Why don't more "High Profile" people ride the train?

[TrainOtter]

I just don't see how a so called high profile person would help to encourage the public to consider using trains. As much as I enjoy Amtrak, outside of the NEC Amtrak just isn't a viable option for most and there are other more efficient travel options avaliable.

A high profile person calls attention to whatever they espouse because they are high profile.

Because "Hey, So-and-so rides Amtrak. Why don't we try it?" is an effective ad for train travel. But as others on this thread have pointed out, high profile people who ride Amtrak don't advertise it so they don't get mobbed.

Why don't more high profile people ride the train? They do. They just don't tell anybody.

Also, there may be more efficient travel timewise, but there isn't one more enjoyable. Even first class air passengers are not encouraged to get up and meander around. On planes and buses, you're stuck next to who you're sitting next to. On the train, worst case I can escape weird seatmates and crying babies by heading to the lounge or club car. Best case, I get someone willing to share the joy of the view.

 

[WBG Station 1935]

A high profile person calls attention to whatever they espouse because they are high profile.

Because "Hey, So-and-so rides Amtrak. Why don't we try it?" is an effective ad for train travel. But as others on this thread have pointed out, high profile people who ride Amtrak don't advertise it so they don't get mobbed.

Why don't more high profile people ride the train? They do. They just don't tell anybody.

Also, there may be more efficient travel timewise, but there isn't one more enjoyable. Even first class air passengers are not encouraged to get up and meander around. On planes and buses, you're stuck next to who you're sitting next to. On the train, worst case I can escape weird seatmates and crying babies by heading to the lounge or club car. Best case, I get someone willing to share the joy of the view.

I don't buy it. Before a "high profile" person can maybe call attention to whatever they espouse, Amtrak actually has to provide an accessible service to more people beyond the NEC. Norfolk, the largest Navy town, went 35 years without trains and now Amtrak barely serves the city with 3 trains out & in. Too many regions and towns are underserved by trains.

 

[zephyr17]

Are you implying I'm not High Profile?

Oh, wait, I'm Wide Profile, not High Profile.

 

[Tlcooper44]

A bunch of musicians I know regularly ride the train on the NEC. They, of course, are only high profile to a relatively smaller portion of the population, though I, and a few others, have recognized them in the past.

 

[basketmaker]

Some do. Liza Minnelli was in the bedroom next to me on one trip on the Desert Wind. Her bodyguards kept everyone at a distance when she left the room for dinner. Went back to the room and didn't see her again until we arrived in LA and she was hustled away.

Maureen Stapleton was in a bedroom of the car I was in on the Lake Shore Limited to Boston (I was in one of the upper slumber coach rooms-a small roomette if that's possible). She was not a flyer or traveler for that matter. Then sat with her at the same little table with her in the Amfleet lounge for a while. She pretty much drank her breakfast (boiler makers!). She was extremely nice and talkative too.

Did eat lunch on the Pioneer with a National Geographic photographer/writer doing a story on Amtrak and long distance trains from around the world that was published a couple months later.

Have met so many nice and interesting people over the years. Though maybe not high-profile but enjoyable to chat with. I particularly engine communal diner seating. Fun and enlightening conversation. The lounge car is fun too.

 

[Eric in East County]

It is quite understandable that celebrities and other “high profile” people would want to keep a low profile while riding on an Amtrak long-distance train. However, it would be nice if they would let people know after the fact that they sometimes travel by train. While the average citizen doesn’t ride the train on the off chance that they might see a celebrity, just knowing that high profile people do sometimes take the train does add a certain degree of prestige to the experience.

 

[TrainOtter]

I don't buy it. Before a "high profile" person can maybe call attention to whatever they espouse, Amtrak actually has to provide an accessible service to more people beyond the NEC. Norfolk, the largest Navy town, went 35 years without trains and now Amtrak barely serves the city with 3 trains out & in. Too many regions and towns are underserved by trains.

"Before a 'high profile' person can ....call attention... Amtrak has to provide..." "Too many regions and towns are underserved by trains." It's a bit of a catch-22: to expand there must be interest; to have interest there must be expansion. Having those existing high profile Amtrak riders let the public know they think traveling Amtrak is a good thing will help bring attention to the value of expanding Amtrak.

"Norfolk, the largest Navy town..." Norfolk is a wonderful city, but a Navy town of any size usually doesn't attract large numbers of high profile people. I lived in Long Beach, CA, when the Navy was there. Hollywood, Studio City, and Burbank got all the attention.