NYT: Airport Travails Push Passengers to Amtrak

[LoveTrains]

Aug 15, 2012 14:51:35 GMT -5 OscarQ said:

Oh and LoveTrains - are you into like train layouts too? My stepdad is and has this crazy impressive layout in his basement. He and my mom just got back from a train convention.

Haha no, I am not that crazy of a rail fan - yet.

I just like to ride trains. I always have. When I was a little kid I had an electric train set and also those awesome Brio wooden trains, and when I was between 5-10 my dream job was train engineer or conductor.

I only took my first long distance train ride last year when I went from PVD - SEA via CHI and LAX. This past summer I went SEA - BOS and had a 30 hour delay. I take the train all.the.time between PVD - NYP and PVD - PHL. Acela first class is pretty amazing, and I have to say that having a sleeper on the long distance trains is pretty awesome, too.

ETA: My H commutes to Boston from PVD and he has a monthly amtrak commuter pass. Thus all my long distance amtrak trips have been free and paid for with amtrak guest rewards points. ;D

[meshaliuknits]

Aug 15, 2012 14:34:32 GMT -5 y4m said:

Aug 15, 2012 14:33:11 GMT -5 marie427 said:

Doesn't California have an Amtrak line up and down its coast? If not, I'd imagine there'd be demand there. Maybe people like to fly between its coastal cities but i really don't think driving there is as appealing as train travel given traffic issues there.

It does, but it takes like 12-14 hours from LA to SF--you can drive it in 6, and there's not really urban traffic in the middle of the state that can slow that down.

With the construction that's on 5 right now, it's a pretty even comparison with the plus of not having to get out of the car when the devil's wind is blowing straight from hell.

[basilosaurus]

I want to love amtrak because I love rail. Even in Japan where it was crazy expensive, it made life so much easier. And it was way faster than driving. Plus I could show up to the ticket office 5 minutes before the train knowing I'd get my ticket quickly and that the train would be on time. If they're 2 minutes late, they start apologizing. Literally, I saw 1 real delay, and that was from a death on the track (I was told that was the polite way of saying there was a suicide).

But I can't love amtrak. I can't love the extensive delays. When H and I were dating, we were an 8 hour drive apart (8 hours of boring, almost all in Nebraska). The train was about the same time, but the benefit was it was overnight, so you could sleep instead of drive. Oh, but then you have to remember to add 12 hours to an 8 hour trip because of delays. That's just not acceptable. I don't care the excuses of freight. That kind of delay on what should be the most reliable transportation is absolutely ridiculous.

[emilyj]

I love the train. When I go to conferences in Boston, I always take the Amtrack home to my parents in CT. No way would I fly that.

I wish there was a decent Amtrack route between Atlanta and NYC. I'd quit flying home for good. Every option I've found so far would take 21+ hours and cost MORE than a plane ticket. I can't justify that.

[llama]

Aug 15, 2012 14:34:32 GMT -5 y4m said:

Aug 15, 2012 14:33:11 GMT -5 marie427 said:

Doesn't California have an Amtrak line up and down its coast? If not, I'd imagine there'd be demand there. Maybe people like to fly between its coastal cities but i really don't think driving there is as appealing as train travel given traffic issues there.

It does, but it takes like 12-14 hours from LA to SF--you can drive it in 6, and there's not really urban traffic in the middle of the state that can slow that down.

They are talking about building high speed rail that would let you do it in 3 hours or so, which would be awesome, but probably also not so awesome that it justifies the cost.

Yeah, it is a HUGE timesink to take the train. We took it from Santa Barbara to Sacramento pretty frequently to visit family and it never took us less than 12 hours and had at least 3 stops/layovers each way. The train portions are lovely, but bus portions not so much. +o( I don't know anyone with a car who would rather take the train than drive, and since the train is kind of $$$ I'm not sure you are really saving money doing so either.

What I really wished for in CA was shorter routes between major cities that weren't incredibly expensive. Like, from Santa Barbara to L.A. costs almost as much as taking it from L.A. to San Francisco... which makes no sense. And sometimes if the towns you are trying to go between are only serviced by Amtrak buses you can't buy certain legs of the trip independently. I'm not 100% on the regulation that causes this issue but I found it really annoying when trying to plan trips via train.

