It may take longer to get there, a lot longer, depending on your destination, but Ecogeek has found 9 reasons why traveling on trains is better than traveling on planes. No security delays, more legroom and no baggage handlers to lose your luggage is just the beginning. Check out one of our favorite reasons, inside…
5. No NAGGING: It’s a frikkin pleasure not having someone bug me about my seatback and tray tables and whether my electronic device is approved for that particular segment of the trip. And no seatbelts at all! Whether or not that’s technically safe, it’s certainly more comfortable.
We doubt that all the Amtrak cars are as nice as the Silverliner pictured above, but for some destinations we could see trains as a viable and pleasant alternative. When was the last time you traveled a great distance by train, if ever? To see all the reasons, check out Ecogeek’s full article.
Nine Unexpected Benefits of Trains [Ecogeek]
(Photo: Getty)
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My church group recently took the train from New Orleans to San Antonio for a trip building houses in Juarez, Mexico (I know, I know, John 12:5) and it was, without a doubt, the best experience I’ve had in cross country travel ever (c.f. the times I’ve flown). Trains are, in my opinion, good for people who have more time than money.
Amtrak is far from perfect, but there’s no other way I’d rather travel between my home and my parents’ than the rails. Getting delayed on a train is much, much better than being stuck on a plane–as others have said, walking around and being able to use the facilities is much more preferable to what happens on a plane.
@Superawesomerad: The Metro-North has totally spoiled me with regards to commuter rail despite the craptastic cars–if/when I move back to Philly, dealing with SEPTA will likely make me cry. Incidentally, they have been finally showing riders mockups of the new trains, which look lovely, but as I wrote on the comment card, will be even better when we can actually ride them.
I rode the Lynchburg VA midnight departure to Atlanta, GA on a regular basis for a while (yes, the famous “Midnight Train To Georgia” that Gladys Knight sang about), and now I use the Northeastern Corridor Boston-NYC-DC trains, and none of them were as bad as the usual airline flight.
A few notes for Newbees:
Accela likely is not worth the money over the regular train service, and won’t be until serious track upgrades are done to allow Accela to run at higher speeds. Check the schedule – there isn’t much time savings gained.
Pack a lunch, including beverage. They are not merely expensive on munchies, they can run out at random times. Unlike trains in other countries, there is nothing to jump of the train and buy at stations, no trackside vendors of local food, nada.
Expect to be delayed for unexplained reasons anywhere outside the DC-Boston corridor. Most of the actual reasons are that the passenger trains have to wait for the freight trains to get out of the way, as freight has priority on track owned by the freight rail systems.
The “quiet car” is just that, so if you pull out your cellphone and start yacking at the top of your voice in the quiet car I will drive my fist into your chest, remove several major organs without benefit of anesthesia, and hold your still-beating heart in front of your dying eyes to teach others that might get the same idea that there are a few rules that one wants to respect.
Ive ridden on AMTRAK several times and had mixed experiences. The longest trip I took was from the Bay Area to LA to Houston, which took 3 days (where oddly it took only one day/night to get to Texas but another day and a half to travel through Texas – wtf?) but it arrived in Houston on time. My other experiences have all been on the Coast Starlight between Oregon and Salinas which has taken from 12 to 24 hours.
The good things about train travel –
-IF you have the time, it’s so much more relaxing and enjoyable than air travel, and you get to see scenery (and also get a glimpse of inner city by-the-tracks life)
-So much more seat room than on a plane
-People are generally friendly, as are the employees
The bad -
-They really need to enforce the assigned seating. This past christmas season I was on a crowded train and had to wander to find a seat on both trips. They wrote my assigned seat down and told me to go there but someone was in the seat next to me and said very assholey “this seat is taken.” “But it’s my seat.” “No one takes that seriously, dude.” I later got in trouble for sitting in an empty seat. Crowded train = not fun.
-Like on a greyhound, you do encounter the occasional bargain traveling drunk/stoned/crazy person. They dont enforce who is “fit” to get on board like they do at airports.
