Trains

[??????????]

Amtrak is terrible and the state of our rail system is a complete joke. Sad really.

[Sbane]

I wish we had some here.

Isn't the bart expanding to SJ soon? God knows they have been talking about it for decades. Anyways I am extremely happy we voted yes on 1A and I can't wait till I can be in LA within 3 hours and not have to wait in security or sit in traffic.

[Bacon King]

Amtrak is terrible

Why do you say that?

[??????????]

Amtrak is terrible

Why do you say that?

Lousy customer service, filthy rail cars, extremely over priced, unreliable, not efficient.

[The Man From G.O.P.]

I was obsessed with trains when I was little.

[Хahar 🤔]

I wish we had some here.

Isn't the bart expanding to SJ soon? God knows they have been talking about it for decades. Anyways I am extremely happy we voted yes on 1A and I can't wait till I can be in LA within 3 hours and not have to wait in security or sit in traffic.

I'm happy too. My parents voted no, though. My mom suddenly decided to be a libertarian and hate any and all government spending. She was going to vote for 8, too, but I fixed her on that.

[Sbane]

I wish we had some here.

Isn't the bart expanding to SJ soon? God knows they have been talking about it for decades. Anyways I am extremely happy we voted yes on 1A and I can't wait till I can be in LA within 3 hours and not have to wait in security or sit in traffic.

I'm happy too. My parents voted no, though. My mom suddenly decided to be a libertarian and hate any and all government spending. She was going to vote for 8, too, but I fixed her on that.

HAHAHAHA nice. How did your dad vote on 8?

[Хahar 🤔]

I wish we had some here.

Isn't the bart expanding to SJ soon? God knows they have been talking about it for decades. Anyways I am extremely happy we voted yes on 1A and I can't wait till I can be in LA within 3 hours and not have to wait in security or sit in traffic.

I'm happy too. My parents voted no, though. My mom suddenly decided to be a libertarian and hate any and all government spending. She was going to vote for 8, too, but I fixed her on that.

HAHAHAHA nice. How did your dad vote on 8?

No. So our family was fine.

[Ban my account ffs!]

If we really want to invest in passenger rail, I think it will have to be regionally based to begin with.  The only profitable routes for Amtrak are in the Northeast Corridor, where the government bought the tracks from the now defunct freight railroads when Amtrak was formed in the '70s.  Because the government has invested in these tracks, rail service is much more efficient and widespread across the major cities of the Northeast.

This approach is being expanded westward across Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and back to Chicago.

A major high speed rail network would ultimately have its central hub in Chicago.  From there, feasible routes to the west coast are the current Empire Builder route (the heaviest freight rail corridor in teh U.S.)which runs through Minnesota, North Dakota, Montana, Idaho, and Washington, terminating at Seattle and a route that could parallel old Route 66 to southern California through Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona, and ultimately to L.A.

The tracks are already being upgraded from Chicago to Milwaukee and westward towards the Twin Cities. 

Since train travel is most efficient and feasible in the 300-700 mile range, it makes sense to focus on mid-range routes like Minneapolis-Milwaukee-Chicago or Chicago-Cleveland-Philadelphia.

Tracks can be retrofitted across areas where it wouldn't be feasible to build purpose-built high speed tracks, like in the mountains, but high speed lines could be built largely across rural areas that connected larger cities, much like the Interstate highway system.

It's really not a matter of if, but when.  We can easily and cheaply run trains off of electricity (like most of the world already does and as is done in the Northeast) which can be produced by U.S. produced energy.

[Four49]

The US share of freight transported by train is way higher than Europe. I guess that compensates for the smaller passenger share.

Anyway, here are some photos of the Lisbon metro:

I think that's the reason for a smaller passenger share.  The Metra here in Chicago is notoriously late because they share tracks with freight trains.  I'm pretty sure AmTrak does too, my train from Seattle to LA was a good 4 hours late becuse they kept stopping to give freights the right of way.  Some people won't take trains because they want to get where they're going on time.

[Daniel Z]

I think that's the reason for a smaller passenger share.  The Metra here in Chicago is notoriously late because they share tracks with freight trains.  I'm pretty sure AmTrak does too, my train from Seattle to LA was a good 4 hours late becuse they kept stopping to give freights the right of way.  Some people won't take trains because they want to get where they're going on time.

Amtrak is still way better than Greyhound.

[Four49]

Yeah, I only took Greyhoynd once.  I'll never willfully do it again.

[??????????]

If it's one step above Greyhound it's just barely. Seriously, the cars are old, worn out and the ones I've been on were downright filthy.

[Dr. Cynic]

I enjoy travelling by train now considering I'm terrified of heights and cannot drive because of my health... It's an easy way to travel.

When I was a kid, steam engines were one of my primary joys.

[Daniel Z]

Greyhound once took ten hours to go from Bellingham to Olympia. The most I have ever been late on Amtrak is ten min.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Trains are good. I like trains. Though train companies are often proof of the existence of Satan.

[??????????]

Greyhound once took ten hours to go from Bellingham to Olympia. The most I have ever been late on Amtrak is ten min.

It took me over 21 hours to get from Tampa, Florida to Baltimore, MD. Plus, got to www.amtrak.com and price that trip at coach class, flying is way cheaper.

[Four49]

If it's one step above Greyhound it's just barely. Seriously, the cars are old, worn out and the ones I've been on were downright filthy.

I've seen some nasty ones too.  And if you go coach, bring your own food.

Overall though I prefer it.  I've had much worse experiences flying.  I'd love to fly if I could always afford first class, or had my own plane, but coach sucks.  I always end up sitting next to either some asshole's asshole kid or someone that doesn't shut up, yet never really says anything.

[??????????]

Trains can be the same way. At least with an airplane it usual only lasts 2 or 3 hours. Ride coach for 21 hours with screaming kids! Geesh.

[Four49]

True.  I had a woman sitting in front of me once that called Metra and threatened to sue because the conductor couldn't get help get her brat to stop crying.

[Smid]

If it's one step above Greyhound it's just barely. Seriously, the cars are old, worn out and the ones I've been on were downright filthy.

Reminds me of a joke I once heard - "Train journeys combine the comfort of bus travel with the affordability of airline tickets"

[??????????]

Well, if the government got out of the rail business and allowed private industry to run railroads, like in the heyday, I think rail travel would improve greatly.

[??????????]

Thought I'd share some photos of my trip to the B&O, Americas first railroad (literally) :

[Bacon King]

Amtrak is terrible

Why do you say that?

Lousy customer service, filthy rail cars, extremely over priced, unreliable, not efficient.

Interesting that you say that. I've been taking Amtrak's Crescent line between college and home and I've found it to be reliable, affordable, clean, and much superior to airline travel in every way except the time thing.

[??????????]

Amtrak is terrible

Why do you say that?

Lousy customer service, filthy rail cars, extremely over priced, unreliable, not efficient.

Interesting that you say that. I've been taking Amtrak's Crescent line between college and home and I've found it to be reliable, affordable, clean, and much superior to airline travel in every way except the time thing.

That's because that's their "star" line, that and the western line.