Cross Country for $213 Rant

[TinCan782]

Some truth perhaps? This guy let out all the (negative) stops!

http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/8930832

 

[George K]

As someone said of Facebook:

Drawn in by the romance of the stock photography offered at the start of the post"

Which is exactly what your column did.

"Here, I'll show you what it looks like."

So you show me a picture of a rainy window. No bias there, nope.

"Others will simply wallow in their own filth for the next few days and deal with it when they get home."

Someone pooped in their seat? Why didn't you tell the conductor?

"But you're not stuck in business class on an aircraft for days on end. This chair becomes your home for the duration of your journey"

Three words: Sightseer Lounge, Diner.

" That burger was $14. It isn't nearly as big as the picture made it look"

Hurry! Someone let McDonalds know about deceptive photography!

"Seating areas meant for up to three people are occupied by one person laying across them, shoes still on (of course), like couches in their own home. Staff walks by them and the collections of trash and does nothing about it."

Umm..."If you see something, say something." The staff is there to make your travel as pleasant as possible. Grow a pair.

"I thought, perhaps quite naively, that I'd have a great writing experience on my trip. After all, like the author says, "The many hours on the train makes for a fantastic time to write."

Don't blame Amtrak for your inadequacies. As I said, grow a pair.

"There are speed adjustments. And there's the fact that you're already uncomfortable and now you have to sit in that chair, write, and be productive. Good luck with that."

Try writing in an automobile. When you're done, get back to me, m'kay?

"Pepsi only, no Coke, and beers are expensive."

John Belushi wept...

 

[Sauve850]

Good reply!

 

[inspiration100]

Some truth mixed in with a lot of garbage. Yes, people can smell and yes there can be trash laying around. Another Huffington Post article that makes me cringe. I would say more than 50% of train time has photo worthy scenery. After all, We're talking about the USA and it's very diverse in scenery. I could write a much worse article about the TSA, airports and airline food.

I certainly don't share the same opinion as the writer.

 

[TinCan782]

I'm the one that started that thread on Facebook's Amtrak Fans page...here is my commentary when I posted same on my own wall for my friends and family to see.

"I know some of you saw the article "Across the USA by Train for Just $213". Derek Low in that article related a totally positive experience traveling from the Bay Area to New York. In contrast, Mr. Eric Fadden was completely negative in his Huff Post blog.

What Mr Fadden didn't tell his readers that his cover photo is NOT even an Amtrak train! He didn't even take the time to check his article (granted, an unknowing editor could have inserted the incorrect photo). His one photo out the window was rain. I got a couple of shots like that in NE New Mexico last August. That is certainly not very representative. Mr. Fadden may be surprised to learn that sometimes it gets cloudy and rains. Sometimes, it clears up and is sunny and sometimes, the sun goes down and its dark outside.

"Lack of scenery"? You travel through cities and industrial areas. You move along peoples back yards. There is farmland, deserts, and mountains and even the ocean to be seen. On one trip we saw Mt. Shasta by the light of a full moon.

There is some truth in his account. Riding in coach you may be seated next to someone you don't know, don't like or perhaps, someone with poor manners and hygiene to match. Yes, no showers are available for coach passengers but, some passengers do attempt a little cleanup in a restroom. Every hear of baby wipes?

Meals in the diner (or snacks in the lounge car) do cost extra. The diner is not a 5-star restaurant but, it does a good job, especially considering the less than stellar financial support from Congress.

Like anything, a big part of one's experience depends on what you put into it. My wife and I travel by train with an open mind, the trip is part of our vacation, not just a way to get there."

 

[OlympianHiawatha]

Once I saw the Huffington Post flag I didn't even waste my time opening it.

 

[HenryK]

As my grandma once said, "Cheeriness begets cheeriness." This fellow must have been born with a pickle in his mouth.

 

[HenryK]

HuffPo is simply the left-wing version of Faux News. Pure ideology. No point in paying attention to either.

 

[willem]

Often when someone posts a link, I do not bother to follow it. This time, I did. It made me even less likely to follow links in the future. Perhaps I am guilty of only wanting to read what I already believe. Certainly I do not want to believe a person is misleading me, and that's what happened in this case.

