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Spartans Take Amtrak
More efficient than marching: "300"'s Gerard Butler was spotted yesterday hopping off an Amtrak train at Philadelphia's 30th Street Station. Toting his own rolling bag and laptop, the actor is in town to film a thriller with Michael Gambon and Jamie Foxx called "Law Abiding Citizen."
You don't have to be a celebrity to ride Amtrak, but you may have trouble getting a seat anyway: Amtrak reported in October that nearly 3 million more people climbed aboard in fiscal year 2008, the sixth straight year when ridership went up. The fastest growing train: The Maine-to-Boston Downeaster.
While the stats didn't break down by month, we're guessing the bulk of those riders were over the summer, when soaring gas prices forced Americans to contemplate a life with less driving. Thank goodness we'll never have to worry about that again!
Related Stories:
· Annual Amtrak Ridership Sets All-Time Record; Sixth Straight Year of Increases [Amtrak.com]
· Amtrak Ridership Through the Roof: Time for Some New Ideas in US Train Travel [Jaunted]
· Celeb Travel coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo: Celebrity-Gossip.net]
Tags: Train Travel / Amtrak / Trains / Recession Travel / → All Tags
Fifteen Hours on Amtrak: Achieving Nirvana
To travel along on our first few hours on Amtrak out of New York, check out yesterday's Part I.
It's midnight and we're stopped in the middle of nowhere, eight hours into our fifteen-hour coach class Amtrak trek to the Midwest from New York City. We've stepped outside of the train only to be caught in sleeting rain and an ungodly darkness; it could be Rochester, New York. At this point, the Amtrak lightweights have disembarked in Albany, Schenectady or Syracuse, and the leftovers are truly in for the long-haul. Under the single streetlight, we size each other up and wonder who might be capable of stealthily stealing our stuff while we sleep. It's probably the single guy getting off in Erie, Pennsylvania, our next stop.
Tags: Train Travel / Amtrak / Trains / Recession Travel / → All Tags
Fifteen Hours on Amtrak: Our Recession Confession
While we have logged some impressive mileage traveling Amtrak in the past, all the recent reports of sold-out trains has us wondering what, if anything, has changed other than gas prices? Curious as to the state of the trains and the faces of the new ridership, a few days ago we hopped aboard Amtrak's Lake Shore Limited from New York City, a 15-hour chattanooga choo choo to the heart of the Midwest. In and amongst the horrendously marked-up beer of the lounge car and the chattering divorcees of the dining car, we may have just discovered the most unlikely thing: Hope.
Tags: Travel Referendums / Train Travel / Amtrak / Frank Lautenberg / John McCain / Barack Obama / James Oberstar / → All Tags
Travel Referendums: Bipartisan Support for Amtrak Not Maverick-y Enough for McCain
This November 4 is about more than just deciding between McCain and Obama. Other issues that directly affect travelers are up for decision, and this week we're taking a closer look at some of them.
After Amtrak reported record ridership, President Bush signed a bill earlier this month to give the rail operator $13 billion in new funding over the next five years as well as expand safety measures. (Even though he said he wouldn't sign it back in June.) Amazingly, the investment had the support of an overwhelming majority of Congress.
Behind the bill was New Jersey Democrat Frank Lautenberg (inset), whose state sees roughly 1.6 million Amtrak passengers a year. His version of the bill actually didn't provide for the $13 billion, though, as money-related legislation has to originate in the House. So whose idea was it to give Amtrak all that cash? Our old pal James Oberstar!
Tags: Celeb Travel / Lindsay Lohan / Samantha Ronson / Amtrak / Train Travel / → All Tags
Lohan and Ronson Evidence Amtrak Ascendancy
How hot is Amtrak these days? Even possibly dating starlets are taking the train: Lindsay Lohan and Samantha Ronson were seen riding the Acela on October 16.
But even without TSA hassles and flight delays, Page Six says the pair didn't have a pleasant trip:
Lohan spent most of the time complaining about her staff and told Ronson, "I do what's good for you, not what's best for both of us." Lohan was "whining incessantly and Samantha was trying to deflect it. When Lindsay would get up, Samantha would sigh and put her sweatshirt hood back up."
