Who is drawn to slow train travel?

[vinceg723]

I am working on a project about slow train travel for a graduate-level Environmental Psychology class, and in part of the project, I am making the case that because long-distance Amtrak is slow and inconvenient, it does not appeal to average travelers and instead draws a disparate cross section of people, each with an interesting story to tell. Based solely on my own personal observation, I’d probably classify Amtrak passengers into the following categories.

• people who do not like to fly (or are afraid to, or cannot for religious or cultural reasons, such as Amish)
• people with a love of train travel
• retirees or others with a lot of time to spare
• people who live in remote towns served by train but not by air

Would you say this is accurate? Am I missing anyone? Or am I oversimplifying something that is really way more complex?

Anyone with more interest in what I am doing can check out a *working copy* of my project at slowspeedrail.com. Rather than write an academic paper that only my professor would read, I decided to make the work public facing. Any input you may have is much appreciated!

 

[joelkfla]

I think there are also some not fitting into those categories who take a one-time trip on the Western routes for the experience and the scenery. It may be "one and done", or they may migrate into the train travel lover's category,

 

[AmtrakBlue]

• people who do not like to fly (or are afraid to, or cannot for religious or cultural reasons, such as Amish) - you need to include people who have physical reasons for not flying, such as ear pressure causes pain

 

[Eric in East County]

We fall into three of your categories: we don’t like to fly, we love train travel, and we’re retirees with a lot a time to spare.

Eric & Pat

 

[jis]

People who avail of lower train fares than air fares - typically happens from a large city to a small town which might even have air service but the fares are exorbitant.

 

[jiml]

There are other reasons for choosing the train over flying which weren't listed in the OP. Flying was already a pain pre-Covid once you factor in getting to/from airports, parking, security concerns, crowded gates and planes, then you add in a little pandemic and how is flying fun anymore? I used to love flying (and have the frequent credentials to prove it), however the concept has worn a little thin lately. I already had the other three criteria anyway.

 

[alpha3]

I'm going to add the group of people who would treat the train travel as the experience and not the destination. Not strictly retirees, but folks wanting something different, it's like going on a cruise ship, only this is a land cruise. I think this would probably only apply to the western LD trains, though, that have the mostly beautiful scenery and a good dining experience.

 

[TinCan782]

1, 2 and 3 for us!

 

[Devil's Advocate]

I enjoy traveling and get a nostalgia rush from being around trains, so traveling on a train is a natural choice for me. Another reason I prefer to travel by train (that I did not see in your list) is simply because it's often better for the environment than driving or flying.

 

[tgstubbs1]

People who avail of lower train fares than air fares - typically happens from a large city to a small town which might even have air service but the fares are exorbitant.

Hasn't train travel (in coach) always been priced competitively with air and sometimes bus?

 

[jis]

Hasn't train travel (in coach) always been priced competitively with air and sometimes bus?

That was the case until air fare deregulation came and LCCs came about. At that point, often, with a little care one could get air fares that were and are dramatically lower than train fares.

 

[west point]

Venkeg: Although I do not care for too slow trains defined as less than 50 MPH except when traveling thru very scenic areas. However, I find that travel above 120 MPH as disorientating when trying to view the scenery outside. I noted that when traveling on HSR trains in Europe.

 

[vinceg723]

Appreciate all the comments! As to the comment about HSR being disorienting, yes!

I’m exploring how our current system is ridiculously slow and inefficient, BUT that slowness allows passengers to connect with each other and with the landscape in ways not other form of travel — air, car, HSR, etc — can.

 

[user 14106]

I think one should be careful when trying to classify all long distance Amtrak travelers and the western and eastern trains have some important differences. The western trains are a very different story than the trains in the east or a train like the Auto train. Many of the trains out west while long and slow and not competitive with flying from a practicality standpoint are attractive because of the beautiful views and ability to see this beautiful country - I saw many both retirees and young people looking for a unique experience on my cross country trip - it’s taking a grand adventure similar to taking a cruise. Trains in the east provide an alternative to driving for those who don’t want to fly - and a route like the auto train serves a unique product for the huge northeast - Florida market.

 

[enviro5609]

I don't know if this falls into "love of train travel" or "time to spare" or both, but we use train travel as part of the vacation itself.

When you take a plane for a destination vacation, the vacation doesn't really "start" until you land, leave the airport, and get to your destination. It eats up most of your first and last day. Its hard to feel like you are on vacation when you are in the cattle call of the TSA line, and then packed like sardines into an airplane. But when we take a train-- particularly a sleeper or long distance train-- the vacation starts when we arrive at the station lounge before departure. The first day of our last vacation was dinner, movie night and French red wine in the sleeper car, sleeping in, brunch, and then a museum day-visit once we got to Chicago.

I don't know if that is particularly a love of trains, because its just a more leisurely, fun experience akin to first-class international air travel-- but at less of a cost. But its also not really "time to spare" entirely either, as it is just part of the vacation days we have available regardless.

 

[TheVig]

I’m a high energy 24/7 person. Traveling by train is about the only way I can switch off and relax.

 

[Tlcooper44]

I think you find all types aboard LD train travel, taking it for any number of reasons. LD trains do have a romanticism about them that can appeal to just about anyone if given the right circumstances.

