Planes Trains and Automobiles

[marylander1940]

I’m not really interested in Busses I’m mainly inquiring about train routes. I don’t want to waste a whole day on the train so likely just short distances.

 

Amtrak NYC-Philly-DC, that's all.

[+ ArVaGuy]

I agree with @Charlie that Amtrak is the most practical transportation for trips in the Northeast Corridor. This is Amtrak’s most profitable route and gets the lions share of resources. Delays caused by equipment and weather are pretty much the same as with the airlines. Keep in mind this is government run so customer service can be less than efficient and makes the airlines look like paragons of kindness and accommodation.

 

My preference is Acela versus the Northeast Regional trains. Right now, you can get tickets WAS - Union Station to Penn Station NYC as low as $53 on a regional train or $276 on Acela departing around 9:00 AM. That’s one way. Peak times are just like the airlines and there’s a morning and evening rush hour congestion on number of travelers. I have work colleagues who live in NYC and commute to DC via Amtrak almost daily. Book off peak and the savings is considerable.

 

Here’s a travel hack for making Amtrak a smooth experience. Use the Red Cap Service for luggage. Even if you have just one carry on duffel bag. These porters will pre-board you on the train and just tip them $5.00. It’s well worth it, in DC I’ve boarded 15-20 minutes before general boarding and gotten settled in my Quiet Car seat long before everyone else stars jockeying for overhead space. At Penn Station there’s a Red Cap lounge area you check in with and wait for boarding. The porters get track information about ten minutes before it’s announced.

[thickornotatall]

The USA is years behind Europe and The Asian countries for train travel...I have traveled Spain..France..England on train. Very fast..efficient...affordable and clean. The AVE between Barcelona and Madrid travels 600 miles in under 3 hours.

I'll be taking the train from Paris to Amsterdam to Madrid to London this fall. I have 100% faith in their trains.

I took AMTRAK for years back and forth to work. Late often..track problems..breakdowns..smelly cars...

I do love Grand Central Station...too bad the US won't invest in infrastructure and fix train travel

Edited July 19, 2019 by thickornotatall

[+ WilliamM]

The USA is years behind Europe and The Asian countries for train travel...I have traveled Spain..France..Enland on train. Very fast..efficient...affordable and clean. The AVE between Barcelona and Madrid travels 600 miles in under 3 hours.

I'll be taking the train from Paris to Amsterdam to Madrid to London this fall. I have 100% faith in their trains.

I took AMTRAK for years back and forth to work. Late often..track problems..breakdowns..smelly cars...

I do love Grand Central Station...too bad the US won't invest in infrastructure and fix train travel

 

AMTRAK uses Penn Station in New York City, not Grand Central Station.

 

I am fine with AMTRAK. Yes, I would prefer faster trains, but ACELA will do until then.

[+ ArVaGuy]

The USA is years behind Europe and The Asian countries for train travel...I have traveled Spain..France..Enland on train. Very fast..efficient...affordable and clean. The AVE between Barcelona and Madrid travels 600 miles in under 3 hours.

I'll be taking the train from Paris to Amsterdam to Madrid to London this fall. I have 100% faith in their trains.

I took AMTRAK for years back and forth to work. Late often..track problems..breakdowns..smelly cars...

I do love Grand Central Station...too bad the US won't invest in infrastructure and fix train travel

 

Yeah, agreed. Compared to Europe and Japan our passenger rail system is an embarrassment. Acela is designed to run 150 MPH but barely exceeds half that speed due to track and infrastructure issues. Amtrak shares track with CSX and freight gets priority over passenger rail.

[+ VictorPowers]

Yeah, agreed. Compared to Europe and Japan our passenger rail system is an embarrassment.

Gotta be so obvious? Lol! As a country we focused our efforts an a highway network and not rail. It’s evident and unfortunately there will only be minor improvements in our system.

[+ ArVaGuy]

Gotta be so obvious? Lol! As a country we focused our efforts an a highway network and not rail. It’s evident and unfortunately there will only be minor improvements in our system.

 

It is a complex situation. The decline of passenger rail began shortly before the end of WWII. The railroad companies could not compete against the airlines and consumer demand for automobiles. They flat out refused to adapt to market conditions and steadily declined in service. By the early 1970s passenger rail had pretty much collapsed in this country. Amtrak was created to pick up the pieces and assemble a basic rail system that kept passenger service on life support for the last forty plus years.

 

The irony now is the president of Amtrak is a former airline executive. His plan is to concentrate on the costal route in the Northeast Corridor and California where the railroad actually makes money. If he gets his way much of the reminder of the national passenger lines will be significantly reduced.

 

Also we need to keep in mind the European rail systems are heavily subsidized and the distances between major cities are a fraction of those distances in our country. Hence the costs associated with a passenger railroad here is greater with a disproportionately smaller customer base despite our population.

