Amtrak not easy

[RobertN]

Amtrak sure is not easy...

My mother in law wants to go see her sister in Dallas/Fort Worth. So, I'm looking Sacramento, Ca to Dallas.

On one route, it is a bus from Sacramento to Stockton(hour away), then train to Bakersfield, then bus to LA. Then a train to Dallas. Another route has as many changes, but takes thru Kansas and then south.

It is hard for her to fly. But she could take the train easily enough. Except all the transfers. And, buses. This is a train trip, not bus trip.

 

[dave1949]

Amtrak sure is not easy...

My mother in law wants to go see her sister in Dallas/Fort Worth. So, I'm looking Sacramento, Ca to Dallas.

On one route, it is a bus from Sacramento to Stockton(hour away), then train to Bakersfield, then bus to LA. Then a train to Dallas. Another route has as many changes, but takes thru Kansas and then south.

It is hard for her to fly. But she could take the train easily enough. Except all the transfers. And, buses. This is a train trip, not bus trip.

It is horrible. I would love to be able to have my Mom get on a train in Toledo, OH and get off in Portland, ME. It's much the same as your experience and too much hassle for an arthritic 83 yr old trying to drag even light luggage around.

I wish we could build up decent train service over the next 20 yrs, before I'm 80-something
Dave.

 

[LBrown59]

It is horrible. I would love to be able to have my Mom get on a train in Toledo, OH and get off in Portland, ME. It's much the same as your experience and too much hassle for an arthritic 83 yr old trying to drag even light luggage around.

I wish we could build up decent train service over the next 20 yrs, before I'm 80-something
Dave.

To bad you don't live here in SE Ohio.It would only be about a 250 to 300 mile trip for her to come visit you

 

[dave1949]

To bad you don't live here in SE Ohio.It would only be about a 250 to 300 mile trip for her to come visit you

That's true LB, just didn't work out that way. She holds it against me too
Dave.

 

[two_bit_score]

And flying is getting to be just as bad with all the hassle of screening, boarding, people with too big/many carry ons, cramped seats, etc.

 

[randy41]

I think flying is the only way or else on a long trip you spend most of your time on the train. My wife took the train (she hates to fly) to Chicago from here (Southwest VA). I had to drive her to an amtrak station in WV about 2 1/2 hours away. Then she was on the train for like 17 hours. Then since Amtrak shares the tracks with the freight trains, the freight trains get the right of way so delays are very common.
So even though flying can be difficult for some in many cases its the only way that makes any sense. The next time she went I insisted that she fly.

 

[dave1949]

Can you imagine how the airlines would have to clean up their act if they had to compete with a decent rail system?

We subsidize air travel big time. Every major airport has tax-free bonds issued by the millions. I'm not sure what, if anything, airlines pay through ticket sales to support the FAA, air controllers, all the navigation satelites, radio, radar, etc.

Dave.

 

[Tig]

I'm a fan of the train, but I agree that it is not always convenient. I'd like to take the train to my US assignments but it's more than twice the time that is takes to drive.
Ironically I live near a main line and there is only one transfer required. It's just a much longer route. The return trip is worse. It requires an overnight stay 4 hours from my home.

 

[MicroPilot]

When I looked into train travel recently it was just as expensive as air travel, but took way longer.

Why would anyone want to pay the same amount of money as a 2 hour flight for a 2 day train trip?

 

[Dmace]

My mother in law wants to go see her sister in Dallas/Fort Worth. So, I'm looking Sacramento, Ca to Dallas.

How about taking Greyhound? There are no change-overs or transfers as it's a direct route. I just did a search and a bus leaving Sacramento, CA and arriving in Dallas, TX (there's multiple Dallas locations) is 1 day 14 hours and 50 mins (1881 miles) long and a round trip leaving Nov. 1st and returning Nov. 8 would cost $267.07. It seems like a pretty low cost alternative.

I have never taken such a long bus ride so can't comment on the comfort of being on a bus that long but I have taken Greyhound to the airport (2 hrs) and it was very comfortable and relaxing. With a laptop and the provided Wi-Fi on board, I could easily waste a day and a half reading TBN and watching Youtube videos.