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Comment by CPLNTN | Hacker News Reader

Living in Europe and traveling by train for 7/8 hours every two months for work. What kind of shitty train does only 50mph?

I would say the convenience it’s highly dependent on the destination. Here the train station it’s often near the city center while to get to the airport you need additional transportation, As you said you have more legroom but also there is enough space to use a laptop and actually work connected to Wi-Fi. I’m not limited in what and how much I can carry with me, and the train is much quieter than a plane. And finally, the train is much less stressful and traveling time doesn’t really matter when is the company’s time.

I would say that if you don’t have an airport in a 30km radius from the destination, the train still wins around until 8hours trips. Above, I would consider travelling with the airplane.

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> Living in Europe and traveling by train for 7/8 hours every two months for work. What kind of shitty train does only 50mph?

There are legs of the train that go above 100mph. But all-in-all, once freight traffic and other issues are considered, you're averaging no better than 50mph on US trains.

As a sibling-comment says: US freight gets priority in our country. The US doesn't really have a passenger rail system, we have a freight rail system that happens to sometimes have passenger rail as a 2nd citizen.

> What kind of shitty train does only 50mph?

In the US, Amtrak shares rails controlled by the freight operators. Amtrak trains can be delayed indefinitely, as the freight trains always get priority, even when they are off schedule. These delays are unpredictable in timing and length.

I used to do the Seattle/Portland route regularly and 1 - 2 hours extra/unplanned travel time wasn't uncommon. Average speed was well less than 50mph.

A few years back, we flew to SEA->MSP to visit family but opted for Amtrak for the return trip. It did happen to save us a couple hundred dollars and the circus that is TSA & airport security, but it was 36 hours. When we were moving, it was a reasonable speed (certainly nowhere close to a TGV). The problem was that we had multiple stops, such as maybe four hours sitting in Spokane.

I would happily spend 12hrs on a train to do that trip -- even 18hrs overnight -- but 36 is way too much.

The local 1-hour stops and lengthy freight train delays really slow things down drastically for Amtrak. If the train was just moving all the time it would be a lot less painful.

The trains are stinky and dumpy, usually with absurdly high fares, but if they kept moving they would be tolerable.

The rail pass is nice because it allows for stopovers, but the Amtrak trips in between are going to be a drag.

Perhaps some trains should remake themselves to be more like cruises, with luxury amenities (delicious food and drink, gym/exercise classes/spa/wave pool, on-train entertainment, live DJ/music and dance floor, interesting lectures and debates, celebrity meet & greet, arts and crafts, on-train library and book discussions, games and social activities, movie theater, etc.) so you wouldn't actually want to get off the train and you wouldn't care about the horrible delays. There could be stopovers at interesting places, and local tours. Or maybe there could be "work cars" with comfortable desks/chairs, high-speed internet access, coffee and snack service, etc..

Ouch the fairs are real, depending on how far out you plan air travel is often cheaper.

And when you say indefinitely, it really is. I was once on an Amtrak train that, at one point in the trip, was 25 hours behind schedule. Another time I arrived 8 hours late. On the long haul trains, if the segment you're taking is towards the end of the line, the arrival time of the train is very unpredictable.

Huge difference between US and European rail: in the US freight companies own the rail lines and the commuter rail rents them. This has two implications. First, rails are designed not for high-speed passenger trains but for massive lumbering cargo trains that can't go much faster than 50mph. Second, it means passenger rail has the lowest priority so it can be stopped and made to wait at any time as determined by the actual rail owners.

Then there's also the last mile problem in that very very few cities in America are actual walkable the way European ones are. For a few years I had to commute to Chicago, and that was awesome. I could take the train in, then walk to a metro station and be on my way. But for most destinations, you'll need to drive to and from the train station, so what's the point?

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