13 ms·

> 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

by _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.
27182818284 13y ago
Are you thinking subway or? The train experience I had was amazing. More legroom than I knew what to do with and when I got bored I could go to the dining car, observation car, and I think there was a bar car, but I was too young to drink at the time. AND THIS WAS IN THE US! I've heard wonderful things about trains elsewhere so I can only imagine.
pivo 13y ago
I travel by train (Amtrak) often, at least twice a month, and I've never experienced the conditions you've mentioned.
- rtkwe 13y ago
  I have, on the only time I've used Amtrak. It was from Raleigh to Charlotte NC. The train bathroom smelled horrendous, it wasn't confined to the bathroom either, and we had to stop and wait for 2+ hours for the rails to cool when a really heavy freight train had passed before.

by _pmf_ 13y ago

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.

27182818284 13y ago

Are you thinking subway or? The train experience I had was amazing. More legroom than I knew what to do with and when I got bored I could go to the dining car, observation car, and I think there was a bar car, but I was too young to drink at the time. AND THIS WAS IN THE US! I've heard wonderful things about trains elsewhere so I can only imagine.

pivo 13y ago

I travel by train (Amtrak) often, at least twice a month, and I've never experienced the conditions you've mentioned.

rtkwe 13y ago
I have, on the only time I've used Amtrak. It was from Raleigh to Charlotte NC. The train bathroom smelled horrendous, it wasn't confined to the bathroom either, and we had to stop and wait for 2+ hours for the rails to cool when a really heavy freight train had passed before.