How many are currently riding trains anywhere???

I saw the earlier post about the train hitting some cattle. It got me to thinking about how many people actually ride trains any more???

When the kids where younger my first wife and I traveled to Philadelphia on Amtrak. I think 1979 or 1980. We rented a car and did the tourist thing there and then drove down to DC. We spend a few day there and then flew home.

The train ride was nice the first few hours. Then the luster was off. That train stopped every little while because of the freight trains. They would be either in front going slower or meeting a west bound one. Truthfully it was a miserable 2 1/2 day trip. Having the kids along made it worse.

The air flight was much better back. Although the plane ride today would suck with the TSA issues.

The real kick in the pants was the cost. The train ride out was just as high as the flight home. We started out in the Quad Cities and came back to there.

So how many of you actually rode a train in the last few years???? If you did how did you like it and how was the cost??

Had to make a trip back home (750 miles) for a wedding a few years ago, 4 adults 2 kids. Train fare was way more expensive than flying. Ended renting a van and driving. Was really looking forward to the train ride ( my dad was an engineer) but just couldn't see the price. Also, the depot is in a crappy part of town and there is no car rental nearby like you have with airports.

You can get pretty much everywhere on a train here and the cost reasonable... We have 2 stops within 3 miles of our house. There is also pretty much a constant special going where up to 5 people can travel anywhere from 1800 Friday to midnight Sunday on a 15 euro ticket. Coolest thing is, it's a real PITA to drive to the Frankfurt Airport, but we can take a train from the house and it will take you right into the ticket terminals at the airport.....

The problem is that Amtrak rents most of their track from somebody else. Which means they cannot use the track when their landlord needs it. Traveling by train wouldn't actually be too bad if you actually did some traveling.

Took Amtrak to Chicago from Mn. fourth of July 2011. First time on a train. Cost was reasonable and ride out was fun. Coming back...not so much fun. Kept getting held up by east bound freights. When we did get our turn on the track engineer tried to make up some lost time. Must have been doing 100 mph.

When Dad died last year my Sister had to come up from Va. to Michigan, we booked her on the train, turned out to be train from Va. to Indiana and Greyhound bus from Indiana to Michigan. Neatest one I saw is General Billy Mitchell Airport in Milwaukee, you can go from airplane to train there, we should have that more often with bus and train service at the airport would make commercial transportation a lot easier.

Toronto to Nakina on a one day trip. For one of the kids to attend moose hunting in order to miss a minimum of school. They board the train Thursday after school and transfer to the float plane Friday evening .Then fly into camp to be ready for opening morning.
The adults leave on Monday to travel by road, set up gear, cleanup camp, cut firewood etc.
They travel with a sleeper berth which includes a shower, three premium meals , snacks, beverages and the touring car.
About $425 all in.Missed a promotion this year that would have been only $224.

I been on trains all over the world, on the cheap tickets too, so I can't judge quality, but Atlantic to Pacific 3 times, twice Amtrak,. The speed, sidings, food, and worst of all the fellow passengers you are stuck with for days on end was too much for me.
On the 'empire builder' A guy just back from Afganistan, with gaping big pink holes in his neck and arms from an IUD, was in the conductor's face cause two people who were causing one sleepless comotion after another were now smoking crack in the bathroom down below. I thought the car was on fire, but he knew the smell. The conductor threatened to throw 'him' off at the next stop...Fargo? He was on his way back to Boston and swore to never ride a train again. He said he didn't get blown up so's crackheads could commit crimes on federal property while he sits on his dufflebag at a North Dakota bus stop.
Another transcontinental trip was to Edmonton then pacific coast on VIA. Comfortable, clean, freindly, fast! like an average of 80, and the CNR freights waited for us, we only stopped dead in nowhere 3 times- waiting for opposing VIA passenger trains who had the right of way. No one drank outside of their seat or lounge car, no one partied except the lounge car, and unlike the torn up soldlier, a Ojibway Souix chick with a restless 3 year old- who was just in a Toronto hospital for a big operation- kept running up and down the isle. Mom and kid were threatened to be kicked off at the next station... seriously, just a dead silent bored little kid! The other passengers took the conductor seriously, so we entertained the little papoose to get her out of sight and tired out, up there the cops take you to the bus station while you explain why you got thrown off the train. Almost overly professional. Amtrak, rolling post office, and politically correct to the point of just sickening. Would do VIA again if needed, but got a campervan now, just drive wherever.

