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Im really surprised that there is no "Train Ferry" -- A train that one drives their car onto and takes the train across country/states and then disembarks with

Im really surprised that there is no "Train Ferry" -- A train that one drives their car onto and takes the train across country/states and then disembarks with their car... I used to take the train very often from sacramento to the bay area... It was clean, has wifi, quiet, power, drinks, food... It was a great commute - but the prices are still too high...

aww_dang 5y ago
https://www.amtrak.com/auto-train https://www.amtrak.com/auto-train
- samstave 5y ago
  Well Hot Damn!... this is definitely on track. The only problem that I have with Amtrak is their disconnect with modern pricing for value of service. Case in point being a train ride from say SF to Seattle is WAY more expensive than a flight, many times longer and other than no plane crash risks... what value is it for that price? I find it akin to the guy on a slow sunday morning drive on an impassable two-lane highway where his old restored 1938 ford only goes 45 mph and the speed limit is 65 and there are mad waitresses trying to make it to clock-in time and the old guy is oblivious to other's need to be to work on time... (this is a true story based on a close friend of mine who works at the French Laundry and is constantly thwarted by oblivious slow drivers)
  - aww_dang 5y ago
    It only makes sense if you value it based on other factors. Some of these items are more valuable to me than the cost. The time factors are difficult depending on your circumstances. 1) No TSA (at least when I last used it) 2) You can show up with a bicycle. They will provide a box and you pack it yourself. Your bicycle will not be molested. 3) You can get a private compartment and drink your own liquor 4) You like trains
    - macintux 5y ago
      About 8 years ago I was caught off guard by TSA running a checkpoint at the Amtrak station in Chicago. I don’t know whether that was a common occurrence at the time, and I haven’t ridden in years, but certainly in the moment I was not enthused by the potential encroachment.
      - jdavis703 5y ago
        They deploy VIPR teams to do this. I’ve seen it twice (once as passive screening, the other was active screening) in the last two decades. As a regular transit and Amtrak user, I’d say it’s fairly rare.
        macintux 5y ago
        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visible_Intermodal_Prevention_and_Response_team https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visible_Intermodal_Prevention_... for anyone else unfamiliar with that acronym.
  - jdavis703 5y ago
    There are two lane rural highways in Napa where the speed limit is 65 MPH? I’m going to need a source for that one.
    - tomc1985 5y ago
      Not Napa but I recall the 101 has some really high speed limits for some of the two-lane sections through Humboldt/Mendocino/Sonoma counties
  - cheschire 5y ago
    A buddy of mine recently moved from DC to Florida. He tested the auto-train once, with his family of 7 and a car and the total cost was $1800. After COVID, it now costs double that. Now he just drives the 12 hours using a diesel pickup truck. So they weren't always so disconnected from modern pricing, but I don't think the effects of COVID have fully played out across all the transportation options yet to know what 2021+ prices should look like.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
TulliusCicero 5y ago
The amount of storage space you'd need for each car would likely make this too expensive for all but a handful of people.
- R0b0t1 5y ago
  No, this exists between DC and Orlando on Amtrack. I considered contacting Amtrack to charter a car train to my location to another. They'll probably do it for enough money and it's not that much money. What you need to know to argue is, say, they're not losing all of the berths on a vehicle transport car if you want to move one car. They're having you pay the upkeep for that one trip which is not the same as the fully loaded vehicle car.
- tomc1985 5y ago
  They do it with the Eurotunnel, though I can't remember if I saw anything but trucks and busses on it
  - ErikCorry 5y ago
    Cars too. These are pretty big trains though, don't fit through normal bridges. The auto trains that go across Europe are much narrower and take a lot longer to load and unload. They are pretty expensive and only used for very long distances. Most of the time it makes more sense to rent a car at your destination.
    - sofixa 5y ago
      > These are pretty big trains though, don't fit through normal bridges Normal bridgdes where? They fit perfectly fine on the French loading gauge (max train dimensions), but the British one is much smaller on most lines.
  - c_hackett 5y ago
    With Eurotunnel Shuttle services you drive on with a road vehicle, remain with the vehicle for the transit and then drive off at the other terminal. Europorte runs freight operations through the tunnel. Finally Eurostar is the pure passenger service running the likes of London to Paris.
microtherion 5y ago
That exists in Switzerland for a number of tunnels, but passengers stay in their cars, which is presumably not what you had in mind: https://www.bls.ch/en/fahren/unterwegs-mit/autoverlad https://www.bls.ch/en/fahren/unterwegs-mit/autoverlad
c_hackett 5y ago
Motorail operated in the UK 1966 to 1995. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorail_(British_Rail) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorail_(British_Rail)

