My daughter and son take the train home from University. Aside from somebody driving them (usually me or wife) it is the only option. Same train that I took 30 years ago. Still slow and almost never on time. An quite infrequent service. But compared to most of Canada we are lucky to have it.

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They constantly try to escape from the darkness outside and within
Dreaming of systems so perfect that no one will need to be good T.S. Eliot

Haven’t owned an auto in 5 years. Nothing beats relaxing on the train on the way home after skiing...




Sometimes it’s a pain in the Arsch:

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"Your Attitude Determines Your Altitude."

I like trains. I take metra into Chicago several times per year. It takes a bit longer than driving, usually.
When I lived in Milwaukee, I took Amtrak to Chicago a few times for work. Not having to park, or deal with traffic is nice.
Other times, I've taken trains in Austria, Hungary, England, Japan, Peru. All good experiences. I'd like to take the trans Siberian route someday.
I've looked at Amtrak from Chicago to West coast, but airfare is usually less and more convenient than getting a sleeper cabin.


Between to convenience of city center to city center travel, vs an airplane where you have to taxi/train/uber to get to the city.

I used to take a train from Manassas, VA to DC when I was working there. I stopped after a few weeks because it was slower and more expensive than the bus that picked people up from the train station parking lot. The train would drop people off at a DC Metro station and I would then have to ride that to the Navy Yard station and then walk 5-6 blocks to the Navy Yard gate, adding time and expenses. The bus dropped me off at the Navy Yard gate and picked me up at the same location.

Later on I would drive from Manassas to the I-95 corridor and catch the bus there which was faster than catching the bus in Manassas, and I was able to avoid much of the traffic that the area is noted for. I checked on the train from that area just south of Ft. Belvoir and it was also slower and more expensive that the bus from that location.

Where I live now there is no train nor need for one, I commute to work and home in 15-20 minutes unless there is a wreck on that route. If that happens, there are several surface street routes available that might add 15 minutes to that time. I also don't have any freeways to drive on, so I don't normally see any semi trucks. That is a good thing; they seem to be flipping over a lot more these days, blocking traffic and making a mess for traffic!

So other than myself, and VC, seems like most folks like the train-commuting option. When I worked in NYC and I would get the surprised-you-drive-to-work reaction, I would respond with a hearty recommendation that they commute by train... always. After all, one less car on the road works to my benefit :-)

I take the light rail every day into Denver. About 20 miles. It stops a lot and takes about 45 mins which is the same if I drive. We expense the pass through work but if I had to pay for the pass, I would drive. Seating isn't very well thought out but it's fairly clean and mostly workers or students. Traffic sucks on I25 so it's a trade off. If they had an express, it would be a no brainer.

Took the train from South Chicago burb downtown every day for 7 years (now work from home). It was an express which took about 35-40 minutes. Driving would never be less than 1 hour, most of it bumper to bumper and parking costs downtown, combined with gas and upkeep, easily make training more affordable and in general a much less stressful endeavor. I think it depends on the city and area but I prefer rail travel to driving.

First time we took Amtrak was the NYC Christmas Blizzard of 2010. We were supposed to fly back to Chicago on the 26th, but by the time we got to the airport (10am ish) the flight was cancelled. Hopped in the car and booked it to Penn Station. The line was CRAZY long, but realized we were standing next to a bank of self help kiosks. Looked up the only train left going home and we were standing right next to the gate and it boarded in less than 10 minutes. Booked them (train went from NYC to Pittsburgh where it would change to the Capital Limited around midnight) for about $300 or so. Got on and as we were pulling out of the station, the snow started to fall. I had gotten my first iPhone for Christmas so used it to look up if there was a sleeper left from Pittsburgh to Chicago. One left, so called, booked it over the phone (for an additional $200). BTW, the 26th is my wife's birthday and she still says this is the best one she has ever had. We loved it. It was a blast. Since we have taken the Lake Shore Limited back and taken the KC Chief from Albuquerque to Chicago.

Don't get me wrong, rail travel has LOTS of problems. The least of which Amtrak was set up to fail from its inception (I think there maybe only 1 or 2 rails systems in the world that turn a profit and that is because they are fairly small and average ~90% capacity and even they are subsidized, but Amtrak is expected to turn a profit). They have to lease access to the lines from freight carriers who own the lines (I think that is unique to the US but not entirely certain). Their sweet spot used to be ~500 miles as it related to ease of use and price, but with the recent changes to prices, benefits (all but eliminating the dining car on many of the East coast to Midwest lines like Lake Shore and Capital) and making it harder to use points, they are doing all they can to drive down ridership.

But having ridden on a few, for many it is the cheapest mode and comfortable mode of long distance transportation. I really wish our government and society would back it more because it truly is a nicer mode of transit when it comes to interstate travel (see parts of US you don't normally see, dropped off right in a downtown area instead of way out at the airport, significantly less security hassles to board).

That is the problem in Canada as well. The passenger trains are running on freight train lines. The system was designed for freight here.

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They constantly try to escape from the darkness outside and within
Dreaming of systems so perfect that no one will need to be good T.S. Eliot

Friend keeps trying to convince me that Amtrak is a best way to go to Glacier NP compared to flying in. With Amtrak taking 24 hours to get there (assuming no delays), I'll gladly pay 3x that amount to fly for 5-6 hours (including drive to the airport, flying, etc).

Car>Ferry>Train (Metro North) to NYC. 1:30 each way.

The Hudson River froze so now it's Car>Bus>Train. 2 hours each way. Totally sucks.

4 years, 241 days until retirement.

Still probably preferable to India...

There is something magical about eating in the dining car while gorgeous scenery flies by though!

Agreed. The food is better than airline food for the most part. It is also communal seating so you are always meeting someone new.

We tend to just do a five hour ride and have lunch along the way. Last time my daughter and I were seated with a retired engineer. We learned so much about trains and tracks. I told him all about the Colorado River and each rapid we passed. It was really cool.

I was expecting another Valentine's Day thread.

Our food and a bottle of wine was included with our room fare.

Pretty sure the guy we sat with was a serial killer

I'll take the train, Metrolink in Los Angeles, to our office in downtown about once every other week. I'd take it more often if I worked in that office more often. Pretty convenient.

I just carry a flask in my pocket.

Warm booze neat? Eh I'll pass

So was ours. Once on the Lake Shore Limited, on our way North up the Hudson River at dinner time, saw a bald eagle flying parallel with the train while eating a pretty good lamb shank and drinking a bottle of La Crema.

Fucking bald eagles out there living their best life.

Not since leaving Chicago but during our time there it was 10+ years of the train on an almost daily back/forth basis. 2 of those years I rode the Metra exclusively (Ravenswood), then moved and went back to the Brown/Red Lines...those 2 years of Metra were magical (and it was always fun grabbing a beer or two for the ride home). Not that the Brown/Red was all bad it's that it just had it's less than ideal moments (that's a tactful way of saying people screwing on the train or having to hop over human feces while walking up to the Wilson Red Line..right?).

We are eyeballing the idea of taking Amtrak from Idaho to Glaciar National Park. I'm fairly excited about the prospect since all of my train experience is commuter based.

I don't count the EL as a train.