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Comment by CSMastermind | Hacker News Reader

> But Amtrak’s problem isn’t demand—it’s supply ... Sleeper accommodations on the increasingly popular long-distance services often sell out months in advance, and much of the country remains underserved by rail

I guess I agree with this broadly but I'm not sure the locations trains travel to and capacity is the issues I'd pinpoint.

I've looked into traveling via train a few times now and generally speaking I haven't because the prices were too high and the trains were too slow.

I'd happily get on a train from Maimi to NYC if I could board at 6 pm and get off at 9 am like it really were a hotel on wheels.

But the reality is that it's a 35 hour trip on Amtrack today if there are no delays. I'd have to board at 11 am, get off at 9 pm the next day and transfer halfway.

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Travel from DC through New England is about the only convenient use of Amtrak. Travel times in the midwest are an absolute joke. 12 hours from Pittsburgh to New York City vs. a 1-hour flight to Newark and <30 minute ride to Penn Station.

Most of the state-supported routes (e.g., the trips between DC and other points in Virginia) are also pretty decent. But any long-distance route is pretty much a crapshoot.

I used to ride Empire service all the time. Very comfortable ride, especially after about half of the train got out at Albany and I could get some quiet time in the dining car, along with one of those disgusting hotdogs or meatball subs or cup noodles. The long delays between Albany and Buffalo were annoying, but apparently that's no longer a problem. I loved the train compared to the bus or flying or driving, great way to travel. Although nothing beats the flexibility of driving, especially if you don't have a pickup (or a reliable taxi) waiting for you at the destination. And that's a big problem in the USA -- no connecting transit in most places, once you get off the train you're basically stranded.

Be happy if you're even on the network. I'm in Nashville and we're not connected at all. Amtrak has proposed a plan of eventually putting it on the end of a route which would be convenient for going to Chattanooga or Atlanta and likely nowhere else.

The Cascadia corridor is pretty decent, too. The train between Seattle to Portland is time-competitive with driving, and much more comfortable. (Amtrak also goes north to Vancouver, but it's been over 20 years since I've taken that route, so I can't attest to its current convenience.)

I don't think you'll ever see HSR going that far. You can go from DC to NYC in a few hours, and it can be even faster if they upgrade the acela. They recently started service from Orlando to Miami and I think are planning tampa next. Texas also has HSR being built also, but is further out. CA has been working on HSR since 2008 and is like several billions and several years overdue

It shouldn't even need to be high-speed rail. NYC to Miami is just a bit over a thousand hours, and at 15 hours (6pm to 9am), that's an average of about 70mph.

The real speed of the train would need to be faster, accounting for the fact that the route is not direct and has stops in the middle, but it should be doable with "regular" train technology.

I always wanted to do this just for the experience but I quickly learned that:

1. You have to plan months and months in advance to find availability.

And 2. That you’re going spend a few thousand just on the train. Farther destinations can be x2 price of regular flight tickets for the whole fam. (Not considering the budget airlines for this comparison).

This may work for a single person wanting to go on an adventure.

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