Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I don't understand why one can drive speedily from Washington/Baltimore to Pittsburgh in only 4 hours........but on the train it takes 8 hours, creeping and inching around countless tortuous mountain curves, along the original route that was laid 170 years ago.
It’s a shame that a country like this has such poor rail travel compared to other nations. I can understand why travelers don’t want to take a train, so why are other countries so far ahead of the US in rail travel? And worse in the future the cities will have to spend more money to build bigger airports to handle more air travel instead of building and improving rail. More travelers, maximized airports, and higher costs of travel in an attempt to discourage flying. That's the scary issue on the topic.
Those other countries don't have the distances that we have in this country.
We can't even get it from Los Angles to Las Vegas or from Washington DC to New York NY.... lots of traffic and short enough of a distance to avoid complications....
China has the world's longest high-speed rail network with about 8,358 km (5,193 mi) of routes capable for at least 200 km/h (124 mph) running in service including 2,197 km (1,365 mi) of rail lines with top speeds of 350 km/h (217 mph).
Checked baggage often gets lost, ends up in another city which can easily bring total and utter ruin to your vacation as the only way to ever even get it back is to have it shipped back home. Plus, checked baggage gets tossed around a lot, which can destroy anything valuable that you have in there that would get confiscated and even land you in jail if you tried to bring it as carry on baggage. It is especially serious if you buy souveniers on your trip that, in the eyes of the TSA, can easily be either used as weapons, or even broken and turned into weapons (especially those which are known as "shanks" in prison language), especially such items as sea shell sculptures, wind chimes, glass artwork, garden spinners, kites, and vintage/antique items that have either glass or metallic components including but not limited to pots, stirrers, mixers, fans, heaters, oil lamps/lanterns, crystal balance scale things with the brass/copper frames, and vintage toys, too. And antiques are highly valuable as they represent an era when things were made in the USA and with quality. Today's things are often garbage that is made in China. And according to the TSA, it's either "Made in China," or it doesn't fly.
And if you especially are travelling to either a southern state, or somewhere foreign even, no deodorant/cologne = a trip without interactions. Especially as American women are not the best kind of women to meet and mingle with, either. And cologne/perfume especially normally comes in glass containers which will shatter in checked baggage if the bag is roughly handled.
And like I said, it is only a matter of time before even cameras, laptops, CD players, cell phones, i-phones, tablets, and walkmans are banned from carry on baggage on commercial airplanes.
You know, what are you people going to do when all carry on baggage on commercial airplanes is banned totally? What are you people going to do when you can no longer bring laundry, or even a book, into an aircraft cabin anymore? Suppose you even have to check your shoes, belts, wallets, ID cards, cash, credit cards, watches, glasses, contact lenses, hats, bandannas, ski masks, yes, even prosthetic/artificial limbs?
We'll likely decide what to do when and if that happens. And that's a big if. You can avoid things now because of things that might happen in the future.. I'll get there faster and cheaper. And, if I happen to have a lost bag.. I'll go out and spend the $3.00 for deodorant. It won't go bad. We'll be sure to look down on you during your 96 hour long trip, thinking how lucky you are to have your 36" ceiling fan there with you.. Oh wait.. It won't fit.. They'll make you check that.
Amtrak policy.. Each passenger may bring two personal items, 25 lbs. (12 kg) and 14 x 11 x 7 inches each, and two carry-on items, 50 lbs. (23 kg) and 28 x 22 x 14 inches each, onboard. Make sure you have a tag with your name and address on the outside of all your bags.
But, as we're flying over your head.. we'll wave
Quote:
Originally Posted by AksarbeN
We can't even get it from Los Angles to Las Vegas or from Washington DC to New York NY.... lots of traffic and short enough of a distance to avoid complications....
China has the world's longest high-speed rail network with about 8,358 km (5,193 mi) of routes capable for at least 200 km/h (124 mph) running in service including 2,197 km (1,365 mi) of rail lines with top speeds of 350 km/h (217 mph).
