I forgot how nice it is to use the train
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american exceptionalism
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@bachophile said in I forgot how nice it is to use the train:
american exceptionalism
Indeed.
In the early to mid 1960s, it became obvious to the private railroads that passenger rail is a loser - costs more than it earns. So, in 1971, Amtrak, was set up by the government. The private carriers turned over their passenger equipment and Amtrak, while funded by the government to a great extent, is not RUN by the government.
The biggest problems are:
- Lack of funding - old equipment
- Lack of infrastructure - track not built for high speed travel
- The rails, for the most part, are owned by the private carriers (freight) and though Amtrak has a contract for service, it's not unusual to be sitting behind a slow-moving freight.
- The size of the country (I know, "but China"). Traveling from Chicago to Portland is about 2200 miles, which is related to #2.
"Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08
The saying, "Lite is just one damn thing after another," is a gross understatement. The damn things overlap.
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@george-k said in I forgot how nice it is to use the train:
The biggest problems are:
- Lack of funding - old equipment
- Lack of infrastructure - track not built for high speed travel
…
Won’t be fixed when elected legislators keep refusing to vote for high-speed rail funding. We hear voices (like this one, as one example) that claims to want national high speed rail yet think it’s proper only when privately funded.
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@axtremus said in I forgot how nice it is to use the train:
high-speed rail funding
Look at the boondoggle in California's HSR initiative. It's massively behind schedule, massively over budget, and massively too short (if that makes sense). In the more than 10 years since it was approved, it has 119 "under construction." Not completed, under construction.
This video will give you an idea of the scope of the progress:
Link to videoThe inter-city travel in Europe is of a much smaller scale, and therefore easier to implement than here in the US.
The only place where HSR is possible here in the US is where Amtrak actually owns the right-of-way: the Northeast Corridor. Even there, the "high-speed" Acela between DC and Boston only hits about 150 mph, and that's for a short stretch in Connecticut.
"Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08
The saying, "Lite is just one damn thing after another," is a gross understatement. The damn things overlap.
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I thoroughly enjoyed using the train traveling between Frankfurt, Munich, and Vienna… Looking forward to my next trip.
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@horace said in I forgot how nice it is to use the train:
Looks very comfy. It surprises me it’s cheaper than the car. How does that work out?
Well, the trip today is around 800km and costs 120 Euro for a first class ticket. The gas alone would set me back more than 100 euros...
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@horace said in I forgot how nice it is to use the train:
Looks very comfy. It surprises me it’s cheaper than the car. How does that work out?
I don’t know the price for a private train car, but a general ticket from Frankfurt to Vienna was $80 when I went. Driving would have been about 450 miles. The fuel and wear and tear costs would be about $200 in a car…
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Last train trip I took, pre-COVID-19, was in Canada. Short segments between Montréal, Toronto, and Ottawa, I don’t remember the specific order off the top of my head now. Didn’t even care if it was “high speed,” it still saved me more time compare to taking airplanes once I factor in time spent in airports, and overall cheaper too! A lot more leg room and a lot more comfortable overall. I could decline my seat to, like, 150°, lots of elbow room, etc.
In the USA, though, I don’t recall ever finding a train trip that’s cheaper than flights for the same origin/destination pair, and the train trips will take longer overall even after I factor in airport time.
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My best ever business trip about 3 years ago included a return train journey between Zurich and Milan, through the alps. I spent a fair amount of time looking out the window just saying 'I can't believe I'm getting paid to do this!'
Proud supporter of Plan 2525. Everything you think, do and say will be in the pill you took today.
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@doctor-phibes said in I forgot how nice it is to use the train:
My best ever business trip about 3 years ago included a return train journey between Zurich and Milan, through the alps. I spent a fair amount of time looking out the window just saying 'I can't believe I'm getting paid to do this!'
Let me guess, the train was filled with white males?
#CheckYourPrivilege
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I’ve done one overnight train trip on Amtrak. It was an expensive hell. Sorry, @George-K and I get that it’s a different experience when getting a private car, but at that kind of price I could drive to the destination and stay overnight at Ritz Carlton’s the whole way and still be ahead of the game…
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@axtremus said in I forgot how nice it is to use the train:
In the USA, though, I don’t recall ever finding a train trip that’s cheaper than flights for the same origin/destination pair, and the train trips will take longer overall even after I factor in airport time.
Northeast Regional service is definitely cheaper between Boston-NY-Philly-DC. Acela is probably more expensive though.
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And Acela is faster NY-Philly and a wash from NY-DC considering airport time.
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@jon-nyc said in I forgot how nice it is to use the train:
Northeast Regional service is definitely cheaper between Boston-NY-Philly-DC. Acela is probably more expensive though.
I once took the Boston-DC ACELA after a big snowstorm as they'd cancelled the flights. Some big-mouthed fucking twat from DC was directly behind me and talked at some poor unfortunate girl for the entire time about all the people he knew. If I'd been sitting in the airport I could have either walked away, or told a security guard that he was acting in a highly suspicious manner. As it was, I was trapped in hell for about 6 hours.
They don't factor that into the equation.
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@jon-nyc said in I forgot how nice it is to use the train:
@axtremus said in I forgot how nice it is to use the train:
In the USA, though, I don’t recall ever finding a train trip that’s cheaper than flights for the same origin/destination pair, and the train trips will take longer overall even after I factor in airport time.
Northeast Regional service is definitely cheaper between Boston-NY-Philly-DC. Acela is probably more expensive though.
The cost differences between the NE Regional and Acela are not trivial, but the time differential is.
Here's the price breakdown for a DC departure early tomorrow morning (about 7 AM). Note, there is no "coach" on Acela, they call it "business," and there's no "first class" on the NE Regional. The only upgrade is to business from coach.
So, if you want to save an hour and 15 minutes, "Business Acela" will cost you about $40 more than NE Regional.
That said, D4 and I rode Acela 1st Class from DC to Boston in 2015. Loved it.
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@jon-nyc said in I forgot how nice it is to use the train:
@axtremus said in I forgot how nice it is to use the train:
In the USA, though, I don’t recall ever finding a train trip that’s cheaper than flights for the same origin/destination pair, and the train trips will take longer overall even after I factor in airport time.
Northeast Regional service is definitely cheaper between Boston-NY-Philly-DC. Acela is probably more expensive though.
And the I-95 is a shit road to drive on.
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@ivorythumper said in I forgot how nice it is to use the train:
the I-95
No the in the northeast
Just I-95
That's a California thing
