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Not everyone optimizes for fast or cheap. Some prioritize comfort, or scenery, or not-being-in-an-airplane for whatever reason. Some really enjoy getting off a

Not everyone optimizes for fast or cheap. Some prioritize comfort, or scenery, or not-being-in-an-airplane for whatever reason. Some really enjoy getting off at one stop for a while, and getting on the next train and continuing the journey. Or just deciding that this place looks nice, and getting off here. Try that in an airplane... There's a growing niche of transoceanic travel by container-ship and bulk freighter, too. It's neither cheap nor fast, and that's the point. It's truly unplugged, where the journey is part of the destination. Throughout the entirety of human history except the last hundred years or so, long distance travel has been a borderline-boring activity. Maybe that's not such a bad thing -- our brains need some downtime to reflect and defrag. We're just starting to appreciate en masse that "monotonous" can be kissing-close to "meditative". Rail is part of that, and as people catch onto that, it's making a comeback.

peckrob 6y ago
Frankly, even as poor as our rail infrastructure is, there's still a lot to be said for train travel. A couple years my wife and I went Birmingham to New Orleans for $150 round trip on Amtrak. Airfare on the same route was $600, and I would have paid $150 in parking alone in downtown New Orleans. Moreover, the time difference between train, driving or flying was not all that different. The train was scheduled at seven hours, about the same as driving time with stops. And air travel would have been about the same once you factor in getting to the airport early, two flights with a layover in Atlanta, and getting from the airport to downtown. It’s also a whole heck of a lot more pleasant than flying. 50” of seat pitch, width of a first class seat, hot food, alcohol, plenty of room to walk around, interesting people to talk to, no needless security theater, no need to get to the station 30 minutes early, no need to worry about baggage fees or weights. Before the pandemic hit, we were planning on doing the Empire Builder from Chicago to Portland. For the three of us (me, wife, daughter) in a bedroom was $1100. Expensive, but factoring in transportation, room and food for 2.5 days for 3, it’s not a bad deal. And you get to sit back, watch the scenery, read, nap, etc. I mean yeah, if I need to travel across the country quickly, an airplane will always win. But airlines have seemingly gone out of their way over the last 20 years to make flying as miserable as possible to squeeze every cent out of customers. If I can afford to take some time and the train is an option, I will always choose the train based solely on it being less miserable than flying has become.
- 7thaccount 6y ago
  Was also researching a sleeper car for a family of 3 before the Pandemic. I've only been on a train once before besides work trips in DC (use the metro a bit), so it's a little out of the blue for me, but perhaps it could be making a comeback
- spc476 6y ago
  Six years ago, a friend of mine vacationed in a private rail car with his family. I got to ride in it for three hours [1], and just that trip spoiled me for all further travel. My friend never did say what it cost him. I suspect it was the price of a low-end car, but given that he had the car for over a week, and it came with dining and sleeping arrangements for 9 people (him, his family, in his laws, the chef and conductor) he doesn't regret it. [1] http://boston.conman.org/2015/08/05.4 http://boston.conman.org/2015/08/05.4
  - loonster 6y ago
    That looks like a lot of fun. >Typical pricing for a trip is along the lines of a high-end cruise. On average, the all-inclusive costs typically can run between $2,500 and $7,000 or more per car per day. But remember, a rail car may accommodate 6, 8, 10, 20 people or more. https://www.aaprco.com/travel/where-do-i-start/chartering-a-car-some-things-you-should-know/ https://www.aaprco.com/travel/where-do-i-start/chartering-a-... Still looks like a lot of fun, but 20k-56k for 8day trip... I can't do that.

peckrob 6y ago

Frankly, even as poor as our rail infrastructure is, there's still a lot to be said for train travel. A couple years my wife and I went Birmingham to New Orleans for $150 round trip on Amtrak. Airfare on the same route was $600, and I would have paid $150 in parking alone in downtown New Orleans. Moreover, the time difference between train, driving or flying was not all that different. The train was scheduled at seven hours, about the same as driving time with stops. And air travel would have been about the same once you factor in getting to the airport early, two flights with a layover in Atlanta, and getting from the airport to downtown. It’s also a whole heck of a lot more pleasant than flying. 50” of seat pitch, width of a first class seat, hot food, alcohol, plenty of room to walk around, interesting people to talk to, no needless security theater, no need to get to the station 30 minutes early, no need to worry about baggage fees or weights. Before the pandemic hit, we were planning on doing the Empire Builder from Chicago to Portland. For the three of us (me, wife, daughter) in a bedroom was $1100. Expensive, but factoring in transportation, room and food for 2.5 days for 3, it’s not a bad deal. And you get to sit back, watch the scenery, read, nap, etc. I mean yeah, if I need to travel across the country quickly, an airplane will always win. But airlines have seemingly gone out of their way over the last 20 years to make flying as miserable as possible to squeeze every cent out of customers. If I can afford to take some time and the train is an option, I will always choose the train based solely on it being less miserable than flying has become.

7thaccount 6y ago
Was also researching a sleeper car for a family of 3 before the Pandemic. I've only been on a train once before besides work trips in DC (use the metro a bit), so it's a little out of the blue for me, but perhaps it could be making a comeback
spc476 6y ago
Six years ago, a friend of mine vacationed in a private rail car with his family. I got to ride in it for three hours [1], and just that trip spoiled me for all further travel. My friend never did say what it cost him. I suspect it was the price of a low-end car, but given that he had the car for over a week, and it came with dining and sleeping arrangements for 9 people (him, his family, in his laws, the chef and conductor) he doesn't regret it. [1] http://boston.conman.org/2015/08/05.4 http://boston.conman.org/2015/08/05.4
- loonster 6y ago
  That looks like a lot of fun. >Typical pricing for a trip is along the lines of a high-end cruise. On average, the all-inclusive costs typically can run between $2,500 and $7,000 or more per car per day. But remember, a rail car may accommodate 6, 8, 10, 20 people or more. https://www.aaprco.com/travel/where-do-i-start/chartering-a-car-some-things-you-should-know/ https://www.aaprco.com/travel/where-do-i-start/chartering-a-... Still looks like a lot of fun, but 20k-56k for 8day trip... I can't do that.