I don;t travel, but I would no longer take a plane. I'd love to see trains go back to what they were in the 30's, 40's, 50's. They were fast, efficient and comfortable. They aren't any more in the US. Now they're just Gov subsidized buses on rails. Pretty sad.

Canadian rail travel is a joke. Our cross country train is named VIA, and the service is terrible. Never on time and takes twice as long to get where you want to go as it should. Costs are almost as much as flying. There's no car rentals at the passenger stations. We did it about 5 years from Saskatoon to Vancouver and return, just for the novelty of it. Never again.

Mom rode the AmTrac out to my brother's in Buffalo a lot. She handled it well. I remember she said that the beer cans and bottles all rolled to the front of the car when they slowed down, and then rolled to the back when they sped back up.

My only train ride was in 1962 from St. Louis to Cleveland. You get to see all of the back doors of the world from the window of a train.

The song "City Of New Orleans" pretty well describes it.

Paul

In the New York metropolitan region alone the answer would be about 7 million people per day on subway and transit trains. Additionally, the Long Island Railroad transports about 274,000 people per day and Metro North about 250,000. And then there's Philadelphia, Washington, DC, Chicago, etc. And, of course, the rest of the world. Probably approaching a billion or so people per day.

rode frum turin italy ,all the way into sicily , with my lovely sara who wanted me to meet her folx , and explore their rich culture ,,couple yrs later we went back and flew into rome rite before palm sunday ,,rome is expensive place to stay , but very interestin all the same ... took a train south again to sicily ,, they loaded the entire train on a feryy each time ,, in 10 minutes and the ferry was under way to messina // you have never seen more clearer or bluer water ...the coaches of the train had enuf seatin and sleeping for 6 in each pod with adequete privacy,,,it cost about half that of a plane ticket,, and i got to see a lot of italy ,,most difficult time was enduring conversation with a italian policeman who knew enuf english to be dangerous,and we rode with him on the train . the durn guy liked our new prez but was jealous of america and spouted off too long ,, my dear sara firmly spoke to him in italian ,,and he promptly grabbed his stuff up and left ,, i asked her what she said ,,"" i just told him he was a stupid ill informed ignorant bas/ard and a disgrace to the italian populance , and that he was not worthy to clean the sewer , let alone protect and serve and enforce the law "" What A Gal

Three years ago, i bobtailed a tractor to St. Louis and rode Amtrak home. The passengers where mainly college age people along with a few seniors. That would be the last ride i take, a two hour trip by car took five by train. The fare was decent, but the hassle of having someone waiting till i got back along with the length of the trip was enough for me.

I started the post below. My wife and kids took the train to Denver because it was cheaper than flying, and easier than trying to do the 22 hour one way drive by herself. I would have drove, but going long distances is easy for me, she never drives more than two hours. However, after this trip she probably won't take the train again.

About a year and a half ago, flew out to LA with the fiance to see her sister, then took the amtrack to Albuq. NM where she lived for 35 years and her kids still live there. Leaving LA was the worst with all the stops, otherwise not to bad. Plan to do it again along the northern states out to Wash. State. Will get private car next time. Lot more peacefull.

last train I rode was in France, 200 mph, and smooth. I like trains, always have. I hate to fly, motion problems. I went from MD to Florida on train as a teen, a great trip, but sleeping in a seat gets old fast, even for a young back.

