Trains, Planes and Automobiles


A Better Way To Travel

I came across the poll in this week's issue of Parade magazine saying that an incredible 97% of people think we should be doing more to improve our rail system. Well, duh!! Again, something I have been saying for years, way back to the early nineties when they were doing the rails to trails conversions.

Anyway, it was ironic that I saw this poll (I missed the original Parade article) this weekend, as I was returning home from a week in which I traveled to West Virginia by train, mainly to avoid dealing with the weather. It was great - relaxing in expansive seats without seatbelts, cruising down the tracks while using my computer, reading, and watching the Star Wars: Clone Wars cartoon series on my iPod (more on that later). Anyway, the weather became a non-issue. Washington's Union Station, where I had a couple of hours layover while I waited for the train to Martinsburg, was fairly pleasant. Total cost was $120 one-way including business class to DC, which, while not cheap, was well worth the lowered stress.

The article makes all the relevant points about efficiency, cost, lack of weather related delays, less security hassles, and the fact that Europe is much more progressive than us AGAIN. If we invested in the system, they could become even better and faster. If we had high-speed rail, then the only real need for planes would be for very long trips, like across the country. Well, it'll only take 20 or 30 years for us to catch up to Europe and Japan again, at which time, they will be even further ahead.


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