Sounds like Sam should've booked seats in the quiet car!
Related Stories:
· Rough Train Ride [NYP]
· Amtrak Ridership Through the Roof: Time for Some New Ideas in U.S. Train Travel [Jaunted]
Tags: Amtrak / Amtrak Travel / Train Travel / Trains / → All Tags
Amtrak Ridership Through the Roof: Time for Some New Ideas in U.S. Train Travel
The U.S. government-owned passenger rail company known as Amtrak is finally having its moment in the sun. After more than three decades as a money-losing symbol of government waste, bureaucratic ineptitude, and U.S. consumers' overwhelming preference for car travel, Amtrak's ridership is surging, bolstered by high gas prices and a growing distaste for short-distance air travel. While we here at Jaunted HQ are wary of calling this a watershed moment for U.S. train travel, it does represent an opportunity to reacquaint people with the joys of riding the rails - and might also be a rare opportunity to bring the 1970's-era rail line into the 21st century.
After the jump, a few ideas for Amtrak that just might be crazy enough to work.
Tags: Train Travel / Trains / Train Stations / Amtrak / → All Tags
A Century of Train Travel at Washington D.C.'s Union Station
Train travel in the United States is not without its challenges, but Washington D.C.'s Union Station is one of the success stories. While other once-grand railroad stations were destroyed and rebuilt in modern, uninspiring styles (New York's Penn Station comes to mind), Union Station has retained the elegant glamor it had when it first opened 100 years ago.
To celebrate its centennial, the station is rolling out special exhibits this weekend (October 4-5, 2008) that hearken back to the golden days of the American railroad industry. Visitors will be able to walk through historic locomotives and rail cars, check out the latest and greatest Amtrak equipment, and get a taste of what used to be the nation's main method of transit.
Of course, Union Station is unique among Amtrak stations around the country, as it provides a headquarters for the company as well as an upscale shopping mall. A $160 million renovation in 1988 restored it to its original 1908 grandeur, transforming it from a decaying relic of a nearly-obsolete form of transport to one of the city's top tourist destinations. So if you're in the District this weekend, drop by to see what a century of railroad history looks like. Who knows, with gyrating gas prices and endless airline hassles, this might just be the beginning of a renaissance in North American train travel.
[Photo: AP via USA Today]
Related Stories:
· Washington, D.C.'s Union Station Celebrates 100 Years of Train Travel [USA Today]
· Union Station [Official Site]
· Train Travel Coverage [Jaunted]
Tags: Worlds-Best-Train-Trips-Map / Train Travel / Amtrak / Coast Starlight / → All Tags
World's Greatest Train Travel: West Is Best with the Coast Starlight
This week, we're mapping some of the world's greatest train trips.
When The New York Times made its semi-annual nod to plebeian vacations last fall, it plugged Amtrak's southernmost route, the "Sunset Limited," which crosses the Cadillac desert between New Orleans and Los Angeles. But travelers hoping to catch some scenes of green (or, this time of year, fall foliage) should check out the Coast Starlight instead.
The 35-hour trek between Seattle and LA, which the Gray Lady described in 1982 as "a serious train," traverses both purple mountain majesties and fruited plains--as well as Napa wine country and the edge of the Pacific Ocean. On-board comforts include artisanal cheeses, an arcade room and meals delivered right to your seat.
Related Stories:
· Sunset Limited [Official Site]
· Amtrak's Coast Starlight Classes Up Its Act [LAT]
· Amtrak's $100 Booze Credit [Jaunted]
Tags: Amtrak / Public Transportation / Train Travel / Trains / → All Tags
C'mon Ride The Train: New England Drivers Hip to Downeaster
It's hardly shocking that as gas prices rise, more commuters are looking to public transit options they may not have considered earlier. But the Amtrak train leading in gains may surprise you: It's not the soup-to-nuts Northeast Regional or the posh Acela trains, but the Downeaster, the Portland-to-Boston route which picked up 947 extra passengers a day over last year.
We're pleased that we may have reached the tipping point for new public transportation options to be developed nationwide, although the initial result will just be more crowding. (A Midwestern friend of Jaunted says the Milwaukee-Chicago "Hiawatha" service is in dire need of another car per trip, as workers used to driving the 90 miles kick back on the train instead.)