Amtrak, Whoa, what a trip. Last train trip I took was on Amtrak down to FL from SC. Was low on $$$ and need to attend a 2 day seminar in Jacksonville.
Holy @#$%^@. They low lifes one this trip made me afraid to sleep. The train slowly made its way making way to many stops that were way to time consuming. Should of just drove or flew.
On the other hand I take the subway in NYC when I work there. Just great! Quick, $1.50 a ride.
Pete

We've been across Canada and back twice by train (almost coast to coast), our experience was fantastic, but to be fair we paid about 1/4 of the full fair. All the major stations have car rental places, and many places will meet you with a car.

The worst experience was we took coach seating overnight Moncton to Montreal one night. I've never been around so many people with complete disrespect for their fellow passengers. The 4 o5 guys who didn't know each other, and sitting spaced throughout the car, but still decided to get drunk together and toss beers back and forth and sing and whoop till 3 am had a great time though.

Second worst was getting to Montreal the train leaving was delayed 2 hours, but instead of just telling us so we could go do something useful like enjoy free drinks in the lounge, they had us sit on our baggage for 2 hours in the hall while security hassled the 2 rather patient and polite teens for sitting on their skate boards while waiting.

After Toronto we had the best service and best food I've ever had in a hotel nevermind it being a rolling one. Met all kinds of nice folks, including a bunch of folks from Arizona. They were pinned to the window all through Ontario looking at the endless lakes. The only thing they could say while looking at the water is, "we have to find a way to get this to Arizona"

I alway take the train it's better than the bus and I can't fly doctors restrictions. I usually go to California to see family. I get a small two person sleeper it's a lot better than the coaches. Cost a little more but meals are included. Food pretty good on the train.
Walt

Short historical excursions normally for me. Steam engines mainly. Been a few years ago though.

My wife and I ride Amtrak's Cascades train from Portland Oregon to Seattle most summer's It is clean and reasonably priced. It gives us a break when visiting our daughter and her husband in Portland.

There are a lot of Canadians worried that the Americans want their water.

Heck, there's a lot of American's who are worried that the next state downriver wants their water. Kansas likes to sue that Nebraska and Colorado aren't sending enough water down river, and when we let more go, they sue again. And somehow I guess we are supposed to send groundwater to them as well the way it sounds!

I'd like to take the train sometime just to say I did. I've looked into it and it takes a little less time to get where I'd go, but the departure times are a bee's itch, and it costs just as much as driving, unless I want to sleep in a chair, which doesn't work for me.

From what I have heard it seems that the North-east and west coast are the better trips. It seems like the rest of the trips are with some pretty scary people.

The buses are even worst. My mother does not like to fly and can't drive long distances very well. She wanted to visit some friends in Ohio. She rode the bus. She said she was afraid to go to sleep or even get out of her seat with all the low lives on the bus. She only used one way on a round trip ticket. She paid my sister to come and get her in a car.

I don't blame you in the least for a poor view of your train ride. That's still part of the shutty era of train travel. Most of Amtrak's fleet were soooo many re-polished turds from the days before the NRPC was formed, it took quite a few years (try 20) after it's inception to shake itself free of so much garbage. That & after the formation of Amtrak, the train really didn't go anywhere. Especially compared to the places you could get to when passenger service was privatly owned. A quarter of the routes Amtrak kept were dropped or merged with other routes within the first four years. A third of the routes were gone by 1980. At the rate they were going, the route map today would probably look like a stick layed across a map of the US. Fortunately, in about '80 or '81, the government released it's longstanding stronghold over the railroads (freight) & began to take more of an interest in it's remnant passenger system. I would like to mention here, that Amtrak has received very little government type financial help of any kind since it's formation, until recent. Common stock divvied up amongst the railroads was there, but didn't amount to a whole hill of beans. It was pretty much written, since day one, that Amtrak has to fend for itself & prove it can make it over the course of 30 years or they face dissolution, privatization, or whatever fate would seem just at the time. And, it took about 30 years to prove that they could indeed clean up their act & make something of themselves. Ten years ago they were very VERY close to getting flushed down the commmode. They didn't. They got a multi-million dollar shot in the arm in 2002, just enough cash that they were close to buying up their own stock & making a go of it themselves. I believe Amtrak realized, at that point, that they were going to get less preferential treatment on everyones trackage but their own, which is only about 700 miles. The rest of the routes are over trackage rights with the various freight roads across the US. That kind of ties into the low priority associated with passenger service.

