The surprising comeback of train travel

CNN Travel ^ | October 189, 2014 | Jareen Imam

[QT3.14]

It's been 21 years, and John Moore still eagerly leans against his passenger window to watch the landscape pass by as the train he commutes on every day roars over the Moodna Viaduct in Cornwall, New York.

The green hills and vibrant leaves just below the elevated track make the trestle one of the prettiest scenes on the 57-year-old's trip. For more than two decades, the senior business analyst has been traveling about 67 miles for work from his home in Cornwall to lower Manhattan. His total commute time is 2½ hours each way.

[PGR88]

Amtrack is OK as long as you have absolutely NO time limits.

[capydick]

Trained it into NYC today on a cold, rainy, windy day - beats driving in it and the view isn’t bad

[BunnySlippers]

I was married to a train fanatic. They are truly fascinating machines. So fun, even elegant ... At one time.

[Army Air Corps]

Willie Green Memorial Ping

[Captain7seas]

It will be the only way to get to the Hunger Games when those evil automobiles are finally banned.

[gov_bean_ counter]

Didn’t know. Thanks.

[GeronL]

bump

How much money does it cost taxpayers for everyone who boards a train or a bus?

[Jeff Chandler]

It was a rotten thing to do.

Rotten is one adjective you could use.

[jocon307]

I love train travel but that is a long darn commute.

[oblomov]

I take the Acela from NYC to DC a few times a month. It is almost always on time.

[Yaelle]

I don’t know this freeper but sounds like he had autism or asperger’s. Sad he was bullied. Happened to my son a lot in school, once people realize they get upset easily. People can be so ugly sometimes. I sure hope none of the ones who bullied this man call themselves good Christians or whatever else they were.

[Cboldt]

Alas for poor old Willie,
We'll never see Willie no more;
For what he thought was H2O,
Was H2SO4.

[Alberta's Child]

I don't this article was written very well. It starts off with an example of a long-distance commuter who rides a train operated by New Jersey Transit under contract with Metro-North (most of that route is in New York State, but it runs through New Jersey to a rail terminal along the Hudson River) on a line that is owned by Norfolk Southern (a private company). Then the article goes through a bunch of statistics from Amtrak -- which is an intercity service that has nothing to do with regular commuters.

I also think the article misses a big point. Congestion may be one reason why train ridership is up, but I believe the single biggest factor is that airline travel has become intolerable -- and that a 4-6 hour Amtrak trip on a regional trip is preferable to a 90-minute flight with all of the hassle that goes along with it.

[Rides_A_Red_Horse]

They’ll go after trains if that’s where they’ll find the most victims and cause the most disruption.

With trains, you can’t vary your route.

[OneWingedShark]

People have seen the light...

Indeed!
It's because, like buses, you can't get Ebola in a boxcar.

In other news, open group showers are also catching on…

[Alberta's Child]

The Northeast Corridor is one of the only parts of the Amtrak system that is actually owned by Amtrak.

Their miserable on-time performance across the rest of the country is almost entirely the result of a business model where they operate on tracks that are owned by freight railroads.

[GingisK]

My wife and I wanted to take a train trip from Atlanta into the West. The fare was a great deal more expensive than an airplane ticket, and one must pay extra for meals. Routes are very limited.

The train is not really ready for prime time. That dang Caravan is still the best way to go.

[gov_bean_ counter]

So bad.

[COBOL2Java]

I love train travel but that is a long darn commute.

I take both the VRE (Virginia Railway Express)...

...and the MARC (Maryland Area Regional Commuter) to work every day...

[Rides_A_Red_Horse]

I don’t know this freeper but sounds like he had autism or asperger’s. Sad he was bullied.

---

I saw the name and comments about the poster some time back so I searched for his comments.

From what I read he was pretty hateful and abusive to anyone who disagreed with his train obsession. Dude was scary!