[rvwnsd]

I've ridden Amtrak from Baltimore to NYC and the train was fine. Chicago to Milwaukee is also fine as is Chicago to St. Louis. If I was visiting Southern California and was traveling between LA and San Diego I'd forego the rental car and take the train. It is very nice and typically on-time unless the tracks get washed out by a mudslide. Although I have never taken The Cascades between Portland and Seattle, I drove the Interstate that runs alongside part of it and the scenery is stunning.

[+ FrankR]

I agree with @Charlie that Amtrak is the most practical transportation for trips in the Northeast Corridor. This is Amtrak’s most profitable route and gets the lions share of resources. Delays caused by equipment and weather are pretty much the same as with the airlines. Keep in mind this is government run so customer service can be less than efficient and makes the airlines look like paragons of kindness and accommodation.

 

My preference is Acela versus the Northeast Regional trains. Right now, you can get tickets WAS - Union Station to Penn Station NYC as low as $53 on a regional train or $276 on Acela departing around 9:00 AM. That’s one way. Peak times are just like the airlines and there’s a morning and evening rush hour congestion on number of travelers. I have work colleagues who live in NYC and commute to DC via Amtrak almost daily. Book off peak and the savings is considerable.

 

Here’s a travel hack for making Amtrak a smooth experience. Use the Red Cap Service for luggage. Even if you have just one carry on duffel bag. These porters will pre-board you on the train and just tip them $5.00. It’s well worth it, in DC I’ve boarded 15-20 minutes before general boarding and gotten settled in my Quiet Car seat long before everyone else stars jockeying for overhead space. At Penn Station there’s a Red Cap lounge area you check in with and wait for boarding. The porters get track information about ten minutes before it’s announced.

I used to feel the same way on this, but Acela has become too expensive and taking the (basically hourly) shuttle from LaGuardia in NYC to Boston or DC is now my first choice - also generally cheaper and faster thanks to TSA pre-check.

 

When I travel to Philly, Wilmington or New Haven Amtrak is still my go to.

 

As always, I will reserve the right to change my mind at any time! ??

[+ WilliamM]

I took the train between Montreal and Vancouver many years ago. Enjoyed it, but expensive. To save money, I hitched from Vancouver to San Francisco, which was even better

in August.

[+ Pensant]

And don't forget Vonlane around the Texas Triangle... They run a GREAT service.

 

http://www.Vonlane.com

What a civilized option,

[+ Pensant]

Perhaps the best US Amtrak route is the Cascades, which runs from Eugene to Vancouver. It’s pretty slow once you cross the border into Canada, but the coaches are very clean and the stations are as well.

[+ azdr0710]

Be ready for very long boarding lines on the popular NE corridor routes. So much so that I witnessed line-cutting and yelling on a recent train ride on that line at DC Union Station. Also, walk outside the train to the far end before getting on board (away from all the other people) for a chance at more room and luggage space.

[+ OliverSaks]

I’ve been trying to fly less (climate change) in favor of trains and buses and sometimes car.

 

Takes a bit more time, but gives me some time to myself for reading and podcasts (and twitter...)

[+ ArVaGuy]

Be ready for very long boarding lines on the popular NE corridor routes. So much so that I witnessed line-cutting and yelling on a recent train ride on that line at DC Union Station. Also, walk outside the train to the far end before getting on board (away from all the other people) for a chance at more room and luggage space.

 

This is why I use the Red Cap service. The preboarding at Union Station eliminates this hassle.

 

One of my work colleagues is afraid to fly and takes Amtrak as much as possible. Last year we had a meeting in Atlanta and she took the overnight train from Union Station. She carried a weapon with her for self defense. Apparently the overnight train can attract interesting characters. This shocked me but there’s no luggage screening in our rail system so one never knows what people are carrying.

[+ Charlie]

I took the train between Montreal and Vancouver many years ago. Enjoyed it, but expensive. To save money, I hitched from Vancouver to San Francisco, which was even better

in August.

The train from Vancouver to Toronto used to take 3 days; we took it a couple of months ago, and it now takes 5 days. The problem is the same as in the US: the tracks are owned by the freight lines, which means freight trains get priority, so passenger trains often have to sit on side tracks and wait while the freights keep to their schedule. It is a relaxing way to get across Canada if you are not in a hurry and want to enjoy the scenery, but it's not a practical way to just get from A to B.

[+ WilliamM]

@Charlie, On my train, we couldn't go beyond the Canadian Rockies because of a landslide. They hired a plane and flew up to British Columbia. Yes, it took three days Nixon resigned while we were in Vancouver

[mike carey]

Be ready for very long boarding lines on the popular NE corridor routes. So much so that I witnessed line-cutting and yelling on a recent train ride on that line at DC Union Station. Also, walk outside the train to the far end before getting on board (away from all the other people) for a chance at more room and luggage space.

