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Back when I traveled by rail a lot, passenger trains had to pull off to wait on the freight trains, which had the right of way. Probably freight still has the ROW.
Passenger trains have the right of way over freight trains, but they still have to wait their turn. Most rail road ROW is single track. Amtrak can't use the track, until the oncoming trains clear it.
One of these years I'm going to get one of my math smart grandsons to calculate the amount of public (tax) money spent on passenger mlles for freeways, airplanes, roads and trains. Might be an interesting number to know.
Somebody figured out if we put the cost the DOD and the State department spent on protecting oil, gasoline would be 15 dollars a gallon.
I don't know how much we subsidize airlines and airports and air traffic controllers, yada, yada. Maybe if it were possible to even come up with a number, the folks gripping about Amtrak subsidies would calm down.
IMO, the thing that hurt passenger rail was when the post office stopped putting the mail on passenger trains.
Are US passenger trains like all the movies we have seen, clean, traveling through scenic places, interesting people with great meals in the dining car?
Something tells me no.
Yes , the Meals are cooked onboard and range from burgers to steak with wild rice , depending on the route. Out West you get serviced Wine from the Cali Vineyards...the trains to New Orleans have Southern foods like Freshly made pecan pie or fresh seafood dishes , the trains in the Northeast have fast food , however they are moving towards regional foods like seafood dishes , Fresh Jersey cranberries , Philly Cheesesteaks , New York or New Haven Pizza...etc. Trains are clean and Climate control isn't all over the place. You meet a wild range of interesting people onboard , retirees , students , families , artists , musicians...etc...
We just took the Auto Train to Florida. My husband, myself and our two small kids used two roomettes. We'll do it again, and book a family bedroom next time.
The dining car was fun. I very much enjoyed the land zipping by... and I detest what airports have become.
I also take commuter rail to work 5 days a week (SEPTA Regional Rail.) I'm a train person.
I often take Amtrak to travel to NYC for work and I love it (I live in Dulles, VA). It's fast and efficient and, in my opinion, much better than driving, flying or taking a bus.
I often take Amtrak to travel to NYC for work and I love it (I live in Dulles, VA). It's fast and efficient and, in my opinion, much better than driving, flying or taking a bus.
I think the point which needs to be stressed here is that Amtrak works very well, in those locations where it has both the population density and infrastructural capacity to sustain itself. Unfortunately, that scenario is more often the exception than the rule.
Amtrak works very well in the Boston-New York-Washington Corridor, despite a few bottlenecks such as the North (Hudson) River tunnels and the necessity for reduced speeds at Philadelphia and Baltimore. The popularity of extensions to Portland (ME), Richmond, and Norfolk has been another pleasant suprise. But the New York-Buffalo service is practical only as far as Albany. Beyond there, the railroad was reduced from four tracks to two in the late Fifties by predecessor New York Central and while the grading is still intact, relaying the track and installing the traffic control needed to accommodate both passengers and freight traffic, which has been growing steadily since around 1985, would be expensive. The electrical catenary (overhead wiring) between New York and New Haven is also outdated.
Outside the Corridors, the handful of long-distance "cruise ships", including the AutoTrain, are sustained only at the behest of influential politicians. The late Senators Frank Moss (D-UT), Mike Mansfield (D-MT) and Representative Bud Shuster (R-Altoona, PA) were grand masters at this "art".
California is probably the most vexing case of all. Los Angeles-San Diego and Oakland-Bakersfield (a hub for feeder bus services to all of the Southland) have been gaining patronage for years. but breaking a number of bottlenecks in between for a continuous statewide service will also be very expensive. However, it appears that recent commitments to intermediate stages of a "true" High Speed Rail network are likely to be a "point of no return", and Warren Buffet's Burlington Northern / Santa Fe would gain considerable benefit, in the form of a parallel freight line under its own control rather than the present sharing of trackage rights from landlord (and competitor) Union Pacific if a joint partnership could evolve.
But in any case, the redevelopment of the American passenger train of necessity involves very long lead times, and will be driven primarily by the certainty of shortened supplies and increased costs of fossil fuel. It simply is too complicated, and too capital-intensive to be affected by short-term changes in consumer preference.
Last edited by 2nd trick op; 08-11-2013 at 01:31 PM..
I took Amtrak from Chicago to White Sulphur Springs WV; daylight broke as were passing through NE Kentucky and the fall scenery between Charleston and White Sulphur Springs was wonderful, the train ran parallel to the New River for much of the time. Then we stopped at Hinton WV for a 20-minute break so I ran round town taking photos. I've also travelled between Portland and Seattle a couple of times, again they were enjoyable journeys because of the scenery, and Bridgeport CT to St Johnsbury VT. Great ways to pass through parts of the US I would never see otherwise.
Via Rail is Canada's national passenger service that crosses the country and Rocky Mountaineer is a private company that specializes in of course, the Rocky Mountains. The type of food service depends on the line and length of the trip, dining cars are used through the Rockies I believe.
I love traveling by train, which I've done mostly in the Western US. I'm going to be taking the Cresent from New Orleans to DC soon - I am trying to find out where to park my car for a week but not having any luck. That's the biggest problem for me, the nearest Amtrak station is 300 miles, gotta drive to get there but then I need a place to leave my car. Years ago there was talk about a new Amtrak route going through my town but nothing ever came of it.
This thread got me to thinking about something I don't understand. When you book an Amtrak ride, at least online, you book a coach seat and then you can add a roomette. If you're going to pay for a roomette, why do you need the coach seat? Why do you have to buy both?
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