Related Stories:
· Amtrak's Downeaster Ridership up 28 Percent [AP, via Yahoo]
· The Downeaster [Official Site]
· Amtrak coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo: herzogbr]
Tags: Amtrak / Train Travel / Buses / → All Tags
US Train Travel Gaining as Amtrak Struggles to Keep Up
We're big fans of American rail travel, even though it breaks our hearts sometimes, so we greet the news of Amtrak's surging ticket revenues and passenger miles with cautious optimism. As the New York Times points out, skyrocketing prices for gasoline and jet fuel are encouraging more people to travel by rail, leaving the beleaguered national train company scrambling to keep up with the record-breaking ridership.
While decades of quasi-socialist neglect, financial constraints and an atrophying infrastructure have made the legacy carrier less nimble than it ought to be, here's hoping that they can hold it together long enough for passengers to appreciate the many sublime pleasures of riding the rails. Spacious seats, plenty of room for luggage, no need to remove shoes or dump liquids before boarding and the ability to be just about as drunk as you feel like just might make riders demand the much-needed improvements necessary to bring Amtrak up to the level of, say, European trains in the 1970's.
Still, travelers on Amtrak's most popular routes are in for crowded conditions this summer. Tickets for the daily New York-to-New Orleans Crescent Train are already sold out from July 5-8, and the Seattle-to-Vancouver line is filling up fast. So make your reservations soon, lest you be forced to stay home, or *gulp* take the bus.
Related Stories:
· Travelers Shift to Rail as Cost of Fuel Rises [NYT]
· Amtrak Gets More Money, Continues to Suck [Jaunted]
· Buses coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo: NYT]
Tags: Amtrak / James Oberstar / Public Transportation / John Mica / Train Travel / → All Tags
Amtrak Gets More Money, Continues to Suck
The US House of Representatives has just passed a $14.9 billion bill to finance Amtrak for the next five years. It also includes a provision for another $1.5 billion of federal money for the Washington, DC Metro.
Though President Bush says he won't sign the measure, the bill passed with a big enough majority that the House would likely override any veto. Jaunted frienemy Rep. James Oberstar helped craft the bill, along with longtime Amtrak critic Rep. John Mica, who's apparently finally sick of paying $4 a gallon for gas.
A similar bill has already passed the Senate, but the House version includes a requirement that the Department of Transportation seek proposals from private companies to build a high-speed rail line along the Eastern Seaboard.
That might be a nice change: A private company probably wouldn't announce plans to shut down this weekend only to reschedule those repairs for June 16-19.
Related Stories:
· Bipartisan Bill Funding Amtrak Passes in House [AP, via WP]
· Amtrak coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo: william.ward]
Tags: Train Travel / Amtrak / Train Hell / → All Tags
Rusty Bridge Shuts Down Amtrak Service Between New York and Boston
From June 14 through June 17, Amtrak will be shutting down train service between New York and Boston. The cancellations are the result of repair work being done on the 90-year-old Thames River Bridge outside of New London, Connecticut. Train riders from Washington, DC, New Haven and Providence will also be affected by the service changes, as they won't be able to pass through New Haven during those four days.
Amtrak is describing the repairs as "one of the largest engineering endeavors in company history." The project will replace a drawbridge section of the span with a modern "vertical lift" that lets boats go by. The stretch of the Thames River under the bridge is constantly busy thanks to passing Coast Guard ships and submarines, yes submarines, from the nearby New London Naval Submarine Base.
Amtrak says the repairs will "minimize train delays" along the busy Northeast Corridor. Having had the experience of being held up at the bridge because of a sub crossing, this seems like a good idea. But it's going to be a mess when folks going from New York to Boston are stuck with nothing but the Chinatown bus or, even worse, Greyhound during the construction. Luckily, the repairs are being performed by Cianbro Corporation not Amtrak, so maybe they'll actually get done on time!
Related Stories:
· Greyhound Buses Keep Crashing [Jaunted]
· Fung Wah, Bus or Drag Racer? [Jaunted]
· Amtrak coverage [Jaunted]
[Rendering: Amtrak]