Yes to going as far forward as possible at DC Union Station, and yes the queues can be long.

 

Whether it makes sense to fly rather than catch the train depends on your mindset as much as anything else. I would be cautious about the idea of flying from La Guardia, even if it were cheaper, getting to the airport is more problematic than getting to Penn Station. More broadly I think of a train trip as a part of the travel experience but a flight as a necessary step before 'travel' starts. So, I would take a train from, say, New Orleans to Washington for the experience.

 

Trains here are more like the US than Europe, few, slow and not all that convenient. They are largely run by state governments and they are a public service rather than a business proposition. In my state, NSW, there is a good network of trains and connecting bus services (mostly with reserved seats so the DC Union Station rush for seats doesn't happen). It's no comparison in scale with the NE corridor, but Canberra to Sydney (300km) has 15-20 flights a day (discount from $200 each way) and three trains ($50). There is also a non-stop bus service every hour for $30-$45. [Those are AUD.]

[+ Charlie]

Yes to going as far forward as possible at DC Union Station, and yes the queues can be long.

 

Whether it makes sense to fly rather than catch the train depends on your mindset as much as anything else. I would be cautious about the idea of flying from La Guardia, even if it were cheaper, getting to the airport is more problematic than getting to Penn Station. More broadly I think of a train trip as a part of the travel experience but a flight as a necessary step before 'travel' starts. So, I would take a train from, say, New Orleans to Washington for the experience.

 

Trains here are more like the US than Europe, few, slow and not all that convenient. They are largely run by state governments and they are a public service rather than a business proposition. In my state, NSW, there is a good network of trains and connecting bus services (mostly with reserved seats so the DC Union Station rush for seats doesn't happen). It's no comparison in scale with the NE corridor, but Canberra to Sydney (300km) has 15-20 flights a day (discount from $200 each way) and three trains ($50). There is also a non-stop bus service every hour for $30-$45. [Those are AUD.]

I have taken the Indian Pacific both ways between Sydney and Perth, and the Ghan from Adelaide to Alice Springs. They were wonderful tourist experiences, but the only people we met who took them for practical reasons were folks who took them because they could take their own cars along for use when they got to their destination.

[mike carey]

I have taken the Indian Pacific both ways between Sydney and Perth, and the Ghan from Adelaide to Alice Springs. They were wonderful tourist experiences, but the only people we met who took them for practical reasons were folks who took them because they could take their own cars along for use when they got to their destination.

Yes, I was talking mainly about the south east. The Ghan and the Indian Pacific are a different type of experience as you said. They do have one or two 'coach' carriages for sit-up passengers.

[+ ArVaGuy]

The train from Vancouver to Toronto used to take 3 days; we took it a couple of months ago, and it now takes 5 days. The problem is the same as in the US: the tracks are owned by the freight lines, which means freight trains get priority, so passenger trains often have to sit on side tracks and wait while the freights keep to their schedule. It is a relaxing way to get across Canada if you are not in a hurry and want to enjoy the scenery, but it's not a practical way to just get from A to B.

 

Did you stay at any of the Fairmont hotels along the route? Fairmont was originally owned by the Canadian Pacific Railroad. The company built luxury hotels along the route for passengers.

 

One of my favorites is the Fairmont Empress in Victoria BC. A grand dame of hotels built early 20th century and the last one on the route.

[+ oldNbusted]

Also, walk outside the train to the far end before getting on board (away from all the other people) for a chance at more room and luggage space.

 

 

Don't tell everybody, you're spoiling my secret!

[+ oldNbusted]

[+ Charlie]

Did you stay at any of the Fairmont hotels along the route? Fairmont was originally owned by the Canadian Pacific Railroad. The company built luxury hotels along the route for passengers.

 

One of my favorites is the Fairmont Empress in Victoria BC. A grand dame of hotels built early 20th century and the last one on the route.

We stayed at both the Fairmont Vancouver (the original one by the art gallery downtown) and the Fairmont Royal York in Toronto, and loved both of them. I was at the Empress in Victoria about 30 years ago.

[+ pdxleo]

The state/provincial govt's of Washington, Oregon, and British Columbia have announced a study to develop the Cascades service between Eugene, Portland, Seattle and Vancouver into a 200-mph high-speed service. Portland to Seattle down town to down town in an hour, Seattle to Vancouver in 75 minutes. Unfortunately, the existing Burlington Northern-Union Pacific track bed can't be improved to that standard, so a new route will be needed, and land acquisition cost will be in the billions. The cost of widening I-5 to handle the car and truck loads will also be in the billions, and the air shuttles are feeding into already overburdened airports, so no matter what, money will need to be spent. Rail is by far the least ecologically destructive transport, but government needs the taxpayers to learn to give up their cars