detlef Posted January 3, 2008 Share Posted January 3, 2008 So my wife wants to take a train somewhere for a little getaway. You know, find some cool city not too terribly far away and make getting there part of the fun. However, every time I look into it, it seems like anything remotely cool cost way, way more than taking a plane and is slower than driving there. I understand that it's far more relaxing to take the train than drive. However, the nice thing about driving is that, once you get there, you've got your freaking car so you don't need to rent or be stuck in town. We looked into Charleston, for instance, and it was several hundred dollars per person. $150 each way if you want a train with a dining car and requires you switch trains at some point:shocking: . Charleston is maybe a 5 hour drive and like 6 hours by train. Now, if it was a few hundred bucks but that included meals and drinks, and said meals and drinks were nice, I could understand. Sort of. However, why wouldn't anyone just suck it up, make the drive, and put that jack towards a baller hotel room or nice meals? How can these guys compete? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MojoMan Posted January 3, 2008 Share Posted January 3, 2008 (edited) So my wife wants to take a train somewhere for a little getaway. You know, find some cool city not too terribly far away and make getting there part of the fun. However, every time I look into it, it seems like anything remotely cool cost way, way more than taking a plane and is slower than driving there. I understand that it's far more relaxing to take the train than drive. However, the nice thing about driving is that, once you get there, you've got your freaking car so you don't need to rent or be stuck in town. We looked into Charleston, for instance, and it was several hundred dollars per person. $150 each way if you want a train with a dining car and requires you switch trains at some point:shocking: . Charleston is maybe a 5 hour drive and like 6 hours by train. Now, if it was a few hundred bucks but that included meals and drinks, and said meals and drinks were nice, I could understand. Sort of. However, why wouldn't anyone just suck it up, make the drive, and put that jack towards a baller hotel room or nice meals? How can these guys compete? Amtrak is subsidized by you, the American taxpayer. It cannot compete otherwise. Here in the Northeast US (lets say that DC is the southern border of the NE), Amtrak provides reasonable service. If I'm going to Manhattan, I'm not gonna want to pay 50 bucks/day to park...public transit works just fine. I can go from Union Station (using the DC metro service) right into Penn Station at Madison Square Garden. It takes between 3-4 hours. Not bad. As for the rest of the country, train service sucks. Edited January 3, 2008 by MojoMan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kid Cid Posted January 3, 2008 Share Posted January 3, 2008 Amtrak is subsidized by you, the American taxpayer. It cannot compete otherwise. Here in the Northeast US (lets say that DC is the southern border of the NE), Amtrak provides reasonable service. If I'm going to Manhattan, I'm not gonna want to pay 50 bucks/day to park...public transit works just fine. I can go from Union Station (using the DC metro service) right into Penn Station at Madison Square Garden. It takes between 3-4 hours. Not bad. As for the rest of the country, train service sucks. It sucks in the NE too. A scheduled 6 hour ride from DC to New London, CT once took us 14 hours due to train malfunctions. They couldn't let us off the train due to safety issues and with the train not running there was no AC, leaving it about 105 degrees in there. There was a diabetic on the train that was asking for some orange juice from the bar car. No one around us had anything with any sugar in it. The bartender wouldn't give it to him without permission from his supervisor. Needless to say, the guy went into shock. They had to rush EMS out to the train on top of everything else. It was a complete fiasco. When a new train finally arrived for the passengers to be offloaded to, the AC condensation was leaking into the train and dripping on the passengers. Amtrak was kind enough to give a free ticket in the amount of the original ticket for our inconvenience but that hardly made up for it. I'll not ride Amtrak again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twiley Posted January 3, 2008 Share Posted January 3, 2008 When my wife was pregnant she had to take the amtrak to Chicago for business. It was $80 roundtrip business class. I guess it's cheaper here in the middle of the US. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MojoMan Posted January 3, 2008 Share Posted January 3, 2008 It sucks in the NE too. A scheduled 6 hour ride from DC to New London, CT once took us 14 hours due to train malfunctions. They couldn't let us off the train due to safety issues and with the train not running there was no AC, leaving it about 105 degrees in there. There was a diabetic on the train that was asking for some orange juice from the bar car. No one around us had anything with any sugar in it. The bartender wouldn't give it to him without permission from his supervisor. Needless to say, the guy went into shock. They had to rush EMS out to the train on top of everything else. It was a complete fiasco. When a new train finally arrived for the passengers to be offloaded to, the AC condensation was leaking into the train and dripping on the passengers. Amtrak was kind enough to give a free ticket in the amount of the original ticket for our inconvenience but that hardly made up for it. I'll not ride Amtrak again. That is very f'ed up and I don't blame you for boycotting Amtrak after that. My experiences have generally been positive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
