Tell us something we don’t know.

[MossRoad]

...make passenger rail profitable.

That right there is a big issue. Most passenger trains in the US run on lines shared with freight. Freight is for-profit in the U.S. Passenger is not for profit in the U.S. and relies on subsidies. Amtrak has never turned a profit since day 1.

 

[kenmbz]

The politicians gave up on Rail in my area as roads with (ever increasing) tolls and gas tax is a money earner for very little outlay.
NJ Transit moves 800,000 passengers on a busy workday, they can't make money as much of it is siphoned off to who knows what. Like a $400million office move for NJT which includes plenty of car parking. New highways, EV subsidies.

What happens when the government invests money into a train system is shown quite well in Europe and Asia. India and China are not small like European countries.
Not suggesting either of these political models for us, only to show what happens when the government focuses on the right projects.

How many windmills purchased vs. miles of high speed track, etc.

 

[MossRoad]

The politicians gave up on Rail in my area as roads with (ever increasing) tolls and gas tax is a money earner for very little outlay.
NJ Transit moves 800,000 passengers on a busy workday, they can't make money as much of it is siphoned off to who knows what. Like a $400million office move for NJT which includes plenty of car parking. New highways, EV subsidies.

What happens when the government invests money into a train system is shown quite well in Europe and Asia. India and China are not small like European countries.
Not suggesting either of these political models for us, only to show what happens when the government focuses on the right projects.

How many windmills purchased vs. miles of high speed track, etc.

View attachment 862750View attachment 862751

You don't mention that with the exception of a few large cities, NOBODY wants to take a passenger train in the US if they can't help it. Only thing less desirable is the Greyhound!

Automobiles are equated with freedom in this country.

 

[ultrarunner]

I thought this too but surprised at the number of University of California Davis students travel by rail and like it.

My nieces do and the train stops right at school and 10 minutes from the farm going home...

I've done it once and the scenery is nice and having time to read/check mail makes the time pass.

Amtrak - Davis - LocalWiki

localwiki.org

Los Angeles to Seattle and SF Bay Area to Chicago are 2 distance runs stopping at the Davis station.

https://www.cityofdavis.org/city-hall/improvement-projects/amtrak-station#:~:text=The%20Davis%20Amtrak%20station%2C%20located,burned%20down%20in%20a%20fire.

Amtrak - Davis - LocalWiki

localwiki.org

 

[WinterDeere]

I thought this too but surprised at the number of University of California Davis students travel by rail and like it.

I went to school in center city, and lived by one of the suburban rail stations in the 'burbs, so I took regional rail back and forth to the city every day for many years. So did dozens of other high school and college students from my town, and trust me... none of us liked it! Absolutely miserable, but necessary.

Always great when you get on and there are no seats, or when you do find one and then someone with the flu sits down next to you, trapping you between them and the window. Also, endless issues with parking at most suburban stations.

California is much newer, so I'll believe you if you say it's better out there. SEPTA leaves a lot to be desired.

 

[ultrarunner]

It’s 8 minutes from the dorm walking to catch the train on the weekend and lots of seats as long as not during the Monday-Friday commute
times.

It could just be the sweet spot?

$16 fare home less 25% equals student fare of $12.00 and includes two free transfers.

 

[WinterDeere]

It’s 8 minutes from the dorm walking to catch the train on the weekend and lots of seats as long as not during the Monday-Friday commute
times.

It could just be the sweet spot?

$16 fare home less 15% is $13.60 and includes two free transfers.

yeah, off-peak is way better. Unfortunately, I was always in the morning rush, to make my usual 9am classes. Fare was more like $3 for my 1h 20m each way ride, when purchased as a monthly pass. I'd think $16 x 2/day x 22/month would kill most students!

 

[dodge man]

We took Amtrack from Burlington Iowa to Denver Colorado and back. It was a terrible experience. It was about 2 hours late going out and something like 8 or 9 hours late coming back.

 

[Dftodd]

We took Amtrack from Burlington Iowa to Denver Colorado and back. It was a terrible experience. It was about 2 hours late going out and something like 8 or 9 hours late coming back.

Yup, I did an amtrak from Pittsburg PA, to Sanford FL,

Never again. It's the equivalent to being stuck on an airplane for 24hrs.

 

[LouNY]

I've only used a train a few times. When my brother got cancer and was going to Memorial Sloan Kettering and then staying in a "halfway House" for his stem cell transplant and continued treatment I went down to stay with him for a week at a time so his wife could go home and have breather,
I used the train to get from Albany to NYC the first time I just went with coach, the rest I went with the sleeper room.. The first one wasn't real nice but was better then driving into NYC myself, once I went with the bedroom or sleepers it was very comfortable and relaxing.