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> Do you want more Amtraks? That gave me a good belly laugh. In the metrics I care about, Amtrak could be seen to represent the government at their best. The

> Do you want more Amtraks? That gave me a good belly laugh. In the metrics I care about, Amtrak could be seen to represent the government at their best. The trains run on time, are more comfortable than flying, and often cheaper too. The dining cars are surprisingly good (snack cars are lackluster though), and I've found every Amtrak employee I've ever dealt with to be a kind and courteous professional. And they look after their customers in other respects too, such as chasing away the notorious serial-gropists known as the TSA. Amtrak treats regular people like humanely in a way that contrasts sharply with how American airlines behave. From my perspective the primary problem with Amtrak is disappointing coverage of the country, so yes I want more Amtraks! (Incidentally, my experience with them is more limited, but I found the workers of the Alaska Marine Highway, a ferry service operated by the state of Alaska, to be similarly pleasant people. So maybe there is a trend here..)

rayiner 7y ago
> The trains run on time Amtrak has abysmal reliability, even on the Northeast Corridor (which is Amtrak-owned and doesn't share traffic with freight lines). On-time performance on the northeast corridor is just 75% https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2014/07/10/the-sorry-state-of-amtraks-on-time-performance-mapped https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2014/07/10/the-s.... Many scheduled flights along that route (e.g. DCA to JFK or LGA) have 90% on-time performance. And of course, trains aren't supposed to have airline-like delays. One of the key selling points of trains is that they don't have to deal with airport congestion, late arriving equipment, etc., and so relatively short intercity trips are predictable and hassle-free. (Unlike Amtrak.) My wife and I rode Amtrak twice a day for two years between DC and Delaware. It was a nightmare. Routinely delayed trains, cancelled trains at least once a month, etc. No private business would survive operating like that. It's also odd that you'd cite TSA as a bad thing. TSA is, of course, what happened when the government nationalized airport security, taking it away from the private security forces airlines previously used.
- liability 7y ago
  To be clear I don't blame airlines for the TSA, but I certainly credit Amtrak with keeping them at a distance. If you had opened with criticism of the TSA, not Amtrak, then I would have upvoted you. As for the rest, I'd rather be a little late than be treated like shit. The Amtrak delays I've encountered have all been less than an hour, compared to numerous incidents of multi-day delays when flying (I'll never do business with Delta again under any circumstances. Being stuck in Atlanta for two days is pretty bad, but the shear malicious joy their employees were expressing at the situation was as bad as any stereotypical DMV encounter.) A few hours of delay isn't such a problem, but some Americans seem to enjoy being in a perpetual state of hurry... I can't help but wonder if such impatience is somehow related to the general surliness of airline employees, relative to Amtrak and the Alaska ferry. The last ferry I was on got delayed for several hours one morning after responding to a mayday and being kept on the scene by Canadian Coast Guard during the search. The crew was unnecessarily apologetic while nearly all the passengers were, if anything, a bit proud or appreciative. I shudder to think of what such a delay on a plane would look like, with the sort of personalities that would likely be involved...
- CPLX 7y ago
  Good story I guess. I've commuted up and down the NE corridor for 25 years on Amtrak and airline shuttles and there's just no comparison whatsoever. Amtrak is leaps and bounds more reliable, cost effective, and pleasant than any airline competition I've found. Most New Yorkers I know agree for DC/Boston trips. Perhaps your experience is a little atypical.
