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Several years ago I looked at visiting Michigan, while living in Texas, by train. I was totally shocked to find that the routes did not fit my travel need in any way. Needless to say, I was not only disappointed, but angry. I do not plan on ever using Amtrak.
Because the US taxpayer heavily subsidizes them. They will get over $2 BILLION in taxpayer dollars to waste this year.
I believe you know nothing about subsidies.
If they were heavily subsidized, train travel would be very cheap. Like corn.
But they aren't heavily subsidized, so train travel has to charge the customers the bulk of operating costs.
The #1 issue why Amtrak is so expensive? No demand. No one uses it, so the operating costs are spread over fewer customers.
If they could fill every train car like an airplane, it would be much cheaper. Train transportation is much more economical than air transportation (trains can haul a lot more people per gallon of diesel than a plane can on a gallon of jet fuel), but because of:
Ever wonder why every train west of the Mississippi goes to Chicago? Because 130 years ago, everything produced west of the Mississippi (lumber, cattle, food, gold) went through Chicago to be processed then sent to the northeast as finished goods.
If they were heavily subsidized, train travel would be very cheap. Like corn.
But they aren't heavily subsidized, so train travel has to charge the customers the bulk of operating costs.
The #1 issue why Amtrak is so expensive? No demand. No one uses it, so the operating costs are spread over fewer customers.
If they could fill every train car like an airplane, it would be much cheaper. Train transportation is much more economical than air transportation (trains can haul a lot more people per gallon of diesel than a plane can on a gallon of jet fuel), but because of:
Ever wonder why every train west of the Mississippi goes to Chicago? Because 130 years ago, everything produced west of the Mississippi (lumber, cattle, food, gold) went through Chicago to be processed then sent to the northeast as finished goods.
I know more about subsidies than you could imagine. I'll repeat, Amtrak is subsidized to the tune of TWO BILLION a year. In my opinion, if it can't be self supporting, it shouldn't exist. Other than the NE corridor, the population is serves is miniscule and could be served by other carriers such as Greyhound and the airlines.
Several years ago I looked at visiting Michigan, while living in Texas, by train. I was totally shocked to find that the routes did not fit my travel need in any way. Needless to say, I was not only disappointed, but angry. I do not plan on ever using Amtrak.
They didn't fit your travel needs in any way? Is that right? I suspect you didn't think "outside-the-box" when you tried to plan your trip(s). I have ridden on Amtrak several times.
Examples of trips I have gone on and my experiences:
I took Amtrak for the first time in the summer of 2011. I wanted to get from southern California to North Carolina. You can't directly buy tickets for a California to North Carolina trip. This is where "outside-the-box" thinking came into play. The plan was to go from California to Delaware before heading down to North Carolina. After I got to Chicago, train #2 was supposed to take the southern route through Indiana, Ohio and West Virginia. Unfortunately, my train was stopped all night long in Indiana due to heavy rain and thunder storms. In the morning, we went back to Chicago.
Amtrak worked to make things right. I was put on a train that went through northern Indiana and Ohio. I was given a private sleeping room and all of my meals were free. I arrived in Delaware and spent two nights visiting Wilmington. I then boarded a train to North Carolina. Yes, I lost a day in North Carolina but in a way it was almost better it worked out like this because I was able to visit downtown Chicago for a day and I was given VIP treatment from Amtrak.
In January 2012, I took a train from California to New Orleans. I then went on a train from New Orleans to Jackson, Mississippi. I didn't have a problem riding either of these trains.
In July, I took an Amtrak train from Chicago to Kalamazoo, Michigan roundtrip and didn't have a problem. I also took a train from Chicago to Memphis, Tennessee without an issue.
When there is a will there is a way. Considering that Texas is a major transit hub for Amtrak and that there are many routes servicing Michigan, I think the will was missing more than anything.
I don't see why they can't lay tracks on a more direct route across Pennsylvania. You can drive from Wash DC (or Baltimore) to Pittsburgh PA in just over 4 hours, at interstate speeds the whole way (en route to the Great Lakes etc.) By contrast, on a train, it takes 8 hours of crawling / inching at a snail's pace around countless mountain curves, using the original right-of-way track that was laid around 1840 or so. Is this really the best America can do ? And it's the same way going from NY City to Montreal - the train inching along laboriously thru the mountains, versus speeding along in a car on the interstate.
I don't see why they can't lay tracks on a more direct route across Pennsylvania. You can drive from Wash DC (or Baltimore) to Pittsburgh PA in just over 4 hours, at interstate speeds the whole way (en route to the Great Lakes etc.) By contrast, on a train, it takes 8 hours of crawling / inching at a snail's pace around countless mountain curves, using the original right-of-way track that was laid around 1840 or so. Is this really the best America can do ? And it's the same way going from NY City to Montreal - the train inching along laboriously thru the mountains, versus speeding along in a car on the interstate.
Trains need a fairly level route or have to build tunnels or use bridges over gorges.
Several years ago I looked at visiting Michigan, while living in Texas, by train. I was totally shocked to find that the routes did not fit my travel need in any way. Needless to say, I was not only disappointed, but angry. I do not plan on ever using Amtrak.
Several Amtrak routes.
One going from Texas to Chicago
Another rote from Texas to New Orleans then up to Chicago.
( getting from Chicago to Michigan is no problem )
Several years ago I looked at visiting Michigan, while living in Texas, by train. I was totally shocked to find that the routes did not fit my travel need in any way. Needless to say, I was not only disappointed, but angry. I do not plan on ever using Amtrak.
That's probably a good thing for Amtrak. They don't need passengers who think the trains should run just. for. them. I'm sure that traveling anywhere is a real problem with that kind of an attitude.
Several years ago I looked at visiting Michigan, while living in Texas, by train. I was totally shocked to find that the routes did not fit my travel need in any way. Needless to say, I was not only disappointed, but angry. I do not plan on ever using Amtrak.
That was several years ago , they have beefed up the Midwestern system maybe you should try again.
Several years ago I looked at visiting Michigan, while living in Texas, by train. I was totally shocked to find that the routes did not fit my travel need in any way. Needless to say, I was not only disappointed, but angry. I do not plan on ever using Amtrak.
Did you check on Megabus or Greyhound? Maybe those services will fit your travel needs.
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