Amtrak has grown strong, recenty. Ridership is up, some old routes are back & a few new ones have been formed. The recent, near $1.5 billion grant, is doing wonders for the company. Ridership on 70% of the routes is up, up, up to record heights. There are no turds left to polish. About 99% of the fleet nowadays is all Amtrak's. There are a handful of heritage cars left, but I believe they are all baggage. Even the first generation of diesels, made for Amtrak, are almost completely phased out. The equipment is newer, quieter & clean. Food has improved & the menus have changed. Dinner in the diner on the Empire Builder & City of New Orleans has gone from medeocre to top notch, or close to it.

So yes, there have been many changes made since you rode the high iron. I would highly advise you to try a short leg journey somewhere & see if you like it & deem it to be an improvment. If you like it & have time to get away for a while, I highly reccommend a Railpass.

Tour the USA by train, IMHO it's THE only way to travel.

Mike

1962 from Spokane to the Seattle wold's fair. It was exciting for me; I was only 9 years old, so I couldn't judge the quality of the trip. I'd like to recreate that ride sometime, but the Empire Builder comes through Spokane at 0230 a.m. so most of the best scenery is in the dark.

For families, its almost always cheaper (and more convenient) to rent a car, because the car is "all the same price", while trains, buses, planes need a ticket for each.

Daughter did a "semester abroad" in Costa Rica, and we flew down when she was done and stayed a couple weeks. After our first terrifying tour bus ride (passing on corners, get to an intersection and they race to see who goes through first, etc.), we checked with a taxi driver about hiring him and his rig for a day, for a long trip. That was cheaper than 3 tickets on the White Knuckle Express. He started off driving like a bat out 'a he11, like everybody else, and we told him we weren't gonna do that- we had him for the day, slow down and enjoy the drive. He seemed to like the change of pace. He even became a tour guide of sorts, because daughter could translate.

I take the train when I can.In 2010 the family and Itook the Texas Eagle round trip Houston to St.louis.In2011 from Milwaukee airport to Chicago and then to Houston.The Houston to Longview Tx is an Amtrak chartered bus but as busses go it was clean and nice for 4 1/2 hours.The trains were clean and on time.The last coach was a rebuild with stimulis funds,looked like brand new.No problems with fellow passengers.Only down side is the crowds in the summer.High points were waking up at daylight in s.Missouri and seeing what I thought was a lake but we were following next to a flooded Missisippi river and between chicago and Milwaukee the tracks go through marshes and fields,a lot of cabbage fields.Crossing the mississippi on a high bridge and seeing the barges below and the arch in StLouis is interesting.I did see TRACTORS.In Racine I saw new CIH and New Holland tractors awaiting shipment and some on train headed south.On a train just sit back in the spacious seats and enjoy the scenery.

Wife and I have taken the electric train from South Bend, IN to Chicago lots of times. Parking at South Bend airport is reasonable, fare is reasonable, great schedule, and it drops you off right downtown. No hassle finding parking in Chicago. For us it's 1-1/2 hour drive to South Bend. Only drawback is it's set up for commuters, luggage space is limited and no food or drink available so we bring our own.

I rode the Whiskey River Railway today. Does that count?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdgSwmLtrSU&feature=player_profilepage

I am in the middle of a train trip now, went from Cleveland to Chicago and then from Chicago to Emeryville CA ( San Francisco)will return by train the end of the week.