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> 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
by 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.