Recent content by Exvalley

Chicago to Florida is also very cheap in terms of airfare prices. That said, it still can serve the original routes quite well (except for a connection now to get north of DC).

Brightline just lost a lawsuit to Virgin. The potential damages are $246 million. https://onemileatatime.com/news/virgin-lawsuit-brightline/

Montreal's RER will cost $8 billion when it is completed. And yet they can't have decent tracks to connect their city with the largest financial hub in the Americas.

I’d say that they are trying to strike the right balance. The next station on the line has a new massive mixed use development with lots of apartments, restaurants and stores all of which are very walkable from the train station.

I had a chance to ride the small open section of the RER today. (I believe that Rome was built faster than the RER.) I was extremely impressed. Everything felt incredibly modern and the ride was very smooth. My one complaint is that the front jump seats are obscured by large plastic humps...

My son has an upcoming reservation from Lakeland to New York City. There is bus service from Lakeland to Orlando. Does he pick up the bus at the Amtrak station in Lakeland? I am assuming so, but just wanted to confirm.

I rode the Auto Train round trip this past week. Overall, I found the experience to be well worth it. When deciding on taking the Auto Train, I focused on the cost analysis. But there is definitely value in not having to drive that distance. I live too far away from the Lorton station to...

In my case they were assigned before we arrived.

To answer my own question…. Our seats were pre-assigned. No need to show up early.

According to Amtrak's website, my upcoming trip on the Auto Train is completely sold out. My spouse and I are traveling in coach. Do we need to show up early to be assured of two seats together, or are the agents pretty good about keeping adjacent seats open to accommodate couples that check...

I am sympathetic to this guy. I know that the REM line is for the greater good, but there are definitely some negative impacts.

As an EV owner, I am very impressed with the charging infrastructure on this line. The Brossard station has 60 level 2 chargers. Level 2 works perfectly, since you can fully charge your car while you are downtown for the day.

You should be on the side that faces the river. The trade-off is that, in order to sit facing forward, you will be sitting in the narrower seat that is adjacent to the toilet. For this reason I usually go with an odd-numbered roomette and sit in the lounge while traveling along the river.

So because Europe and parts of Asia are beating us we should just give up? Interesting approach there... I want to see long distance service as much as anyone else. But let's be honest, there is a very finite demand for such a service. 14,723 people used Amtrak in Fargo, ND in 2022. 455,512...

That needs to change. A friend of mine just booked a train ticket from Paris to Barcelona. The train takes 6.5 hours with 10 stops. Driving takes over 10 hours. While they would not have driven, they would have flown.