4 ms·

This is really cool and a great promotional idea for Amtrak. There used to be a universally romantic notion about long-distance travel by trains that I'm sure A

by imjk 13y ago

This is really cool and a great promotional idea for Amtrak. There used to be a universally romantic notion about long-distance travel by trains that I'm sure Amtrak is trying to bring back to the forefront of Americans' minds. Check out this article by a freelance writer about her cross country trip by rail: http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/travel/riding-an-amtrak-train-cross-country-a-unique-view-of-america/2012/02/21/gIQAebSjmR_story.html http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/travel/riding-an-amt.... I'm sure that's the type of promotion that they're looking for.

chaz 13y ago
Related, wrt to romanticization of long rail journeys -- NPR reporter traveled from Moscow to Vladivostok: http://www.npr.org/blogs/pictureshow/143016679/russia-by-rail http://www.npr.org/blogs/pictureshow/143016679/russia-by-rai... Also, this guy documented his trip from Vienna to Pyongyang, North Korea: http://vienna-pyongyang.blogspot.com/ http://vienna-pyongyang.blogspot.com/
- mjklin 13y ago
  I traveled from Beijing to Moscow on the trans-Siberian train. It took five days. One tip: if you're thinking of making the journey, bring a small hose with you so you can hook it onto the sink and have a little shower. Also, there are companies that will arrange home stays if you want to get off in Yekaterinburg or a few other towns and kick around for a bit.
  - tomh 13y ago
    In the early 90s, I traveled from St Petersburg, Russia to London's Victoria Station. I'm pretty sure the route does not exist any more, as it involved going through all the Baltics, Poland, Berlin, and eventually the Oostende-Dover ferry and on to London. All in all, it took about three days (including a 12-hour layover in Berlin).
- imjk 13y ago
  One of my fondest memories from high school was an overnight train ride we took from somewhere in Italy to Paris during a spring break study abroad program. The majority of the rail workers had gone on strike and the only people left working the trains were the drivers. The rumors were that gypsies had taken over the trains and that they were now unsafe for normal customers. Being a large group of high schoolers in a foreign country trying to stick to a tight schedule, we didn't have much choice than to take the train or else have to deal with a logistical nightmare. When we got on, the train was deserted, and we had free reign to do whatever we wanted. That type of freedom was rare and pretty thrilling to a high school freshman.
  - yaddayadda 13y ago
    One of my favorite New Year's Eve parties was on an Amtrack over a decade ago. I was headed back up to college and because of my schedule had to overnight it on a Northboand Amtrack on New Year's Eve. I'm not sure if it was because it was New Year's Eve, or a particularly long route, or just a special train, but it's the only time I ever remember seeing a liquor bar on an Amtrak (the entire bar was smaller than any closet in my house). I had brought my own liquor, and did my best to keep it out of sight. Several hours before midnight, the coach I was in started morphing. Normally people didn't really talk to each other. That night, seatmates started talking, impromptu cardgames were started, I was certainly not the only one with hidden alcohol, and the bar was providing plenty for those without. By midnight the car I was in, and the adjacent car with the bar, were in full party mode. It was simultaneously one of the most surreal and awesome trips I have ever taken. --- As for the Amtrak writer program - very cool. As a young serviceman, I would frequently catch a Friday night Amtrack away from the military town I was stationed in, picking a random location that I could spend Saturday in, and then ride back Sunday afternoon. I didn't write about or photograph my travels (wish I had), but I can't image a writer worth their salt not being inspired by the scenery, events, or people met on such random jaunts.
stevenwei 13y ago
I had a bunch of Amtrak points sitting around that I recently redeemed for a bedroom sleeper trip between Seattle and Chicago. It was an interesting experience but not one that I would repeat. It is by no means a smooth ride, and even with the bedroom I found it quite difficult to get any sleep. Between the horn constantly going off, the bumpiness of the tracks, and the hourly stops/starts, I basically ended up staying awake for 2 days straight. While I was initially able to get some work done during the trip, after the first night I was way too sleep deprived to be able to continue programming. But then again, I am a light sleeper, and I have trouble falling asleep on planes too.
- marquis 13y ago
  I can sleep on a park bench that is on a non-stop roller-coaster (planes are a breeze) so for me sleeper trains are a delight, but I haven't take one in over 10 years since European flights got cheaper that trains. I do miss those long train rides across Europe, where you would meet people easily in the restaurant car. Amtrak I've never tried as I've never had the time nor inclination for train travel when in the U.S.
  - bane 13y ago
    Trains in Europe are a pleasure compared to most of the U.S. system. I'm not sure if it's because Amtrak shares track with cargo trains or what, but the ride is pretty bumpy, noisy and much beyond a few hours not worth it with nothing to do and noway to sleep. I've done 20+ hour trips twice on Amtrak and I'll never do it again. I can see doing maybe a D.C. to NYC trip, but the economics of such a trip don't really work out for me over a plane even if door to door the train is only slightly slower (in fact I actually like the drive better).
    - AaronIG 13y ago
      Higher freight traffic in the U.S. has partially something to do with it. Buffering strengths here require that a passenger train be able to withstand 800,000 pounds of force without deformation, leading to trains that are nearly twice as heavy (and thus slower) than trains in other parts of the world. Europe, on the other hand, doesn't have quite as stringent requirements, and instead of requiring rigid frames they mandate crumple zones, which are arguably just as safe. MetroLink in SoCal has started employing something similar on their cars. To give an idea just how big freight traffic is in the U.S., freight by rail is something like 1.7 trillion ton-mile (39.9% of freight by ton-mile). The total across all modes in the EU is 1.4 trillion ton-mile, of which rail makes up 17%, so only about an eighth of the U.S. in freight. This has led to fairly different rail systems.
_pmf_ 13y ago
> This is really cool and a great promotional idea for Amtrak. Yes. But what would make traveling by train more attractive for regular people is making trains smell less like a cesspit of urine and vomit. But sending a bunch of hipster writers on a PR tour is probably a bit cheaper.
- Crito 13y ago
  Have you ridden on Amtrak trains before? In my experience riding Amtrak trains all around the Northeast Corridor I've never seen their trains smell like urine or vomit. The experience is less like city subways, regional rail, or buses, and more like what you would expect from airplanes (although with more space and without the seatbelts). The primary problem with Amtrak is that they rarely compete with air travel in terms of price/speed. I prefer them to air travel anyway though because I rarely care about speed and the (effective) absence of the TSA more than makes up for it. (Also last-minute (literally, purchased minutes before departure) Amtrak tickets are more affordable than last minute plane tickets.) I think that romanticising train travel is a good approach to attacking their speed disadvantage (though I think that working on reducing fares and increasing coverage are also essential).
  - tptacek 13y ago
    Those fares are already subsidized by the government; reducing them seems unlikely.
    - Crito 13y ago
      Yes, it isn't obvious how it could be done. It would certainly require some sort of innovative solution.
  - rayiner 13y ago
    > The experience is less like city subways, regional rail, or buses, and more like what you would expect from airplanes (although with more space and without the seatbelts). The NRE is more like what flying business class used to be 15 years ago. Plenty of space, clean, relaxing lighting, a snack bar, etc. Most airplanes these days are filthy (they scrimp on cleaning between flights), don't run air conditioning enough on hot days, not to mention cramped.

