With gas prices nowadays, why is US rail travel still so inconvenient?

[Grog]

It took decades for passenger trains to decline in use and service- entire lines were eliminated left and right, starting with the car boom of the 1950's and the rise of superhighways and suburbia.
It will likely take many years to build the railroads back up again. But I sense it will slowly happen out of necessity.

Amen sister.

Another major problem, at least here in Canada but I suspect it's the same in the USA, is that freight has priority on the rails (except for limited areas where there is a lot of commuter service, like around New York City, and that's only at certain hours). There is a pretty good service between Quebec City and Windsor in Canada (most popular connections being Montreal-Quebec City, Montreal-Toronto, and there is also a side-service to Ottawa which is very busy). But even then the trains are very often late because if they meet a freight train that wants to switch in front of them, they have to let them go.

(At least this was the case a few years ago when I was traveling along that corridor a lot.)

Still beats driving or taking the bus, so much more comfortable for only a few more dollars and a few more minutes. And safer, too. And wireless internet.

It will take a long time to come back to some type of capacity in the USA. It takes a long time to build or renovate passenger cars, train the staff, renovate the rails, etc.

[Grog]

p.s. Maybe you can take the train and then a bus to your final destination?

[NoNo]

It will take a long time to come back to some type of capacity in the USA. It takes a long time to build or renovate passenger cars, train the staff, renovate the rails, etc.

We're having that problem now in Connecticut. The last week or two, my normal 4 car train has been cut down to 3 because so many need to be repaired/upgraded. Of the cars they're still using, half the time the A/C isn't working If you get someone with luggage, there's very little room to put it, and it further cramps everyone. Bikes have to be wedged in the doorway, and on the line that runs from NYC to New Haven, they're not even allowed during peak travel times. There's talk of changing that rule and of adding racks or something to the trains to accomodate bikes, but as you said, it's going to take quite some time for that to actually happen.

The other issue we have with the Amtrak trains here is that in most places there's only one track. So there are only certain places where your train can move over and get out of their way. Don't know how they can resolve that.

[mimitabby]

oh get this, over here (west coast), freight trains have priority over passenger trains! So passenger trains can be very late, waiting on a side track for the 2 mile long freight trains to go by!

[Eden]

Unfortunately here in the US (unlike Europe) we either never built or tore up most of our rail lines..... so you can't get to out of the way places at all for the most place and even for the bigger cities it is inconvenient. Granted our cities and towns are waaaay more spread out than most European ones are, and that make it inherently more difficult to provide effective service, but we certainly could be better.

I've looked at taking the train down to California or out to Las Vegas before and it would take several days... sometimes it would be faster to just drive because of the odd hours that the trains run, the limited routes and the infrequency of the connections. For some things it still is nice. I've take the train from Seattle to Portland before and it still is (or at least was... can't imagine with the price of gas that it still isn't) cheaper and nicer than driving.

[Trek420]

Unfortunately here in the US (unlike Europe) we either never built or tore up most of our rail lines.....

At least some of them are turning into bike paths

www.railtrails.org

[Eden]

At least some of them are turning into bike paths

www.railtrails.org

Indeed - if we hadn't torn up most of our light and heavy rail around here we would not have the Interurban trails, both in the north and south parts of the sound or the Burke Gilman trail, or the John Wayne Pioneer trail that goes nearly all of the way across the state and into Idaho or the new gravel trail over in the east Sammamish area, or even be discussing another trail that would go from Renton to Snohomish to meet up with the Centennial trail...... I could go on... we do have a lot of rail trails around here.

Of course if we'd kept it, we might not be waiting for and spending multiple, multiple millions our current light rail project.... Personally I like the proposed idea that there is room for both! The right of way on the east side could be used for new light rail to link Renton-Bellevue-Everett and still have space for a bike trail that runs parallel

[shootingstar]

I will comment here since....have been in a carless/car-free household last quarter century and more.

One doesn't realize how huge Canada (and the U.S.) are until looking into rail and bus travel, limited options. VIA train lines for passengers are incredibly limited now. The greatest frequency of trains on a regular basis is the line in Southern Ontario and Quebec, between Windsor Ontario and Montreal.

Of course there are even more limited options for bike transport by train in Canada and U.S., ...ie. not every train time line. Due to limited vacation time, I have taken the train with bike several times between Toronto and Kingston; Toronto and Montreal; and Toronto andTuro, Nova Scotia. But I have also biked without train/sag wagon, from Toronto to Cornwall Ontario. It is strange that a Canadian passenger rail line, doesn't even run through Canada's capital city, Ottawa.

My partner has made use of the Amtrak train with his bike, I believe in the Chicago area, also somewhere from middle of the Southwest U.S. to Sacremento.

I looked into the Amtrak options between Vancouver, BC and Portland. Too long.

It is very true that freight trains take precedence in scheduling..since that's where the rail companies make serious money. When my partner was a contracts manager for an oil firm, part of his job included negotiating huge dollar deals and bulk raw materials purchase/transport (in metric tonnes) to be transported by rail, ship worldwide. The freight lines in North America, are run efficiently...those in supply chain management and raw materials transportation know this.

A subject of ongoing debate in Metro Vancouver area...is the need to extend the Skytrain(aboveground commuter train) to the suburbs where the population base has exploded in the past few years.

[Grog]

It is strange that a Canadian passenger rail line, doesn't even run through Canada's capital city, Ottawa.

Psst!

The train does go to Ottawa from both Montreal and Brockville... You can check out the Google map on Via's web site: http://www.viarail.ca/trains/en_trai_tous.html

It is not quite part of the Quebec-Windsor corridor because Ottawa is a pretty significant detour North...

I tried going to Portland by train recently. The schedules for Vancouver-Seattle and Seattle-Portland don't match and you either have to overnight in Seattle or take a but to Seattle (organized by Amtrak) and then the train to Portland. Not a very interesting option unfortunately But it's also a long drive...

[shootingstar]

You're right Grog...and I only know the Windsor-Montreal corridor rail line stops. Not the other to Ottawa.

yea, the European rail system is quite impressive.

What does bemuse me is the number of people I know personally who want to avoid the subway, light rapid rail local train, etc. But could help themselves since they are living on a tight budget.

One thing for certain public transit, buses and trains does expose you directly to a broader set of society...face to face/ body odour to body odour.