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The problem is that the situation was fairly desperate in 1970 and a government corporation taking over passenger service was seen as a reasonable alternative when few other alternatives were left. For the reasons you stated, the circumstances were not dire in 1950, and the political pressure to...

(Italics added.) You may not ride in Amtrak coach overnight, and I may not ride in coach overnight, but somebody rides in coach overnight. (I've ridden in coach overnight, and while I may have said "never again" I also saw lots of people in the other seats.) Someone also takes intercity buses...

As the title suggests, my wife and I are in a dispute regarding canceled air reservations that has Expedia and American Airlines each blaming the other while one of them has our money. Back in the spring, we booked on Expedia an April trip to the national parks of southern Utah. We were going...

IMHO, the FRA long-distance plan is the horse and Amtrak's LD car purchase the cart. The FRA plan will set forth what LD routes, and at what frequencies, Amtrak should run. Of course Amtrak can advance plans for new LD equipment in parallel absent the FRA plan, but the FRA plan should precede...

Maps being "redrawn" is a common linguistic or rhetorical device. More specifically, if Amtrak's initiatives to serve areas of the country with corridor service that doesn't exist now -- Southeast around Atlanta, Southwest between LA, Phoenix & Tucson, Front Range in Colorado, etc. -- succeed to...

I received a reply today from IDOT to my message expressing I was pleased that service between Chicago and Rockford will proceed under Metra but mildly disappointed at the 2027 time-frame and greatly disappointed at a frequency of only twice a day. At least someone is reading such comments and...

If one traveled once a month on Amtrak (not implausible) and ate in the cafe both ways, it wouldn't take too much to get to $990. Also, if you're in coach on certain long-distance trains and have a little luck to get seated, the dining car at the rate of $20 breakfast, $25 lunch & $45 dinner per...

Actually, I redid the math and the rebate may well include tips on the card. Math is not my strong suit, and I shouldn't do it without a net calculator.

I was pleasantly reminded the other day (and thus decided to remind all of us here) of the rebate for Amtrak onboard food & drink purchases made with the FNBO card, 20% for the annual-fee card and 10% for the no-fee card. I saw a credit on my recent statement for "rewards customer rebate...

Things would be a good bit easier if NYSDOT was enthusiastic about passenger rail, but the good news is bureaucracies get their marching orders from above. If the legislature decides there's going to be intrastate Adirondack service and appropriates funds accordingly, DOT officials will carry it...

Do you have any basis for this categorical presumption other than the common filter of seeing every passenger rail issue, program, etc. as a zero-sum battle royale of NEC vs. LD (ding! ding! ding!)? Because it's been known for urban Representatives to vote for farm programs and Congress members...

It would be nice, but if NY State DOT was inclined to run a strictly intrastate service like Michigan and the Blue Water, it wouldn't have waited over two years to restore the Adirondack north of Albany. Ironic considering the name of the train, but there we are. The thing that would change...

It doesn't. Quad Cities is planned to branch off from the BNSF main line (IL Zephyr, California Zephyr, SW Chief) east of Galesburg. The tracks beyond Rockford go to Freeport, Galena & Dubuque (the former Blackhawk). Metra could operate service to Rockford AND Amtrak could go to Dubuque on the...

As I said in the other thread, hopefully this two round-trip plan is merely left over from the plan for Amtrak service to Dubuque and common-sense prevails well before service begins that this capital investment be properly spread among more trains.

Metra's getting the Rockford service because it's fairly short, just beyond the frontier of suburban development (lots of subdivisions in Huntley, some in and near Union),probably not due to some crisis of confidence in Amtrak. I'm sure if CN ever becomes cooperative 🤪"Blackhawk" service to...

Good news: it's back. 😃 Bad news: only for sleeper passengers, no coach purchase of diner meals on the Silvers yet.

Also, the area around Cicero BNSF station is supremely unwalkable. Look at it on Google Maps. Even though it's the first suburban stop on the line, Cicero is not like stops west of there like Berwyn or Riverside that are in traditional commuter-suburb walkable downtowns.

IMHO, recline is overrated. Last time I was on the train, the person in front of me in a Horizon car reclined practically into my lap. :rolleyes: Reclining more than _/ when there's another passenger behind you has always struck me as a bit "hurrah for me, and the devil take the hindmost." As...

Changing the topic momentarily from NYC, my wife and I were happy with the hotel we stayed in for our recent long weekend in Kansas City: the Crossroads. It's about 2-3 blocks from KC Union Station if you take the pedestrian bridge over the tracks, which has an elevator. It's a boutique hotel in...

Checking the webcam video for Elkhart, this morning's 29 also had a SSL.