by imjk 13y ago

chaz 13y ago

Related, wrt to romanticization of long rail journeys -- NPR reporter traveled from Moscow to Vladivostok: http://www.npr.org/blogs/pictureshow/143016679/russia-by-rail http://www.npr.org/blogs/pictureshow/143016679/russia-by-rai... Also, this guy documented his trip from Vienna to Pyongyang, North Korea: http://vienna-pyongyang.blogspot.com/ http://vienna-pyongyang.blogspot.com/

mjklin 13y ago
I traveled from Beijing to Moscow on the trans-Siberian train. It took five days. One tip: if you're thinking of making the journey, bring a small hose with you so you can hook it onto the sink and have a little shower. Also, there are companies that will arrange home stays if you want to get off in Yekaterinburg or a few other towns and kick around for a bit.
- tomh 13y ago
  In the early 90s, I traveled from St Petersburg, Russia to London's Victoria Station. I'm pretty sure the route does not exist any more, as it involved going through all the Baltics, Poland, Berlin, and eventually the Oostende-Dover ferry and on to London. All in all, it took about three days (including a 12-hour layover in Berlin).
imjk 13y ago
One of my fondest memories from high school was an overnight train ride we took from somewhere in Italy to Paris during a spring break study abroad program. The majority of the rail workers had gone on strike and the only people left working the trains were the drivers. The rumors were that gypsies had taken over the trains and that they were now unsafe for normal customers. Being a large group of high schoolers in a foreign country trying to stick to a tight schedule, we didn't have much choice than to take the train or else have to deal with a logistical nightmare. When we got on, the train was deserted, and we had free reign to do whatever we wanted. That type of freedom was rare and pretty thrilling to a high school freshman.
- yaddayadda 13y ago
  One of my favorite New Year's Eve parties was on an Amtrack over a decade ago. I was headed back up to college and because of my schedule had to overnight it on a Northboand Amtrack on New Year's Eve. I'm not sure if it was because it was New Year's Eve, or a particularly long route, or just a special train, but it's the only time I ever remember seeing a liquor bar on an Amtrak (the entire bar was smaller than any closet in my house). I had brought my own liquor, and did my best to keep it out of sight. Several hours before midnight, the coach I was in started morphing. Normally people didn't really talk to each other. That night, seatmates started talking, impromptu cardgames were started, I was certainly not the only one with hidden alcohol, and the bar was providing plenty for those without. By midnight the car I was in, and the adjacent car with the bar, were in full party mode. It was simultaneously one of the most surreal and awesome trips I have ever taken. --- As for the Amtrak writer program - very cool. As a young serviceman, I would frequently catch a Friday night Amtrack away from the military town I was stationed in, picking a random location that I could spend Saturday in, and then ride back Sunday afternoon. I didn't write about or photograph my travels (wish I had), but I can't image a writer worth their salt not being inspired by the scenery, events, or people met on such random jaunts.

