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It seems to me that comparing the relative safety of planes vs trains is a pointless statistical exercise. The chances of dying or being injured using either mode are so remotely insignificant that any personal experience with that would come down to pure chance.

Yep, there actually are some carriers, usually smaller freight outfits, that will provide positive space commutes, but I can't see jump seating going away as a general practice since it has worked without a problem for decades. As for downing a pop for the ride home, they sure couldn't get...

It wouldn't really be practical to eliminate the jumpseat occupancy. Consider that hundreds of off-duty pilots ride on the jumpseat system wide around the globe on a daily basis with no incidents. Without the ability to commute to and from their home town to the base they're assigned to, the...

Every type of jet aircraft has its own unique fire suppression system but they all perform pretty much the same function. Pulling a fire handle will do several things simultaneously such as disconnect the affected engine from the major systems it powers, (air, hydraulics, electrics), shut off...

It'll be interesting to see what his motivation was during interrogation, but it was some seriously unhinged behavior that thank goodness is obviously extremely rare. Suffice to say he won't ever fly at the controls of an airplane again and most likely will be banned from commercial flights for...

I'm a retired pilot, and there are so many puzzling things about this incident. First thing to point out is off-duty pilots ride in the cockpit jumpseat all the time, usually commuting to or from work, and many times the jump seater is an employee of a different airline as part of a reciprocal...

I'm a retired pilot - 40 years Air Force and commercial flying. On the subject of turbulence: Pilots will do everything they can do mitigate it or avoid it entirely, but sometimes you just have to soldier on through an area with no great options. When the Captain makes that "Please be seated"...

I don't know about "never again", but I have had three trips this year where I really wanted to take Amtrak because a train is my default preferred method of getting from A to B, but each time I bailed on Amtrak and either drove or flew, mostly because of decisions made at the managerial level...

Thank you. As a single traveller, currently the biggest deterrent to going in business class is the inability to reserve a specific (single) seat, an ability which only exists on a handful of East coast routes. I'd usually have better luck sitting by myself in coach with an empty seat next to...

I'm confused by this. Are you currently unable to buy a seat in business class Venture cars at all, or are you referring to an upcoming change that would allow someone to book a specific seat assignment in the Venture business car? I'm about to give the Wolverine a try between Chicago and...

Exactly. Every time I have to "sign" an electronic release pad I just drag a squiggly line across the signature block and I'm good to go.

I rode the Vegas monorail a couple times and found it to be mostly useless. Overpriced, poor frequency, and limited access are the main reasons. Even if your destination is the designated named casino, you'll likely still have a soulless labyrinthian corridor hike to get to or from the...

That's actually brilliant! Have to look on Amazon for one of those for my next trip. Hope you enjoyed your time in Bolivia!

Exactly. The RM is a tour, Amtrak is transportation. The food on RM is top tier, but the biggest difference is there are no sleeper cars on RM. Overnights are in upscale hotels.

Having accessible cars in the modern sense is awesome and long overdue. On the other hand, you would hope that the entire consist is not held hostage to accessibility needs.

As an occasional traveler and total layperson to the industry, I find this discussion very interesting. My simplistic view of the train consists immediately becomes perplexed by the inherent constraints they impose on the traveling experience. I don't understand why more cars aren't added...

Interesting question. So the way I see it, the two most important criteria are scenery and hotel logistics, both of which should probably assume these trains will eventually be running late by their arrival times. People will have their own opinions on what is the best timing for each route...

Hey all, not sure how an airline discussion ended up on an Amtrak forum, but if you'll indulge me it's the only thing I'm knowledgable about (retired AA). As a broad statement, I think the big 3 are all about the same. Anecdotally I've heard more positive statements about Delta, however no...

Just curious - how is that Comfort Inn for an overnight? I was going to take the Wolverine from Chicago and stay there and then Uber to an appointment the next day, but the online reviews made it sound pretty sketchy so I drove instead to stay somewhere else.

That does sound right. My only experience was when it was only a few months old. All the train porters/attendants I asked about it were really discouraged over the development. They hate it as much as the passengers. They did say back then that it was all trains East of the Mississippi River...