detlef Posted January 3, 2008 Author Share Posted January 3, 2008 It sucks in the NE too. A scheduled 6 hour ride from DC to New London, CT once took us 14 hours due to train malfunctions. They couldn't let us off the train due to safety issues and with the train not running there was no AC, leaving it about 105 degrees in there. There was a diabetic on the train that was asking for some orange juice from the bar car. No one around us had anything with any sugar in it. The bartender wouldn't give it to him without permission from his supervisor. Needless to say, the guy went into shock. They had to rush EMS out to the train on top of everything else. It was a complete fiasco. When a new train finally arrived for the passengers to be offloaded to, the AC condensation was leaking into the train and dripping on the passengers. Amtrak was kind enough to give a free ticket in the amount of the original ticket for our inconvenience but that hardly made up for it. I'll not ride Amtrak again. So, in a somewhat roundabout and incomplete way they didn't charge you for wasting 8 hours of your life in intolerable heat, causing you to witness a diabetic go into shock because some freaking momo wouldn't give him a glass of juice, and getting AC jizz all over you. How big of them. BTW Ursa, at Jujube, that's when the Fluffers come in handy. We f up your meal bad, you get happy endings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KSUChiefsTarheelFan Posted January 3, 2008 Share Posted January 3, 2008 DON'T DO IT! I went with a friend to NY and it took forever, and we spent a butt load of money on beers and food. It isn't cheap, and the trains for the most part are in poor condition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Savage Beatings Posted January 3, 2008 Share Posted January 3, 2008 Just hop on a Greyhound and take a quick trip into some nasty crack-infested ghetto. It'll be cheap and romantic. Plus you can play fun games, like see how long you can keep your feet from touching the urine-soaked floor under your seats, or match the smell of BO to the offending passenger. Good times! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexgaddis Posted January 3, 2008 Share Posted January 3, 2008 i wondered the same thing when my wife and I considered a train trip to Seattle to visit a friend. I assumed the train would be much cheaper than driving or flying and would be fun to boot...I was shocked that it was so expensive... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
detlef Posted January 3, 2008 Author Share Posted January 3, 2008 Just hop on a Greyhound and take a quick trip into some nasty crack-infested ghetto. It'll be cheap and romantic. Plus you can play fun games, like see how long you can keep your feet from touching the urine-soaked floor under your seats, or match the smell of BO to the offending passenger. Good times! Nothing says "I love you" like old urine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seattle LawDawg Posted January 3, 2008 Share Posted January 3, 2008 Its pretty cheap out here. Unless things have changed recently, Portland to Seattle is less than $50. Granted, its only a 3 hour trip but on Seahawks game days, its the best way to go. Drinkfest going up, trainstop right at Seahawks stadium, and a drunkfest going back down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bier Meister Posted January 3, 2008 Share Posted January 3, 2008 mrs and i have been together about 17 yrs. i am from sf, she is from littleton. when we lived in the bay area we would occationally consider travelling to colorado and back via train...... we always felt the price was high for how much time you have to spend on there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramhock Posted January 3, 2008 Share Posted January 3, 2008 I Amtraked for 19 years between DE & NYC, daily. The best part was when we would run over "sticks". This would normally happen about twice each holiday season. The tourist next to me would always ask why are we stopping, and I would tell them to get out a book because we will be stopped for 2-3 hours so that the police can investigate if the person jumped in front of the train, or was pushed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtomicCEO Posted January 3, 2008 Share Posted January 3, 2008 I used to love Metro North, but I've never taken Amtrack. Metro north $18.50 round trip from Poughkeepsie or New Haven to Grand Central. Good stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missoula Griz Posted January 3, 2008 Share Posted January 3, 2008 This summer we looked into taking Amtrack from Whitefish, MT to north central Minnesota. About 1500 miles each way. There was 2 adults and 2 kids. The cost was over $1500.00 for a round trip with very basic accomodations. The schedule was nuts as well. Depart Whitefish at 12:30 AM and arrive in Minnesota at 2:40 AM a day later. With two young kids, we decided to just drive the SUV. I remember as a young kid taking the train once with my family. It was a great memory. Looks like my kids will never get the opportunity I had. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myhousekey Posted January 3, 2008 Share Posted January 3, 2008 After reading MrTed46's thread about the AAA Directv discount I saw that they also offer a 10% discount on Amtrak... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MojoMan Posted January 4, 2008 Share Posted January 4, 2008 Nothing says "I love you" like old urine. detlef, you missed your calling as a writer for Hallmark. That was so beautiful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chavez Posted January 6, 2008 Share Posted January 6, 2008 DON'T DO IT! I went with a friend to NY and it took forever, and we spent a butt load of money on beers and food. Why didn't you bring your own beer and food on? My wife and I took the Empire Builder from Milwaukee out to Seattle last year, and I have to say that overall it was a positive experience. The downside was it took 2 days, which is just too long to be on a train - overnight is fine by me, though. But we paid for a sleeper cabin, got all our meals free, and when we woke up Monday morning in the Cascades after a big snowfall, it was pretty much worth it. Cost about the same as flying. Basically, I'm looking for excuses to take the train somewhere now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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