[LoveTrains]

Aug 15, 2012 17:28:49 GMT -5 emilyj said:

I love the train. When I go to conferences in Boston, I always take the Amtrack home to my parents in CT. No way would I fly that.

I wish there was a decent Amtrack route between Atlanta and NYC. I'd quit flying home for good. Every option I've found so far would take 21+ hours and cost MORE than a plane ticket. I can't justify that.

The crescent goes from NYC to Atlanta and is a pretty straight forward route. Keep in mind that if you buy a sleeper, you are getting a room for a night and all of your meals included. It is a really comfortable and relaxing way to travel!

That route is direct and actually a "decent amtrak route" in that it is direct and a one seat ride and has a good OTP. It is just long, but how long would it take you to drive that distance? Think of it as a journey and an adventure.

[LoveTrains]

Aug 15, 2012 17:25:22 GMT -5 basilosaurus said:

But I can't love amtrak. I can't love the extensive delays. When H and I were dating, we were an 8 hour drive apart (8 hours of boring, almost all in Nebraska). The train was about the same time, but the benefit was it was overnight, so you could sleep instead of drive. Oh, but then you have to remember to add 12 hours to an 8 hour trip because of delays. That's just not acceptable. I don't care the excuses of freight. That kind of delay on what should be the most reliable transportation is absolutely ridiculous.

Unfortunately, it will require the FRA to penalize BNSF for holding amtrak for their freight until that changes. The Empire Builder route is running, on average, with 7-8 hour delays each way between CHI - SEA. It is absolutely unacceptable, but amtrak's hands are tied because they don't control the tracks.

Also that stretch through MT and ND is mostly single track with sidings, and sometimes the freights are too long for the sidings. It is a complete clusterfuck this year with the increased traffic in the Bakken Fields. They have had like five derailments in the last two months, too.

[emilyj]

Aug 15, 2012 18:32:24 GMT -5 LoveTrains said:

The crescent goes from NYC to Atlanta and is a pretty straight forward route. Keep in mind that if you buy a sleeper, you are getting a room for a night and all of your meals included. It is a really comfortable and relaxing way to travel!

That route is direct and actually a "decent amtrak route" in that it is direct and a one seat ride and has a good OTP. It is just long, but how long would it take you to drive that distance? Think of it as a journey and an adventure.

I haven't seen this one - I will look for it, thanks! All the ones I have seen it would actually take me less time to drive. I could do the drive in a (long) day, so it's the overnight/sleep part that gets me.

[LoveTrains]

Aug 15, 2012 19:10:41 GMT -5 emilyj said:

Aug 15, 2012 18:32:24 GMT -5 LoveTrains said:

The crescent goes from NYC to Atlanta and is a pretty straight forward route. Keep in mind that if you buy a sleeper, you are getting a room for a night and all of your meals included. It is a really comfortable and relaxing way to travel!

That route is direct and actually a "decent amtrak route" in that it is direct and a one seat ride and has a good OTP. It is just long, but how long would it take you to drive that distance? Think of it as a journey and an adventure.

I haven't seen this one - I will look for it, thanks! All the ones I have seen it would actually take me less time to drive. I could do the drive in a (long) day, so it's the overnight/sleep part that gets me.

It's train #19 heading south, departs NYP at 2:15 PM and arrives in ATL at 8:13 AM. So its about 18 hours, but like I mentioned, you would get dinner and breakfast on the train and you would sleep overnight.

[penguingrrl]

I have always wondered why people would fly from NYC to Boston or DC. By the time you add in getting to the airport, going through security and all the hassle of flying (I also hate to fly, so then there's the xanax and glass of wine it takes to get me on the flight) it saves no time over the train or driving. When dealing with the traffic and parking of a major city, train wins hands down.

[earlgreyhot]

DC to NYC on the Acela is amazing! It's expensive even with DH's ticket subsidized through his company's, but it's so much nicer than flying.

If you've had really go experiences with the train then I'd think you'd be more for investing to expand the service. Those that have had bad experiences, wasn't it because it's just so underfunded (too expensive due to limited track that has to be shared anyway??) You'd think with all the Atlas Shrugged fans out there'd be a push to bring the trains back. Trains are actually sexy in that book.