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I agree. My funnest trips have been jumping on trains in Europe with my back pack, a bottle of beer or wine, a French bread, some cheese and cold cuts. Best train meal ever.

There isn’t a reason Amtrak would give up one of its most successful routes. I don’t think the Metra suburban cars provide the level of comfort that Amtrak provides and that would be acceptable to Chicago-Milwaukee passengers. Perhaps when they get the KRM line running.

The Viewliners are nice cars, and it would be nice to see Amtrak order more of them.

From what I understand, system timetables will not be coming back, but I understand there is a plan or a way to print the individual ones in a PDF format. I think there should be a private one done. Sell advertising and sell it for $5 a copy. European timetables are available for purchase. I...

Back many years ago, the upstairs bar was used for afternoon happy hour on the western, long distance routes. In fact, they would have a signature cocktail. This was probably back in the 1990’s, which doesn’t seem so long ago, but is.

The same capacity of a 10/6. Not very efficient, but I’ll bet it would have been beautiful knowing Budd products. Amtrak is planning that for the new order.

According to Stephen Gardner, 50 years is it. I don’t think anyone can argue that Amtrak cars haven’t been exposed to harsh environments and had the wheels rolled off of them.

Of course. The US manufacturing base for almost anything isn’t what it needs to be. I still like the idea of doing what the C&NW did with its intercity Bi Levels and what Amtrak did with the Horizons. Find something off the shelf that can be made comfortable for intercity service and can be...

Washington Union Station isn’t great for food either, unfortunately.

It’s a station. A building can be a terminal and still be a station on a route. Cincinnati Union Terminal comes to mind. The many terminal stations on the Southern Railway also.

Instacart and door dash are replacing the trip to the store. Uber and Lyft make getting around a lot easier. The need for a car is generally overstated. I telework two to three days a week and my car sits in the driveway. If I want to order something, I frequently use Door Dash instead of...

I appreciate what you’re saying, but I don’t agree. Of course many people will continue to drive, but many will take the train. It’s not not a tourist run although that will be a big part of the business. A third of people in America can’t drive. These services are vital for a whole host of...

You’re just guessing at what might happen. If that were the case, the airports would be empty, and nobody would fly. In these days of Uber, Lyft and Waymo, the last mile problem isn’t a problem. A town like Traverse City or Petosky is just as walkable as Toronto or Montreal. People traveling to...

These are completely different times. It’s not like a few years ago. There is a nationwide interest in rail because there has to be. The country is growing too large to continue to be served by highways and air alone. We will exceed the population of the EU by 2050 on a smaller land area. The...

Nobody is talking about the UP. This route isn’t at the expense of anything. This isn’t an either/or and it hasn’t been presented that way. Some people have mused on here about preferring Detroit to Grand Rapids. There are many reasons why that corridor may be vastly more expensive and difficult...

It makes so much sense, it will come, but after the northern Michigan service for many reasons.

As to which route to pursue, there are many factors, not all of which involve the most populated city pairs. First, the proposed route to north Michigan will provide needed, all weather transportation to an underserved part of the state. Second, rail passenger service market penetration in...

Or the no build option which is what they did in Europe where the freeways circle the outskirts of town. The freeways here created a lot of damage and are an undeniable scar. Good transit would have been far better for cities. You also have a lot of amazing neighborhoods because of that.

I agree with you. The old system was better. But I know they went to this system to cut costs. Inventory is easier and the number of diners more predictable.

I haven’t noticed anyone particularly dressing up in European trains, and there aren’t a whole lot with dining cars. But generally, Europeans dress better than Americans.