I love the idea of train travel, however, Amtrak has been horribly mismanaged for decades. It came about because the freight railroads what are used to run passenger trains as well couldn’t make any money due to these new things called airplanes.
Amtrak still seems to be stuck in the past about the needs of the traveling public. For example, if I can get free Wi-Fi going hundred miles an hour at 35,000 feet, Watch a movie, etc. How can these idiots not figure out a way to get fast reliable Wi-Fi on a train. They chose the dumbest option, which is to rely on cellular networks which best cover roads, No the more remote areas were train tracks can be found, even in places like the northeast corridor.
Agree totally. I’d go by train in the US rather than fly any day...of course now they’re all doing their stupid mask-s***, so it’s awful anywhere.
But train travel is really more comfortable and I don’t know why they can’t solve some of these basic problems. When I used to go to Europe a lot (until two years ago), I rode trains in all parts of Europe and they all had great wifi, were comfortable and pretty much on time. They all had lousy dining options, so that needs work.
We researched Amtrak a few years ago, considering taking a train trip just for the heck of it.
A common thread/opinion throughout was that Amtrak is a make-work project for blacks, and white folk would be better off avoiding it for travel. The workers intimidate and harass white passengers, often making them give up reserved seats in order to put a black in that seat. If they don’t like someone, they’ll put them off at a stop in the middle of nowhere, even if the depot is closed for the night.
We decided we’d stick with cruising. Of course, now that isn’t an option for us.