I expect a lot from Amtrak, and I am sometimes disappointed. I expect little from air travel, and I am often disappointed. Sometimes things don't go well. As FrensicPic said in his follow-up post, sometimes it rains.

My average experience on Amtrak exceeds my best experience on a commercial airplane. When I reminisce about a trip, I do not think about what a great flight that was, but I sometimes think about what a great train ride that was. I suppose I'm preaching to choir, but that doesn't make it any less true.

Thank you, earlier posters, for expressing thoughts better than I could.

 

[WICT106]

The comments at the article illustrate what the general public thinks of train travel.

 

[Cho Cho Charlie]

I guess I am in the minority. I think its a pretty realistic assessment of LD coach travel on Amtrak.

Yea, there is a bit of "poetic license" in his colorful descriptions, but they are rooted in fact.

Come on. We have threads here dedicated to the lack of showers for LD coach. We have threads here dedicated to the lack of low-price sit-down meals for coach. We have threads here dedicated to you're at the mercy of the other passengers sitting around you, and their personal habits. We have threads here dedicated to sleeping (or attempting to) in coach.

And yes, while I try to travel sleeper (and would if I went coast to coast), those bathrooms in coach can and do get pretty nasty after 24 hours. :help:

 

[greatcats]

I agree with you to some extent about the coach travel. I had well behaved passengers on s recent overnight, but did sleep poorly, but I was not uncomfortable. But the writer of the article is the type who should indeed stay home. Crossing our great country by land away from highway commercialism is a great experience. Yes, some of the scenery is not attractive, but it is real. I for one enjoy passing through small towns off the beaten track. Also, waking up on the Southwest Chief westbound as the sun rises on the Kansas prairie is exciting in my view. The writer of that negative article needs some enlightening.

 

[Eric308]

The thing that irritates me the most about his article is that people have reconsidered and cancelled their Amtrak trip plans just by relying on his biased opinion. I've done many CONO coach trips and several times with my young daughter. Never had any uncomfortable situations and it's fun waking up to sunrise near Memphis. Then all the backyards of Mississippi! I've also done several EB trips on coach, but now just turning 70 I treat myself to a roomette. I never tire of any scenery and look forward to the "bleak plains of eastern Montana". That writer really pissed me off, and I don't blame Huffington Post. Just check out his website.

 

[TiBike]

I guess I am in the minority. I think its a pretty realistic assessment of LD coach travel on Amtrak.

Agree completely. Every negative point made in the article has been thoroughly discussed on this forum, and sometimes presented as a positive, e.g. sleeping in the lounge car.

One of the commenters on the article said "there are train people, and other people", and I think that sums up the problem. Train people enjoy the experience of riding a train, and shrug off the negatives. That's fine as far as it goes, but Amtrak's problem is that long distance service quality – reliability included – has sunk to the level that repeat customers will only be train people or those who have no other choice: people from towns without air service, people on a tight budget or the morbidly obese.

 

[SarahZ]

Eh, obese people can still fly. You just have to purchase two seats and ask for a seatbelt extender.

Most, if not all, domestic airlines even refund the cost of the second seat if the flight isn't sold out.

 

[Manny T]

I found Eric Fadden's article totally credible--how can a group of strangers occupy any confined space for 3 days without a shower and limited food, bathroom and sleeping options?

But Cho Cho Charlie is absolutely right about the solution: if you are the type of person that needs creature comforts, then travel cross country in a sleeper. Your experience will be radically different from Eric Fadden's, and I would say, may be quite pleasant.

Where is it written that the 48 contiguous States were intended to be traveled across by rail in coach? At least without taking hotel or hostel breaks every 24-36 hours. Sheesh.

 

[BoulderCO]

I read all the negative comments here before looking at the article, so was expecting it to be a gigantic slam against AmTrak. After reading it, I'm not sure I was seeing the same article. To me it seemed about 85% positive and good publicity for AmTrak. The biggest fault in terms of perception was mentioning the one dinner companion who was arrested for some kind of firearm infraction. While presumably true, this could give the impression that there are lots of felons on AmTrak. Other than that, I thought it gave a pretty fair representation of what long distance train travel is like, and would be a good first read for a newbie - especially with all the photos.