

9 Reasons to take Trains - lakeeffect
http://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/1715/69/

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jrockway
I agree with the sentiment, but notice the article is about his first
impressions and not what happens after the train starts moving. Amtrak spends
most of its time going less than 30 miles an hour. If a freight train needs to
go through, you wait. If the freight railway they lease the trackage rights
from doesn't feel like maintaining the tracks or signals, you spend 3 hours
going 5 miles per hour.

And finally, for longer trips, it's fucking expensive. I really wanted to take
Amtrak from Chicago to Portland, but it was like $1400. Flying was _much_
cheaper.

I really want Amtrak to work, but as long as it's continually ignored by
people with money to pour into it, it's going to suck. The sad part is that it
would actually make money if it were reliable, unlike the airlines which are
just creating billions and billions of dollars of debt that they'll never pay.

(BTW, my experience with Amtrak is mostly St. Louis to Chicago, and Chicago to
Grand Rapids. The CHI/STL route has gotten a lot of money, and is decent now.
They call it high speed, but it's not really. CHI/GRR is a short distance, so
it doesn't matter that the train never gets above 50mph. It would be so much
nicer if it got up to 90mph and stayed there until the train got to GRR.

Oh well... at least those routes are reasonably priced; about $50 round-trip.)

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davidw
I could see trains working better in smaller areas, like around the bay area,
Eugene-Portland-Seattle, LA-San Diego, and so on (lots of places back east
probably qualify), rather than on long-haul trips where most people are either
going to drive or fly.

One of the things I like about Italy's train system is that while, no, they
sometimes do not run on time, they are relatively frequent and cheap, meaning
that you don't have to think and worry quite so much - you know you'll be able
to find something.

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aneesh
Trains work well for short distances. The commuter rail from Baltimore to DC
for $7, and 45 minutes is great. But if you're traveling 3+ hours, it's
probably cheaper to fly.

I recently rediscovered another underappreciated mode of transportation: the
bike.

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lsemel
Amtrak is a pleasant, viable alternative to flying as long as you are
traveling between Washington, Philadelphia, New York and Boston. The Cascades
services between Seattle and Vancouver has some nice scenery as well.

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rms
If anyone reading this has about $10MM to invest in a capital intensive but
relatively stable venture in the building intermodal train/truck yards let me
know. The venture requires a $6MM land purchase.

