Have any enthusiasts traveled from Toronto to Albany on Amtrak? It kind of deflates the enthusiasm out of the enthusiast. In entails an disorganized 3-1/2 hour US boarder crossing,
That isn't Amtrak's problem. They can only pass thru Customs & Immigration as fast as C&I will let them. They've actually sped up the process recently. But if you think about it, 3.5hrs is actually pretty fast for a couple agents to do 300 or so people (I don't have the ridership numbers, but 300 is about a good average for a train that size). On average I would expect to wait about 15+ mins to cross the border in my car by my self, and thats one agent doing less the a dozen people.
bathrooms smelling up entire coaches,
It's a known fact that Amtrak needs new equipment, and they are getting some. But it's pretty hard for Amtrak to buy new equipment when they lower their budget every year (that's not entirely true, but good enough for arguments sake).
bouncey and rickety trackwork not suitable for passenger cars and speeds. An eight hour trip can turn into a whole day, and you feel like *&(* when you get off the train.
Again not anything Amtrak can do. That is the host railroad's responsbility, there are standards that are supposed to be held, but the agency charged with overseeing them is in the pockets of the freights & has no real thing they can about it besides say "hey you need to do this" it ain't going to happen.
Also the Vermonter, when it gets to Palmer, Massachusetts has to do a reverse switchback (usually entailing a 1/2 hour of deadtime becuase they also wait for CSX and the NECR to clear the diamond), just because, for all these millennium, they do not want to spend the money to install a west to north interchange track at the diamond.
More likely is that they can't. Amtrak has one of the smallest budgets in the Federal Government & in generally every year it shrinks (as more gets put into defense...). Our Federal Government (namely the republican party) will not fund Amtrak to the point it needs; until that changes. Your not going to see the improvements you want.
I haven't been on Amtrak California, but the only halfway decent service in the east is the auto-train between Virginia and Florida, but now thats gone downhill because they converted all the observation cars into dining room style seating.
It costs over $100 to go between Boston to New York, about 275 miles.
IMHO, publicity will get some more one-time riders.
Sounds like you haven't been on the NEC. Trains are regularly on time, it's used every day by way more people then AmCal. And sure if I were to walk into Penn Station tomorrow & buy a ticket for the next Regional north to Boston (South) it'll cost me about $125, which actually isn't that bad. But who buys tickets to travel (long distance) on the same day? Most people buy their tickets, regardless if it's for Air, Bus, or Train; in advance. If I buy a ticket right now to travel 3 weeks from now, it's less then $75. And if I bought one for almost a year from now? $50.
This is my problem when people start complaining about Amtrak (especially pricing) they look at it in way you wouldn't for other forms of transport. I regularly see people compare a first class Amtrak fare to an economy class air fare.
Absolutely, but Amtrak has been part of that retreat, and has not filled in those small markets. In fact they have retreated from classic major passenger routes, such as the B&O route east of Chicago.
It's bigger then Amtrak my friend, it's the Feds. Get the Feds funding Amtrak & you'll see Amtrak expand and become better. So write to you're senators & congressmen!
peter