- sct202 7y ago
  A lot of airlines seem to pad their arrival times tho, so it might not be an apples to apples comparison. Like a week ago I sat on a plane that was stuck on the tarmac for an hour, and we still arrived on time at the destination after a couple hours in the air.
- smolder 7y ago
  TSA was only in small part a nationalization of existing airport security. Private airport security pre-TSA only did a fraction of what the TSA does now. They don't have the same purpose either... I'd say the TSA exists to expand authority of the federal government as much as it exists to protect travelers or secure air travel infrastructure.
logfromblammo 7y ago
> The trains run on time, .... I'll see your belly laugh, and raise you hysterical laughter, rapidly increasing in intensity until I pass out. The last time I rode Amtrak, from Denver to Chicago, I spent a 24-hour delay waiting on a siding in the middle of the Great Plains. A train filled with passengers motionless for a complete day as cargo train after cargo train just whoosh by. I once worked out that a internationally-competitive professional cyclist could have beaten me home, even taking a full 8 hours of sleep somewhere along the route. Slow and steady, but with right-of-way, wins the race. The previous instance of riding Amtrak, from Indianapolis to Chicago to catch some touristy activities, and then back again the same day, gave the party just enough time to arrive, take a deep breath, and immediately board the return train, which was also late getting back. The Amtrak customer-facing employees seem courteous and satisfied, but the ones in the corporate offices, setting the timetables, must be completely delusional. I have never once been on an Amtrak train that left on time, or arrived on time. Never. And I likely never will be, since I have stopped giving them the opportunity to disappoint me.
- liability 7y ago
  A 24 hour delay on a train is still significantly more comfortable than a delay in an airport, or worse, on a plane. I'd sooner spend a day in a train than an hour on the tarmac in a plane; the train is that much more comfortable. Let alone the multi-day delays I've experienced when flying... (And better to sleep on a train than whatever bedbug infested shitbox of a hotel the airline offers you a stay in during your delay... Airlines are up there with Comcast when it comes to customer service.)
- WorldMaker 7y ago
  > A train filled with passengers motionless for a complete day as cargo train after cargo train just whoosh by. It's way past time America stopped prioritizing cargo over people. We sold almost all our rails to cargo companies for cheap, and now have almost no passenger travel left. It's an unbelievable farce.
  - rayiner 7y ago
    "Sold?" Those rails were built by those companies.
asah 7y ago
+1 to this. Amtrak Northeast Corridor is amazing and the proof is how it competes just fine with airplanes and auto. I wish the food were better. I can't wait for LEO internet (e.g. SpaceX) to fix the WiFi which drops off in cellular deadzones (along with my tethered cellphone). The delays are mostly structural: Amtrak is required to share the tracks with unscheduled cargo. I budget an extra hour and I'm fine. The same cannot be said for airplanes. It's like conflating TSA gropings with airline (de)regulation. The rest of Amtrak is wonderful: website / e-ticketing / free changes / frequent traveler program, communication, seats, power outlets, etc. All this would get replaced by toll booths carefully metering out every convenience until your knees are in your chest.
- rayiner 7y ago
  > The delays are mostly structural: Amtrak is required to share the tracks with unscheduled cargo. I budget an extra hour and I'm fine. The same cannot be said for airplanes. It's like conflating TSA gropings with airline (de)regulation. Absolutely not true on the NEC. It's dedicated track and the delays are due to operational mismanagement and failing infrastructure.

