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Comment by cfallin | Hacker News Reader

> [Amtrak] was really pleasant. It just takes forever.

Absolutely -- IMHO for mid-distance (200 mi to 500 mi or so) trips, Amtrak is a really underrated option. I travel semi-often from Pittsburgh to NYC (450 mi) and choose train over flights because it's actually not that much slower (consider to/from airport, security, and (de)boarding, as you say) and it's much more comfortable: I can walk up and down the whole train, with no fasten-seatbelt sign to stop me; there's a cafe car; I have about 2 feet of legroom; there is reliable AC power and functional wifi. I just make it a work-from-train day and all's well.

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For either end of the Northeast Corridor I almost always take the train. It's far easier and more relaxing. About the only reason I don't is if I have an AM meeting and can't head down the night before or if I have something odd going on that requires me to drive.

Boston to DC doesn't really make sense though unless I've just decided to work on the train for the day so I don't need to deal with the airport (and probably pay more to do so).

Other than that, it's hard to justify train from Boston. I looked at it once to Chicago and it made utterly no sense either in terms of time or cost given that I'm going to get a sleeper on a trip like that.

Judging from the Japanese HSR experience, that's also the distance range at which HSR door-to-door is faster. SF to LA is juuuust outside of that distance range, sadly.

Including security theatre, a modern conventional HSR (320~350 max speed) is competitive up to ~1000km (~600 miles), possibly 1500 but that could be over-reaching. SF-LA is well within that range, it's a shorter distance than Paris - Marseilles which is a ~3:20 trip by rail (and not the most modern line in the country/world, and one with a few stops on the way).

That's assuming euro-style cities where you probably want to go from one urban center to an other though: plane requires going outside the city (to the airport) in advance due to security procedure, waiting for security and boarding, then at the destination going from airport to city center.

With HSRs, the stations are in or relatively close to city centers (usually easily accessible through public transportation), you can arrive 5mn (or less) before departure, delays may be somewhat less common (though the justification differs e.g. suicides on the track is not an issue for planes) and you arrive at the city center with better travel comfort. Especially for people sensitive to air pressure.

Fair, but you are forgetting that this is California, so even though we are beginning construction in the 21st century all of the technological gains will be put toward safety and environmentalism, not efficiency or speed; we won't get a "modern conventional HSR (320~350 max speed)". And the the HSR line is not going to be one with "few stops along the way", but with lots of stops, this is further compounded by the reality that in California city centers aren't nearly as easily accessible through public transportation as they are in Europe or Japan. LA was built around cars, and good luck getting anywhere in the valley or even the East Bay without a car.

I agree completely, the sweet spot is in that 200-500 mile range. Anything longer and I’m not sure why someone would bother unless they really like to take things easy. I’ve always felt that the ideal scenario is just getting trains to average 100mph (forget the 200+mph stuff, you’re not going to sustain that very long). Then it would make it a no-brainer to take a train for those mid-range trips.

Having just moved to PGH, I had wondered about the viability and comfort of riding the rails for a weekend trip to the Big Apple. This is encouraging news.

Another Pittsburgher here endorsing the Pennsylvanian! From PGH to NYP, it runs from 7:30 AM to 4:50 PM, which is a workday plus lunch and a nap. Really nice. It's longer than it should be; you take those turnpike tunnels for granted until you're in a train and you have to navigate the mountains.

If you want to spice it up, check out Southern Airways Express[0]. You can fly between Pittsburgh and Lancaster for as little as $30 on a tiny little 8-to-10-seat plane, which is a really unique and scenic experience. Catch a ride to the Lancaster Amtrak where there are a lot more options for getting to NYC.

I've done Megabus and Greyhound on return trips. You get what you pay for. But if you happen to live in the North Hills, the bus depot for Megabus is in Ohio Township and if you ask nicely they'll let you ride up there.

[0]: https://iflysouthern.com/

Yup, the Pennsylvanian is actually pretty nice. The route is the old Penn Railroad mainline and zigzags through some really scenic parts of the Appalachians!

The only downside is that it's on a once-per-day schedule (Pgh->NYC at 7:30am and NYC->Pgh at 10:50am). It's 8-9 hr downtown-to-downtown (vs. ~5-6 when flying) so you'd really want to do Fri/Mon for a weekend. FWIW, there are three or four Megabuses per day too, including an overnight bus in each direction, for when the train schedule doesn't work.

Also, flying to NYC from Pgh is oddly expensive, like $400 roundtrip expensive. Amtrak is about $150 RT if far enough in advance.

Anyway, welcome to Pittsburgh! I hope you're surviving the snow...

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