Passenger Trains > 6 Reasons Why Long Distance Train Travel Is Worth It

Amtrak Trains provide a necessary and convenient service to America
Amtrak trains aren't the fastest vehicles, but they are more relaxing than being crammed into a bus for 24 hours or more.  In many cases, Amtrak is less expensive than using a regional jet.  No, Amtrak isn't luxurious but it provides a safe and comfortable service for people that can't fly or drive, and those in the rural US who rely on Amtrak every day because its the only game in town.

Here are some positive points about our rail system to share with all:

6 Reasons Why Long Distance Train Travel Is Worth It
11/23/2014 08:00 am ET (Updated Dec 06, 2017)
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/23/long-distance-train-travel_n_6193264.html
 
 

Good points, but now a bit dated as the article is four years old.  References to the Empire Builder as “oft delayed” or the picture of the Pacific Parlour no longer apply.  If nothing else it’s a good reminder of how much we’ve already lost in Amtrak’s war of attrition on LD trains.  And of course how much more is currently at risk.

Dave

The article on 6 reasons to ride long distance is interesting but not up to date.  There is no longer a
Pacific Palour car on the Starlight and meal service is being cut back or abridged all over the system.
Having said that, however, riding a long distance train and being able to relax and enjoy the ever
changing scenry IS worth the effort.

Not sure I would want my family to treat me the way some Amtrak staff has.

I'd be careful about making a strong "land cruise / enjoy America" argument in support of Amtrak.  It falls right into the trap of luxury travel,not basic transportation.

Saying that this train is a necessary link between Podunk and the outside world in the snow and ice, is a different argument than needing sleeping cars, full diner, etc.

Just sayin'

Lackawanna484 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I'd be careful about making a strong "land cruise
> / enjoy America" argument in support of Amtrak. 
> It falls right into the trap of luxury travel,not
> basic transportation.
>
> Saying that this train is a necessary link between
> Podunk and the outside world in the snow and ice,
> is a different argument than needing sleeping
> cars, full diner, etc.
>
> Just sayin'

And yet this is another sign of oppression in our society, that "land yachting" or enjoying ourselves is somehow wrong, that the activity must benefit certain industries or group of business elites in order to be acceptable. (You didn't insinuate that, but that's what the anti-Amtrak crowd seems to be saying)

I wouldn't categorize Amtrak's sleeping cars and diners as "luxury travel" even if those amenities are upgrades from coach seating and cafe cars.

Off topic, but one of the unspoken hidden subsidy is the use of "miles" and "points" (including Amtrak Guest Rewards) accumulated via expensed business travel for personal use, including First Class upgrades, roundtrips to far away places, etc. If government-subsidized Amtrak travel is wrong, then so is using miles/points you didn't pay for to use for personal travel. Maybe Amtrak opponents better be careful, too, as it's my opinion that such perks are unethical and corrupt and need to be taken away.

No question sleepers and $25 entrees would be red meat for a future Congressional hearing.

I don't agree, but Congress does strange things...

Posted from Android

Lackawanna484 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> No question sleepers and $25 entrees would be red
> meat for a future Congressional hearing.
>
> I don't agree, but Congress does strange things...

I would like to think that the neanderthals in Congress were thoroughly embarrassed enough by their brethren's Hamburger-Gate Hearings led by John Mica. That spectacle was a total joke, replete with outright lies emblazoned on poster boards and a cluelessly inept PR stunt convened outside a DC McDonald's. 

But I don't put it past those controlling the committees. The Dastardly Dining Cars Subcommittee should urgently convene new Hamburger Hearings to, as one member put it recently, "do what the American people sent us here to do...Investigate why kettle chips are included in the hamburger plates...and take this serious investigation wherever the chips may lead us."

I've come to the conclusion that the greater majority of persons in Congress (including Democrats) could care less about Amtrak and secretly wishes it would go away. In my view, the passage of the Rail Passenger Service Act in October 1970 was one of the greatest turnarounds of all time. The train-off's were coming fast and furious.  Few were being held up on the "Public Necessity and Convenience" requirement. The railroads were playing out the clock and then NARP came in and gummed up the works, culminating in Amtrak taking over the passenger trains ahead of extinction. This time around the base of people who want to save the long distance passenger train is a lot thinner.While the piece which is the subject of this thread is obsolete, we need to write a a coherent manifesto, so to speak, of why we need to expand the network into a true national network. It needs to be something that members of Congress will feel the need to get behind, regardless of whether they have a disdain for Amtrak or not.

Unfortunately, supporters of passenger trains cannot agree among themselves about what compromises they are willing to make in amenities and services  to put such a network in place. Unless we all can push in the same direction, we might as well go ride the LDTs in their last season.

Jack