rayiner 7y ago

> The trains run on time Amtrak has abysmal reliability, even on the Northeast Corridor (which is Amtrak-owned and doesn't share traffic with freight lines). On-time performance on the northeast corridor is just 75% https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2014/07/10/the-sorry-state-of-amtraks-on-time-performance-mapped https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2014/07/10/the-s.... Many scheduled flights along that route (e.g. DCA to JFK or LGA) have 90% on-time performance. And of course, trains aren't supposed to have airline-like delays. One of the key selling points of trains is that they don't have to deal with airport congestion, late arriving equipment, etc., and so relatively short intercity trips are predictable and hassle-free. (Unlike Amtrak.) My wife and I rode Amtrak twice a day for two years between DC and Delaware. It was a nightmare. Routinely delayed trains, cancelled trains at least once a month, etc. No private business would survive operating like that. It's also odd that you'd cite TSA as a bad thing. TSA is, of course, what happened when the government nationalized airport security, taking it away from the private security forces airlines previously used.

liability 7y ago
To be clear I don't blame airlines for the TSA, but I certainly credit Amtrak with keeping them at a distance. If you had opened with criticism of the TSA, not Amtrak, then I would have upvoted you. As for the rest, I'd rather be a little late than be treated like shit. The Amtrak delays I've encountered have all been less than an hour, compared to numerous incidents of multi-day delays when flying (I'll never do business with Delta again under any circumstances. Being stuck in Atlanta for two days is pretty bad, but the shear malicious joy their employees were expressing at the situation was as bad as any stereotypical DMV encounter.) A few hours of delay isn't such a problem, but some Americans seem to enjoy being in a perpetual state of hurry... I can't help but wonder if such impatience is somehow related to the general surliness of airline employees, relative to Amtrak and the Alaska ferry. The last ferry I was on got delayed for several hours one morning after responding to a mayday and being kept on the scene by Canadian Coast Guard during the search. The crew was unnecessarily apologetic while nearly all the passengers were, if anything, a bit proud or appreciative. I shudder to think of what such a delay on a plane would look like, with the sort of personalities that would likely be involved...
CPLX 7y ago
Good story I guess. I've commuted up and down the NE corridor for 25 years on Amtrak and airline shuttles and there's just no comparison whatsoever. Amtrak is leaps and bounds more reliable, cost effective, and pleasant than any airline competition I've found. Most New Yorkers I know agree for DC/Boston trips. Perhaps your experience is a little atypical.
sct202 7y ago
A lot of airlines seem to pad their arrival times tho, so it might not be an apples to apples comparison. Like a week ago I sat on a plane that was stuck on the tarmac for an hour, and we still arrived on time at the destination after a couple hours in the air.
smolder 7y ago
TSA was only in small part a nationalization of existing airport security. Private airport security pre-TSA only did a fraction of what the TSA does now. They don't have the same purpose either... I'd say the TSA exists to expand authority of the federal government as much as it exists to protect travelers or secure air travel infrastructure.

logfromblammo 7y ago

> The trains run on time, .... I'll see your belly laugh, and raise you hysterical laughter, rapidly increasing in intensity until I pass out. The last time I rode Amtrak, from Denver to Chicago, I spent a 24-hour delay waiting on a siding in the middle of the Great Plains. A train filled with passengers motionless for a complete day as cargo train after cargo train just whoosh by. I once worked out that a internationally-competitive professional cyclist could have beaten me home, even taking a full 8 hours of sleep somewhere along the route. Slow and steady, but with right-of-way, wins the race. The previous instance of riding Amtrak, from Indianapolis to Chicago to catch some touristy activities, and then back again the same day, gave the party just enough time to arrive, take a deep breath, and immediately board the return train, which was also late getting back. The Amtrak customer-facing employees seem courteous and satisfied, but the ones in the corporate offices, setting the timetables, must be completely delusional. I have never once been on an Amtrak train that left on time, or arrived on time. Never. And I likely never will be, since I have stopped giving them the opportunity to disappoint me.

liability 7y ago
A 24 hour delay on a train is still significantly more comfortable than a delay in an airport, or worse, on a plane. I'd sooner spend a day in a train than an hour on the tarmac in a plane; the train is that much more comfortable. Let alone the multi-day delays I've experienced when flying... (And better to sleep on a train than whatever bedbug infested shitbox of a hotel the airline offers you a stay in during your delay... Airlines are up there with Comcast when it comes to customer service.)
WorldMaker 7y ago
> A train filled with passengers motionless for a complete day as cargo train after cargo train just whoosh by. It's way past time America stopped prioritizing cargo over people. We sold almost all our rails to cargo companies for cheap, and now have almost no passenger travel left. It's an unbelievable farce.
- rayiner 7y ago
  "Sold?" Those rails were built by those companies.

asah 7y ago

+1 to this. Amtrak Northeast Corridor is amazing and the proof is how it competes just fine with airplanes and auto. I wish the food were better. I can't wait for LEO internet (e.g. SpaceX) to fix the WiFi which drops off in cellular deadzones (along with my tethered cellphone). The delays are mostly structural: Amtrak is required to share the tracks with unscheduled cargo. I budget an extra hour and I'm fine. The same cannot be said for airplanes. It's like conflating TSA gropings with airline (de)regulation. The rest of Amtrak is wonderful: website / e-ticketing / free changes / frequent traveler program, communication, seats, power outlets, etc. All this would get replaced by toll booths carefully metering out every convenience until your knees are in your chest.

rayiner 7y ago
> The delays are mostly structural: Amtrak is required to share the tracks with unscheduled cargo. I budget an extra hour and I'm fine. The same cannot be said for airplanes. It's like conflating TSA gropings with airline (de)regulation. Absolutely not true on the NEC. It's dedicated track and the delays are due to operational mismanagement and failing infrastructure.