I have never ridden on Amtrak. However, I have ridden in many trains in Europe. They are pretty nice if you want to go for a short couple hour trip. Amtrak might get some traction if they make it more luxurious and have it for the wealthy. Just a thought. Right now everyone pretty much thinks that Amtrak is for the poor or lower middle class people and won’t ride them. Same with the buses. Who wants to ride on a bus or train with some smelly people right next to you.
I hate flying with drunk people, especially when it’s the pilot!
To make that happen all they would have to do is charge the real, unsubsidized, price per passenger.
Yes, and if jammed a a fifth of our population into an area the size or Oregon trains might makes sense, or at least be less of an abortion. We are not Europe though, so commuter trains don’t work on an economic basis.
NYC used to have a "Plane to the Train" service to JFK Airport. They charged extra for that express train and people would pay extra to use it to commute to work. I asked a conductor about the MTA expanding that type of service and he explained that the MTA didn't care about the extra money because the more they got in fares was the less they got in federal subsidy. It's probably the same with Amtrak.
US Bus travel has the lower class or student stereotype. I wouldn’t say that Amtrak does. In the NE corridor, everyone rides. Rich Joe Biden used to ride Amtrak daily between Delaware and DC. On the long distance trains, the coach cars seem lower middle class but the sleeper cars seem upper middle class.
The simple fact is that Unionized, Government run Amtrak is labor inefficient and cannot compete despite its’ fuel efficiency.
Select a time to go on a trip, visit the amtrak website, try to work out a route, and then look at the price for it if you get that far. Amtrak is a disaster. The only two times I rode, I went on the same short route, and they were running late both times.
Its $541 to Amtrak from FL to DC I can fly to Boston for 300 and rent a car in 4 hours. Never saw any reason to take a Train.
I have long advocated that the railways in North America could turn a profit if they used the business model that the operators of ocean liners adopted when they lost business to the airlines. Run luxury “cruise trains” through the more scenic areas and they could make a mint. A good example is VIA Rail’s service through the Rockies- you have to book it more than a year in advance because the Chinese and Japanese tourists pack every run. Unfortunately, because VIA is government-owned, they are doing nothing to capitalize on this market and still only operate one train a day on the route.
The problem is, those cramming AMTRAC down our throats are pushing for high speed rail at the expense of our heavy freight rail.
They seem addicted to unintended consequences as a result of poorly planned and executed actions.
Where's Willie?
Funny, because Amtrak ain't cheap. Just rode from New York on Amtrak Friday and paid way too much. Metro North is much cheaper. Mostly business people on Amtrak.