If it would make money.. you think someone wouldn't build it? China has the money to toss away.. After all, the money they make from interest payments from the US would cover it.. And, not as many people have cars there, though the number is growing.. So, rail is their option.. There's the market for it. Here, everyone has 2.5 cars and LA to Vegas is a 4 hour drive.. Hell, flights cost $80 and take an hour. So, that bullet train would have to run about that much.. Then the airlines will drop their prices..
Vegas, technically, has a better shot at it, because you don't need to rent a car when you get there.
There's no question that rail is usually the most fuel efficient way to get from point A to point B.. But it's the least efficient so far as time and money.
Amtrak is a joke. It's ridiculously slow and more expensive than air travel and makes 49,000 stops in 150 miles.
Very true but if you're not in a hurry (retired) you can get on the train in NC in the evening, go to sleep and wake up 700 miles from where you started in Fl.
All this for about $70.
And like I said, it is only a matter of time before even cameras, laptops, CD players, cell phones, i-phones, tablets, and walkmans are banned from carry on baggage on commercial airplanes.
With 9/11 and the ban on practically about everything except laundry on commercial airplanes, I would have figured that the sudden rise in Amtrak ridership would cause Amtrak to add more rail lines between more cities. I mean it is obvious, you could never hijack a train and steer it into a populated highrise building. And with so many gullible people that are brainwashed to really believe that jet fuel really burns at no less than 5,000 degrees, Fahrenheit, and that the collapse of a few floors will 100 percent guaranteed send an entire highrise building crumbling all the way down to it's bare foundation, I don't see the bureaucratic TSA ever going away, not even in a thousand years.
There are a lot of items that you can bring on a train that you can never, ever bring on an airplane. For example, once, a fan collector brought an 18 inch Hunter Zephair window fan as a carry on item onto an Amtrak train without issue or problem. With air travel, even a 6 inch Eskimo desk fan is a major no-no in carry on baggage. Other items you can bring as carry on items with Amtrak that, as far as I know it, will never be allowed in carry on baggage on commercial airplanes ever again include nail clippers, cologne, toothpaste, mouthwash, body wash, gel shoe implants, scissors, tweezers, snow globes, lamps, desk fans, and safety razors. And I see it as only a matter of time before electronic items such as CD players, laptops, cameras, portable printers, portable scanners, solar-powered personal fans, and such are also banned from commercial airplanes. Before you know it, the only item that will be allowed in the cabin of a commercial airplane is laundry. Allready, travel by commercial airplane is like travel by prison bus. And many tens of thousands of people every day are bluntly and deliberately sacrificing all of their constitutional freedoms and liberties and embracing tyranny and dictatorship to fly America's skies.
The following are absolutely allowed in carry on bags on airplanes:
nail clippers
cologne
toothpaste
mouthwash
body wash
tweezers
Why would you need either of these? (By the way, they are allowed as long as they will fit into the overhead or under the seat.
lamps
desk fans
As to these items...
CD players, laptops, cameras, portable printers, portable scanners, solar-powered personal fans
Who uses CD players any more?
They will continue to allow the other items as they don't want the responsibility for them and if business travelers can't bring a laptop, they will stay home and the airlines will go bankrupt and the TSA will be out of jobs.
Amtrak is a joke. It's ridiculously slow and more expensive than air travel and makes 49,000 stops in 150 miles.
I've only used it on the NE Corridor. It's quite efficient and generally the fastest way to get from NYC to Philly, Baltimore, or DC or NYC to Boston. I paid $23 for my ticket from NJ to Philadelphia. I could have taken NJ Transit to SEPTA and saved $4, but then I would have had to change trains in Trenton and it would have taken me longer. It was worth $4 to have power at my seat, free WiFi, and a direct train that made one stop along the way. It would have taken me an extra 30 minutes to drive which would have been more expensive due to $30 to park for an hour) and flying would have run me $100 and three hours of my life. Not to mention the Princeton Junction train station is a lot more convenient than Newark airport.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