-Expect delays. Amtraks run on rails owned by freight lines whose trains have the right of way so prepare to be sidetracked (literally) for a while. Once my train ran over a pedestrian. Another time it ran over construction debris and needed to be repaired.
Back when we were in college my husband (then boyfriend) and I took turns taking the train to visit each other. It was a very pleasant 8-hr trip through the Midwest. Huge, roomy and comfortable seats and no one bugging me about anything.
Great timing on this article for us–my husband and toddler son and I are taking VIA Rail from Windsor/Detroit up to Toronto later this month. We usually drive; this time we wanted to take it easy (and spend less–the train is cheaper than the three tanks of gas a long weekend in Toronto costs us, though it’s just as long timewise) and enjoy a change of pace. We’ve ridden on commuter and long-distance trains in England, Austria, and Japan before, but this is our first long-distance train trip in North America. We’re looking forward to it.
I’ve had to get in touch with VIA Rail customer service a couple times to iron out a credit card glitch and then to try to get the three of us seated together. The people I worked with both times were extremely pleasant and helpful. I love Canada.
@Eyebrows McGee: Uh. Did we go to the same university? Did you take the big red buses too?
@Steaming Pile: That and a lot of trackage and right of ways have been removed since World War II between Utica and Boston.
@etaripamai: Agreed. It’s just too long of a route. And going LOCAL at all three boroughs? Oy vey!
Little/no security on Amtrak is why the mobsters use it: they don’t want to have to part with their weapons. (True. My sister used to work for Amtrak on the train that goes through Vegas. She got to know a lot of them.)
For the NE corridor, Amtrak is usually great. One time I was leaving my office in NYC for a meeting in Boston. A colleague left just before me to trek to LaGuardia for her flight. I hopped the subway to Penn, took the Acela to Boston, which let me off within walking distance of the meeting location. Beat my colleague there by more than an hour.
Outside the NE corridor, as everyone says, time is problematic. But you can see the country in a way you don’t from the air, and unlike driving, you can sightsee without worrying about the road. My favorite is the stretch along the Colorado River (I think the route is the Zephyr)–there’s a part where the train track is carved into the side of the gorge along the river, a stunningly beautiful ride through an area otherwise inaccessible except by whitewater raft.
my family and i contemplated taking the train to save money on a trip from WI to CA. it was more expensive, and opposed to a 4 hour flight, was a 26 hour train ride, each way. we didn’t want to waste 2 days of our vacation on a train going cross country. for short distances, like from Madison to Chicago, it’s very convenient and a good deal, but only for short distances.
@fjordtjie: I think it’s a paradigm shift. If you fly, the plane is a necessary evil on the way to and from your vacation. If you take the train, the train is part of your vacation.
@DeepFriar:
I’d rather score a free skydiving trip than having another train go head-on..directly into my forehead
@apotheosis:
BEST
COMMENT
EVER!
My mom is currently about a third of the way through her train trip from Boston to L.A. That article made me feel a bit better about her decision (she refuses to fly.)
@Neecy: I’m glad to hear you enjoyed it. I’m rather worried about my mom having a good trip since she’s been stressed lately.
@synergy: Maybe, but I’m not placing the big red busses!
And I get a call this morning that somehow, the train was an hour late to Albany, making them 4-5 hours late to Chicago, making them a day late to L.A.
Talk about, “jinxing it.” Ha!
I truly enjoy traveling by train… atleast in Europe. Honestly have never taken a train in America, but have taken them all across Europe and it is safe, comfortable, convenient and overall a delight. Haven’t had any reason yet to take a train here, but I probably would if it was as or more cost effective.
People seem to be a LOT nicer on trains too, they just start having friendly conversations with me for some reason, it’s really cool.
Took Amtrak overnight from Washington DC to Chicago. Great ride, particularly through the mountains of Pennsylvania. Also the best sleep of my life. The gentle rocking of the train on the rails puts you in deep snooze mode. The shower as a bathroom was weird but all in all, very enjoyable.