You have to go to Kuwait to find people who think America needs long haul passenger rail clogging up the freightlines.
Main complaint was even two trains per day made it less convenient and almost as expensive as driving.
Excellent. I was just thinking this morning that government spending is dipping to dangerously low levels. It's good to see something is being done about the problem.
(I don't need to put a /sarc tag here, do I?)
Another apologia for socialist control. Sorry Willie, NO SALE!
In order to do better and become more competition and show a profit, AMTRAK needs to do the following:
1. Open up more routes and go to more places. Reopen the Las Vegas run from Las Vegas to Los Angeles and Orange County.
2. Raise ticket prices to actually reflect operating costs just as colleges and universities are doing.
3. Streamline operations and cut and eliminate all the bloat and waste.
I would love to see a revival in passenger service but am not optimistic about its reality given everyone’s impatience to get to their destination as quickly as possible.
...one thing the article doesn’t mention is the RR advantage in a blizzard....it doesn’t take but a few flakes of snow to screw up the D.C.Beltway or the New Jersey Turnpike...however, the Amtrack Metroliner will get you to New York when the roads are at a standstill.
Yeah the romance of taking your kids on a 3 day train trip that would take 8 hrs by flight.
Prayf or America
I live in the California Central Valley. There are trains that go from Sacramento to San Diego. We often visit San Diego and it would consider taking a train and then renting a car. However, the train does not go all the way to San Diego (the last time I checked) it stops on this side of the Grape Vine and they put the passengers on buses to go over the Grape Vine and then put them back on trains for the remainder of the trip. That is a sort of deal killer for me.
Add to that their schedules are not very good and then the expense, it is just so much easier for me to drive my family to San Diego then take a train.
When they get serious about passenger service I will consider taking the train again.
Because driving a car at my own liesure, and stopping where I want to, when I want to is just too convenient?
Kuwait pimping for Obama. I guess they and the Saudis paid good money to elect their Muslim.
This past fall I went to DC for the 9/11 rally via train.
I took a commuter bus from Augusta, Maine at 6:30 to Boston South station (1 15min stop in Prtland). Walked 100 yards from bus station to train station. Train left on time and arrived on time in DC.
I went to the other end of union station to board ‘metro’. One train took me across the river to Alexandria. Walked two blocks to Residence Inn. Passed Whole foods on the way and picked up supper. Was in bed by 9 PM.
When people here in Maine talk about a ‘light rail service’ I’m the first to call them crazy. We’ve only got 1.3 million people in the whole state. But the idea of have train service between Montreal,Bangor,Augusta, to Boston (and down the coast) should be looked at.
Last 2 Amtrak trips were between Fayetteville and Trenton. The train took 12-14 hours. I could have driven it in 8 for much less money and still stopped in a nice restaurant on the way.
It would be good if Amtrak was run properly, but it simply isn’t. It should be faster and more convenient, but it just isn’t.
On the one trip North, the Amtrak locomotive was unserviceable. So they called in buses, which were late, to take folks to DC, to catch another train to finish the trip...
I think its fair to say that much of America’s greatness derives from the fact we refuse to be herded like sheep or cattle....
frustrates the bejesus out of the all so knowing Ivy League sophomores who think they’re entitled to run the world...
Just for the fun of it, I looked to see about taking Amtrak. It would cost me $840.00 a person, and take 5 days to get there, and involve 3 transfers!!! We have only 7 days, it would take 10 days to take the train, and that would not include any vacation time in Salt Lake City.
Compare that to $294.00, 7 1/2 hours, one transfer.
Obviously taking the Amtrak cross country (or half way cross country) could be a vacation on it's own, it is not a viable alternative to driving or flying.
Q. What is the best thing about Washington, DC?
A. They’ve got this train there which heads right out of town.
Make it official and change your FR screen name to James Taggart.
Amtrak. We Suck Less. Sometimes.