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What I figured was Amtrak travelers were train enthusiasts or looking for a nostalgic scenic route. There are also some benefits such as less stress than an air

What I figured was Amtrak travelers were train enthusiasts or looking for a nostalgic scenic route. There are also some benefits such as less stress than an airport, being able to have a sleeper car, a dining car, more space, and panoramic cars as you go over mountains and through deserts (Western US).

sudosysgen 5y ago
Amtrak and trains in general are great if you can work remote. Being able to start working as soon as you get on the train if you have nothing better to do is amazing.
- someguydave 5y ago
  why not fly and get to your destination much faster and work remote from there?
  - sudosysgen 5y ago
    So I can spend an extra 2h at the airport? No thanks. The best of both worlds is obviously high speed rail.
tmh88j 5y ago
>What I figured was Amtrak travelers were train enthusiasts or looking for a nostalgic scenic route. I was genuinely surprised at all the comments here from people stating they like Amtrak, but that makes a lot of sense. After a dozen or so trips on trains around Europe I now loathe Amtrak and don't see myself ever taking another ride with them outside of extraordinary circumstances.
- vikingerik 5y ago
  I think most of the Amtrak likers here are comparing it to the plane travel experience, with all the hellish nonsense associated with that. It wins that comparison, even if it's mediocre for what the modern railway experience could be (not all of which is Amtrak's fault, as they don't own the rails.)
  - tmh88j 5y ago
    >I think most of the Amtrak likers here are comparing it to the plane travel experience, with all the hellish nonsense associated with that. It wins that comparison I disagree, Amtrak is worse in my opinion. It has all the downsides of air travel except for TSA, but takes 2x-3x as long for most trips and cross country turns into days of travel.
josephcsible 5y ago
It seems illogical to cite being able to have a sleeper car as a reason to take a train instead of a plane, when the plane would have you to your destination the same day before bedtime.
- abhiminator 5y ago
  It's also about saving a night's worth of hotel/accommodation money, especially if you happen to be a broke college student traveling across the country on a budget (like I was not too long ago). I absolutely love overnight 'sleeper car' train journeys.
  - josephcsible 5y ago
    > It's also about saving a night's worth of hotel/accommodation money How so? By flying, you can leave home a day or more later, and still get to your destination the same time. Train case: Monday morning, leave your house and get on a train. Monday night, sleep on the train. Tuesday evening, get off the train at your destination and check into a hotel. Plane case: Tuesday morning, leave your house and get on a plane. Tuesday evening, get off the plane at your destination and check into a hotel. Either way, the first night you're paying for a hotel is Tuesday night. And it's not like you save on rent money by leaving home a day early.
- ngokevin 5y ago
  Sometimes it's about the journey not the destination. Not everyone's in a rush.
ethbr0 5y ago
Didn't Amtrak effectively do away with dining cars? Unless we want to call microwaving "dining".
- dragonwriter 5y ago
  > Didn't Amtrak effectively do away with dining cars? No, though it suspended traditional dining for a while due to COVID; it was restored in June.
  - ethbr0 5y ago
    Neat! I was disappointed it'd been axed, as being less sensitive to amenity weight seemed a huge advantage of trains. https://www.trains.com/trn/news-reviews/news-wire/amtrak-plans-to-offer-dining-car-service-to-coach-passengers-return-traditional-meals-to-eastern-trains/ https://www.trains.com/trn/news-reviews/news-wire/amtrak-pla... It looks like it's back on West long haul routes since June, scheduled to be reintroduced to East TBD.

sudosysgen 5y ago

Amtrak and trains in general are great if you can work remote. Being able to start working as soon as you get on the train if you have nothing better to do is amazing.

someguydave 5y ago
why not fly and get to your destination much faster and work remote from there?
- sudosysgen 5y ago
  So I can spend an extra 2h at the airport? No thanks. The best of both worlds is obviously high speed rail.

tmh88j 5y ago

>What I figured was Amtrak travelers were train enthusiasts or looking for a nostalgic scenic route. I was genuinely surprised at all the comments here from people stating they like Amtrak, but that makes a lot of sense. After a dozen or so trips on trains around Europe I now loathe Amtrak and don't see myself ever taking another ride with them outside of extraordinary circumstances.

vikingerik 5y ago
I think most of the Amtrak likers here are comparing it to the plane travel experience, with all the hellish nonsense associated with that. It wins that comparison, even if it's mediocre for what the modern railway experience could be (not all of which is Amtrak's fault, as they don't own the rails.)
- tmh88j 5y ago
  >I think most of the Amtrak likers here are comparing it to the plane travel experience, with all the hellish nonsense associated with that. It wins that comparison I disagree, Amtrak is worse in my opinion. It has all the downsides of air travel except for TSA, but takes 2x-3x as long for most trips and cross country turns into days of travel.

josephcsible 5y ago

It seems illogical to cite being able to have a sleeper car as a reason to take a train instead of a plane, when the plane would have you to your destination the same day before bedtime.

abhiminator 5y ago
It's also about saving a night's worth of hotel/accommodation money, especially if you happen to be a broke college student traveling across the country on a budget (like I was not too long ago). I absolutely love overnight 'sleeper car' train journeys.
- josephcsible 5y ago
  > It's also about saving a night's worth of hotel/accommodation money How so? By flying, you can leave home a day or more later, and still get to your destination the same time. Train case: Monday morning, leave your house and get on a train. Monday night, sleep on the train. Tuesday evening, get off the train at your destination and check into a hotel. Plane case: Tuesday morning, leave your house and get on a plane. Tuesday evening, get off the plane at your destination and check into a hotel. Either way, the first night you're paying for a hotel is Tuesday night. And it's not like you save on rent money by leaving home a day early.
ngokevin 5y ago
Sometimes it's about the journey not the destination. Not everyone's in a rush.

ethbr0 5y ago

Didn't Amtrak effectively do away with dining cars? Unless we want to call microwaving "dining".

dragonwriter 5y ago
> Didn't Amtrak effectively do away with dining cars? No, though it suspended traditional dining for a while due to COVID; it was restored in June.
- ethbr0 5y ago
  Neat! I was disappointed it'd been axed, as being less sensitive to amenity weight seemed a huge advantage of trains. https://www.trains.com/trn/news-reviews/news-wire/amtrak-plans-to-offer-dining-car-service-to-coach-passengers-return-traditional-meals-to-eastern-trains/ https://www.trains.com/trn/news-reviews/news-wire/amtrak-pla... It looks like it's back on West long haul routes since June, scheduled to be reintroduced to East TBD.