>We simply do not care to run fast passenger trains anymore since they have largely been replaced by domestic air travel.
Trains replace road trips, not air travel. You can travel from New York to Miami for $175 on Amtrak. That's a lot cheaper and much more comfortable than driving 1300 miles.
Saying you can do this faster or possibly cheaper on a budget airline is missing the point, because traveling on a budget airline is not enjoyable. There's no scenery. You're packed in like sardines. Best case scenario, every hour you spend in the plane is miserable. Every hour you spend waiting in airport security lines is miserable. Every hour spent waiting on the runway for delays is miserable. Waiting for your baggage only to find it is lost again is miserable. You can't get up to stretch your legs, sit down, the seat belt light is on.
On the Amtrak there are dining cars, cafe cars, observation cars. There's five toilets on each car, you never have to wait. There's free wifi. There are no middle seats to be miserable in. You can bring your own beer and drink it on the train. You can't do any of that in car or on an airline. Riding the train is more fun than flying, and a lot less hazardous than driving. If it takes a little longer than flying, that just means more time for fun.
Except that NY to Miami route you cited takes 28 to 33 hours... You could do that trip in a single long day driving, plus save money if you're a group of 3+ people. And then you'd have a car at your destination, which is pretty mandatory in most parts of the US.
It might be decent for a solo traveler, but for the stereotypical family road trip to Florida, the car still wins out.
You're not going to drive 18 hours straight. It would be wildly dangerous for you to try as you will fall asleep at the wheel. Even if you tried it, you're going to have to make stops for gas, bathroom, and to eat, which will push the trip beyond one day. Which means you're going to have to get at least one hotel room along the way (more expense and time). And, you're assuming perfect traffic conditions, which doesn't exist, we all know.
You can go to the bathroom on the train. You can sleep on the train. You can eat on the train. Which means the 28 hours is the total time and the $175 is total price. Avg gas price is 3.37/gal. (https://ycharts.com/indicators/us_gas_price) Avg new car milage is 25 mpg, 52*3.37 is ... $175. Same as the train fare, but that's just the gas.
Taking the car is just dangerous and miserable IMO. Train wins.
My family used to do a very similar distance for summer road trips every year, and we always did it in a single day. Just pack the car the night before, leave early, and swap drivers every few hours when you stop for food or gas. The benefit is that it's way cheaper than five plane tickets or train tickets, and you have an entire car to fill up with stuff.
Like I said the train would probably work better for a solo traveller, but then why not fly? It's crazy to spend 28+ hours on a train when a plane ticket is around the same cost and 2 hours.
Yep done it many times. Even did 24 hours once, with a 3-hour nap in the car at a rest area.
>It's crazy to spend 28+ hours on a train when a plane ticket is around the same cost and 2 hours.
That's like saying it's crazy not to fill your salad bowl entirely with cheese :)
https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/salad
Besides, we both know it's 2 hours in line just for the TSA check sometimes. I'm very familiar with flying. I've probably logged enough air milage to circle the globe 10 times or more. I despise it. It's nothing like traveling by train. I can board a train in under 5 minutes. I don't even have to have a ticket, I can just decide to go and pay the conductor once I'm on board. Try that on a plane.
> There's five toilets on each car, you never have to wait.
Can't agree based on personal experience.
> There's free wifi.
That wifi is barely usable. I often ended up using my phone as the hotspot.
> Riding the train is more fun than flying
Depending on whether you are a big train nerd or plane nerd. I am a little bit of both, and I never consider train to be any more fun or boring than flights. On shorter trips where plane flies at a low altitude (e.g. Boston-NYC-Washington DC), if the weather is good, I would be staring at the ground and take (crappy) aerial photos the whole flight.
And your post doesn't mention the routine delays on Amtrak trains. Trains in China and Japan are much more punctuate.
Don't get me wrong, I take trains in the US for leisure purposes more than almost anyone I know, but it is not nearly as romantic as you try to paint, which is why most people choose driving or something else.
>which is why most people choose driving or something else
Most people in the US have never ridden the Amtrak. Not even once in their lives. Source?
https://www.newsweek.com/more-americans-taking-train-ever-pa...
Amtrak set a record in December, the most passengers ever in a year. 32.8 million. If every single one of those rides was a different person instead of repeat riders, that would still be less than 10% of the total US population.
Yet 83% of the population supports more investment in Amtrak.
https://www.masstransitmag.com/rail/press-release/53068546/a...
It doesn't sound like the US population uses cars by choice to me. It sounds like they're forced to use cars, because their area has little or no Amtrak service.
I rode the Amtrak an average of twice a month last year, and the train was delayed/late only once. That's much less frequent than traffic jams I'd say. You waited for a bathroom? Okay, was there a big line or something, because otherwise that's gonna be like 5 minutes at most. It takes far longer than 5 minutes to find an off ramp with a service station and then get back to traveling. When compared to air travel, there is always a line when you need to use it because there's typically only 2 toilets for each cabin section of the plane. And everyone is loaded up on the complimentary beverage at the same time.
Are Japanese passenger trains better? Yes, of course they are. The cars are cleaner, the ride is smoother, train fare is paid with an IC card, platforms are level with the train so you don't need to drag luggage up stairs. I would love to see Amtrak improve to the level of Japan. But I'll still take Amtrak over driving/flying in the US any day.
What's your point? You can list all those things but doesn't change any fact, or how most people travel.
> I rode the Amtrak an average of twice a month last year, and the train was delayed/late only once.
Consider yourself lucky.