Even before joining this forum, and before beginning my general love of trains and railfanninng, I preferred trains because I oftentimes can’t risk flying with my violin and having it be put below deck in luggage area, even after carrying the right papers, and some arguments with some real bricks...

so rather than risk having to find another flight last minute and miss a concert, I’d just take the train and avoid it entirely. It got to the point where I didn’t take any connecting flight in Europe (as an American using connecting flights is imprinted in my DNA). I’d just get off and take a train to my final destination. A couple trips in, I realized there is more than one reason to do that...

there are also young people searching for the cheapest price between any two cities. Oftentimes, it ends up being a bus or a LD train in coach.

 

[west point]

The solution is not trying to get a few more MPH. Instead work on eliminating the slow sections. Changing a 1 mile slow section of 20 - 30 MPH to 79 MPH would save 5 - 10 minutes including slowing before slow section and then accelerating out.

The infrastructure bill seemed to indicate that some funds for upgrading tracks probably slow sections?

 

[87YJ]

What difference out west is 70MPH or 79MPH to the riders. I can relax, lots of space, not be driving (gets tiring).

 

[Tlcooper44]

The solution is not trying to get a few more MPH. Instead work on eliminating the slow sections. Changing a 1 mile slow section of 20 - 30 MPH to 79 MPH would save 5 - 10 minutes including slowing before slow section and then accelerating out.

The infrastructure bill seemed to indicate that some funds for upgrading tracks probably slow sections?

As true as what you say is, I’m not sure this is really what this topic is about...

 

[1976steve]

I’m a high energy 24/7 person. Traveling by train is about the only way I can switch off and relax.

I fit into this category, it is my number one method to gear down. Leave the driving to Amtrak, go with the flow, watch the world go by. One can enjoy the company of newly met individuals or may choose to isolate to themselves or any combination of the two. It doesn't hurt that I fit into multiple categories

 

[flitcraft]

I guess one question is whether, if we could wave a magic wand and make all Amtrak routes HSR, would it be more or less attractive to travel that way? I suspect for some--those enjoying the scenery, the ability to unplug for a couple of days--the answer would be, it would be worse. For those who can't or won't fly, or have limited vacation time, or are traveling from areas where air travel is unavailable or prohibitively expensive, the answer would be, faster would be better.

 

[Willbridge]

At age 75 I fit several categories, but I've always been a geography fan and trains, or ferries have offered the best look at not only the landscape but also at how people make a living along the way. (Most places when I've flown have been socked in. And the seatbelt light stays lit.)

Some years ago, I was at lunch meeting in a franchise restaurant out by the East Salem Bypass on I-5 and overheard a couple arguing about whether they were in Salem or Albany. That sounded silly, but when I looked around all of the signs were for national chain providers of fuel, food, etc. Next time try the train!

 

[como]

I think you find all types aboard LD train travel, taking it for any number of reasons. LD trains do have a romanticism about them that can appeal to just about anyone if given the right circumstances.

Even before joining this forum, and before beginning my general love of trains and railfanninng, I preferred trains because I oftentimes can’t risk flying with my violin and having it be put below deck in luggage area, even after carrying the right papers, and some arguments with some real bricks...

so rather than risk having to find another flight last minute and miss a concert, I’d just take the train and avoid it entirely. It got to the point where I didn’t take any connecting flight in Europe (as an American using connecting flights is imprinted in my DNA). I’d just get off and take a train to my final destination. A couple trips in, I realized there is more than one reason to do that...

there are also young people searching for the cheapest price between any two cities. Oftentimes, it ends up being a bus or a LD train in coach.

I agree that there are all types of people and reasons for using LD trains. I live in the middle of Missouri and a 20 minute drive from an airport with good service and reasonable fares. I go to Denver two or three times a year. I've found that driving a couple hours to Ottumwa and taking the California Zephyr works well even for short trips because the schedule is convenient. I can leave home at 4 p.m. and arrive in Denver early the next morning. Returning to Missouri, I leave Denver in the early evening and am home by noon the next day. The price in coach is competitive with flying and the 14 - 15 hour trip is much easier than the 11 hour dry. I've observed a very diverse group of people riding between central Iowa and Denver who take advantage of that schedule, even people going from Omaha or Lincoln to Denver for the day.

 

[user 6862]

I am working on a project about slow train travel for a graduate-level Environmental Psychology class, and in part of the project, I am making the case that because long-distance Amtrak is slow and inconvenient, it does not appeal to average travelers and instead draws a disparate cross section of people, each with an interesting story to tell. Based solely on my own personal observation, I’d probably classify Amtrak passengers into the following categories.

• people who do not like to fly (or are afraid to, or cannot for religious or cultural reasons, such as Amish)
• people with a love of train travel
• retirees or others with a lot of time to spare
• people who live in remote towns served by train but not by air

Would you say this is accurate? Am I missing anyone? Or am I oversimplifying something that is really way more complex?

Anyone with more interest in what I am doing can check out a *working copy* of my project at slowspeedrail.com. Rather than write an academic paper that only my professor would read, I decided to make the work public facing. Any input you may have is much appreciated!

Another category may be the time and space for a social element while belonging to any of the above too.
Most encounters with other slow train passengers are random. Having the place and time to develope a meeting with a stranger is often denied in many other situations we interact in, but is usually guaranteed on slow train travel.

The converse (for me) is high speed train travel which after the thrill of speed has become normal is generally less memorable as the atmosphere gets closer to plane travel... sitting close to other passengers but with no interaction.