aww_dang 5y ago

https://www.amtrak.com/auto-train https://www.amtrak.com/auto-train

samstave 5y ago
Well Hot Damn!... this is definitely on track. The only problem that I have with Amtrak is their disconnect with modern pricing for value of service. Case in point being a train ride from say SF to Seattle is WAY more expensive than a flight, many times longer and other than no plane crash risks... what value is it for that price? I find it akin to the guy on a slow sunday morning drive on an impassable two-lane highway where his old restored 1938 ford only goes 45 mph and the speed limit is 65 and there are mad waitresses trying to make it to clock-in time and the old guy is oblivious to other's need to be to work on time... (this is a true story based on a close friend of mine who works at the French Laundry and is constantly thwarted by oblivious slow drivers)
- aww_dang 5y ago
  It only makes sense if you value it based on other factors. Some of these items are more valuable to me than the cost. The time factors are difficult depending on your circumstances. 1) No TSA (at least when I last used it) 2) You can show up with a bicycle. They will provide a box and you pack it yourself. Your bicycle will not be molested. 3) You can get a private compartment and drink your own liquor 4) You like trains
  - macintux 5y ago
    About 8 years ago I was caught off guard by TSA running a checkpoint at the Amtrak station in Chicago. I don’t know whether that was a common occurrence at the time, and I haven’t ridden in years, but certainly in the moment I was not enthused by the potential encroachment.
    - jdavis703 5y ago
      They deploy VIPR teams to do this. I’ve seen it twice (once as passive screening, the other was active screening) in the last two decades. As a regular transit and Amtrak user, I’d say it’s fairly rare.
      - macintux 5y ago
        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visible_Intermodal_Prevention_and_Response_team https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visible_Intermodal_Prevention_... for anyone else unfamiliar with that acronym.
- jdavis703 5y ago
  There are two lane rural highways in Napa where the speed limit is 65 MPH? I’m going to need a source for that one.
  - tomc1985 5y ago
    Not Napa but I recall the 101 has some really high speed limits for some of the two-lane sections through Humboldt/Mendocino/Sonoma counties
- cheschire 5y ago
  A buddy of mine recently moved from DC to Florida. He tested the auto-train once, with his family of 7 and a car and the total cost was $1800. After COVID, it now costs double that. Now he just drives the 12 hours using a diesel pickup truck. So they weren't always so disconnected from modern pricing, but I don't think the effects of COVID have fully played out across all the transportation options yet to know what 2021+ prices should look like.

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

TulliusCicero 5y ago

The amount of storage space you'd need for each car would likely make this too expensive for all but a handful of people.

R0b0t1 5y ago
No, this exists between DC and Orlando on Amtrack. I considered contacting Amtrack to charter a car train to my location to another. They'll probably do it for enough money and it's not that much money. What you need to know to argue is, say, they're not losing all of the berths on a vehicle transport car if you want to move one car. They're having you pay the upkeep for that one trip which is not the same as the fully loaded vehicle car.
tomc1985 5y ago
They do it with the Eurotunnel, though I can't remember if I saw anything but trucks and busses on it
- ErikCorry 5y ago
  Cars too. These are pretty big trains though, don't fit through normal bridges. The auto trains that go across Europe are much narrower and take a lot longer to load and unload. They are pretty expensive and only used for very long distances. Most of the time it makes more sense to rent a car at your destination.
  - sofixa 5y ago
    > These are pretty big trains though, don't fit through normal bridges Normal bridgdes where? They fit perfectly fine on the French loading gauge (max train dimensions), but the British one is much smaller on most lines.
- c_hackett 5y ago
  With Eurotunnel Shuttle services you drive on with a road vehicle, remain with the vehicle for the transit and then drive off at the other terminal. Europorte runs freight operations through the tunnel. Finally Eurostar is the pure passenger service running the likes of London to Paris.

microtherion 5y ago

That exists in Switzerland for a number of tunnels, but passengers stay in their cars, which is presumably not what you had in mind: https://www.bls.ch/en/fahren/unterwegs-mit/autoverlad https://www.bls.ch/en/fahren/unterwegs-mit/autoverlad

c_hackett 5y ago

Motorail operated in the UK 1966 to 1995. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorail_(British_Rail) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorail_(British_Rail)