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Old 01-30-2009, 01:13 PM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BDubLR View Post
Soon people may not have the option to fly - either due to the airlines pulling out of all but the most major airports or an oil crisis. High speed rail is a much better long-term investment for transportation in this country. I think we would be in much better shape now if we would have kept our rail instead of shifting the focus to interstate highways and airlines.
I predict the airlines will go the way of the railroads: Shed as many routes as possible until a national "Amtrak for airlines" is instituted to restore some of the service shed by the airlines.
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Old 01-30-2009, 11:20 PM
 
Location: Foot of the Rockies
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ben Around View Post
Depends on the routes. There have been plans on the table here in the Twin Cities for years for a mega-lev train to Chicago. The trip would take less than 3 hours center city-to-center city. To travel from downtown Minneapolis to the Loop in Chicago now, it's a 20 minute cab ride to the airport, an hour hanging round the airport going thru security and checking in, ~1 hour twenty minutes in the air, and a 30-45 minute cab ride to the Loop. Pretty competitive, I'd say.
The three hours center-city to center-city may be accurate, but there's still the cab rides at the two ends (or some other form of transportation to get to/from the train station to your actual destination, plus wait times).
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Old 01-31-2009, 08:04 AM
 
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Originally Posted by Katiana View Post
The three hours center-city to center-city may be accurate, but there's still the cab rides at the two ends (or some other form of transportation to get to/from the train station to your actual destination, plus wait times).
but if you get off the train in downtown Chicago, and that's where you're staying and where you have business, it's much faster and cheaper to take the train to the Loop - you can easily catch any number of buses, the L, a cab (if you're feeling rich ), or even walk to many destinations downtown. O'hare is basically its own island out sandwiched between 'burbs and expressways and unless you want to take the L all the way downtown, you will shell out $40 bucks (or more) for a cab no matter where you're going.
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Old 01-31-2009, 08:43 AM
 
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Nice thought but I don't think it'll happen!
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Old 01-31-2009, 09:11 AM
 
Location: Foot of the Rockies
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Quote:
Originally Posted by supernerdgirl View Post
but if you get off the train in downtown Chicago, and that's where you're staying and where you have business, it's much faster and cheaper to take the train to the Loop - you can easily catch any number of buses, the L, a cab (if you're feeling rich ), or even walk to many destinations downtown. O'hare is basically its own island out sandwiched between 'burbs and expressways and unless you want to take the L all the way downtown, you will shell out $40 bucks (or more) for a cab no matter where you're going.
As in any form of public transportation, trains require addtitional transportation from the station at either end of the trip , no matter where it is located. That's what I should have said.
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Old 01-31-2009, 09:14 AM
 
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Originally Posted by Katiana View Post
As in any form of public transportation, trains require addtitional transportation from the station at either end of the trip , no matter where it is located. That's what I should have said.
True, as does the airplane. It really depends on where you're doing business. If i was going to the Chicagoland area and having to do some work in Schaumburg, then I'd definitely fly in, but if i was going to the Loop, and the time issue was negligible, i'd definitely take the train.

(Then again, I hate airplanes, so I'd take the train anyway. )
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Old 02-02-2009, 12:08 PM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by supernerdgirl View Post
but if you get off the train in downtown Chicago, and that's where you're staying and where you have business, it's much faster and cheaper to take the train to the Loop - you can easily catch any number of buses, the L, a cab (if you're feeling rich ), or even walk to many destinations downtown. O'hare is basically its own island out sandwiched between 'burbs and expressways and unless you want to take the L all the way downtown, you will shell out $40 bucks (or more) for a cab no matter where you're going.
Exactly! Thanks for answering this, supernerdgirl!
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Old 02-02-2009, 12:34 PM
 
Location: Londonderry, NH
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IIRC you can get to anywhere important in NYC from Grand Central or Penn Stations on foot or a short subway ride. No cabs needed.

I think this shopuld be part of restructuring our government spending from our oversize military to domestic civillian projects. Combine a long distance passenger rail transport with the nuclear power plants to power the system would provide work for millions for the forseeable future.
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Old 02-02-2009, 07:13 PM
 
Location: Center City Philadelphia
1,099 posts, read 4,603,295 times
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Absolutely. But the fact is train travel is not feasible for cross-country trips (at least in this country). It just doesn't make sense to take a train from New York to Los Angeles or even New York to Houston. But, we can and should upgrade all the Amtrak corridors that serve densely populated mega-city regions such as Chicago-Milwaukee-St.Louis, Philadelphia-Pittsburgh-Cleveland and also upgrade the current Acela corridor. Money should also be used to reinstate train service to places like Scranton and Columbus, Ohio.
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Old 02-02-2009, 09:39 PM
 
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Originally Posted by danwxman View Post
absolutely. But the fact is train travel is not feasible for cross-country trips (at least in this country). It just doesn't make sense to take a train from new york to los angeles or even new york to houston. But, we can and should upgrade all the amtrak corridors that serve densely populated mega-city regions such as chicago-milwaukee-st.louis, philadelphia-pittsburgh-cleveland and also upgrade the current acela corridor. Money should also be used to reinstate train service to places like scranton and columbus, ohio.
and nashville!! :d
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