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What I understand, which has at least been consistent with my experience riding many routes in most regions of the country, is that Amtrak is hindered by having
by gt_ 9y ago
What I understand, which has at least been consistent with my experience riding many routes in most regions of the country, is that Amtrak is hindered by having to yield to freight, which takes priority in the US.
It's very rare to take Amtrak and not spend what can often be many consecutive hours waiting at a junction for a freight train to pass. Of course freight and passenger trains travel at very different speeds so the problem has no solution that even billions of dollars can solve, and it's only compounded by the vast distances of single-lane track in the US, which serve the purposes of freight needs just fine.
The difference in operation and overhead requirements for each use cannot be overstated. Besides a few routes in the Northeast and the Socal coastline, traveling by Amtrack is a novelty or a mistake. Competing with airlines on any route is far from realistic. I used to take this train between Portland and Seattle before it was beat by a <$20 twice-a-day bus program with good marketing and free wi-fi, relegating the train to being only a bit more comfortable and about $60 more expensive (and now more scary). I've been on >10 hour Amtrak rides which had no more than 2 people per car! When you run a route once every few days, you can't just shift people around like the airlines do. Without the subsidies, Amtrak simply doesn't exist.
- ikawe 9y ago> It's very rare to take Amtrak and not spend what can often be many consecutive hours waiting at a junction for a freight train to pass. Its true that Amtrak often has to yield to freight on a lot of rail, but saying its “rare” to ride without being stuck for “hours” seems a gross exaggeration, or at least starkly different from my own rides. (Up and down west coast, northeast corridor, a couple times across the middle - highly recommended if you have a few days to spare). Usually it’s 5 minutes of waiting, and for me I don’t recall ever more than 20. Riding across the entire country (Oakland -> Philadelphia) I probably accrued 30 minutes of waiting.
- seanmcdirmid 9y agoI have never been on the train between portland and Seattle without yielding for at least an hour.
- gt_ 9y agoI could have pressed on it more, but I think the Southern California coastline and the frequented routes in the Northeast are the only exception here. It sounds like your trip across country was quite lucky. I've never done trips quite as long as coast-to-coast but I've taken some odd routes. I love the train for writing, so I do it a few times a year.
- vvanders 9y agoI think that varies on a rail-by-rail basis. I was chatting on 2 meters the other day with someone who does transport with BNSF on the route this train runs and in that case at least freight yields to passenger trains.