuel !!!

RailRoads ARE the future whether we like it or not.

I happen to like the RailRoads, and consider the failure to expand & improve the rail infrastructure one of America's greatest failures of the last 40 years.
To survive the next 50 years of declining oil and deteriorating environment, the USA NEEDs to immediately implement an extreme 10-Year Plan to develop and enhance rail freight and travel, and lifestyle changes to match.

This is a NO-Brainer.

K&R

[papapi]

74. I'm with you on this one. Can you imagine what kind of marvelous...

rail system we could have built with the money we have and are wasting in Iraq? We could probably have high speed on both coasts and much improved between all major cities. It's a real shame that this was lost to us.

[Riktor]

71. Oh, yeah?

If I were to take a train from my current residence in San Diego to my parents' place in Connecticut, a round-trip ticket would cost $1,500.

Fuck that, I'm flyin'.

[goodinuf]

72. Paraphrasing an Amtrak attendant

Paraphrasing our Amtrak attendant Darrell, as I started my first overnight Amtrak trip, "If you haven't got enough time to take Amtrak, you have too much going on in your life."

Unlike flying, the train travel and even the train station are part of the vacation. One of my favorite parts of a cross country Amtrak trip is meeting people on board. The dining car seats four people to a table, regardless of how many you are traveling with. Dinner is an excellent opportunity to sit and talk with others. The first night we sat with a farmer from eastern Washington. The second night it was an actor who played a villain in a dozen episodes of Hawaii Five O. The third night in the parlor car we talked with a group of "Kiwis" who had been traveling the rails for a month through Canada, Alaska and the lower 48. We also talked at length with a liberal blogger from San Jose.

[On the Road]

73. I Love Amtrak for the Northeast Corridor

but DC-Providence is pushing the limit where it's a good option for short trips.