FWIW, very few people are wearing them on trains now. They’re optional. That wasn’t true last year.
ETA: I should also note that many people don’t go the whole length of the distance trains. Amtrak sells passes for so many “rides” (or whatever they call them) within a period of time and one can get on/off as they please, with reservations if you want them, but many just showed up at the station. Some trains are full so I’d worry about the latter if one wanted a specific train date. Many people go the whole distance, but make their stops along the way meandering.
The only long-haul (non-commuter) train trip I ever took was in 1988 from Newark to Savannah for Thanksgiving with my then-fiance to be with the future in-laws. What I recall about it was seeing the back end of countless poor rural towns in the mid-Atlantic and South. It was an eye-opener for me because I was accustomed to either Cupcake Land (defined as prosperous homogeneous small-medium cities in Minnesota in the 70s-80s, or wealthy NJ suburbs) or urban cityscapes in the NE, nothing in between.
Slightly off-topic, bludgeon me if you must, but we are considering a tour of Switzerland that uses exclusively the rail system to get around the country, based on our fabulous experience after our river cruise, going from Basel to Lucerne for 3 days, then to Zurich to fly home.
Amtrak could learn a thing or two (thousand) from Swiss Rail.
We would love to use rail here in the US, if it was at all convenient and/or dependable. We took the Amtrak Northeaster from Boston to Freeport, Maine. It’s less than a 3 hour drive, but took much longer than that by train----so why bother?
In this country it’s not often Amtrak’s fault. They have to give freight trains the right of way. If they didn’t, schedules would be so much easier to keep.
But definitely, train travel isn’t for everyone. It has to fit one’s personality and schedule to be enjoyable.
Back in my younger days I thought I’d love the super fast trains (that the US doesn’t have yet). I don’t. Sure they get you places quickly, but you can’t really see anything. On planes you have distance to still see the scenery. On fast trains, not so. We’re scenery lovers. Even Amtrak’s routes that go predominantly through trees aren’t our favorite.
Its on my to do list someday. That and a river cruise in Europe.
S19 has taken the Amtrak home from college. For that trip, its the same amount of time to drive as it is on the train. And he liked not having to watch the road and just play on his phone the whole time.
Very true, @Creekland , at least 3 times on our Boston to Freeport ME trip we had to sit and wait for a freight train to pass through a single track area before we could proceed. All in all once we got into Maine the track passed close to the ocean, it was scenic. What made no sense was that the Portland ME station was no where close to city center, was located in a redeveloped area outside of town. Seemed to discourage folks from taking the train to a reall neat small city.
As I mentioned a couple of times upthread, I often have to travel the NYC to DC sector. There is NO way I would fly this, given the stress and waste of time getting to DC/NYC airports, dealing with security lines, crowded airports, cramped seats etc. Amtrak is the ONLY way I travel this.
If I recall correctly, the travel time is 2.5 to 3.3 hours. Getting/to from LaGuardia, EWR, or JFK and the same for BWI or IAD (DCA is ok) adds to your travel time, as do check-in if you have bags and security.
It’s not scenic, but it is so relaxing being on Amtrak where, even in coach, you have nice seats, wifi, can work etc. I would never fly this route.
Now, I am looking for scenic train routes, where time is not a factor. I appreciate the downsides, but there are downsides to air and car travel too.
I get what you’re saying and I agree with you------------as I said, US train travel could be awesome, but factors prevent that. When train stations are in city center, there is no need for a car–Union Station in DC, for example. In my example, Amtrak basically strands you in an industrial area of Portland ME, and you need to bus yourself into the city.
You’re definitely right about that. Train travel could be so much better in the US. It’s almost like we’ve (meaning the US) done everything possible to neutralize it as an effective means of travel.
I guess that’s what the line in the song means: “This train’s got the disappearing railroad blues.”
@abasket this ride is getting a ton of publicity where I live in CT. It’s a beautiful ride.
I’ve taken the train from Hartford to Philadelphia, and it was far more relaxing to just sit there than to rush around airports, etc. I brought a good book, and I was not in a hurry. I didn’t care how long it took!
The Shinkansen (bullet trains) in Japan are perhaps the most amazing rail system I have ever been on. It is no joke that they depart exactly on time, and they are extremely comfortable, regardless of which class you’re in. We’ve taken them for fun, and I’ve taken them for work. Hands down, either way, it’s totally fabulous and very fast (and not terribly expensive if I recall correctly.)
I don’t think we will ever get to that point here in the US.
You will probably like the new Brad Pitt movie “Bullet Train” … apparently it’s fairly realistic as far as Japan’s bullet trains go, even though everything was mocked up except for some exterior shots.
