And slow. For many ‘muricans, they only get two weeks of vacation, and it is very rare that their employer will allow them to take all of that time at once. I don’t care what you get as a cushy HN reader, your situation is not most ‘murican. When you only get to take a couple of days, you don’t want to be spending it in transit. As it is now, air travel pretty much takes up a full day with arriving x hours early, delays, etc.
That’s where, theoretically at least, the “sleeper” part comes in. Travel great distances while you sleep and save the money on a hotel room.
If the conditions were good enough I’d be perfectly happy to be on a train e.g. 6pm-6am rather than arriving at an airport at 6pm, doing security, baggage etc etc, taxiing to the center of a city then checking into a hotel late. But every time I look the pricing for that is way out of whack.
It's unlikely that you come close to saving money with a long distance sleeper even if the additional time you spend isn't a factor. But this isn't even all that specific to US. As was just noted on a Facebook thread I was reading, the Caledonian Sleeper from London to Edinburgh isn't a particular bargain and I recall other European night trains I've taken didn't really save me money either.
For sure. But I think it’s still worth pointing out that it would be an attractive option if the price were right. Governments looking to combat climate change could subsidise such things if they wanted to.
Sure. It's one of the MANY climate change subsidies governments could make. Which may or may not make sense in this particular case. Personally, I like taking trains in a lot of situations, but they're usually not cheaper or often especially more convenient.
What you do save is the bedraggled feeling of dealing with air travel. When I get off the sleeper, after billing hours on the way of course, I arrive refreshed with a full stomach and right out into the city.
That's the one thing that's a little annoying about the gaotie in China. It doesn't run at night, so you are limited to about 1200km a night on the slower overnight D trains (Beijing Shanghai say). Otherwise you could hop on a train in Beijing in the evening and wake up in Hong Kong, Shenzhen or Guangzhou.
Oh I see! I went midweek and didn't realise it is different around weekends. I was so disappointed to have to fly to get there for 9am, I really hate planes and shorthaul really hates me! Hopefully I can arrange a Monday or Tuesday next time!
That sounds like a great argument in favor of making sleeper trains a luxury experience. That way the train ride can be a destination in itself. The first stop on your holiday, rather than just a means to get to your holiday destination.
I think they typically are. In the US the distances tend to be too lage thouhg equating Amtrak with luxury is probably a stretch. I've taken night trains in Europe (and China) and it may have beaten navigating airports but not sure by how much.
And slow. For many ‘muricans, they only get two weeks of vacation, and it is very rare that their employer will allow them to take all of that time at once. I don’t care what you get as a cushy HN reader, your situation is not most ‘murican. When you only get to take a couple of days, you don’t want to be spending it in transit. As it is now, air travel pretty much takes up a full day with arriving x hours early, delays, etc.