Train vs. Plane -- The New York Times steps in

[railiner]

I am comparing a first class plane flight to Hawaii to a roundtrip train trip to LA (to catch a 15 day cruise witih only 4 days in Hawaii) with bedrooms on Superliners and Roomettes on Viewliners. The fare for flying first class was less than the train trip, on the days I compared. I have not flown in about 15 years (due to ear pressure issues) but may consider flying to Hawaii some time in the next 5 years (or take Hawaii off my bucket list).

That would be a 'no brainer' choice for me....take the train and the cruise...you'll love them both!

If you don't want to be on the ocean that long, there is one ship, ( NCL's Pride of America) that does a seven day island hopping cruise solely around Hawaii. You could fly from home or from the west coast to get there....

 

[jis]

I've seen that video before, and it still amazes me...but it seems that only the freight cars were blown over (maybe empty?). The locomotive, other than bouncing along the rough track, seems immune to the winds.
I would imagine a locomotive, like a huge mallet, hauling a train of iron ore cars, would be immune as well.

You don't have to go to the Keys to get a train blown over, and you don;t even need a Hurricane. There have been cases where a double stack train got blown over on the Rockville Bridge by a straight line gust.

The bigger cause of damage in the Keys is water (storm surge, rain, flooding), not the wind as is the case for most Hurricanes anyway.

 

[AmtrakBlue]

You don't have to go to the Keys to get a train blown over, and you don;t even need a Hurricane. There have been cases where a double stack train got blown over on the Rockville Bridge by a straight line gust.

The bigger cause of damage in the Keys is water (storm surge, rain, flooding), not the wind as is the case for most Hurricanes anyway.

And a few freight cars were knocked off the Susquehanna Bridge between Havre de Grace and Perryville within the last 2-3 years.

 

[Qapla]

I don't consider a low density disaster prone vacation area to be a good value for expensive publicly funded infrastructure.

I would guess you don't live in Florida.

The road to the Keys is not for the "low density" population or it would only be a two-lane road. The reason it is as large as it is and as heavily used as it is ... well, it's because tourist use it - and tourism is a very major source of income and tax revenue in Florida ... part of that tax revenue also goes to the Federal Govt. (some of the tax on all that gas sold is federal tax)

Now, if we are going to eliminate disaster prone vacation area expensive publicly funded infrastructure - I guess much of the funding for roads in California and Texas should be discontinued.

 

[Sauve850]

The primary difference being that an oceangoing passenger boat can move out of a storm's path, or at least away from other solid objects, while tracks and roads are stuck where you built them. I don't know how much time you've spent driving to the Keys but it's basically one long traffic jam.

I live in West Palm Beach, Fl. I have been going to the Keys for 35 years 4-5 times a year. My stopping point is Islamorada but have driven to Key West many, many times. Its an easy drive and is not one long traffic jam at all unless you try 4th of July or Hell week which is Christmas/New Years week. Relax and enjoy the beautiful scenery. A train to the Keys would be sweet but I dont see that happening.

 

[OlympianHiawatha]

I would guess you don't live in Florida.

The road to the Keys is not for the "low density" population or it would only be a two-lane road. The reason it is as large as it is and as heavily used as it is ... well, it's because tourist use it - and tourism is a very major source of income and tax revenue in Florida ... part of that tax revenue also goes to the Federal Govt. (some of the tax on all that gas sold is federal tax)

lane!

You need to do your research before blowing your mouth off-the Overseas Highway IS 2 lane!

 

[tricia]

Could we perhaps cultivate a little civility here?

 

[jis]

Having driven to Key West several times, it is a bit over 6 hour drive from where I live. I generally faced heavy traffic while returning at the end of a weekend. On the way out I seldom had heavy stop and go traffic. That is not to say that there are not times when it is stop and go traffic. But generally people who know avoid such times if they can, like everywhere else.

Yeah Hwy 1 is mostly two lane except on a few islands where it widens to three or four lanes. And yes, it is a significant contributor to tourism in the Keys. It provides way more capacity than required to support those who live there year round. But that is not unusual at all in areas that depend a lot on tourism for their local economy.

 

[iplaybass]

Saint Louis to Chicago? It depends. Downtown Chicago? Train UNLESS I have to be there by 9am and an overnight isn't an option. Sleep until Joliet.

Schaumburg (lots of meetings in the O'Hare area because it's so much cheaper than downtown) Both United and AA have hubs and relatively frequent morning and afternoon flights.

The exception is when the cost of a flight from STL to wherever is significantly higher than CHI-wherever. For our 25th anniversary, we're going to Italy. Going to take Lincoln service and a limo to O'Hare for the outbound. Saves $1600.

 

[pennyk]

Please keep your discussion on the topic of Train vs. Plane and the NYT article. Please avoid personal discussions with other members - especially name calling. If you wish to communicate directly with another member, please PM. Thanks.

 

[JRR]

I am comparing a first class plane flight to Hawaii to a roundtrip train trip to LA (to catch a 15 day cruise witih only 4 days in Hawaii) with bedrooms on Superliners and Roomettes on Viewliners. The fare for flying first class was less than the train trip, on the days I compared. I have not flown in about 15 years (due to ear pressure issues) but may consider flying to Hawaii some time in the next 5 years (or take Hawaii off my bucket list).

I would recommend the cruise option. Susan and I are looking into it for next year.

 

[DonNewcomb]

....The locomotive, other than bouncing along the rough track, seems immune to the winds......

A freight car can weigh hundreds of tons or next to nothing. Just a big empty container with a lot of sail area. An ES44XX will always weight about 200 tons. By itself, it's pretty safe in most wind storms.