stevenwei 13y ago

I had a bunch of Amtrak points sitting around that I recently redeemed for a bedroom sleeper trip between Seattle and Chicago. It was an interesting experience but not one that I would repeat. It is by no means a smooth ride, and even with the bedroom I found it quite difficult to get any sleep. Between the horn constantly going off, the bumpiness of the tracks, and the hourly stops/starts, I basically ended up staying awake for 2 days straight. While I was initially able to get some work done during the trip, after the first night I was way too sleep deprived to be able to continue programming. But then again, I am a light sleeper, and I have trouble falling asleep on planes too.

marquis 13y ago
I can sleep on a park bench that is on a non-stop roller-coaster (planes are a breeze) so for me sleeper trains are a delight, but I haven't take one in over 10 years since European flights got cheaper that trains. I do miss those long train rides across Europe, where you would meet people easily in the restaurant car. Amtrak I've never tried as I've never had the time nor inclination for train travel when in the U.S.
- bane 13y ago
  Trains in Europe are a pleasure compared to most of the U.S. system. I'm not sure if it's because Amtrak shares track with cargo trains or what, but the ride is pretty bumpy, noisy and much beyond a few hours not worth it with nothing to do and noway to sleep. I've done 20+ hour trips twice on Amtrak and I'll never do it again. I can see doing maybe a D.C. to NYC trip, but the economics of such a trip don't really work out for me over a plane even if door to door the train is only slightly slower (in fact I actually like the drive better).
  - AaronIG 13y ago
    Higher freight traffic in the U.S. has partially something to do with it. Buffering strengths here require that a passenger train be able to withstand 800,000 pounds of force without deformation, leading to trains that are nearly twice as heavy (and thus slower) than trains in other parts of the world. Europe, on the other hand, doesn't have quite as stringent requirements, and instead of requiring rigid frames they mandate crumple zones, which are arguably just as safe. MetroLink in SoCal has started employing something similar on their cars. To give an idea just how big freight traffic is in the U.S., freight by rail is something like 1.7 trillion ton-mile (39.9% of freight by ton-mile). The total across all modes in the EU is 1.4 trillion ton-mile, of which rail makes up 17%, so only about an eighth of the U.S. in freight. This has led to fairly different rail systems.

_pmf_ 13y ago

> This is really cool and a great promotional idea for Amtrak. Yes. But what would make traveling by train more attractive for regular people is making trains smell less like a cesspit of urine and vomit. But sending a bunch of hipster writers on a PR tour is probably a bit cheaper.

Crito 13y ago
Have you ridden on Amtrak trains before? In my experience riding Amtrak trains all around the Northeast Corridor I've never seen their trains smell like urine or vomit. The experience is less like city subways, regional rail, or buses, and more like what you would expect from airplanes (although with more space and without the seatbelts). The primary problem with Amtrak is that they rarely compete with air travel in terms of price/speed. I prefer them to air travel anyway though because I rarely care about speed and the (effective) absence of the TSA more than makes up for it. (Also last-minute (literally, purchased minutes before departure) Amtrak tickets are more affordable than last minute plane tickets.) I think that romanticising train travel is a good approach to attacking their speed disadvantage (though I think that working on reducing fares and increasing coverage are also essential).
- tptacek 13y ago
  Those fares are already subsidized by the government; reducing them seems unlikely.
  - Crito 13y ago
    Yes, it isn't obvious how it could be done. It would certainly require some sort of innovative solution.
- rayiner 13y ago
  > The experience is less like city subways, regional rail, or buses, and more like what you would expect from airplanes (although with more space and without the seatbelts). The NRE is more like what flying business class used to be 15 years ago. Plenty of space, clean, relaxing lighting, a snack bar, etc. Most airplanes these days are filthy (they scrimp on cleaning between flights), don't run air conditioning enough on hot days, not to mention cramped.