On Thu, May 23, 2013 at 9:17 AM, Bob Whitmire <bwhitmire@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>wrote:
> Often said to anyone who will listen (and they are getting damned tired of
> hearing it) that one of the greatest single mistakes the United States ever
> made (never mind slavery) was abandoning our rail system in favor of the
> Interstate Highway system. God, what ignorant, arrogant asses. Of course it
> helped that Europe's rail system was bombed out of existence during WWII,
> and so they got to start fresh.
>
>
I agree. However, people started to get a taste of driving whenever,
whereever they wanted, and got hooked. We try to take the train into
Chicago whenever we can, and the past several months when I would go down
to spend time with Dad I opted to take Amrtrak and rent a car locally
rather than drive the 6 hours myself. Very pleasant.
However, the lack of destinations now is a problem, as is the cost. Quite
often, it's at least $100 or $200 more than a flight to the same location,
and it's much longer. If the price were competitive, I wouldn't mind the
time since it's relaxing and the scenery is part of the journey. But if it
takes a 4-hour flight and turns it into a 14-hour train trip, then you
really need to look at a sleeper and that raises the cost by a factor of 3
or 4.
I love trains, always have. And my wife and I would love to take a trip
out East or out West, but when a simple train trip is more than a cruise or
a flight to Europe, therein lies a problem. There really isn't much
incentive to beef up our rail infrastructure since the airline industry has
such a big presence, and very powerful lobbyists.
--
Paul Braun
Music Junkie
"Music washes from the soul the dust of everyday life." -- Harlan Howard
--
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